A Castle of Sand

by Bella Forrest

“You’re going to regret this,” was all I could manage to say.

  Gregor smirked. “Sure I will. Until then, enjoy the lovely young ladies, Derek. I’m sure you’ll appreciate them the moment you get tired of ravishing your freckled redhead.”

  At that callous jibe once again thrown at Sofia, I lost all control of my temper. I sped forward right to his level, lunging toward him with so much force, the recliner he was seated on went crashing to the ground as I pinned him down.

  The tension was electric as screams and nervous mutterings burst out around the hall. I was certain that much of the commotion was over a certain level of confusion over whom they were going to help—their savior or their king.

  I didn’t really care. I was too busy relishing the terror in my father’s eyes. He might have been a vampire longer than I was, but I was far more powerful than he was. Cora had made sure of that.

  “Understand this, Father,” I said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear. “If you ever touch Sofia or put her in danger or even dare speak of her in my presence again, you can be certain that I will take your throne. Without hesitation.”

  “How Vivienne would roll over in her grave if she saw what you’ve become! Have you forgotten who your family is, Derek?”

  “Vivienne sacrificed her own safety, her own life in order to get Sofia back to me. She would never do that for you. That’s how important Sofia is, Father. I’m pretty sure that if you asked Vivienne now who she would rather spare, she would choose Sofia.”

  A bone-chilling silence followed my statement as everyone let the words sink in.

  “Why?” The voice was Claudia’s. I had no doubt about it. “Why is the little freckled redhead so important?”

  I rose to my feet, letting go of my father as I did. I slowly backed away from him, finding pleasure in the mixture of fury and fright in his eyes. After reaching the stand, now unoccupied by Eli and Felix, I addressed Claudia’s question.

  “Sofia is the girl Cora prophesied who would help me find our kind true sanctuary. Without her, I cannot accomplish the prophecy.”

  “Nonsense. You already accomplished the prophecy when you brought us to The Shade and secured it with Cora’s protective spell,” Gregor spat.

  At that, I scoffed. How blind could he possibly be? “Don’t be a fool, Father. The Shade isn’t a sanctuary. It’s a nightmare.”

  Gregor straightened to his full height, his eyes fixed on me. Unable to say anything in response, he looked at the council surrounding us, every single one gawking at the sight that had just unfolded before them. “I want Derek Novak arrested for high treason. His punishment will be discussed at the next council meeting.”

  I couldn’t help but smirk at how delusional my father was. He really thinks that he holds the power. I didn’t know what he was expecting to happen after his announcement. Does he really expect the council to pounce on me to make the arrest? Does he expect me to panic and make a run for it? Apart from Felix making one hesitant step forward, no one else moved. I was certain that it was one of the most awkward moments the Great Dome had ever stood witness to.

  My father’s breaths were coming in pants, infuriated by the fact that nobody bothered heeding his command.

  “Why isn’t anyone moving?! Your king has given a command! Arrest him!”

  After a few moments of stunned and motionless silence, Claudia burst out laughing. Claudia was one of the most twisted and demented people I’d ever met. She was certainly not an ally and there was no doubt in my mind that she hated my guts, but she was no fool either.

  “I have no love for his highness, the prince, my dear king,” Claudia managed to say after her laughter subsided, “but no one here will ever be foolish enough to imprison Derek Novak. The only way you can get that man inside a prison cell is if he goes in willingly. Otherwise, a lot of blood will be spilled, and we love our immortality too much to see it end so quickly.”

  Knowing that I had all the leverage I needed, I glared triumphantly at my father. “The abductions will stop. Understood?”

  “All right,” Gregor said through gritted teeth, the expression on his face making it clear that he was admitting defeat. “This only means one thing then.”

  “And what would that be?” I asked, suddenly growing anxious.

  Eli stepped up nervously. “Even you knew that this would be inevitable since we put a stop to the abductions…we won’t have a supply of human blood forever.”

