Page 6 of Deadly Alliances

“So what is the plan so far?” Gram asked, making my stomach knot anew.

“We’re still working out the kinks,” Caesar replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin before lacing his fingers in front of his chin. “We can’t just go in there guns blazing. We need to getclose enough to the compound for Kai to hack their surveillance system, and once we acquaint ourselves with the layout and security routine, we’ll be able to forge a stealth mission to get in and get Julian out.”

“And you believe you can do that successfully?” Gram asked. “Sneak into a castle full of trained vampires and rescue one who’s been weakened and tortured without any of you getting hurt?”

My stomach twisted painfully at the reality she so eloquently pointed out.

“With the help of Shea’s magic and my technical skills, yes, I believe we can,” Kai supplied.

“And my magic,” Janette added.

Kai turned surprised eyes on her midchew. “Wait, what?”

“Two witches are better than one, and no offense to Shea, but I have far more practice than she does,” Janette explained. “Besides, there’s no way I’m letting my niece go into such a perilous mission without my supervision.”

“B-but—” Kai stammered, and by the look on Caesar’s face, he was just as caught off guard by this suggestion as Kai.

“I think that’s an excellent idea, Janie,” Gram said with a nod of approval.

With some effort, I swallowed the bite I’d been chewing since the conversation began. “While I appreciate the offer and the concern, I’m not sure I feel comfortable with—”

“Nonsense,” Gram interrupted. “Idon’t feel comfortable with the thought of you entering the lion’s den, at all. But if you’re going to insist on it, then I’m going to insist Janette go with you. I would go myself, but I think we can all agree that I’m quite a bitpast my prime and would only be a burden. Janette has taught you much in the last week, and I’m very grateful she’s willing to take such a risk. Thank you, Janie.”

Aunt Janette shrugged happily as she took a bite of a crisp piece of bacon, then grinned.

Great, one more person I had to worry about.

But Gram did have a point. Janette had been dealing with vampires and shifters for years, and she was far more proficient in protecting herself from them than I was. Maybe I needed to look at it as adding more ammo to our assault, especially when it looked like I didn’t have a choice.

The sudden sensation of my phone vibrating in my pocket made me jump, and I hastily pulled it out, hoping it was Arya responding to any of the dozen texts I had sent her last night.

But it wasn’t. The number wasn’t in my contact list. I considered ignoring it, but a twinge in my gut advised me against it, and Gram had been encouraging me to follow my intuition. And if my instinct was wrong and it turned out to be spam, I could just hang up, no harm done.

I swiped the answer button and held the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Shea!” The frantic squeal pierced my ears and forced me to pull the phone away an inch, but I recognized that voice.

“Ashlyn?” I pulled the phone in front of me and quickly glanced at the unknown number again. “Where are you calling me from?”

“A burner phone,” she replied in a rush. “The general is tracking all correspondence, and I had to tell you about Arya.”

My heart thudded in my ribcage, fear draining the small appetiteI’d managed to bolster. “What about Arya?”

At that, Caesar’s eyes darted to me, his chewing halted.

“Hadrian and his vampires attacked the Dome last night and demanded Arya in exchange for a cease-fire,” she explained quickly. “Arya snuck out while everyone was arguing about it and handed herself over. Shea, she’s gone!”

My pulse roared loudly in my head, making my ears ring and the rest of the world fade out for a long moment. Why did things keep getting worse? Julian was being tormented in Hadrian’s clutches, and now Arya had foolishly given herself up to save a school full of assholes who essentially didn’t actually care about her. Would he do the same to her? If he knew she was supposedly destined to kill him, she might be dead already.

This rescue mission had to startnow.

Angry determination replaced the dread and grief that had plagued me all night and morning. “I’ve already got a plan to infiltrate Hadrian’s compound to rescue Julian—long story—so now this rescue mission will be a two-fer.”

“You’re doing what?” Ashlyn balked, her pitch going even higher.

“Embracing my badassery,” I declared, thirsty for immortal blood. “I’m going to get them both back, and God help any fucker who gets in my way.”

“Okay… Then I’m going with you.”

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