Page 21 of Deadly Alliances

I held up my chin and shot a smug glare at the guard, and he reluctantly stepped back, giving me space to enter and finally escape his horrible odor. I was tempted to make a comment about him using less cologne and showering more often, but I figured I’d better not push my luck.

With their eyes on us, I couldn’t just follow Niko to our private spot, and we both knew it. So Niko disappeared into the aisles, and I made a show of searching for a book, looking over my shoulder now and then for an opportunity when their attention was elsewhere.

Finally, another student dared to enter, earning the full discrimination of both guards as they began to interrogate her. Seizing my opportunity, I ducked and swiftly scurried down the aisle to the back of the library as quietly as I could.

I swept into our private nook and almost squealed when Niko slid in behind me. He silenced me with a passionate kiss that stole all sound—and breath—from me, and I gratefully melted into him.

When he eventually pulled away from my happily abused lips, he smiled down at me and whispered, “I’m glad you could sneak away to meet me.”

“So am I,” I whispered back. “I just wish thing one and thing two weren’t patrolling the entrance like a pair of bloodhounds. Do you think they’ll check with my dad?”

He shrugged. “Doubtful. They’d be seen as incompetent for fact-checking with a high ranking officer. Even if they did, wouldn’t your dad cover for you?”

I snorted, putting a hand over my mouth a second later to stifle the accidentally loud sound. “No. Ever since the general took over, he’s been a completely different person. All the teachers are like that. This whole school is just turning into a fucking penitentiary.”

“I know,” he sighed. “We need Caesar back.”

“Yeah, try telling that to your boss,” I scoffed. “Can’t you say something to him?”

“Really? You think it’s that easy? I'm replaceable, Ash. I'm not Tobias. And even if I were, he wouldn't listen. You don’t know the General. He’d kill me just for a suggestion. And then my dad would revive me just to kill me again.” He plopped down on the bean bag, and I could see the same sense of helplessnessdragging his shoulders that had been plaguing me for days.

I sat beside him on the beanbag, and he wrapped his arms around me as the two of us nestled into it.

“There has to be something we can do,” I said. “The students are being pushed too far. The infirmary is overrun daily by kids who fail the mandatory sim runs. Miss Heather and her harpies can barely keep up. If this insanity doesn’t stop, Dracul is going to break his toy soldiers before the vampires even get here.”

He nodded, running his free hand over the top of his head. “I wish the military didn’t have so much power. A nation can’t be effectively run by its military. It needs an actual governing body.”

“The last thing we need is a king,” I countered. “Dracul is descended from dragon royalty, and I’m pretty sure he already thinks he rules everything.”

“No, not a king,” Niko said. “We don’t need some royal family pulling all the strings. We need a council of some kind, made up of prominent members from every species. If we had that, they could put a stop to all this.”

Inspiration ignited in my chest. “Holy shit, Niko, you’re exactly right!”

He cocked his head at me curiously.

“None of the students here like what’s happening, and half of them are members of powerful families,” I explained, excitement spreading inside me like an inflating balloon. “We just need to reach out to the right people, convince them to form a council or whatever and take the power back.”

He pursed his lips as he considered it. “That’s a nice idea, but you gotta be real careful who you confide in right now. Eventalking about this kind of thing is treason, and most people would sooner turn us in than side with us just to save their scales.”

I frowned. He had a good point, and my dad had proven that me being his daughter actually counted for very little. And even if he did care as much as I wished, he wouldn’t be able to protect me if I was ratted out for attempting to overthrow his precious boss.

But not even that fear could suck the wind out of my sails. I needed to do something, needed to take action. The military was out of control, and no one else seemed to have the balls to work against them. If I could reach the right people in positions of power outside Dracul’s ranks, I could affect actual change.

“Oh no,” Niko said, giving me a wary look. “You’re actually considering this, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I’m done considering,” I said. “I’m absolutely doing this. Are you with me?”

“Ah fuck.” He shook his head, closing his eyes for a long moment, and my heart squeezed as I braced for a lecture or an outright rejection. Finally, he lifted his head and looked at me. “If you’re actually going to pursue this, of course I’m with you.”

“Yes!” I whisper-shouted, throwing my arms around his neck.

“But we absolutely cannot get caught,” he cautioned. “We can’t just go around petitioning every student. We’ll have to carefully vet every single potential candidate and make certain we can trust them before bringing them in.”

“Of course,” I said, my excitement balloon filled to the brim and ready to pop in my chest. “I actually have a few people in mind.”

“So do I,” Niko agreed.

“What about the teachers?” I suggested. “I know for a fact thatthere are some who don’t like the new leadership or curriculum. Like Celeste, for example. She controls the finances for both the school and the military. If we could get her on our side, we’d have a major ally. She could be the mer representative.”

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