Emilia gave her brother one last claw right through his upper torso before she stood to her feet. She had barely taken a couple of steps forward before she completely healed. Kiev, too, had just rose to his feet and it seemed not a scar was in sight anymore.
Still, the two glared murder at each other, threatening death on each other by mere body language.
I couldn’t have cared less about either one of them. The goal I had in mind was to find another immune before I once again lost control. Emilia must’ve read my mind, because she slapped me right on the face so strongly my head began to spin.
I was trying to control the urge to attack her, noticing the way her siblings chuckled when they saw her hit me. Something told me that though they were apparently willing to kill one another, they weren’t about to allow anyone else hurt any single one of them.
Emilia pressed her lips against mine, before clutching the back of my head with both her hands and whispering into my ear, “Don’t even think of drinking another immune’s blood again, Derek. If you do, once this week is over and my vow to you that Sofia won’t be harmed is null, I will make her pay for every single time you displease me while you’re here.”
At that, I chuckled. “You can’t harm Sofia. Even your father can’t harm her. She has too much light in her for darkness to take hold.”
Emilia laughed in response. “Maybe I can’t, Derek, but I know someone who can… someone who will.” She relished my short intake of breath, before revealing who she had in mind. “Her own mother is going to kill her, Derek. Camilla Claremont is going to kill your Sofia.”
Chapter 27: Aiden
“Do you think she’ll ever be able to accept me?” Camilla asked me, her voice quivering with anxiety.
Every time I let my gaze linger upon her, I found myself wishing that the cure was for real, that Ingrid could actually turn back into a human, turn back into my Camilla. I brushed my hand over the back of hers. “I think she wants to, but you’ll find it hard to convince her that your intentions are genuine. Can you blame her?”
She leaned her head on my shoulder. “I guess not.”
Right then, the door to the cell opened and Sofia appeared. I could tell that something was bothering her by the expression on her face. She swallowed hard before looking me in the eye. “I need your help.”
My heart leapt at the words that she had uttered. For the first time since I could remember, my daughter was actually asking for my help. “What is it? What can I do for you? Anything…” I was desperate not to disappoint her again.
She told me about what was going on in The Shade and I listened intently, waiting for her to present to me her request. “You’ve led a multi-million dollar security conglomerate while you were still one of the head hunters at hawk territory. I know you can help me run The Shade.”
“I can definitely help.” I nodded, already having a fair idea of what we could do to solve the problem of the vampires and humans all being held up at The Catacombs. I knew from what I’d been told that Sofia also had it in her to handle things, but she seemed overwhelmed by Derek being away from The Shade.
She sighed with relief before nodding curtly my way. “Come with me then.”
I stood up still holding Camilla’s hand, pulling at her.
When Sofia noticed, she shook her head. “Not with her.”
“Sofia…” I took a step forward. “Please…”
Sofia set her green eyes on her mother. She looked longingly at Camilla. “How can I ever trust you?” she asked, her voice breaking.
“You can’t.” Camilla shook her head. “Not yet. I haven’t earned any of your trust, Sofia, but your father trusts me. That’s enough for me right now.”
Sofia looked questioningly at me, as if waiting for me to vouch for Camilla.
“I’m responsible for her,” I assured my daughter.
I could tell she was severely conflicted as she shifted her gaze from me to her mother. “I’m sorry. I just can’t risk it. I already have enough problems on my plate and I don’t want to have to worry about what she can or can’t do.”
My heart sank, but I couldn’t blame Sofia either. I hesitantly let go of Camilla’s hand as I moved forward to follow Sofia out of the cell. I knew that Camilla’s heart was breaking and my heart broke with her, but I figured there was plenty of time for mother and daughter to make amends with each other.
I was wrong.
Chapter 28: Sofia
I was right to consult with my father regarding what to do. We arranged a meeting with the Elite Council and things were immediately put in place. The solution seemed fairly easy. During the day, The Catacombs belonged to the vampires. During the night, it belonged to the humans.
It wasn’t easy to get all the humans to agree to being out in the sunlight - especially the Naturals – but they eventually got used to it. Having a little sun on their skin was a better alternative to being afraid of what the vampires could do to them should they stay at The Catacombs.
By our second sunset, we only had one problem left.
“We have no idea where Kyle is,” Vivienne announced. “By the time Ashley and I arrived there, Rex already brought him somewhere, and none of us know where either of the men are. Ashley, Gavin, Sam and a bunch of other guards are all looking for him as we speak.”
“What happened? What caused the fight?” I asked.
“I guess only Anna can tell us.” Vivienne shrugged.
“Let’s hope all that time she spent with Corrine paid off.” I sighed. Minutes later, Ian and Anna were brought into our presence. She seemed confused at first and I could swear that she was going to go right back to her old insane self, but after Ian began to reassure her, she eventually relaxed and took a seat, her hands clasped together over her lap. “Tell us what happened to Kyle, Anna.”
