A Shadow of Light Read online

  I wanted to strangle him. ”This is your fault. You know that, right?” I was about to march right toward him again, but a calm, female voice stopped me.

  “Calm down, Derek. We won’t get anywhere blaming each other.”

  I turned toward the voice and found Vivienne standing inside the room.

  “What are you doing here? Vivienne, if Borys Maslen sees you…”

  “I saw a vision of this happening. I rushed here as soon as the vision was over, but I guess it’s too late. He has her now.”

  “I don’t know what to do, Vivienne…I want to kill something…anything…” Out of the corner of my eye, I could make out Aiden rising to his feet. He would be a good first candidate. “Just thinking of what he could be doing to her…”

  I heard a loud bang from inside the cell and my heart plummeted, my fists clenching.

  Ingrid came through the hallway that led to the room and stepped into the control room. She eyed Aiden from head to foot, then smirked in triumph. “You didn’t think you could keep me trapped in hunter territory forever, did you? After I was able to escape, I found a way to intercept your communication with Zinnia—she isn’t exactly the brightest bulb, is she? Well anyway…here we are now… I won over you.”

  “What exactly did you win, Ingrid?” Aiden spat out, every word dripping with spite. “Does it really give you pleasure to see your own daughter being tormented by that monster?”

  “You should see her trying to put up a fight. She’s in a pretty bad state.”

  Despite her words, I could swear that I saw hesitation in Ingrid’s eyes, almost as if she was also being tormented by what Sofia was going through. She even seemed proud that Sofia was putting up a fight—something that made my heart leap and my gut clench at the same time.

  Ingrid turned toward me. “Sofia is going to fight to her last breath before she allows Borys to lay a hand on her. I’m not sure she’ll last an hour. Are you really sure you want to drag this out?”

  “There’s no way I’m going to let Borys leave this island with her.”

  “He will be more than willing to break every bone in her body and force her to drink his blood so she’ll heal, then do it all over again. An hour is a long time, Derek.” Her shoulders sagged and it was easy to see that she was conflicted. “Let us go.”

  I narrowed my eyes at Ingrid and wondered if she was actually really pleading for Sofia’s sake. “That doesn’t make sense, Ingrid. I know Sofia. She would rather die than leave this island with Borys. I would rather die than give her over to him—not after what she had already gone through, not after you just told me what he’s capable of doing to her.” I couldn’t help but look at her like she was stupid. “Are you even thinking straight? How could you leave your own daughter in the hands of the likes of him?”

  “We’re wasting time.” Aiden interrupted, eyes brimming with tears. “We have to stop him from destroying Sofia.” His voice was choked, and it was the first time I was convinced that he genuinely cared for Sofia.

  “Let me have a talk with him…” Vivienne took a step forward. “There was a time when it was me he wanted. Maybe we can talk him into taking me instead of her.”

  My eyes widened in horror. “Vivienne, what!”

  “Can you think of any other way to somehow get his eyes off Sofia even for a while? We have to at least try something…”

  Another bang came from the room and I found myself fighting the urge to just lose it and barge my way into the room to try and kill Borys myself.

  “You would do that for my daughter?” Aiden was looking at Vivienne as if she was some sort of miracle.

  Ingrid, on the other hand, eyed her from head to foot. “What makes you think Borys would still want you when he has his immune right in his hands?”

  “Borys wants Sofia because she’s immune, right?” I took a step forward. “We have another immune on the island. If we bring her to him, would he consider taking her instead of Sofia?”

  Ingrid seemed to take the proposal into consideration and nodded. “I can ask him. Still…he’s going to put Sofia through hell until this other ‘immune’ comes…”

  Vivienne once again asserted herself—much to my chagrin. “Let me go with you… I can at least divert his attention from her for a little while.”

  Ingrid smirked at my sister, but shrugged. “If you really want to… I don’t think you’ll be of much help though… He’ll probably kick you out of the room as soon as you show your face.”

