I was dumbfounded. The last time I remember feeling that way was with Brigitte. I stared as she bathed in the lake water humming a tune as she did. I was so stunned by the sight of her, I lost balance and stumbled forward.
She spun around at the sound of me falling on the ground beneath, breaking a couple of twigs and rustling a bunch of leaves as I did. Her eyes grew wide with horror at the sight of me.
“I’m so sorry…” she gasped. “I had no idea someone was here… I just… the water… I wanted to get clean…”
I shook my head and lifted my hand mid-air to let her know that everything was alright. “It’s fine. I was just surprised that a lovely young woman like you would be out here bathing…”
She blushed. “I like going for swims. It relaxes me. Besides, compared to the showers we have at The Catacombs, a bath at the lake seemed luxurious…”
There was a certain ease about her that most of the Naturals in The Shade didn’t seem to possess. Whenever I interacted with any of the humans, they often didn’t look me in the eye. They cowered as if they were fearful that I would suddenly just bite into their necks – something that was known to have already happened to some citizens of The Shade.
She was different, however. She seemed wary of me seeing her bare, but that was more because I was a man and she was a woman, not because I was a vampire she was afraid of.
She stared at the spot on the ground where she left her dress, signaling to me that she wanted to get out of the water.
I nodded and turned around to give her the privacy she needed.
“Thank you,” she said and my heart leapt at her gratefulness.
“What’s your name?” I asked, my back still turned to her.
“Anna.”
“Anna,” I repeated, as I listened to the gentle ripple of the water as she got out of the lake. “You live at The Catacombs?”
“Yes.”
“All your life?”
A chuckle could be heard in her reply. “Yes.”
“Do you have family left?”
“No. My parents were killed a couple of years back.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
She paused, and I wondered if I said something wrong. “Thank you.”
I creased my brows, wondering what she was thanking me for. “Thank me? For what?”
“For being sorry… Most of us have lost someone you know… Most of us Naturals,” she said softly. I could hear the sadness in her voice. “Most of the vampires think that it’s normal. It’s the first time I heard a vampire sympathize.”
I had no idea what to say to that, so I just remained silent, finding myself moved by the sweetness of her voice.
“It’s okay to turn around now…”
I turned to face her and found her tying the knot of her haltered dress behind her neck. When she finished, she dropped her arms to her side and smiled at me.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why are you not afraid of me?” I couldn’t help but ask.
She seemed taken aback by the question for a couple of seconds. I felt as if she were scrutinizing me, checking if she could really trust me. At some point, I was sure she wasn’t going to respond, but to my relief, she eventually gave me a shrug.
“My parents were always afraid. They would’ve gotten a heart attack if they found out that I’d been bathing at the lake and that a vampire,” she pointed at me, “found me doing it. When they died, I decided that I wasn’t going to be afraid anymore.” She looked around, a bitter smile on her face, tears moistening her eyes. “This is my life. My parents hoped that we would someday escape The Shade, but I don’t want to wait until I’m free of The Shade to start living my life. I could tremble in fear of you, sir, but I’m thinking that if you wanted to take advantage of me or drink my blood then you would’ve already done so. And if you did, I would be powerless to stop you, but you are doing nothing of that sort, so…” She tilted her head to the side, her eyes set on me. “Should I be afraid of you?”
I shook my head. “No, Anna. You’ll never have anything to fear when it comes to me. You’re safe with me.”
From then on, I began to cherish those moments when Sam and I would be assigned to guard the part of the wall near the lake, because I knew that I would see Anna. I looked forward to the conversations I had with her. She was smart, funny and eager to learn. She often asked me about what the world was like outside The Shade and she hung on to my every word. I wanted to tell her how I felt about her, how much I adored her and one night, I decided that I would, but then she didn’t show up.
My heart broke the next time I saw her again. I was at The Vale when I caught a glimpse of her. She was in the arms of Felix, a huge smile on her face, her green eyes twinkling with adoration as she stared up at the Elite vampire. He obviously thought the world of her as he brushed his finger over her dark hair and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
They seemed to be a couple in love. When news broke out that Felix was going to turn Anna into a vampire so they could be together, I lost all hope of ever being with her, then all of a sudden, he got tired of her. He left her at The Catacombs and she lost her mind.
The next time I tried to approach Anna, gone was the fearless young woman who felt safe around me at the lake. She took one look at me and screamed in terror before backing up into a corner, whimpering like a scared child. I never found the guts to approach her again after that… until time came when I just had to.
It felt like Corrine had been talking to Anna for hours. When the door to the room they were locked in finally opened, a radiant Anna stepped out. Ian and I stood up at the sight of her. She raised her eyes and gave Ian a quick glance – almost as if she didn’t even recognize him – before shifting her gaze toward me. Her face lit up in a huge smile and to my surprise, she ran to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.
I was frozen for a while, not sure what was happening. I looked at Ian then at Corrine, who smiled and nodded my way.
“Should I be afraid of you?” Anna whispered in my ear.
