A Shade Of Vampire 4: A Shadow Of Light (9 page)

“What is going on here?” I demanded the moment I saw Corrine at The Catacombs.

After finally escaping
the confrontation at the dome, I immediately sought out the witch who was crucial to the ongoing survival of The Shade. I found that of all the human leaders established by Sofia to represent the human population of The Shade, only Gavin and Ian showed up. They explained to me that Corrine was still at The Catacombs; thus, I was forced to visit the network of caves located in a vast mountain range at the northernmost part of the island known as the Black Heights.

Corrine was seated at the living room of the quarters that I
had prepared for Sofia when she had moved to live with the other humans at The Catacombs. The witch barely even batted an eyelash at the sight of me. “You’re here,” she said flatly.

“This island is going to fall apart unless we all do the work necessary for its survival,” I spat out, immediately cutting to the chase after losing most of my patience back at the dome. “Why are you supporting this lockout?”

“I’m not supporting it.” She shook her head. “I’m just here to make sure these people don’t end up killing each other. Do you have any idea how chaotic it’s been in your kingdom since you disappeared?”

My jaw tightened. “I’ve been told.”

“Where is Sofia?” It seemed the witch wasn’t one to beat around the bush either.

“I left her with the hunters.”

“You’re up against more than you can handle here, Derek. Apparently, you just declared civil war within The Shade. The Naturals are at one another’s throats… Never before has The Catacombs experienced such a high crime rate. And if I’m not mistaken, there are also rumors of a threat of an attack from covens outside The Shade. It’s anarchy and war all at the same time.”

I had no idea how to respond other than with sarcasm. “Well, thank you for giving me such a wonderful recap.”

“I’m serious, Derek.”

“Don’t you think I know all of
that,
Corrine?!” I was thankful for the privacy given us by the humans and vampires who accompanied me to The Catacombs, because if there was anybody at The Shade I felt safe losing my temper with, it was Corrine. I knew that she could easily placate me with a single spell.

“You never should’ve left Sofia. You are weakest when you are apart from her.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” I explained. “Keeping her with me would’ve destroyed her. Even now, whenever I think of her—just the image of her in my mind—it makes me crave her blood so much. All I can think about is how good it felt to drink her blood.”

Corr
ine’s eyes grew wide with shock. “You’ve had a taste of Sofia’s blood? How? Why?”

The recollection made me swallow hard. “She fed me her blood to save me.
Borys had been torturing me. We needed to escape The Oasis. I tried to object, but Sofia insisted. She cut her wrist and let the blood drip into my mouth… I healed quicker than I ever had before.”

Corrine sat up straight and move
d forward so that she was practically sitting on the edge of the couch. “That’s it? Never again did you…”

I shook my head. “I craved her so much after… She willingly let me drin
k from her neck when we were in hunter territory.”

“Derek, how could you…”

“Don’t.” I shook my head. “I do enough of beating myself up over that. I don’t need you to add to my guilt.”

She remained pensive for a couple of seconds before finally
asking. “What did it make you feel to have her blood running inside of you?”

It was exhilarating just to think of Sofia’s blood coursing through me. I
smiled at the thought, almost feeling guilty over the reality that there was nothing like it. “Honestly? It made me feel powerful beyond measure.”

Corrine stared at me, the expression on her face impossible to decipher. She opened her mouth to say something, but then Rosa entered the room. Her eyes widened with surprise at the sight of me.

“Derek! I had no idea you were back…”

Rosa’s face reddened, almost as if she’d been caught guilty doing something she ought not to do.

I squinted my eyes at her and frowned. “You don’t seem very happy to see me, Rosa. Is something wrong?”

With everything going on, I was actually pleased to see Rosa. Always antsy and careful with what she
said around me, she reminded me of the days back at my penthouse when she, Ashley and Sofia had still lived with me. I felt a sense of responsibility toward her and I found myself eager to know how she’d been doing since I had left. Knowing how much she mattered to Sofia, I couldn’t help but give her a moment’s attention in spite of the deluge of problems flooding my way.

Rosa stood still for a couple of seconds as she tried to figure out if I was upset with her. She then
shook her head and looked to Corrine for help. Corrine rolled her eyes. “You’re scaring her, Derek.”

I chuckled and
the young girl sighed with relief. “How have you been, Rosa?”

She blushed and nodded
. “I’m fine.”

“Rosa’s been taking
care of Sofia’s quarters,” Corrine explained. “We didn’t know what to expect, but it’s been over-crowded here at The Catacombs lately, so I recommended that they move here.”

My brow quirked up. “
Who are
they
exactly?”

“Well, Rosa’s been here all along, but now, so is Gavin and his family
—Lily and the children. Ian and Anna have moved in too.”

Gavin and Ian were both Naturals
—born and raised at The Shade. When Sofia moved to The Catacombs, it was Gavin who took her under his wing and introduced her to life within the caves. Lily was his mother and he had two younger siblings, Rob and Madeline. At some point, Gavin introduced Sofia to Ian, who was at the time, one of the rebel leaders at The Shade. Together, the three of them spearheaded a protest against a culling of all humans deemed to be useless.

“Who’s Anna?” I asked, not really familiar with the name.

Corrine and Rosa exchanged uncomfortable glances. Rosa tentatively took a seat on a wooden chair near her as if to grab support for what Corrine was about to reveal.

“Anna was a Migrate. She was Felix’s slave. For a time, it seemed that he was actually in love with her. He had everyone convinced, but then, eventually he tired of her and just kind of abandoned her here at
The Catacombs. We don’t really know exactly what happened between them, but she went insane…”

“So you have a crazy woman living in Sofia’s quarters?” I frowned.