  I couldn’t understand why Vivienne was putting herself at risk on Sofia’s behalf once again, but I was out of ideas and I was desperate to get Sofia out of the pain I was certain she was going through.

  “Vivienne, what are you even planning to do? You’re nowhere near as strong as Borys…” I couldn’t help but mouth out my concern.

  “The point is to get his attention away from Sofia. The fact that I’m no threat to him is to my advantage.”

  I stared at Vivienne, admiring her for her courage and yet, the idea of sending my sister off to what could be her death was something that didn’t sit well with me. I just got her back and now I have to send her to this monster.

  I glared once again at Ingrid. “She’s your daughter. How could you…”

  She waved my statement away and rolled her eyes. “Please…don’t remind me… If you’re trying to appeal to my maternal instincts, trust me…it won’t work.”

  Aiden attested to this. “She isn’t Sofia’s mother. Camilla is dead.”

  I knew I had to make a decision quick, because just as the words came out of Aiden’s mouth, we heard Sofia’s piercing scream.

  A sweeping cold ran up from the base of my spine to the back of my head. I pointed at Vivienne, and without really thinking things through, I blurted out at her, “Go! Now!”

  I didn’t care what had to be done that day. I simply resolved that I wasn’t about to lose Sofia. I also made up my mind that no matter what, Borys Maslen wasn’t going to leave The Shade alive.

  I am going to rip him to shreds.

  And I was going to relish every moment of seeing the life drain away from his body.

  Chapter 49: Sofia

  He’s going to kill me.

  When the back of his hand hit my face, I was surprised that my neck didn’t snap. My head was spinning from the pain which was already racking every bone in my body. I was certain that I had at least one broken rib and the parts of my body he dug his claws into were screaming in agony. I began coughing blood—the red liquid causing a spark of delight in his beady eyes.

  “Why do you fight me, Sofia? Why do you resist?” he asked as I scampered away from him, backing myself up into a wall, as he dipped his finger in the blood I’d coughed up on the floor and licked it. He closed his eyes. “There’s nothing like it. What is it that makes your blood so delightfully sweet?”

  I wanted to glare up at him but one of my eyes was already swollen shut. I was trying to figure out a way to retrieve the wooden stake I kept on the hunters’ strap round my thigh without Borys noticing. I knew that should he see the stake coming, then I couldn’t use it against him, but his eyes remained on me.

  Maybe I’m doing this the wrong way. Perhaps I should play along with his game and pretend to want him so I could stab him in the heart while he’s having his way with me. I grimaced at the notion. The very idea of his hands on me made me sick.

  “Are you not tired, Sofia?” He tilted his head to the side, a smirk forming on his face.

  Exhausted. I returned his smirk. “The disgust I feel just looking at you is enough to give me all the energy I need. Just the sight of you makes my skin crawl.”

  I could see his stocky, muscular build tense. I didn’t know what demented part of his existence I had just hit, but my words had struck a chord and I knew it.

  “Take that back,” he growled in a low, menacing voice.

  I knew that should I prod on with my insults, I would definitely cause him pain and most likely urge him to hu
rt me some more, but inside, I was also hoping that it would somehow repel him from me to know how much I hated him. “It’s true. Have you ever had a woman actually want to be with you? Isn’t it why you have to do this? Force us? I am not yours, Borys. I will never be yours. I can never ever enjoy your touch the way I enjoy Derek’s. You’re nowhere near even a fraction of the man he is. I think you know that. That’s why you envy him so much.”

  He sped my way, grabbed me by the shoulders and I had to scream when he threw me across the room into a wall. I crashed to the ground with a loud thud and before I could even make a single move, he was on top of me, stuffing his discarded shirt down my throat until I began gagging.

  “You have to learn to shut up, Sofia, my pet. Say such foul things again and I will cut your tongue out…and heal you…and then cut it out again.” He pressed a hand over one of my broken ribs, making me scream through his shirt.