The familiar question tugged at my heart, reminding me of the first time I saw her at the lake. “No, Anna,” I responded, my voice choked. “You’ll never have anything to fear when it comes to me. You’re safe with me.”
She nodded into my shoulder. “I always did feel safe with you, Kyle.”
Later that day, I asked Corrine what happened and the witch told me that some of Anna’s memories came back – one of which was the time she spent with me at the lake.
“She says that she only feels safe with you out of all the vampires here in The Shade.”
Chapter 14: Derek
Her laughter echoed in my head. Sofia was standing in the middle of what looked like a school playground, sitting on one of the swings rocking gently as she began blowing bubbles. I hungrily took the sight of her in, finding myself enamored by her like I usually was. She looked my way and flashed me that amazing smile of hers.
She nodded her head toward me, motioning for me to go to her. I found myself eager to be with her so I ran. I kept running, but I never seemed to be able to reach her. I could feel the sunlight on my skin, the same light shining on her, almost shining from her. I ran faster, but it felt like I was running in place and every time I kept my eyes off her, the sun began to burn.
Worry began to crease her face when she realized that I was having trouble reaching her. She stood from the swing and began to run too, reaching out toward me. She was about to reach me, our fingers about to touch, then just like that, she was gone.
I then found myself in a very familiar place, standing on a shore just as the dawn was about to break. I was familiar with that scene, but I couldn’t remember why. I could see the Lighthouse – my refuge. Right then, I heard a whimper followed by a loud, chilling growl.
With the sun about to rise, I knew I had to immediately find shelter before the sun could rob me of all my defenses, but I couldn’t ignore the urge to follow the sound, especially because I knew tha
t this had happened to me before and that everything was going to be alright.
The name of a woman from my past began to flash through my mind.
I know this scene. I have this memory. This was the morning I met Cora.
I ran toward the whimpers and just as I expected, behind a large rock, I found an unconscious woman about to come to her senses. Something was missing from the scene, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I called out her name. “Cora?”
She rose to her feet and when I saw who it was, I froze. It was Emilia. She was trembling and she ran right into my arms, clinging tightly. I could feel the heat of her tears hitting my skin.
I shuddered at what she said.
“It’s me you belong to, Derek. Not her.”
As if I was being controlled by a will not my own, I nodded. I couldn’t believe the words that then came out of my mouth. “I know, Emilia. I know. I’m over Sofia. My heart belongs to you now.”
The moment the words were said, a piercing scream filled the atmosphere.
I jolted up on my bed, my heart racing, my blood pounding. I was desperately trying to catch my breath. I could still hear the scream echoing in my ear. The one thought circling my mind was, Sofia’s dead. I killed her. It’s my fault she’s dead.
Guilt and panic overwhelmed me as I began to look around the room. I was relieved to find Sofia’s still form on the bed beside me, but I wasn’t satisfied with that. I had to know if she was still alive. I began shaking her. “Sofia?”
She blinked and began to mumble incoherently.
I heaved out a sigh of relief. “You’re alright.” I scooped her sleepy form up in my arms and held tight.
That seemed to be enough to get her to her full senses. “What’s going on?” she drowsily asked.
“I thought I lost you,” I said in what sounded like a string of gasps.
She pulled away from me. This time, alert and worried. “What’s wrong, Derek? What happened?”
“I had a nightmare,” I found myself admitting to Sofia. The sensations I felt then was strange. My heart was pounding against my chest. I was breaking into a cold sweat, but I couldn’t remember a thing about the dream I just had. Not even a single detail. All I knew was that I had this alarming fear inside of me – a fear of Sofia getting hurt. I also had a nagging feeling that Emilia was a lot of trouble for Sofia and me. I swallowed hard as I faced Sofia.
“Tell me about it,” she coaxed.
I scratched the back of my neck as I searched for the right words. “I don’t really remember the dream, but I have to tell you something…” The confession came out like a flood I could not contain. I began telling her about the dreams I had about Emilia and not being able to remember the details after. I was just aware that the dreams had both Sofia and Emilia in them. I knew Sofia deserved to know what was going on, so despite my fears of how she would take it, I found myself revealing everything.
Sofia listened, taking every word in silently, asking questions where she needed more information.
“I can’t deny that I’m attracted to her and that I feel some sort of connection with her, but you have to believe me when I say that she doesn’t stand a chance against you. That’s why I arranged that she be taken out of the island immediately. I don’t want anything or anyone to get between us.”
Sofia gave me a half smile. “Does she have anything to do with why you want to get married all of a sudden?”
I was surprised at how straightforward she was, but then I never knew Sofia as someone who would hold back on speaking the truth. I found myself nodding. “I can’t deny that the dreams had a hand in it. I guess it was my way of saying that it’s you I want to be with. It’s you that I love. You know that, right?”
Her eyes began to moisten. “Of course I do,” she nodded before saying, “I adore you, Derek Novak.” She then cupped my face with her soft hands and pressed her lips against mine. “For the record, I can’t wait to become Sofia Novak.”