  I was filled by an overwhelming sense of dread, knowing what my alternative to the abductions were. “You’re talking about a culling.”

  The rest of the meeting flew right over my head, as the council discussed what had to be done to get the culling in order. My father kept glaring at me. I knew then that I just made an enemy out of him, though I wasn’t entirely sure if he ever truly was my ally.

  Vivienne was the Seer of The Shade. She had the premonitions, but at that moment, I had a premonition of my own. And it wasn’t one that I liked.

  Blood will be shed.

  Two things stayed at the forefront of my thoughts: how to protect Sofia and how to keep her mine. I was once again afraid of losing her, because I doubted she could ever forgive me if a human culling actually took place.

  After the council meeting ended, my first urge was to immediately locate Sofia. I knew that after the stunt I pulled, she wouldn’t be safe from my father. I knew Gregor Novak. He wasn’t just going to just sit there and take that kind of humiliation without striking back. It was clear to see that striking Sofia would be equivalent to striking me where it hurt the most. Upon reaching The Catacombs, I found her wearing muddied-up clothes. She was laughing over something the Natural boy, Gavin, said. A pang of jealousy hit me, but I shoved it away.

  I cleared my throat to catch her attention.

  She looked my way and a brilliant smile formed on her face. “Derek!” she exclaimed before throwing herself at me in an exuberant embrace. “I had a great day. How was yours?”

  “Can we talk in private, please?” I eyed Gavin warily. I wasn’t thrilled about what I had to reveal to her.

  Worry traced her green eyes as she pulled herself away from me. She turned toward Gavin and smiled sheepishly. “Thanks for everything, Gavin.”

  The boy nodded his head toward her and curtly bowed his head in my direction. “Tomorrow again, Sofia,” he said. “If you’re still alive by then.”

  She snickered at the statement, so I figured it was some sort of inside joke they had between them—an idea that grated at my nerves.

  I was relieved when Gavin was finally gone and I had my girl all to myself, but any pleasure I felt in her company was overshadowed by the news I carried with me.

  “What’s wrong, Derek?” she asked pensively as I held her hand and pulled her to a seat on the couch.

  “My father reinstated the abductions…”

  “What?” Her alarm was immediate. “But why? I thought…”

  “I have three new girls at my penthouse. I have no idea what to do with them. I’m thinking of sending them here with you. They’ll be more comfortable with you I think…”

  My suggestion seemed to go way over her head. “Why would your father do this?”

  “We don’t stand on the same ground when it comes to these things, but after I found out, I went to the dome and found them having a council meeting. I made sure that there would be no more abductions from here on out.”

  Sofia sighed with relief as she brushed both hands against her auburn hair. “Still…those poor girls…”

  That was a hard blow to my gut. Of course she feels sorry for them…they have to live through what she lived through under my hand. I caught myself before sinking any further into my wallowing. Since when did you become such a dismal sap, Novak?

  She must’ve noticed the look on my face. “Thank you for putting a stop to the abductions.”

  I forced a smile, but I swallowed hard at what I was to say next. “Not having abductions may mean something worse�
��”

  The color from her face drained away and I could sense that she already had an idea of what I was about to say.

  “They’re discussing another culling.”

  “Oh dear heavens…” She gasped, clamping a palm over her mouth as she furiously shook her head. “No….no! Derek, no…you have to do something. There’s got to be something you can do…”

  How was I going to tell her that it was me who originally proposed the possibility of another culling? “I don’t know if there’s anything I can do about this, Sofia…if I could…”

  “You’re Derek Novak! Of course there’s something you can do!”

  “My father is king, Sofia.” I hated giving out that reason, because after what just happened, it was clear to me and every other member of the Elite that my father’s position meant nothing when held against me. “Standing against this would mean civil war. We do need to survive, Sofia. We need human blood.”

