Page 31 of Deadly Alliances

His little forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Don’t tell anyone that, either.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He looked back toward the horizon, the cherry pinks and soft peaches chasing the last of the evening from the sky. “I think I’d miss sunrises most of all. Do you think Father misses the sun?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I couldn’t begin to imagine what actually went on in that man’s mind, and questions like this had me morbidly fascinated with wanting to know.

“Arya?”

“Yes, Alex?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

My heart squeezed and my eyes stung with emotion. “Me too.” And I actually meant it.

It was strange. With my harpy wings, I could leave right now, but I didn’t feel the same desperation anymore. I missed my friends, but the Dome had never really been home to me. To be honest, I never really had a home. Mom moved us around so much that I never really got to settle anywhere.

Alex needed me, and this place was growing on me. This wascertainly better than being the general’s attack dog, starved and abused and manipulated. Maybe I really was right where I was supposed to be.

I fingered the turquoise necklace, feeling oddly grateful for this peaceful moment.

***

Alex and I spent most of the day exploring the citadel. I half-heartedly looked for other escape routes, but I wasn’t too disappointed when I didn’t find any.

The guards caught back up with us but didn’t say anything about our excursion. I had a feeling they wouldn’t be the first to admit their mistake, and since I was still here, no harm, no foul. At least I knew what to do if I ever decided I wanted to leave.

When we made it to the lobby and I spotted Kendall slipping down the stairs to the Initiate quarters, I knew I needed to go further. If I was really going to consider embracing this life, then I needed answers, and despite the tension between us, I felt Kendall was my best bet at finding the truth.

“Alex, I think I want to head downstairs for a bit.”

He crinkled his nose. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I know Hadrian doesn’t let you go down there. Do you mind if I leave you alone for a bit?”

He brought a finger to his chin and hummed. “I suppose. As long as you’re back in time for dinner.”

“Six o’clock, right?”

He nodded.

That left nearly two hours. It should be enough. “I’ll be there.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” I said and was rewarded with another beautiful smile.

Quick as lightning, Alex wrapped his arms around my waist, then dashed off to whatever play he had in mind.

I stared after him for a moment. The boy seemed so starved for affection. Had I been like that when I was his age? I didn’t think so. Even though our respective upbringings were similarly strict, I never felt deprived. I had always known Mom loved me, and she was always there.

I wondered if Alex felt like Hadrian loved him. I’d seen the two of them together, and Hadrian was affectionate toward him—a side of the vampire leader that I never expected to see. Was Hadrian actually capable of love? And if so, did that make him less of a monster than what I’d been made to believe?

I shook off the thought, not quite willing to go down that rabbit hole.

Gathering my courage, I headed downstairs to the Initiate quarters. My guards hesitated, looking at each other with questions in their eyes as if wondering what kind of trouble they’d be in for letting me wander through. But there was no way to escape beyond the main level from what I could tell, and Hadrian hadn’t forbidden me to enter the Initiate quarters. After all, what harm could letting me mingle with humans do—humans who were just as loyal to Hadrian as the vampires were?

Ultimately, they must have come to the same conclusion because they didn’t stop me, only trailed me like a pair of pale shadows.

---