  “We could end this, Sofia. Just cooperate with me. Pleasure me…”

  I couldn’t hate anyone else more than I hated him at that moment. He made even Lucas, who had dealt me his own share of cruel torment, seem like a gentleman. I clawed at Borys with the strength I had left, but he just knelt over me and laughed as he took hold of both my wrists and pinned them over my head. He used his weight to keep my legs down while he used his free hand to begin unbuttoning my shirt.

  He bared his fangs, ready to drink from my exposed neck, forcing my head to the side to allow him better access. I shut my eyes against what was happening, hoping to mentally escape from the hands of this man. I was so horrified by the whole thing, I wasn’t sure if it was just my imagination when I heard a knock on the door.

  Borys seemed annoyed by the intrusion. “Has it been an hour?” He frowned.

  He turned his head toward the door and gave the inanimate object a cold glare before deciding to ignore it and turn his attention back to me. To my relief, it seemed he lost interest in drinking my blood. My relief, however, was short-lived because he then turned his attention to groping my body.

  When another series of knocks came at the door, I didn’t even bother to fight the urge to sigh with utter relief. Please…for mercy’s sake, don’t stop knocking.

  Upon noticing how relieved I was, Borys decided to take his frustration over the interruption out on me by grabbing fistfuls of my hair. By doing so, he had to let go of my wrists, and my hands were free to claw at him and hit him.

  Annoyed, he forced my arms to my sides before wrapping one strong arm around me to keep me steady as he stood up and freely kissed my neck and jawline. He walked toward the door even as he held me in his arms.

  I steeled myself against shedding more tears. I didn’t want to cry any longer, but I also had no fight left in me either, so my tense and exhausted form just limply hung within his embrace, hoping that whoever was behind that door would somehow provide me momentary relief from Borys Maslen.

  Borys finally opened the door.

  I only realized how terrible I looked when I heard Ingrid, whom I was certain didn’t give a damn about what happened to me, gasp at the sight of me. “What have you done to her? Are you trying to kill her?”

  Borys pulled his mouth away from my cheek. “She’s trying to kill herself with all the fight she’s trying to put up against me. Little minx can’t seem to get it in her head that she’s mine and that she’s supposed to just lean back and take whatever I give her.”

  “Lest you forget, she’s the only leverage you have against Derek Novak. If you destroy her, you’re not going to be able to leave this island alive.”

  Borys scoffed. “Just one drink of my blood will fix her.”

  “Let her drink mine.”

  I was stunned to hear the familiar voice. Vivienne. I turned to find her stepping into the room right behind Ingrid.

  “What’s she doing here?” Borys spat out, though none of us missed the way his grip loosened around me as he perused Vivienne from head to foot. There was no mistaking that he still wanted Vivienne after all those years.

  “A gift from Derek Novak.” Ingrid shrugged.

  “I’ll do anything you want me to.” Vivienne looked confident enough, but her voice broke when she spoke the words. She heaved a sigh to regain composure before raising her eyes to him. “Just stop tormenting Sofia.”

  Borys grinned as he wrapped both his arms around me, crushing my broken ribs against his firm chest. “Hear that, Sofia? Your lover is so enamored by you that he would willingly whore out his own sister just to rescue you.”

  I hate you. With all the defiance I still had left within me, I spat in his face. Angered, he once again threw me forcefully to the ground. Vivienne rushed to my side.

  “Sofia, you look awful,” she muttered under her breath. She bit into her wrist and made me drink her blood.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Borys fisted a clump of Vivienne’s hair.

  “Healing her. If I don’t, she will die. Do you not see how much you’ve broken her?” Vivienne responded through gritted teeth. “I can barely see a trace of her original complexion. She’s black, purple and blue where she’s not bleeding.”

  “Serves her right for not giving in to me…” Borys walked away from us and leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Vivienne feed me more of her blood.

  The momentary reprieve was exactly what I needed as my eyes met with Vivienne’s. Her blue violet gaze bore into mine with sympathy and compassion. She was the one person I knew who had been through Borys’ cruel hands before, which is why I was so shocked when she looked at me and said, “Just give in to him, Sofia. Let him have his way. There’s no point in fighting back. You’ll only get hurt much worse if you don’t give in.”

