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  Not quite comfortable about discussing my choices with everyone there, I changed the subject. “I didn’t call you here to discuss Sofia. We need to put a stop to this ridiculous lockout. Gavin and Ian, you were working with Sofia as the human leaders of this place. What are your thoughts on this matter?”

  Both men exchanged glances and Gavin was about to speak his mind when Xavier showed up. “The lovely Natalie Borgia comes with a message.” From behind him, Natalie emerged and stepped into the room.

  I immediately stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re alright. I was certain that…”

  Her eyes widened warning me not to say anymore, reminding me the trouble she would get into should anyone discover what she had done for me.

  Thus, I restrained my urge to give her one big, grateful hug and nodded cordially at her. “Your message?”

  She eyed all the people present at the room. “This message contains sensitive information threatening the security of this island. You sure you want everyone here to hear it?”

  “They’ll find out eventually,” I assured her, steeling myself for the worst.

  “The leaders of the other vampire covens want to meet with you,” she announced.

  It’s a trap. Natalie wasn’t her usual warm and inviting self when she was around me. Even as a diplomat, she always had this casual way about her when it was me she was talking to. This time, however, she was stiff and guarded. I knew then that no matter what history I had with her, I couldn’t ever fully trust her. “If I don’t go?”

  “Why wouldn’t you…” Xavier began to butt in.

  I raised a hand midair to make him stop talking. I gave him a look to let him know that he was going to get his answers eventually. Right now, he had to shut up. He knew me well enough to figure out what I was trying to communicate to him.

  “If you don’t go.” Natalie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “They’re going to attack The Shade.”

  “And if I go, they’re going to capture me and most likely kill me, right?”

  Her eyes softened for a moment, looking at me as if she was about to lose a dear old friend, but she quickly gained composure and maintained her diplomatic air. “I guess you have a decision to make, Derek.”

  I couldn’t find a reason for me to go. I didn’t even have the slightest clue how the other vampires even intended to orchestrate an attack on the island without being detected by the outside world.

  “Tell them I need time to think about it. I’ll let you know once I’ve made my decision.”

  Natalie handed me a sealed envelope. “The details of the meeting are in there.” She gave me a long look—a warning—practically a plea to keep me from going.

  “Thank you, Natalie.” I tried to smile as I took the envelope. “For everything.”

  As if the world weren’t already crashing on me all at the same time, Cameron showed up—a grave look on the Scot’s freckled face.

  “Cameron? What’s wrong? Natalie was just about to leave the island.”

  “She can’t,” he said.

  “What do you mean I can’t?” Natalie frowned.

  “Gregor and Felix just attacked the port. They have control of it,” Cameron announced. “I think they know that Natalie is here. They’re making it look like you’ve taken her hostage.”

  I swallowed hard, knowing the implications of being accused of harming—in any way—a rogue vampire as important as Natalie. I eyed her anxiously, wondering if she had had any idea that this was coming. She seemed genuinely surprised.

  “We need to take back control of the port,” Xavier mumbled.

  The words had barely just escaped his lips when a loud, piercing scream echoed through the cavernous walls of The Catacombs.

  Gavin, Ian and Kyle ran out of Sofia’s quarters—located at the topmost levels of the many layers of The Catacombs and within minutes, only Gavin returned, announcing, “A riot. They’re killing one another out there.”

  It was my first night back at The Shade and I could think of nothing more appealing than to kill myself right then and there.

  Adding fuel to the fire of my despair, Natalie stated the obvious, “Looks like you’re kingdom’s falling apart, King Derek.”

  Chapter 20: Aiden

  I held Ingrid’s hand in mine as we walked toward the garden where we had our now regular midnight rendezvous—the same garden Sofia had discovered and tried to escape from. I was silent until we reached the garden, lost in my thoughts, relieved that Ingrid wasn’t trying to make conversation.

  I knew the risk I was putting myself in by being in a relationship with her. I knew that the higher-ranking officials of the hunters had their eyes on me. The pressure I’d been getting for losing Derek Novak and for keeping vampires alive at headquarters was intense, but I couldn’t do what they wanted me to do. I couldn’t kill Claudia out of honor for Ben. I couldn’t kill Ingrid because the thought of my daughter suffering another death was beyond what I could handle. Stop lying to yourself, Aiden. Ingrid is still alive because you can’t stand the idea of losing your wife.

  I let go of her hand, fully aware of how tightly I was clinging to our past. The nights I’d spent with Ingrid had been pure ecstasy—Ingrid was a passionate lover in bed in a way that Camilla never was.

  That night, however, I had to shove away any wanton thoughts of having her in my arms and focus on the questions and doubts weighing in my mind. The moment we reached the garden, Ingrid motioned to kiss me, but I quickly pushed her away. I stepped back, keeping a safe distance between her and me, so we could have a conversation.

  “How did Sofia know how to get to the garden?” I asked Ingrid.

