Chapter 34

Arya

As we waited for the check to arrive, my legs bounced under the table. I was eager to get back to the Dome—and not just because of the new curfew.

I had really wanted to give friendship with Tobias a shot, but it was incredibly difficult with how charming he'd been all night. Even seeing his vulnerable side, imagining him putting himself out there as a young boy only to bomb epicly. That was crazy endearing.

He did have a great singing voice, though. And seriously, why did he have to look so damn good in that snug black shirt and jeans that flaunted—Nope, not looking there!

It definitely didn't help that Ashlyn and Niko were radiating sexual tension like a contagious disease.

If I didn't create some distance between Tobias and me soon, I knew I'd fall right back into his dicksand, and who knew how long it would take me to get out again?

Finally, the check arrived and the guys stuffed bills into the booklet, freeing up the four of us to leave.

When we stepped out onto the sidewalk, the sun's sherbet orange glow barely clung to the edges of the scattered clouds above.

"We'd better get moving," Tobias said, looking up. "It's almost curfew. We don't need anyone getting into any more trouble."

We all hustled to the nearest subway station to hop the trains to the secret platform.

"Closed for maintenance?" Ashlyn complained when we stopped in front of the closed-off entrance.

"Ugh, we don't have time for this," Tobias grumbled.

"Too bad it's not darker out, or the three of you could just fly back," I mused, flashing Tobias a teasing grin.

"Or we could all just jump into Lake Michigan and you could swim us back," he quipped, making me grin even wider.

"Yeah, I'd prefer not to do either of those things," Niko interjected.

Tobias chuckled. "Alright, we'll just have to call an Uber and have them take us right to the platform."

"On it." Niko pulled out his phone and started tapping.

In less than five minutes, a blue sedan pulled up and we got in. It looked like we were going to make it, and with time to spare. There was no official time we had to be back, but I figured as long as there was some light in the sky, we were safe. Although, I wished we weren't cutting it so close.

After idling in the same place for several minutes on the Clark Street Bridge, it was clear that something was wrong.

"Any idea what's going on up there?" Ashlyn leaned forward in the back seat to get closer to the driver, who looked like he moonlighted as a café barista.

"How should I know?" he replied, seeming more irritated by the traffic than we were. "Probably an accident. Stupid drivers."

I sighed. "We're so close to the station. The timing couldn't get any worse.."

Tobias looked out the window at the darkening sky. Then he looked at us. "We'll just have to get out and run on foot. It's only a few blocks. If we take some of the backstreets, I think we can make it at least inside the platform before curfew, which'll hopefully be good enough."

We scrambled out of the backseat and filed through the motionless vehicles to the walkway on the outer edge, where we made a run for it.

The farther we ran, the darker it got. The street lights turned on, competing with the already-glaring Christmas string lights on every storefront. It soon became obvious that we weren't going to make it anywhere by sundown.

Urgency and dread filled my stomach, pushing my sprinting legs even faster. I didn't need any more heat coming down on me right now. I didn't know what Caesar would do to me for breaking curfew. He might place me on house arrest—or go the other direction and kick me out.

Of course, I knew that was ridiculous, but the thought of leaving the only place I could call home flushed hot panic through my veins, causing my feet to stumble.

Luckily, Tobias was right beside me, and with quick reflexes, he caught my upper arm before I could fall. But he didn't let go as we continued to run. He moved his hand to my forearm, his way of tugging me after him as he pushed ahead. He was running like his life depended on it, and I realized he was doing it for me. That realization warmed my chest, easing my anxiety ever so slightly.

As we rounded a corner to cut through an alley, Tobias slowed his pace. His tightened grip set off alarms in my head.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Look at the ground," he said.

I looked down at the cracked pavement of the alley on which we ran, but I didn't see anything amiss. I turned back to him and shook my head in a silent question.

"There's a street light right at the start of the alley," Tobias said. "And we aren't casting any shadows."

I looked briefly over my shoulder at the yellow light hanging on the corner, then back to the alley in front of us. Tobias was right. None of us had even the slightest shadow.

I frowned. "Huh, that's weird."

"No," Niko said, his voice grim. "It's vampires."

Vampires? What do shadows have to do with vampires?

Behind us, the sound of smashing glass punctured the air, and the whole alley fell into darkness.

"Very astute, my boy," said a smooth male voice, sounding as though it was coming from the darkness itself.

The four of us stopped running and instinctively pulled tightly together, angling our backs toward each other.

"Someone give him a gold star," the voice said, and a figure emerged from the darkness at the other end of the alley.

His skin was pale white and smooth as marble, heavily contrasted by his tailored black suit, manicured black hair, and short goatee. His ice-blue eyes locked onto mine, ensnaring me. That entrancing gaze almost made me blind to the handful of other pale, inhumanly gorgeous creatures that slowly appeared behind him as the darkness seemed to roll back like fog.

I knew without question that the man who stared at me like a hungry lion at a wounded gazelle and the pretty people who now surrounded us were vampires.