  “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Are you actually defending the need for a culling, Derek? Seriously? Don’t give me that reason, Derek. You don’t need human blood. You crave and prefer human blood. There are plenty of beasts in this island for you vampires to feed on. I was just at the farm! There’s an abundance of animal blood coming from the livestock there…” Desperation marred her beautiful face. “Derek, there’s got to be something you can do to stop this.”

  “Do you fully understand what you’re talking about, Sofia? Going against this would mean me waging outright war on my own father.”

  Sofia was unmoved. Calming down and giving me the sternest look I’d ever seen coming from her—or any teenager for that matter—she made her stand clear. “A culling is a cold massacre. It is wrong and you know it. I will fight tooth and nail against this, Derek Novak.”

  I knew that she meant every word and that she would stand true to them. I hated the thought that began eating at me at that point. Could the blood that had to be shed be Sofia’s?

  Chapter 20: Ben

  This isn’t right.

  I stared at Zinnia’s sleeping form on the bed next to mine. The guilt was killing me. What’s wrong with you, Hudson? It’s not like you haven’t had girls in your bed before…

  I turned to my side, wanting to rip my brains out if it would help me get some sleep. I knew, however, that sleep would provide me no escape. Ever since my first mission, sleep either eluded me or attacked me with an onslaught of nightmares. Sofia, Vivienne and the first vampire I killed haunted my dreams and my every waking moment.

  All it took was one mission for me to realize that Sofia had been right all along. Vengeance wasn’t the answer. Killing a vampire was nothing like Zinnia told me it would be. There was no sense of satisfaction or glee. In its place, there was just this aching guilt, knowing that a life had been taken by my own hands—a life that, for all I knew, could’ve been entirely innocent.

  I wondered then if Vivienne was innocent. Sofia, after all, had once called the princess of The Shade her friend.

  Since we returned to the headquarters after the mission, I began comparing everyone around me to Sofia—especially Zinnia. I realized then that Sofia was nothing like Zinnia or the hunters—and neither was I. I felt like I was surrounded by remorseless people who’d totally lost hold of their consciences. I longed for more of Sofia’s compassion and gentleness. I missed my best friend badly and no matter what I did to try and fill the void that she used to occupy, nothing worked.

  This was my lowest point. I actually slept with Zinnia just to forget Sofia, only to miss my dear Rose Red even more.

  Is he taking care of you, Sofia? Did I get it all wrong?

  These same thoughts plagued me the next day when Reuben called Zinnia and me to discuss if there was any progress in finding The Shade.

  “Ben, are you listening to me?” Reuben demanded.

  I blinked my eyes several times and shook my head. “I’m sorry. I barely got a wink of sleep. Nightmares.”

  Reuben and Zinnia gave me worried glances, but shrugged it off quickly. It was easy to surmise early on that hunters weren’t very sentimental people. They just really wanted to finish what had to be done.

  “Pay attention, Ben. You’re too much of an asset not to understand what’s going on.” Reuben sounded impatient.

  I couldn’t help but wince at the mention of me being an asset. It was on the mission that they realized how valuable I was to them. After I killed my first vampire, another attacked me, clawing through my back. I didn’t feel a thing. I went through that entire mission, back bleeding, without once feeling the pain. That’s how damaged I was by the torment Claudia put me through at The Shade. That’s how callous my body had become. I managed to fool myself for a while that I was just as callous inside as I was outside. I was wrong. I wondered if I had fooled Sofia too.

  “I’m paying attention,” I assured Reuben, though I doubted I had enough presence of mind to go through the plans he was laying out.

  “We’ve had scours of our teams worldwide checking out every possible island known to mankind. Nothing checks out. It’s like this island never existed.”

  “It was hidden by the protective spell four hundred years ago. The spell hiding it is powerful. I believe even cellphone signals can’t get past the protective wall the spell creates. There’s no way to locate it,” I told them.

  “No!” Reuben slammed his hand over the table. “There’s got to be a way. There’s always a way.”

