Chapter 26 Caesar

Static electricity sizzled across my wingspan as I called upon the crackling thunder high above. I leapt at the nearest vampire, my beak tearing through its neck as another was struck by a targeted bolt of lightning. The unfortunate vampire was thrown fifty feet through the air and into the Missouri River, skipping several times like a stone before submerging.

Torrents of rain pattered down, and I caused a mist to form, hoping it would decrease the visibility of my seemingly countless enemies.

A heavy weight slammed onto my back, and I angled my head swiftly, my razor-sharp beak grabbing the head of the vampire who'd jumped onto me. With the strength of my muscles surging in my neck, I pulled, separating my attacker's head from his body in a matter of milliseconds.

The body slid off my back like the pouring rain, and I cast the head aside, launching myself into the air with my powerful wings. I had to get a better vantage point. It was this part of the simulation where Hadrian made his entrance—when he went for my parents.

Years ago, I had asked Kai to create a simulation of the attack on Framboise Island. It pained me to relive the experience in such a real way, but it also gave me the opportunity to change the outcome. On top of it all, there was a certain satisfaction that came from killing Hadrian.

Diving with a fierce shriek, I stretched my talons out at the distracted vampire leader. Rage filled my soul as my claws went for Hadrian's shoulders. I opened my beak to kill the murderous vampire before he could get to my family again.

But before I could taste the victory of the win—something I'd done time and time again since the simulation's creation—Hadrian disappeared, and the simulation room went white.

I tucked in my wings as I crashed hard to the floor, rolling over and over, the air taken out of my lungs. I came to a stop, dazed and in pain. Who had pulled the plug?

The sound of several marching footsteps approached, and I began shifting back to my human form. As my body popped and cracked, shrinking in the process, I was relieved to feel no breaks in my bones.

Flat on my back and in nothing but my smart shorts—in case any nosey young students came to watch—I propped myself up to see who had entered.

"Arthur!" I growled, pushing myself up. "You stopped my simulation."

Lord Dracul was accompanied by Nikolai Candida, both in their standard military uniforms. Igneaus Summers was also among them, as well as four other shifters from the military. Behind them all, I saw Celeste. Her face was pale and filled with dread.

What the hell is going on?

I darted my narrowed gaze back to the general.

"Caesar," Arthur said with an acknowledging nod. "I'll have you know that I did not terminate your program. Your access to the simulation room has been removed."

My brows scrunched as I got to my feet and flexed my sore arms. "Excuse me?"

Arthur gave me a hard look. Unnamed emotion boiled behind his eyes, just barely suppressed.

He set his jaw. "As of this morning, you are dismissed from your position as director of the Dome."

Dismissed? Nobody had the authority to dismiss a director.

For a moment, my mind flashed back to the director of The Island—the only school director I had ever known—Zabrina Slegr. She was a brilliant leader and a quick thinker. The mao had helped hundreds of students during her time as director. But she'd never been removed from that leadership—not until a vampire murdered her. I'd witnessed the cruel death as it happened. Had I arrived at her quarters just moments before, I could have saved her.

But this was different. A shifter had come to toss me out. I would've preferred a vampire.

I laughed humorlessly as I took in the surrounding soldiers giving me distasteful looks. "Is this some kind of joke?"

Arthur's eyes widened. "A joke? Oh, I'm quite serious, Mr. Rex. It has become very apparent that you are unfit to lead this school."

My eyes flitted to Celeste, and I gave her a questioning glance. She cast her gaze to the white floor of the sim room. Did she have a part in this? I didn't want to believe she did, but why else had she come? And why couldn't she meet my eyes?

What was this madness? A bombardment of questions assailed my mind. I knew the general was a determined man, but I hadn't anticipated a coup of this magnitude.

I straightened my back and held my head high. "Is this about Arya?"

At this, Arthur let loose a hearty laugh. "Every time I come here, that's your assumption, isn't it?" His humored expression dropped. "I have come this time because of your betrayal to the school and to the shifter community."

The general's words were icy cold, chilling me to my core. Betrayal? How could he accuse me of such a thing?

"Since the loss of the last school, as well as my parents, I have dedicated my entire life to the Dome. Everything I have done, and everything I will continue to do, is for the shifters who live here."

Arthur snorted. "Does that include cavorting with vampires?"

I froze, my blood crystalizing inside my veins. He knew about Julian, or at least he thought he did. How was I going to explain this?

"Your silence is a testament to your guilt," Arthur said. "Do you not deny this accusation?"

I sighed. It was best to come clean and hope they would understand. "I have had dealings with one vampire who is a defector of Hadrian's army. His name is Julian Asher."

Arthur narrowed his eyes to slits. "Do you think labeling any vampire as a defector makes your crime any less heinous?"

"Believe me when I say that I understand that mentality all too well," I said. "But this particular vampire saved my life years ago. He's on our side."

"Then why have you not brought this individual up before?" the general hissed.

"Because you would have thrown me out!" I shouted, feeling the heat of righteousness returning to my heart. "Just like you're doing now. Julian has been instrumental in the protection of this school and—"

"No more lies, Caesar," Arthur barked. "We have video footage of several meetings you've set up with this vampire, as well as logged phone calls and text messages. Even Lady Celeste spotted you meeting with him recently in a restaurant in Chicago."

The violation of my privacy was a visceral sting, but the deepest blow of all was the mention of Celeste. I gave her a sorrowful look, struggling to breathe against the claws of betrayal that cloyed inside my chest.

She must have seen us together the time we'd met up right before Christmas. Why hadn't she come to me first about Julian? Hadn't we been friends long enough? Hadn't I earned some measure of her trust over the last seven years?

"If you've been listening in on my conversations with Julian," I growled, "then you'll know he's on our side and that he's been our eyes and ears in the heart of Hadrian's fortress."

