Page 19 of Deadly Alliances

She frowned at me again, an expression I had rarely seen on her face aimed at me. I suspected I’d see it a lot more often. I was no longer the obedient boy with a secret playful side she once knew. I had rebelled against my father, fallen in love after a lifetime of swearing never to do so, and was now on a mission to rescue a damsel who would likely hate me for the rest of my life. I had been broken and rebuilt, and I would never be the same person I used to be.

Char might not even like this new version of me.

“Ah, there she is.”

Char and I both looked ahead to see the gate peeking through the trees, and the tension in my chest loosened only slightly. After hours, we were finally here. One step closer to going after Arya.

We pulled up to the tall guarded gate, and our driver rolled downhis window to show his clearance card to the guard outside. I looked out my window and studied the thick metal wall that hid behind thickets of pines and bushes. The structure was well camouflaged by the greenery; if I hadn’t known it was here, I wouldn’t have seen it at all. But was it really enough to keep vampires out?

My eyes caught a twinkle of sunlight reflecting off something in the greenery along the wall a few yards down, and I squinted in that direction. Finally, I saw some sort of spotlight hidden amongst the leaves.

“Ultraviolet beams,” Char whispered to me, obviously having noticed my scrutiny. “There are vampire sensors and beams all along both sides of the wall, and if a vampire gets close, those beams will fry them to ashes in a matter of seconds.”

I nodded in approval. That would definitely do it, or at least slow down an older vamp.

The gates opened, and the guard waved us inside. Once beyond the entrance, the space opened up to a wide and cleared meadow full of buildings. I had visited my father enough times over the years that I was familiar with the layout of the compound; Tamara and I had been scolded more than once for playing hide-and-seek in the barracks. And yet coming here now, as a new recruit, felt so surreal.

We parked in a row of identical black hummers outside the administrative office, and my hand shook as I reached for the buckle of my seatbelt.Get it together, Dracul.

Soldiers came to open all of our doors, and I stepped out with my head held high despite the knot in my gut.

“Major General,” one of the soldiers said, saluting Char’s father.

“Sergeant,” he said, mimicking the gesture. “Tobias here is a newrecruit. Please see to it that he gets through orientation. I trust the next session hasn’t started yet?”

“No, sir,” the soldier replied. “It’s scheduled to begin at twelve-hundred hours.”

Char’s father checked his wristwatch. “Excellent, just enough time for Dracul to fill out the required paperwork.” Then he turned to me. “Welcome aboard, my boy. We’re glad to have you.”

He extended a hand, and I shook it firmly, then we saluted each other and he walked away with a pair of soldiers in tow.

“Hey, come find me when you’re done with orientation,” Char said to me before treading off in the other direction.

I followed the sergeant into the administrative office, surprised to find a line of a dozen or so people waiting. My nerves prickled with impatience, but I kept reminding myself that these were necessary formalities. Once I got to the front, I went through the motions of my orientation, filling out the forms and being issued my equipment practically on autopilot, as if I’d done it a hundred times. I suspected my uniform was commissioned months before, since it fit perfectly without a single measurement.

The orientation itself was long and tedious, an hour or so of just sitting and listening to some higher ranking officer—though obviously not high enough—recite the rules and regulations as well as familiarizing us with the layout of the compound. Though I knew the compound and rules like the back of my hand, I did my best to listen intently because the alternative was giving air time to the litany of horror scenarios starring Arya.

After being shown briefly to my bed in the third section of the barracks to unload my things, the rest of the afternoon wasnothing but running through drills: running laps around the compound, sit-ups, push-ups… It was like I was a kid again, stuck at home with my father. I so hadn’t missed this shit. But everytime my fire dampened, I repeated my new mantra,For Arya. For Arya.

When at last the day was over, I gratefully returned to the barracks to rest before dinner.

I looked up as I came through the threshold and instantly froze when I saw Char pulling her smart-suit down her body.

“Whoa, sorry!” I blurted, spinning around, though the pair of large breasts was already burned into my retinas.

“What are you sorry for?” Char asked with a snicker behind me. “It’s not like you haven’t seen them before.”

I swallowed, unable to think of a retort. I had seen Char naked dozens of times. Not because we’d ever done anything remotely sexual, but because we used to always shift nude and fly together. I’d never thought anything of it back then. But things were different now.

“Ugh, it’s fine, I’m done now,” she said, tapping my shoulder.

I turned around slowly, willing my cheeks not to be as red as I was sure they were.

Fully clothed now, Char eyed me with one golden eyebrow raised. “Since when are you such a choir boy?”

I frowned at her. “I’d hardly call myself a choir boy. I was just…” I floundered for a moment, “trying to respect your privacy.”

She chuckled. “Well, you’d better get used to seeing naked bodies because privacy doesn’t exist here and modesty isn’t really a policy we practice. But don’t worry, nobody is going to oggle your junk—well, except for Peters. Watch out for Peters.”

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