  “What do you even plan to do when we find the island? Attack it? The Crimson Fortress walled around the whole island will give the Wall of China a run for its money…don’t underestimate them.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Reuben hissed. “The Novaks rule the most powerful vampire clan for a reason. Whoever ends their coven will cripple all vampires permanently.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. What do you plan to do when we find the island?”

  “Get my daughter out of there and then blow the whole island into smithereens.”

  I shot a look at Reuben, wondering if he was serious. He clearly was. “There are thousands of innocent human slaves living on that island. If I’m not mistaken, The Shade is self-sufficient and runs on the backbone of these slaves. You’d willingly kill them?”

  Reuben gave me a careless shrug. “They were as good as dead the moment they were taken captive by the vampires.”

  I couldn’t help but stare at him, wondering how on earth someone as kind and as compassionate as Sofia could possibly be related to him.

  For the first time since I arrived there, it felt like joining the hunters had been the biggest mistake of my life.

  Chapter 21: Derek

  I knew it would happen, but it still hurt that it did. After our discussion about the culling and my admittance that there was nothing I could do to stop it, Sofia avoided spending time with me. I knew her well enough to know that she had the tendency to do this when she needed to think things through.

  She needed space and I willingly gave it to her. I did, however, station guards to keep an eye on her and update me on what she was doing. I couldn’t risk leaving her unprotected because of the recent bout I had with my father. Despite the regular updates, however, I still found myself missing her sorely. I spent most of my time at the training grounds, focusing my energies on the military training I knew The Shade was in desperate need for.

  I’d just finished a rather tough fight with one of the best fighters we had—Xavier Vaughn—when a familiar face showed up at the training grounds.

  Ashley. I hadn’t dared visit her since her turning, but I’d kept up-to-date with her through Kyle and Sam. It was strange seeing her and not getting that intense craving to feed on her. She looked incredible as a vampire, her brown eyes having a far more brilliant sheen than they used to.

  “Hey, baby vampire,” I greeted her, ignoring the irritated look on her face.

  “New harem girls, Derek? Really?”

  Xavier, while still trying to
catch his breath from our fight, raised a brow at her. He usually skipped formalities and called me by name, but as far as he and the rest of the citizens of The Shade were concerned, a new vampire had no business calling me by name.

  I gestured toward Xavier to tell him that it was alright. “Let’s take a walk, shall we, Ashley?”

  “Why can’t we have the conversation right here?” She animatedly planted her hands on her hips, her long blonde ponytail sashaying with her every move.

  Xavier’s eyes grew wide with interest as he whispered, “Feisty girl…”

  Ashley squinted her eyes at him. “I heard that.”

  She was causing a commotion and the other trainees were now gathering around. I chuckled dryly as I turned around to leave.

  “Where are you going?!” She ran after me.

  “Somewhere we can talk without you getting yourself killed.”

  Her face paled, realizing how much trouble she’d gotten herself into only moments ago. “Oh shoot…I keep on forgetting that you’re some sort of legendary royalty here at the Shade.”

  “You’re a vampire now. You can’t forget that.”

  We began to walk through the forest, aimlessly traveling along the stony terrain, past the giant redwoods that filled the island.

  “You didn’t even bother to check on me,” she said with a pout after a long silence. It was a reminder that in spite of her newfound immortality, she still was a seventeen-year-old teenager. “I mean, I can understand if you don’t, but Sofia?”

  “Didn’t either Kyle or Sam tell you that I forbade her to go see you?”

  “Well, yeah…they did, but since when did you forbidding Sofia to do something keep her from doing it?”

  I changed the subject. “So is it what you thought it would be…being a vampire?”

  “Let’s just say that I wished I had listened to you the night of my turning.”

  I bowed my head, truly feeling sorry for her.

  “Did you choose to be turned?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “My father turned me. He took me by surprise. He did the same thing to Vivienne. As for Lucas…well, I never really got the complete story about how my father managed to turn him.”