The general snorted. "You've been played, Caesar! Never in this world has there been a good vampire, and there never will be. It's been proven by over a millennium of war between our peoples. This Julian... He's got you right where he wants you—right where Hadrian wants you." Arthur shook his head. "Since I've known you, I've taken you for a reasonably intelligent man. How wrong I was."

Lord Dracul's words pushed me over the edge, and the rage that erupted within me caused my gryphon to burst forth. Brown feathers sprouted along my skin like flames on wood as I grew in size. My hands and feet molded into dark talons, and the muscles in my body flexed with familiarity. Through my newly-formed beak, I released a shrill cry, a voice of challenge to Arthur.

At the same time, the five soldiers—including Igneaus Summers—shifted as well. Their uniforms were smart clothing, expensively made but imperative for military use.

However, Arthur and his assistant, Nikolai, remained in human form. Terror was stark across the Candida boy's face. It was apparent he didn't want to be in this situation. Celeste stood back, the sadness on her face deepening even more.

While my intelligence had been insulted, I wasn't stupid enough to take on a phoenix, a naga, and three weres—all military-trained. I couldn't fight my way out of this, and clearly no amount of evidence would sway their preconceived notions. I was fucked.

Slumping my wings in surrender, I shifted back into my human form.

"Smart move," Arthur said, holding a fist in the air. I assumed it was meant as a command for the other shifters—they didn't shift back to their human forms, just kept wary eyes on me. "Thank you for complying, Mr. Rex."

I hung my head in defeat. "So what happens next?"

"Well, now that you've been relieved of your duties, you are free to move on to wherever your heart desires— away from the Dome." I could hear the smug smile on Arthur's face, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of looking at him. "You are no longer welcome on school grounds. And if you are caught attempting to return, you'll find yourself under military imprisonment. Do I make myself clear?"

I clenched my jaw against the storm of emotions that raged inside me. Fury, indignation, sorrow, hopelessness… Backing down wasn't in my nature, but I was outmatched and outwitted. Compliance was my only option—at least, for now.

"May I ask who my replacement is?" I sent Celeste a hopeful look, as she was easily the best candidate for the job.

A slight smirk—barely detectable—inched its way onto the general's face. "Myself, of course. The Dome is now officially a militarized school. All teaching will be supervised by higher-ranking officers, and proper combat training will be taught to each student."

My rage flared again. "You're turning this place into a military school?"

"The future of the shifter world relies on the strength of the military. Why would we teach our students any other way?"

My mind raced. I had always known the school needed to have classes based around combat—I'd ensured it was an integral part of every student's education. They had to know how to protect themselves from the vampire threat. But an advanced focus on military training? That had never been the plan. Our students— my students—deserved more than that.

I squared my shoulders, standing to my full height with pride. "I will go peacefully. But heed my advice, Arthur: you can't force loyalty. You can try to beat obedience into these kids, but fear is not the same as respect, and one day, you will lose both. Just ask your son."

A spark of fury lit fire in the general's amber eyes, darkened only by the slightest shadow of doubt and insecurity, and I knew I had hit the nerve I'd been aiming for. It was the only crumb of satisfaction I would take with me in my defeat.

"May I speak, General?" Celeste said, her soprano voice pinging off the white walls before the general could lose his temper.

Arthur turned toward the head mermaid—the person I had come to love and trust as a sister as we made her vision of the Dome a reality—and nodded.

Celeste took several graceful steps forward. "Though it pains me to see you leave, Caesar, it is alarming you've had any vampire dealings at all. I know your past. Nevertheless, I can't let you leave the school without help. No matter what has happened, you have done a lot for the lives of hundreds of shifters. They will be forever indebted to you. Therefore, I have opened an account for you and have supplied you with funds to help you get started on whatever life you decide to lead now."

I wanted to spill everything to her right then and there. Of all the people I knew, she would be the only one who could understand what I was doing with Julian—minus the romantic element.

But it was too late. Arthur had seen to that. Clearly, our years of working together had meant less to her than it had to me.

"A parting gift I didn't agree with," Lord Dracul added with irritation. "But Lady Celeste does make an excellent point. You have done well over the years." He narrowed his eyes. "But even the best fruit can turn to rot."

I forced myself to bridle my bubbling anger. Arthur's abrasiveness was relentless.

"You may return to your office," the general sighed, waving a hand over his shoulder that signaled his soldiers to shift back. "You have the rest of the afternoon to pack your belongings and say your goodbyes."

I met his dismissive glare with all the challenge I couldn't show otherwise and gave him a firm nod.

Arthur moved closer until he stood nose-to-nose with me and whispered, "You should have handed over Arya when I first asked."

A snarl rose in my throat, and though I knew he was baiting me, I couldn't just walk away.

"So that's it," I said loud enough for everyone in the simulation room to hear. "All of this because of the siren?"

Lord Dracul kept his maddening smirk as he moved away from me. "Lieutenant General Summers?"

I watched with disappointment as Igneaus stepped forward. I considered him a friend—I had been the one to give the man his teaching job at the Dome when he first found out his daughter was a shifter.

"You and the others will escort Mr. Rex back to his quarters and remain with him until he is prepared to depart," Arthur continued. "Keep your sharp eye on him, will you?"

Igneaus saluted, and no pained expression formed on his freckled face. "It will be done, General."

Arthur swept his hand forward as if he were dusting a dirty spot on a table. "Then escort away. The sooner he's gone, the sooner we can improve the school."

Again, Igneaus saluted, as did the other soldiers. "Come along, Caesar. Let's get this over with."

I had no choice. For all the talk of betrayal, the irony was not lost on me that I had been betrayed the deepest of all. So much for loyalty.