Page 17 of Deadly Alliances

“Alex?” I asked, looking down at Alexander.

“Agnes calls me that,” he said, bouncing on his heels playfully. “You can, too, if you want. My nameiskind of long.”

I smiled warmly at him. “Alright then, Alex it is.”

“Come, let’s eat,” Agnes said, gesturing toward the table where more human servants who had emerged from the secret door were arranging silverware and plates loaded with food.

Alex ran to the table and dug into a tower of pancakes. I helped myself to the second-tallest pancake mountain and began to eat as well. Agnes joined us and ate slowly, her eyes boring into me the whole time.

“How do you like it here so far, Arya?” Agnes asked after wiping her lips with a napkin.

I was pretty much kidnapped, sacrificing my freedom for everyone I love. What do you think?That’s what I wanted to say. But I didn’t want to upset Alex. Regardless of what he’d already been exposed to in this godforsaken place, I wanted to preserve whatever innocence he had left.

“Fine,” was what I finally decided to go with, then shoved another fork-load of fluffy pancake into my mouth.

“Well, I hope you grow to like it,” Agnes said. “This is your home now, and we’re very glad to have you. Aren’t we, Alex?”

“Mm-hmm!” Alex mumbled with stuffed cheeks and syrup-glossed lips.

“Alexander, what have I told you about speaking with your mouth full?” Agnes chided.

Alex swallowed loudly. “Technically, I didn’t speak, I hummed.”

Agnes scowled at him. “That’s not the point. You must always remember your manners. You’re to be the Master one day.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his tone agreeable even as he privately rolled his eyes.

“Do you always have pancakes for dinner?” I asked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Alex shook his head. “No. But pancakes are my favorite, so we have them for pretty much every special occasion.”

I nodded, picking at my food again. I had a thousand questions bouncing around in my mind. Questions about Alex’s childhood and upbringing, about Agnes and why on earth a human would choose to knowingly work for a vampire dictator, or why the countless humans below would want to become vampires themselves.

This place was news to me, and I wondered if the shifter authorities knew it even existed. That the vampires would have a school of their own like the Dome, but with such a dark and twisted purpose, was just mind-boggling.

But I didn’t want to ask any of those questions in front of Alex. I would wait. As everyone had made quite plain to me, I would be at the citadel for a very long time—plenty of time to find answers for myself. I would learn everything I could to get out, and if I couldn’t, then I would find a way to kill my father myself, even if I died in the process.

Chapter 8

Tobias

The air in the hummer was stiff and silent as we drove to the shifter military base in the Shawnee Hills. I didn’t quite understand why we couldn’t just fly there, but Char’s father had insisted on the caravan. Flying would’ve been faster, and I wouldn’t have to be stuck in this uncomfortable silence with Char sitting beside me.

So I just kept my gaze fixed out the window, watching the city slowly give way to trees and shrubbery. I was just glad that I was here, on my way to taking action toward rescuing Arya. She was the only thing that mattered, and if her safety meant selling my soul to the military after all, it was a price I’d gladly pay. Before she’d come along, this had always been my life plan anyway. I didn’t know when that changed.

“Are you really going to sit there in silence for the whole drive?” Char whispered next to me.

I stiffened and stole a glance at the two men in the front seat—Char’s father and the driver whose name I couldn’t remember—wondering if they cared to overhear us. I had words for her, but I would’ve preferred to have them in private.

“That had been the plan,” I muttered without looking at her.

She sighed. “Look, I’m sorry about the things I said during your test. I was ordered to provoke you.”

“And what a good little soldier you were,” I countered.

She scoffed. “You know the drill, Tobias. An order is an order.We don’t get to pick and choose what we carry out. I didn’t like saying those things to you. I wasn’t even sure any of it was true when I was handed the script. Given your history…it’s a little hard to believe.”

I didn’t respond. She had a point. She was one of my oldest friends, and she’d known about my family’s curse from the start. Of course, she would be skeptical that I’d imprinted on someone, and, even more so, that the someone in question miraculously broke said imprint. But the part she’d played in my test still stung.

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