“The vampire attacked me and he began drinking from my neck and from my wrist, so I screamed. Ian told me to scream whenever someone tried to hurt me. Kyle showed up and they fought. Kyle was in bad shape. Blood was all over his body and then the other vampire hit him so hard, he became unconscious. I thought he was going to hurt me again, but he left. He was angry. I didn’t know what to do to help Kyle. I wanted to help him because he was hurting, so I did what Felix made me do when he was hurting before. I fed Kyle my blood through my wrist. I wasn’t done feeding him yet when the vampire returned and he attacked me again. After that, I’m not sure what happened. I woke up and I was in my room. Ian told me that I hit my head somewhere…”
We were about to ask Ian what he saw happened when Gavin showed up through the door. “We found him. Sam and Ashley are bringing him to your quarters as we speak.”
“Is he alright?” I asked.
“I’m not sure,” Gavin shook his head. He looked baffled. “You’re not going to believe this, but we think Kyle just turned back into a human.”
Chapter 29: Derek
“I hate them!” Emilia hissed. “I hate Kiev. I hate Clara. I hate all my brothers and sisters. It’s a good thing they’re not all here to make my life miserable.”
I sat on a wooden bench at the castle’s labyrinth, legs crossed, as Emilia paced back and forth in quite a fury right in front of me. The immune’s blood had already worn off and though I felt nothing but delight and amusement at seeing how worked up the witch was, I appeared concerned and sympathetic towards her plight.
Happiness appeared to be an elusive thing at the Elder’s castle. Nobody seemed to have it at all. I’m pretty sure that even if they did have it, they’re still fearful of it somehow slipping right through their fingers and disappearing. I watched as Emilia continued her tantrum even as I mulled over the kind of relationship the Elder’s children seemed to have.
“Are you happy, Emilia?” I asked. “Do I make you happy?”
Emilia stopped her pacing, her fingers twirling the tips of her dark brown hair like a mad woman, before she directed her gaze at me, her eyes softening. She came to me and sat over my lap, facing me,
her arms wrapped around my neck. She bit her lip as she stared at me. “I still see her ghost behind your eyes. You don’t have me fooled, Derek. You don’t love me.”
Her response made me feel triumphant, knowing that she was talking about Sofia. Of course I don’t. May she haunt you whenever you look into my eyes. “I love you, Emilia. How could you ever think that I don’t love you?”
She pouted at me before playfully biting my lower lip.
What is wrong with you? I was disgusted by her actions, but I outwardly responded with a chuckle, pulling her closer to me and kissing her full on the mouth – an action I found revolting, but could not bring myself to express.
We began making out until she finally got bored with that. I realized that rarely anything seemed to satisfy Emilia for long. She was always craving something, demanding more. She seemed to have countless needs, and she was always clamoring for someone to meet whatever those needs were.
Yawning, she got off my lap and sat on the bench beside me. She leaned her head over my shoulder and took my hand in hers, our fingers clasping together. Despite my aversion to her, my thumb began rubbing the back of her hand.
I’d been there for three days and it already felt like an eternity. The thought that I had four days left was sickening. I hated to think about it, but I knew that I had absolutely no assurance that Emilia would make good on her word and actually return me to The Shade after a week. The thought was killing me. I missed Sofia and everyone in The Shade more than I ever had before, and the idea of being stuck like this was horrifying.
“I can sometimes read your mind, you know,” she broke the long silence we found ourselves in. “I know what’s going through your thoughts, how much you don’t want to be with me.”
“That’s not true,” I said even though my brain was saying the exact opposite.
“Yes, it is. You want to return to The Shade.”
I didn’t respond verbally. If you can read my mind, then you know I don’t want to be with you. You know how in love I am with Sofia. And yes, I do want to return to The Shade. Nothing’s ever going to change that.
“Why can’t you love me? I gave so much of myself to you, risked everything to help you establish The Shade, and yet you never looked at me the way you looked at her.”
Because it’s Sofia I belong with, not you. That’s just the way it is. You don’t get to choose who you fall in love with the same way I’m sure you never chose to fall in love with me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Emilia. I’m in love with you.” What happened to you, Cora? You were my best friend, and now you’re just a crazy half-vampire, half-witch.
“I fell in love with you. That’s what’s wrong with me.”
It should’ve bothered me that she was able to read my thoughts, but I wasn’t bothered. At least she knew that she was just fooling herself to believe that I was in love with her. At least she knew that even when I touched her, even when I professed love to her outwardly, it was still Sofia that I wanted to be with. I liked the idea that Emilia would never get the satisfaction she was looking for – at least not from me.
Before our conversation could go to stranger places, we heard a shriek from nearby. Emilia’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Finally! Something’s happening… It’s been freaking boring in here,” she exclaimed, as she ran toward the place where the scream came from, hand still clasping mine as I trailed behind her.
We arrived at the very edge of the Elder’s territory – the part where the night stopped and the day began. I could see sunlight past the force field that was keeping the Blood Keep away from any human detection – the same spell Cora cast on The Shade. I wondered if it was the reason the original vampire made Emilia a part of his clan to begin with. She was too powerful to let go of. Something tells me that he’s really just using her.
