Page 49 of Deadly Alliances

Maybe it wasbecauseI was with her, she didn’t feel the need to put on a brave façade.

It was fine. I could be the strong one. I doubted I’d act much different if I were alone. Arthur was my father, after all. I’d long ago stopped cowering in the presence of that brand of power. The difference was that I at least respected Arthur; I had no respect for the leech.

Hadrian motioned to someone else out of sight, and a short, stocky, spiky-white-haired man—who looked as if he had an addiction to hair gel despite a receding hairline—rounded the corner and made quick work of unlocking the cell.

If it weren’t for the weakening lead, I could’ve taken advantage. I’d been trained to defend myself without shifting—and suddenly realized Caesar’s foresight and genius for insisting that we were. But I could barely keep myself upright, and I was fairly certain that without my and Char’s bodies leaning against each other, we’d both be lying prostrate on the poisoned floor.

Mr. Hair Gel tore Char from me and shoved her at the cell’s back wall—slightly less poisonous than the bars on every other side—where she crumpled like a pile of laundry, clearly in pain.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!” I snarled, reacting too slowly and swaying at the loss of her support.

He yanked me to my feet by jerking my good arm—thankfully. It was quite the feat, considering I was nearly a foot taller than the man, but the short vampire was supernaturally strong and had no trouble getting me upright.

Hadrian eyed me up and down like he was looking for something.

I remained silent, focusing on staying on my feet. Crashing to the floor with a broken arm was not something on my bucket list.

Without looking at the tall vampire, Hadrian said, “Steadman, begin broadcasting.”

Broadcasting?

Steadman pushed something on top of his recording device. A blue light lit up and pointed at me.

My mouth went dry, but I still managed another quip. “Yes, please, Steadman. We must show the other vampires how to bring down a dragon.”

I waited for the blow or some other show of force from Mr. Hair Gel next to me. A kick, a punch in the gut, or a twist of my broken arm so the other vampires could watch me scream.

But...nothing.

“We’re in,” Steadman finally said in a high-pitched, nasally voice, and I realized Hadrian had been waiting for that cue.

“Not just the vampires,” Hadrian said, his tone calm and even. “Although they are watching.” He brought his hands together, interlocking his fingers and dropping them in front of him. “No, yourshifterfriends in their no-longer-secret fishbowl can see you too. As well as your father.”

I didn’t have a retort for that. What purpose would Hadrian have to broadcast me in a cell? For our sakes, I hoped my execution wasn’t in the script.

I gulped. “And what are you wanting my father to see?”

“Well, first of all,” Hadrian said, holding his arms wide and entering the shot to stand beside me. “I want to greet our viewers, vampire and shifter alike. I, Hadrian, have captured one of the famed Dracul line. This is Tobias Dracul—the youngest Dracul, if I’m not mistaken.” He turned to wink at me and added in a low tone, “Well...legitimateDracul, that is.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. What was he playing at? Mention of my younger half-brothers was a jab at my mother more than anyone. But I didn’t think he said it loud enough for the mic to hear, so why mention it?

“Are you aware of your rich history, Tobias?” he asked, speaking loudly again for the camera.

My guts clenched, and my first thought sped to Claudette and the Dracul curse. But the feeling passed quickly. What could Hadrian do in relation to the curse that the curse hadn’t done already?

“Your ancestor,Vlad Draculspecifically?” he prodded like a gameshow host offering hints to a contestant.

Ah, Vlad.I rolled my eyes. “He was a dragon king who killed a lot of vampires,” I replied smugly. “Everyone knows that.”

Hadrian reached out and gripped the fingertips of my injured arm and twisted slightly, causing a twinge to radiate all the way up my shoulder. I felt the muscles in my face flinch but gave no other indication of the intense pain. I’d endured worse. Hadrian immediately released my fingers, then turned to face me, making sure the camera could still see his profile.

“If everyone knows the history of VladDracul, can you guess what I plan to mention next?”

I stared at him without breaking eye-contact. “That you have a lot of angry vampires who want my head?” Somehow, I managed to keep my tone and volume the same as before, despite the agony pulsating through my arm.

Hadrian gave a throaty laugh, acting as if he had thousands of audience members joining in. After a moment, he made atsksound directed at me, then pointed a finger at my face. “That princely arrogance. You’ve had it your entire life, no? You’vewaved yourtitlearound like you’re the son of a king since you learned to crawl.”

I didn’t so much as bat an eye. I wasn’t sure what reaction Hadrian was expecting, but he didn’t seem to be getting what he was aiming for.

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