I'd known they existed. I knew that they killed my mom and attacked Letti and had taken millions of lives throughout history. But having a distant concept of them and actually seeing them standing a few feet in front of me? Those were two very different things. Even facing the vampire in the sim, it wasn't real. This was.

Terror pulsed through me, rooting my feet to the spot.

But not terror for myself. Tobias and Ashlyn were two of the only people I had in the whole world, and the thought of losing them to vampires, like I'd lost Mom, was soul-wrenching. I kept trying to put myself in front of them, but Tobias's large hands and feet kept pushing me back.

"Hello, Arya," the black-haired vampire said, taking a step toward us. He was clearly the leader. "At last we meet."

What does he mean? How does he know my name?

"Who are you?" was all my shaky voice was able to say.

He smiled, looking horrifyingly beautiful. "I am Hadrian, the ultimate Denholm Heir and Vampire Unifier. I have been looking for you for a very, very long time, my lost little mermaid."

Hadrian?

I knew that name. He was the most feared vampire in the shifter world. But why had he been looking for me?

Tobias pushed ahead of me, edging me behind him. "What do you want with her?"

Hadrian turned his icy gaze to Tobias, scanning him up and down. "Stance of royalty, air of self-righteousness, stench of smoke. You must be the latest Dracul progeny. You look just like your father."

"Answer the question," Tobias demanded.

Hadrian laughed, and his vampire subjects encircling us chorused in laughter as well.

"You don't get to order me around, boy. I give the orders." His lips curled wickedly. "Fetch her," he said, tipping his head toward me.

Panic flared in my chest as one of the male vampires behind Hadrian dove toward us in a blur of speed.

"No!" Tobias shouted, then hurled a ball of fire at our attacker.

The vampire dodged the fireball and tackled Tobias, and I only just managed to get out of their way. The vampire thrust Tobias up against the brick wall of the back of the strip mall that lined the alley.

Tobias bared his teeth and began to shift. Ash gray scales popped up on his arms and traveled the length of his neck as his body expanded, stretching his t-shirt and jeans until they ripped. His hands turned into claws, and wings sprouted from his back and spread, pushing him away from the wall. The vampire now looked like a small child up against Tobias's dragon form.

The transformation ignited a free-for-all. Hadrian's other vampires closed in on us, their eyes aimed at me.

Niko shifted into his dark-red-scaled dragon form, and he and Tobias clawed and bit and spat fire at the vampires, fighting off three or more at a time. Ashlyn put those martial arts moves she'd been honing in defense class into action, fighting off any vampire that managed to get through Tobias and Niko.

And all I could do was squirm and flinch, standing there with frightened doe eyes and arms hugged against myself. I'd never felt more useless in my life. My friends were fighting for their lives, and I couldn't do anything to help them.

Watching Ashlyn in action, I now saw how pitiful my fighting prowess was. I had trained for hours in the gym, practicing techniques on dummies and punching bags, but I was no match for these blood-thirsty creatures, and that knowledge paralyzed me. I felt like I was back in the simulation, powerless against the vampire who stalked me. But this time, there were more of them, and they were real.

A female vampire flipped over Tobias and Niko like an acrobat, landing right in front of me. She grabbed my arm and, flaring her brows, said, "Gotcha!"

"Oh, no, you don't!" Ashlyn yelled, and a blast of fire flashed on the vampire's back.

The vampire shrieked and spun on Ashlyn, wrapping her in an embrace from behind and sinking her teeth into Ashlyn's neck faster than Ashlyn could retaliate. Ashlyn screamed.

A switch inside me suddenly flipped, protective rage stamping out my fear and doubt. No way in hell was I going to let anyone hurt my friend!

I hurled myself at the vampire woman, wrenching those stony arms away from Ashlyn with a strength I didn't even know I had. The vampire was so surprised by my ability to bend her arms like they were noodles that she retracted her fangs from Ashlyn's neck and gasped.

"Leave my friend alone." The command that left my mouth was not my normal voice. The sound was deep and resonating, almost song-like, just like that moment in the simulation.

And just like before, the vampire froze, a sort of fog glazing over her eyes. Ashlyn didn't miss her opportunity, wriggling out of the vampire's clutches.

"Well, now, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Hadrian said, standing in the same spot as before, watching all this with amusement like a spectator at a sporting event. "I never dreamed you'd be a siren, too. You are proving to be well worth the wait."

"A siren?" Ashlyn and I parroted.

Dragon-Tobias roared in pain, and the vampire that had slashed at his abdomen zoomed at me and swooped his arm around my waist. White hot fear shot through me, and all the strength I'd had a second ago vanished. My captor leapt to the wall, quickly climbing upward like a spider monkey from hell.

"Ashlyn!" I yelled, stretching my hand toward her. Ashlyn jumped, but our fingertips barely grazed.

I was being taken too far, too fast.

No matter how hard I slammed my fist against the vampire's back or struggled against his hold, I couldn't escape. And even if I could get out, I'd plummet dozens of feet to the alley floor. I was trapped.

It was over.

They had me .