  I stared up at her in horror. She must know exactly how I feel about him, how disgusted I am by the idea of his touch, how revolted I am whenever I sense his eyes on me. How could she ask this of me? Her own memories—ones that she had shared with me before—came flooding through my mind. How she fought back with everything that she was, how he continued to defeat her and break her until her mind snapped and just let things be. It took years before she was able to completely recover from the trauma of what Borys had put her through.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” Delight was sparkling in Borys’ dark eyes as he stared at Vivienne with amazement, reveling in her words. “You should listen to Vivienne, Sofia. She knows. If Derek hadn’t taken her away from me, I know Vivienne and I would’ve gotten along well even to this very moment. Isn’t that right, Vivienne?”

  Vivienne didn’t respond. Instead, she checked on me and seemed satisfied that I was healing fine. I could see the fear and the dread in her eyes and I gulped at what she was planning to do. She rose to her feet and faced Borys.

  As I followed her with my gaze, it finally dawned on me what she was doing. She was using herself as bait, as a distraction to get Borys’ attention away from me. My heart broke in the process, knowing the kind of sacrifice she was making for me.

  Vivienne approached Borys slowly, biding her time. Caught in her spell, he remained still, devouring her with his eyes, taking in her lovely form, loving every minute of her approach. I couldn’t help but sneer at how delighted he seemed. I was certain that no woman had ever given him the same attention Vivienne was giving him at that moment. She gently caressed his face and hair. She then pressed her lips against his jaw. A sigh of pleasure escaped Borys’ lips. The idea that he was getting pleasure out of Vivienne’s humiliation sickened me.

  He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her body against his, before rolling over so that Vivienne’s back was against the wall and he had full control. Now having a pliable victim under his grip, he seemed to revel in the idea that Vivienne was just going to let him do whatever he pleased.

  I rose to my feet, my eyes on Vivienne. She looked straight at me even as Borys began ripping the neckline of her shirt and kissing her collarbone. What am I waiting for? This is my chance. I reached for th
e wooden stake attached to my thigh and slipped it out. Vivienne’s eyes widened and she nodded at me, but she also raised one hand to motion for me to wait.

  To my shock, she began running her hands over his bare torso and slightly tugged at his jeans to lower them. What is she doing? I heard Borys moan over the idea of a woman actually willingly reciprocating his advances.

  “Borys is good to those who are good to him, isn’t that right?” Vivienne said and Borys moaned his agreement as his hands gripped her hips and lifted her up higher against the wall, his own hips supporting her weight. “Let me teach Sofia how to please you. You’ll like it when she learns.”

  He hesitated for a moment. I was afraid that he was going to turn and look at me and find the wooden stake in my hand, so I hid it behind my back as I slowly approached them. But Vivienne continued to coax him. “You’ll have us both. Isn’t that what you want?”

  It sickened me to think of him smiling at the notion, and I sped up my steps toward him. I was about a foot away when Vivienne nodded.

  “Let me down, Borys…” she gently pleaded right after she had kissed him.

  His head was probably still reeling from her kiss because he gently lowered her to the ground. Vivienne continued to kiss him. “Turn around, baby… Sofia is right behind you and I’m going to instruct her on what to do so that you won’t get so mad at her all the time.”

  He must’ve been expecting kisses from me—something evident from the look of euphoria on his face as he quickly spun around to face me. By the time he saw the stake, it was already driven deep into his heart. He motioned to attack me with the strength left in him, but Vivienne held his jaw from behind and swiftly snapped his neck.

  Just like that, we saw the great Borys Maslen drop to the ground, dead.

  I couldn’t believe my eyes. We actually did it. Vivienne and I had defeated Borys Maslen. As much as I was relieved, however, I could feel pain in my heart. This is what it feels like to end the life of another. Overwhelmed by everything that had just occurred, I did the only thing I could. I broke down in tears, and so did Vivienne.