Corrine glared at my nonchalance. I found the story heart-breaking, but it was standard fare at The Shade. Anna was lucky that Felix kept her alive. I wasn’t glad that she went crazy, but what was I to do when for hundreds of years, death was something common to The Shade?

Rosa was, of course, oblivious of this reality and was quick to explain. “Well, you see…
Gavin and Ian already suspected that some of the men here at The Catacombs were…” she paused and swallowed hard “…taking advantage of Anna. I’m not sure about the details, but Ian and Kyle got into a fight with some of the older Naturals over her. Since then, both of them have had this weird rivalry over who gets to protect her. That’s why Ian insisted that he move here with Anna, something Kyle’s not very happy about.”

Kyle was one of two guards that I really trusted. He and Sam weren’t part of the Elite
—mostly composed of families who fought with me in order to establish The Shade. They moved to the island much later, seeking The Shade’s refuge against the relentless pursuing of the hunters. They’d proven to be loyal and worthy of my trust. They were also good friends with Sofia.

Sofia.
Suddenly, looking around me, it felt like I was surrounded by her. These people I was with were her friends. The Catacombs was her world. I was sitting inside her home. I was suddenly so aware of her absence, causing a heavy weight to settle on my chest.

I swallowed hard just in time to catch a glimpse of Corrine staring directly at me, as if knowing exactly what I was going through.

“You’re not going to survive without her. You can try, but apart from her, you’re out of depth, Novak.”

“What do you want me to do, Corrine?”

“Get Sofia back here. There’s no other way.”

The morning after Aiden and I made love, he found me cowering in a corner, trying to get as far away as I could from the sunlight streaming through his large bedroom windows. I could swear I heard him snicker when he saw me. I couldn’t help but shoot him a look of thankfulness, however, when he pulled the heavy drapes over the windows, once again allowing us to be in the darkness.

He pulled a robe over his body before turning to look at me. “No one can know this happened.”

That hurt. I wondered if he even had any idea the kind of effect he had on me. I wondered if he had even the slightest clue what it did to me when he took me in his arms the night before and held me like he did before—like I was Camilla. It felt like forgiveness, like redemption, like acceptance.

You’re such a fool, Ingrid.
He used you. That’s what he did.

He began gathering my clothes and placed them over the bed. “Get dressed,” he instructed, worry creasing the lines on his forehead. He then walked to the bathroom. Minutes later, I heard the shower running.

My knees were still shaking as I stood to my feet. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the sunlight or the fact that the full reality of what had just happened dawned on me. I never actually enjoyed sharing the marriage bed all those years I was with Aiden. I tried my best to please him, because I loved him, but to me, it was my duty as his wife and not necessarily something I relished.

This time, however, I found myself giving into him with abandon in a way I never did before. Perhaps it was the time and the distance that kept us apart for a good part of a decade. I wasn’t sure why, but I wanted him as much as I felt he wanted me. I gave myself to him without inhibition. I was surprised by my own response.

Is it because I was with him as Ingrid and not as Camilla?

I didn’t have much time to process all the questions and emotions coursing through me. I barely just finished slapping my clothes on when he stepped out of the shower, dripping wet, a robe over his muscular form.

He stared at me momentarily. I would’ve given anything to be able to read his mind at that moment. His face was one big blank.

My heart broke when he flatly said, “Let’s go. You can wash up back in your room.”

I thought that was it. I was sure that Aiden thought that everything that had happened between us was just one big mistake, a lapse of judgment on his part. I was certain that it would be the last time something like it would ever happen.

Thus, I was surprised when in the middle of the night, he arrived in the bedroom I shared with Claudia, bringing with him our nightly ration of animal blood. He handed both Claudia and me our
respective containers before uncomfortably shuffling on his feet. I took my container and stared up at him, wondering why he wouldn’t just leave.

After what
had happened, I wasn’t very thrilled to have him around and strange as it was, the idea of drinking blood in front of him felt wrong.

He must’ve noticed how I was staring at him, so he explained, “I need to speak with you.”

“Let’s speak then.” I placed the container on my bedside table.

“You’re not going to drink
that
?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m not that hungry…”

“Very well.” Aiden nodded for me to follow him. Thus, I obliged and followed him out of the bedroom, not knowing what to expect. He immediately took me to the elevator and we were soon headed for the basement. I took note of where we were passing through, noticing that whichever way we went, nobody was around. No guards, no other people at all. Just us. I paid attention to the direction we were going and it wasn’t long after when I realized that we were walking through a network of secret passages in the headquarters’ underground. Eventually, we reached a short flight of stairs that led up to a latched opening. Aiden pushed it open and we stepped into a garden which I assumed was somewhere south of the main estate. Headquarters was quite a long walk away from us.

The moment I stepped out of the underground passages,
Aiden took one long, yearning look at me before grabbing me by the waist and kissing me. For a moment, I was too stunned to respond or even react. After I gathered my wits about me, however, I responded with abandon. I realized that night that I had him. I had Aiden Claremont in the palm of my hands.

I also discovered a way to destroy Sofia
—and perhaps, in the process, destroy Aiden and any love I had still felt for him.

The sense of power I felt that night, knowing that everything seemed to be falling into place, was unlike anything I
had felt before. Snuggling into his arms and looking up at his beautiful green eyes, I smiled up at Aiden and he smiled back.

“I don’t think I could ever stop loving you,” he admitted.

My heart leapt at what he said. “Neither I you, Aiden,” I responded.
That’s exactly why I need to ruin you. Just imagine how powerful I’ll be once I no longer have love holding me back.