Chapter 15: Sofia
Spending the night at Derek’s penthouse, waking up in his bed, and eating breakfast with him reminded me of the way we used to be during our first few months together, when I was still known as his slave and he was still the prince of the island. For the span of a few hours, we were in our own cocoon, away from all the troubles surrounding us.
As I dabbed butter and jam over my piece of toast, I smiled, recalling the time I popped a piece of my breakfast into Derek’s mouth. I looked at him as he drank a gulp of animal blood from his glass on the table. I wonder when I’ll actually be able to share a meal with him.
He noticed my eyes on him and a smile formed on his face. “Can’t get enough of me, can you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t turn the tables on me, Derek. You’re the one who’s craving me all the time.”
His eyes dropped with shame.
I winced. Bad joke. Too close to the trouble our relationship is facing.
He opened his mouth to say something but then he quickly shut it. I wanted to say something to somehow make us forget the elephant in the room – the question we couldn’t ignore. What kind of married life are we going to live out if he’s craving my blood all the time?
“It’s not right and I know it,” he began to say. “I don’t have any excuse for it. I don’t want to give you some lame excuse when it comes to this. You don’t deserve that. I’m sorry.” He began rubbing the back of his neck.
I was sure that he was recalling what happened the night before – something that’d been going on a lot more frequently lately. It was almost as if he would momentarily snap and just give in to the craving. Without really thinking it through, he just takes what he wants and bites.
I didn’t want to talk about it simply because I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to dwell on the heaviness of the issue. “Let’s talk about something else.” I pulled a piece from my toast and threw it at him. “Anything other than that.”
He seemed a bit more hesitant to move on than I did, but he eventually breathed out the tension and threw the piece of toast right back at me. “You’re wasting food.”
“It’s not a waste if I get a smile out of you because of it.” I grinned.
A smile eventually appeared on his chiseled face and despite my familiarity to him, I still found myself blushing.
He seemed pleased, but then he shifted on his seat and I could tell that we weren’t about to escape discussing serious matters. To my relief, he didn’t talk further about our wedding or the cure or his craving for my blood. To my dismay, however, he began talking about my mother.
“Ingrid is acting strange. She asked to see Aiden and when I told her that I couldn’t risk that in fear of what she might do to him, she told me to ask you.”
I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous. We can’t trust her.” I remembered all the times I dared to put my trust in her and sorely regretted it after.
“That’s what I said, but she was asking for another chance. She even asked not to call her Ingrid and call her Camilla instead.”
At that, I couldn’t help but crease my brows in surprise. It was unlike her to ever want to be called Camilla again. “I wonder what game she’s playing.”
“Whatever it is, it’s bothering me,” Derek admitted.
“Could you come with me?” I requested. “When I go see her?”
Derek frowned. “I want to, Sofia, but I did leave a lot of my responsibilities to the council yesterday when I hung out with you. I do need to get back to running The Shade. I can’t bail on them again. I can, however, get one of the Elite to escort you. Ingrid won’t be powerful enough to go against one of the Elite.”
I was disappointed, but I understood. “I think Claudia would be great if that’s alright. She’s been able to spend time with Ingrid. She knows Ingrid.”
Derek wasn’t able to hide his surprise. “You trust Claudia enough?”
I nodded. “Her relationship with Yuri has been good for her I think.”
I was saddened by the statement. Claudia was probably one of the most demented vampires The Shade had ever known. It took months of me living in The Shade before I found out that Ben, my childhood best friend, a guy I was deeply infatuated with, had also been abducted and brought to The Shade. He was taken by Claudia, who had proven to be a cruel and sadistic mistress. Claudia was the reason Ben hated vampires so much.
Somewhere along the line, however, Claudia managed to get Ben to forgive her, enough that he requested the hunters to spare her life.
“Ben forgave her.” I shrugged. “How could I not?”
“Must I remind you that she tried to turn you into a vampire without your consent?”
“She thought she was doing the right thing. She thought it was the only way we could be together.”
Our eyes met and the tension – as if it ever really left – came right back as we were once again faced by the fact that Derek was immortal and I was not. I was getting tired of the issue, but the urge to find the cure was even more adamant than it was before. I had no idea how to figure out what the cure was.
Troubled, I shook the thoughts away and finished my breakfast. I then turned toward Derek and said, “I think we better go. Long day ahead.”
Derek groaned and blew out a sigh. I was expecting him to just shrug, bid me goodbye, and run off. Instead, he reminded me why I was so in love with him when he took my hands and coaxed me to stand up. He held my waist and pulled me close before kissing me on the forehead.
“We’re going to find a way to be together, Sofia. I know it.” He said it with so much conviction, I found myself wondering if he didn’t have any doubts about that statement at all. Still, he gave me the hope I needed to get by.
“We’re together now,” I whispered. “That’s what matters.”
Derek was still on my mind when I saw Claudia waiting for me at the entrance of The Catacombs. The blonde smiled when she saw me coming. My heart began to race. There was a time when a smile coming from her was a reason to get worried, because it usually meant she was up to no good, but I had to remind myself that this was a new Claudia I was facing now.
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