Page 81 of Deadly Alliances

I pushed my way through the melee—which wasn’t easy to do with vampires, and I was sure I ended up with quite a few bruises.

She was dressed in a beautiful green silk gown that took meoff guard for a few seconds—I’d never seen her in anything so elegant, so formal, and she looked truly stunning.

“Shea,” I called when I reached her.

She turned around, her blank expression lighting with a small smile when she saw me. “Hey.”

The sadness that darkened her usually bright green eyes struck me with concern. What had she been through in these last few hours? Did someone hurt her?

“I need to talk to you,” I said in a lowered tone.

She nodded, and together the two of us weaved through the throng of festive vampires back toward the lobby. The space was empty and eerily quiet, but that meant little when surrounded by creatures with lightning speed and supernatural senses. I looked around in search of somewhere more private.

“Down here.” Shea tipped her head toward the stairs and took my hand, tugging me in that direction.

Apprehension sizzled inside me at descending these steps again after what I’d just witnessed, but she stopped on the first landing and towed me through a swinging door. The bright fluorescent lights overhead had my eyes straining for a few seconds, but upon recovering I saw we were in a communal bathroom. Shea bolted the lock on the door before gesturing for me to follow her further in.

She leaned against the corner of the farthest wall. “There, we should be safe here.” Her voice sounded so somber, her usual spunk absent.

“Are you okay?” I asked, folding my arms and leaning my shoulder against the wall in front of her.

She stared blankly forward. “I just made the most powerfulvampire in the world even more powerful, and I’m officially the snack for a succu-bitch. But other than that, yeah, I’m great.”

I frowned, pouting out my bottom lip, though it was slightly comforting to hear her sarcasm alive and well. “Who were you assigned to?”

Her eyes lifted to mine, hatred sparking inside them and making them practically glow beneath the fluorescents. “Marguerite.” She said the name like it left a foul taste in her mouth, the sides of her nose twitching in disgust.

I had only met the vampire in question in passing a handful of times, but I knew nothing about her character outside of the haughty way she carried herself. But so did most of the vampires. What could she have done to Shea to ignite such hatred in such a short time? The question made me angry and defensive on Shea’s behalf.

“Did she hurt you?” I asked, a grisly growl rumbling low in my throat.

Shea cast her gaze toward the stone floor. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

My frown deepened, contorting into a scowl. But I shook it off, smoothing my features with my inner determination. “Well, how are we going to get out?”

Surprise and hope flared as she flicked her gaze to mine. “We?”

“I’m going with you,” I said, cutting her a look of solidarity.

Her entire body seemed to brighten at that, her lips spreading into a hopeful grin. “What changed your mind?”

Tobias’s screams echoed in my mind, chilling me with despair and desperation. “I was down in the dungeons, checking on Tobias, and Hadrian showed up. I don’t think he caught me, butI… I had to listen the whole time as he tortured him.”

Shea cringed, jerking as if she could hear the screams that haunted me.

“We need to leave before Hadrian decides he’s done with Tobias.”

She nodded. “And Julian,” she whispered sadly.

I cocked my head at her. “Julian?”

Her forehead crinkled in a way that made her look so vulnerable. “He’s the other reason I came here. He’s a vampire that was working for the shifters. Hadrian found out and imprisoned him. It’s a long story—one we don’t have time for right now—but I’m not leaving here without him.”

The deep conviction in her voice told me a lot more than her words did. Whoever this vampire was, she cared more for him than she did herself. Weren’t she and Caesar a thing?

The memory of our girls day out flashed in my mind. The two men she got texts from. Caesar was Professor Douche. Julian was the other one. There was apparently a whole lot she and I needed to catch up on, but that would have to wait until we got out of here.

“Okay, we’ll make it work,” I said with a nod of acceptance. “So that makes four people we have to somehow get out of here.”

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