  Her shoulders sagged and she heaved a sigh. “She wanted to escape, Aiden. She asked me for help, so I helped her. My conscience couldn’t stand it though. It felt like I was betraying you, so I had to tell you…”

  If she was putting on an act of a conscience-ridden woman, she was good at it. I couldn’t help but still draw a breath at the sight of her. She will always be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

  I clenched my fists, my recent conversation with Sofia still stuck in my mind. “She’s talking crazy. Sofia.”

  That statement seemed to spark delight in Ingrid’s eyes, but she quickly covered that up. “Why do you say that?”

  “She’s talking about being immune to vampirism. She’s talking about a cure to the curse.” I looked at Ingrid, not missing how ironic it was that I was discussing this with a vampire. I’m such a hypocrite. I’m condemning my daughter for loving a vampire, when I myself am in love with one. I gave Ingrid a lingering look, hoping that she couldn’t see the disgust in my eyes when I thought: it’s your curse too. How on earth could I allow myself to still love you?

  Conflicted was a word that did little justice to the war raging within me ever since Ingrid and I first slept together.

  “Sofia and her delusions…” Ingrid said, sounding melancholic, almost as if she felt sorry for Sofia. “She actually thinks that because she’s immune, there’s some sort of cure that will make a lifetime of bliss possible for her and her beloved. Delusional darling...”

  “Immune? She is immune?”

  “Yes.” Ingrid stared straight at me before quickly reminding me why I should be revolted by her very being. “Borys tried to turn her the night I gave her to him. She didn’t turn. She’s immune to the curse, if we could even call it that.”

  I stood there, unable to wrap my mind around the idea that she could speak so nonchalantly about offering her nine-year-old daughter to a century-old vampire and allowing him to try and turn her. How many times must I be reminded that she is not my Camilla?

  “Don’t look at me like some monster, Aiden.” She shook her head. “It’s not like you didn’t know that I wanted Sofia to end up with Borys all those times we made love. Does it really make a difference now?” She drew close to me, pressing her body against mine.

  This time, however, I found m
yself repelled by her. I pushed her away. “This ends now, Ingrid. No matter what we’d been doing these past days, my loyalty remains with our daughter. You were right all along. You lost me to Sofia, and make no mistake about it… If she ever asks it of me, I wouldn’t think twice about killing you.”

  Fury unlike anything I’d ever seen before sparked in her eyes as she bared her fangs, poised to attack me, not quite remembering that I was a formidable hunter and compared to other vampires I’d fought before, a decade-old vampire like her was no match for me. As she was about to sink her teeth into my neck, I grabbed her head with both my hands and used all my strength to twist her head and snap her neck in two.

  Quickest way to maim a vampire. I thought as she dropped to the ground. She was still alive, but once I instructed someone to snap her neck back into place, she would realize that she had just lost all leverage she had gained from my renewal of love for her—or perhaps lust.

  She was going to wake up in a dungeon, her fangs ripped from her mouth, regretting the day she had ever tried to harm my daughter.

  Chapter 21: Sofia

  Since my confrontation with him, Aiden kept me locked in my bedroom. The only person coming and going was Zinnia, and she usually came only to bring me food or take the dirty dishes away. During this time, she would barely speak to me or even look at me.

  “How long is he going to keep me here?” I asked once after she had brought me breakfast on a tray. It was the morning of the second day after my botched escape attempt.

  She glared at me. “Until you die, I hope. Ben gave up his life in order to get you safely back here, and this is how you repay him? By bolting the first chance you get so you could go back to that vampire boyfriend of yours?”

  “You don’t know Ben as well as I did, Zinnia. You weren’t there with him at The Oasis. He didn’t risk his life to get me back here. He gave it up so I could be happy, so I could be with Derek.” I was choking up with tears at the memory of my best friend.

  “Ben was loyal to the cause of the hunters. He never would’ve wanted you to end up with Derek.”

  “Really? Is that why he chose to stay with me at The Shade instead of returning here? Is that why he agreed to give me away on my wedding day, with Derek as my groom?”

  Her eyes widened. “You married Derek Novak? Your father knows this?”

  I shook my head. “I am engaged to Derek. I was abducted and taken to The Oasis before we could actually get married.”

  Zinnia narrowed her eyes at me, the disgust and criticism in her voice unmistakable when she said, “What is wrong with you?”

  “I don’t need to explain myself to you. I want to see my father.”

  “He doesn’t need to explain himself to you either. You may be Reuben’s daughter, but you’re nothing like him.”

  Thank heavens for that. I grimaced. I never could quite get used to what they called my father at hunter headquarters. Reuben. I wondered what kind of a life my father had lived even before my mother went crazy and became a vampire. Aiden and Reuben—two sides of a coin, my father’s double life—both sides of him a complete mystery to me.

  Zinnia left me with one final glare. I didn’t expect Aiden to arrive at all, knowing that Zinnia most likely wouldn’t deliver my message to him, but later that afternoon, he stepped into the bedroom, looking rather uncomfortable.

  “So Zinnia did send you my message after all…”

  “You sent me a message through Zinnia? She didn’t tell me anything… I just arrived from a business trip abroad. Has she been taking care of you?”

  I was taken aback by the idea that he came to me out of his own volition. “Yeah. She’s been feeding me regularly, if that’s what you mean by taking care of me.”

