Page 45 of Deadly Alliances

“Wait a minute,” Adam said, recognition lighting his eyes.

The tower shook, and there was a rumble. Some shouts came from outside, only discernible once the clamor from the lobby died down.

Hadrian’s eyes widened. “There’s an attack? On my towers?” Hisgaze shot to the Initiates. “How many did you leave patrolling?”

Adam stepped forward. “There were still four when we came in.”

“Six! It takes at least six to cover all angles of these towers. And the middle of the day, too.” Hadrian scowled. “Cowards. Initiates, take up the front lines. The shifters will be less likely to kill humans. Vampires, let’s take care of any who come through their ranks, shall we?”

The angelic woman threw a glance my way. “What should we do with her?”

Hadrian looked at me thoughtfully. “Take her with you, Marguerite. If she’s true to her word, she’ll help us in this fight. If not...?” Hadrian let the words hang in the air as he dashed up the stairs.

Marguerite? This beautiful goddess of a creature was the one who was tormenting Julian? Fury and vengeance flared hot as hellfire in my chest and surged through every inch of my body, urging me to claw her pretty face right then and there. But this was not the time. And I’d promised Caesar that I’d be on my best behavior.

“Come,” Marguerite said, clamping a hand around my shoulder. “We’ve got work to do.”

I let her tow me up a spiraling staircase, the yelling and sounds of destruction from above the only thing keeping my murderous fantasies at bay. Who was attacking this place? Did Caesar and Kai know? Where was Arya? Was Julian out of harm’s reach?

I was expected to defend these terrifyingly beautiful creatures in whatever fight was brewing. I just hoped that my luck hadn’t finally run out.

Chapter 17

Tobias

The sun neared the top of the sky. It was the perfect time for vampires to die.

I was grateful for the weight on my back. It forced my lungs and wings to work twice as hard—effectively pushing the fire and adrenaline throughout my body. I was even more grateful that Peters was no longer my partner.

I barely felt the hands of Private Gibson—or anything else, thank fuck. I just hoped Gibson could keep his bear inside long enough for me to get him to the tower. Ursas could be unpredictable, even the trained ones, and I would hate to lose a wing before the actual fight.

I glanced at Char beside me. Specialist Tekashi gripped the edges of the blue scales at her neck with white knuckles. Her rainbow-colored hair was a sight to behold in the radiant sunlight, and the look of determination in her eyes was encouraging. Our entire plan depended on her explosives hitting their marks.

The black looming spires grew in size as we drew closer. I willed my scales to go invisible as we approached, and Char and Private Hennessey positioned themselves above and behind me to remain as hidden as possible, adjusting slightly as we flew closer. They were directly above me when we arrived in position, above one of the roofs where the vamps had laid tinted glass.

Private Gibson and Peters were up first. Gibson leaped from my back and onto the glass, shifting mid-air and growing three times his already hulking size seconds before crashing onto thereinforced glass. Of course, the glass wasn’t built to withstand a full-grown, monster-sized bear attack from the sky, and it shattered instantly.

Peters hopped down behind him, shifting into his naga form. His job was to ascertain Arya’s location within the citadel through whatever means necessary. Apparently he was a very skilled hypnotist, even without his venom—I was beginning to understand more and more why everyone maintained their distance.

I didn’t stick around to watch what happened because our next target was an obscure shadowed area lower down for Specialist Tekashi. Char, Hennessey, and I were to create chaotic distractions—as if a giant ursa wasn’t distraction enough. We would then help plant more of Specialist Tekashi’s devices.

I didn’t quite comprehend the science behind the explosives—Tekashi spoke way too quickly for me to understand her—but they were made to change the material on the outer walls from their solid state to either a liquid or gas state without burning. In other words, melting and evaporating the very walls that protected the vampires from the sun.

Tekashi leaped lithely from Char’s back onto her target area, and I immediately shifted my invisible scales to match Char’s perfectly and split from her. I went to the right, she went to the left. The two of us had one device each, and we had to plant them where we could make it count.

I found a place in the center of one of the larger towers that looked like it might do the most damage. I used my hind claws to grip the wall but slipped. It was made of some sort of smooth stone, like obsidian. Not some high-tech metal as I’d assumed.

Could obsidian melt?

I pumped my wings to steady myself. I’d have to plant the device while hovering. It was only a small setback, and I figured it didn’t need to be bullseyed in any one spot. I just made sure to stick it firmly before triggering the timer and backing the hell away from it.

From a few yards away, I waited as beeps counted down ten seconds, and then the device exploded with a loud boom. The once-solid rock began to rapidly steam and bubble, looking very much like black molasses as it melted away.

I took a second to look around, spotting Char and Hennessey spitting fire as they circled the fortress. I was only meant to set off the explosive, then join them, altering the color of my scales to offer the illusion of more dragons attacking. But this was my opportunity, and I wasso close.My invisibility inside would be much more useful than my color-changing outside. And I absolutely didn’t trust Peters to find Arya.

Orders be damned.

Once the cavity was large enough, I hurled myself through the now-open wall and into the room. My brilliant blue form filled almost the entire area.

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