The scream came from a young woman – human and immune. We came just in time to find her being held in the arms of one of the vampire guards. He was drinking her blood and clearly enjoying it. The woman, on the other hand, was clawing at him with all her might.
I instinctively moved forward to help the young girl, but Emilia held me back. “No. I think she’s new. She’s most likely being trained to submit.”
I looked at her, disgusted that she could find such a scene entertaining.
She turned her eyes toward me, giving me a pointed look. “Besides, I don’t want you going anywhere near an immune.”
So we’re just going to stand here and watch? This is sick.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do, Derek.”
The guard seemed to like that Emilia was watching and finding entertainment in what he was doing, so he lifted the girl in his arms, tightly wrapping his large arms around her waist as he continued to drink from her neck. She was writhing to free herself from him, but we all knew it was pointless.
I wanted to do something to stop it, but I was powerless to do as I pleased. I was under Emilia’s control.
For crying out loud, Emilia. Do something. Enough of this.
I wasn’t expecting her to actually do anything about the situation at hand, but if she was still reading my mind, then I figured I could annoy her by continuously thinking something that would displease her.
I began thinking of Sofia, of my most treasured memories of her – the way she clung tightly to me when I first made the hundred-foot leap from the top of the Crimson Fortress to the ground in order to take her to the Lighthouse, all the times she smiled sweetly while she was updating me about the ways of the modern world, her laughter, the slow dances, the kisses, the night she agreed to marry me…
“Enough!” Emilia screamed so loudly, I couldn’t help but jump back in surprise. She turned toward me with an infuriated glare. “Stop thinking about her!”
I would’ve been intimidated by her had I not caught a glimpse of the guard, who was just as stunned by Emilia’s outburst as I was. Considering the awkward way he was carrying the squirming young woman in his arms, he lost his balance when he jumped back in surprise. He let go of the girl and crashed outside of the castle’s protective covering, right into the rays of sunlight. He tried to get right back into the covering, only to be thrown back by a force field.
Emilia stared in horror at the vampire guard. I could swear that she was beginning to panic. I could see it in her eyes. “No… this can’t be happening…”
It felt as if my heart just stopped beating as I watched the guard scream in pain when the sun’s rays began to peel away his pale skin. Emilia, do something. He’s going to die.
I gasped when Emilia let out another scream and slammed the back of her hand against my cheek before she pulled a dagger from a hidden pocket on her dress and threw it at the guard, right through his heart.
“Why did you do that? Couldn’t you have just saved him?”
“I did. He wouldn’t have wanted the consequences his stupidity would’ve brought about.” She brushed past me and began walking toward the castle.
I gave the trembling young woman a quick glance. She was clinging to her neck, terror evident in her eyes. I was craving her blood, knowing that a drink could temporarily restore my sanity, but I had no control over my actions. All I could do is send the young immune a sympathetic gaze before following Emilia. For the first time in a long time, I found myself desperate for someone to save me.
Chapter 30: Kyle
It was after the human rebellion in The Shade that I began to find hope that I could have the old Anna back. We were successful. Much to the disdain of Gregor Novak, there wasn’t going to be another human culling. This relieved me, because I knew that should there be another one, Anna would surely be one of those who would be killed.
I searched her out the moment the rebellion was over. I found myself disheartened because I found her in the arms of Ian. I hated the jealousy that I felt, but I couldn’t deny it either.
“What’s going on?” Ashley stood by my side, following the direction of my gaze. She raised her brow
when she realized who I was staring at. She wrinkled her nose and stared at me in wonderment. “So you’re into Ian?”
I scowled at her. “No. I’m into Anna.”
“Oh, okay… Well…” Ashley cocked her head to the side. “Hmm… Isn’t she crazy?”
“You didn’t know her before Felix got his hands on her.”
“You did?” She looked at me curiously as if she was surprised that I was involved with any other girl in The Shade aside from the girls in Derek’s harem.
“We were able to spend some time together by the lake. She was one-of-a-kind, a lot like Sofia actually in the way she relates to people. Like she’s friends with everyone, willing to trust and forgive and just be a light.”
“Sounds like Sofia alright, but a lot less intense I guess… Sofia can be so intense when it comes to the things she’s passionate about.”
“That’s how she managed to change The Shade.”
“Too bad Anna wasn’t able to handle the pressures of the island like Sofia did.”
I swallowed hard as my eyes once again lingered on the beautiful girl. Anna’s green eyes caught mine and I could swear that there was a flicker of recognition, only to have her dart her eyes around her in panic as if she were afraid that just looking at me would cause trouble. I heaved a sigh, accepting that she would be as she was at that point and that there was little hope of her ever changing.
I turned my attention back to Ashley. “Let’s go?”
She glanced at me momentarily but then she looked at Anna’s direction. “Not quite yet.”
I followed her gaze and found Anna bounding toward me. The raven-haired beauty stopped a couple of feet away from me and just looked me straight in the eye. She then smiled. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since Felix returned her to The Catacombs.
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