Page 104 of Deadly Alliances

She paused, bending over to catch her breath. “Why? Why do there have to be so many stairs? Hadrian lives and breathestechnology. Why aren’t these all escalators?”

I snickered. “Because he believes that his underlings should have to work to climb to the top—in all aspects of life. We could’ve taken the elevator, you know.”

She nodded as she sucked in a breath. “Yeah, but we’d be more likely to run into a vampire that way. It doesn’t mean I don’t still hate this.”

I grinned down at her as I shifted Rainbow to my shoulders, where the little furry bastard dug his claws in to hold on. “I can fix that,” I said wryly before scooping her into my arms.

We were up three levels before the startled gasp escaped her lips. I set her down on the fourth floor of the tower, and her body was still stiff with surprise.

After a moment, she loosened and shook out her shoulders. “Thank you, but maybe a little warning next time.”

I bit back on a chuckle as I led the way into the dark corridor. But the humor died in my throat as we approached the corner, and I grabbed Shea’s arm, nearly dropping Rainbow in the process. She stopped, turning to look at me. I quickly drew my finger to my lips.

Hushed voices were coming down the next hallway. I drew closer to the corner, putting myself between Shea and the others to listen in on the conversation.

“I think Hadrian’s got something big planned,” one of them said.

“Of course he does,” said another. “He’s always got something big planned. I was here when he conquered the citadel thirty or forty years ago. He dreams big, but no dream is too big.”

Shea tapped my shoulder, and I looked back at her to find her gesturing for me to come close.

I angled my head down so she could reach my ear easily.

“Those are Arya’s guards,” she whispered. “We have to get past them. Alex—her brother—is in the room they’re guarding.”

I looked back at Shea and mouthed the words, “I’ve got this.”I twisted around the corner, instantly drawing the attention of the other vampires.

“Hey!” one of them shouted. “You’re Julian Asher—the traitor. What are you doing up here?”

“I’m a bit...lost,” I said, acting as spacey as I remembered being just a day ago; hopefully they wouldn’t notice my lack of shackles. “I found this cat... Did you know there are cats here? It’s a nice cat.” I walked over to them, not exactly knowing how this was going to play out.

“Where did you find it?” one of them asked, looking warily at Rainbow.

“Actually, he found me,” I said. “I think.”

“Those eyes are weird,” said the other vampire. “Why are they all red?”

“It shouldn’t be here. How did it even get in the school?” The vampire on the right reached for Rainbow, who sprang from my arms.

In less than a second, the cat had latched onto the bald vampire’s head, scratching with quick claws. The guard screamed, and the other vampire lunged as the first guard reached up to tear Rainbow off.

But Rainbow quickly jumped away and ran down the corridor.

The unharmed vampire took chase, and as the bald vampire’s wounds healed, he gathered himself and went after the cat in a screaming rage.

“That was remarkably easy,” Shea said, creeping up to me.

“I just hope Rainbow will be okay,” I replied with a frown. “If they catch him...”

She placed a kind hand on my shoulder. “Hey, he’ll be okay.” She moved past me and knocked on the door. “Okay, let’s get Alex, then head to the roof.”

A few moments passed, then the door opened. Standing before them was a boy—the same boy I’d seen leaving Hadrian’s trophy room on a few occasions. So this was Hadrian’s son.

“Hey, Alex,” Shea said sweetly. “Would you like to come with us?”

The small boy was the spitting image of his father, and I wondered why I’d never made the connection before. I hoped Arya was wise in her decision to bring him along because, as closely guarded of a secret Hadrian had kept him, I was certain he’d stop at nothing to get him back.

Alex shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I was just eating some lunch. Agnes was getting me some hot chocolate. But Arya told me to go with you.”

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