  “So what was your message?”

  “I told her to let you know that I wanted to have a word with you.”

  “Well, what do you want to talk about?”

  “You have to realize that I will jump at any chance I get to find Derek. You locking me up here and keeping me from doing that only makes me want to do it more. That’s like Raising Teenagers 101.”

  “You’re eighteen, Sofia. Technically, you’re already considered an adult.”

  “So treat me like one. Let me make my own decisions and my own mistakes. This is my life, a life you chose not to be a part of for the past nine years. Now that I have my own mind and have been making my own decisions, you can’t just step in and call the shots.”

  One corner of his lips twitched as he nodded. “I understand what you’re saying, Sofia, but I’m doing what I believe is best for you, and in that, I cannot waver. I know the vampires far more than you do, and in good conscience as your father, I cannot allow you to throw your life away because of this infatuation you have toward this creature. It doesn’t matter how much you love him, Sofia. You can love a vampire and still find that your love doesn’t keep him from being a monster.”

  There was so much sadness in his voice, almost as if he was going through what he was saying himself. I wondered once again if this reaction of his had anything to do with Ingrid knowing how to get to that garden. Not quite sure if I wanted to clarify my musings, I crawled to the edge of the bed and sat over it. “Every day you keep me apart from him, you’re killing a part of me.”

  He eyed me and I could swear that he somehow understood what I was trying to get through his thick, stubborn hunter skull. “I can’t give you what you want, but I can give you something close.”

  He pushed the door wide open and I couldn’t help but gasp in horror when a young woman lurched into my room.

  I blinked my eyes several times to make sure that I wasn’t just seeing things, but sure enough, she was standing right there in front of me, a ghost from the past, someone I held close to heart.

  The Seer of The Shade herself. Vivienne Novak.

  Chapter 22: Derek

  A lockout that eventually morphed into a riot. A siege at the port. A kingdom on the brink of civil war while still facing an ongoing threat of an attack from outside forces.

  Fabulous. Just fabulous.

  After Natalie so wonderfully summed up the state of The Shade, I really had no idea what to do other than to walk away.

  “Where are you going?”

  I didn’t even know who among the people behind me asked the question. I didn’t care anymore. I knew that if I handled the situation head-on and tried to either quell the riot or retake the port, I wasn’t going to be able to do it without bloodshed. The darkness was close to ruining me and I was aware of it.

  “I am going to take a drive.”

  “There’s a riot and a siege going on, Derek.” Xavier stepped forward, attempting to be the voice of reason. “Is this really the time to improve your driving skills?”

  I pointed at Sam and Kyle. “You two work with Gavin and Ian to figure out how to quell this stupid riot.” I then pointed at Xavier and Cameron. “Call in all the vampires who are still with us. Those who want to remain neutral have that option. At least we’ll know who is really with us. Come up with a plan of action on what to do about the siege at the port.” I then cast a pleading look at the great witch herself. “Corrine, please escort Natalie to The Sanctuary and treat her as our esteemed guest while she is stuck here at The Shade.”

  “What about me?” Ashley pointed at herself.

  Of all the people present, she reminded me of Sofia the most and I knew that she was one who would never shy away from speaking her mind. “Would you like to go on a joyride with me?”

  A smile lit up the blonde’s beautiful face. “Yes! Let’s escape all this craziness.” She then looked Sam’s way as if to ask his permission. He let her go, more perhaps out of respect for me than trust for either one of us.

  “Derek, we need you to be a leader right now…” Cameron said desperately. “This is no time for…”

  “Let him go,” Corrine cut him off. “He needs to win the battle inside before he can the war with the outward forces.”

>   I gave her a grateful look. She understood what the separation from Sofia was doing to me and what I was up against.

  Of course, none of them dared to question the witch, knowing how the entire island’s security was on her shoulders. Corrine rarely imposed her opinions on us, but when she did, we dared not cross her.

  Ashley and I made our way to a wide open field west of the island where a red convertible was located. We used it for practice drives mostly or whenever we just wanted to feel the night air blowing against our faces. It usually was Sofia seated on the passenger’s seat beside me, screeching her lungs out because of my crazy driving, often reminding me that she wasn’t immortal and that she was likely going to get killed if I didn’t somehow fix my driving. I didn’t really care much about the driving as much as I enjoyed having her react the way she did.

  “You miss her, don’t you?” Ashley asked me after we settled into our seats.

  I gripped the steering wheel hard as if it would somehow help give me some semblance of control over everything going on around me.

  “I’ve had her blood, Ashley,” I admitted. I ignored her gasp and went on. “She made me drink it to heal me quicker after Borys tortured me. I didn’t want to, but… I crave her so much. I could barely think straight, because all I could really think about was how much I want another taste of her blood.”

  “I know Sofia…” Ashley spoke softly, carefully weighing her words. “She would most likely let you have all the blood you want. That’s how much she loves you.”

  “I know. That’s exactly what she did when she offered her neck up to me back at hawk territory. I knew then that this couldn’t possibly work. Corrine keeps telling me to get Sofia back, but how? What kind of man would I be to prey on her? She doesn’t deserve that.”