I immediately stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re alright. I was certain that…”

Her eyes widened warning me not to say anymore, reminding me the trouble she would get into should anyone discover what she had done for me.

Thus, I restrained my urge to give her one big, grateful hug and nodded cordially at her. “Your message?”

She eyed all the people present at the room. “This message contains sensitive information threatening the security of this island. You sure you want everyone here to hear it?”

“They’ll find out eventually,” I assured her, steeling myself for the worst.

“The leaders of the other vampire covens want to meet with you,” she announced.

It’s a trap. Natalie wasn’t her usual warm and inviting self when she was around me. Even as a diplomat, she always had this casual way about her when it was me she was talking to. This time, however, she was stiff and guarded. I knew then that no matter what history I had with her, I couldn’t ever fully trust her. “If I don’t go?”

“Why wouldn’t you…” Xavier began to butt in.

I raised a hand midair to make him stop talking. I gave him a look to let him know that he was going to get his answers eventually. Right now, he had to shut up. He knew me well enough to figure out what I was trying to communicate to him.

“If you don’t go.” Natalie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “They’re going to attack The Shade.”

“And if I go, they’re going to capture me and most likely kill me, right?”

Her eyes softened for a moment, looking at me as if she was about to lose a dear old friend, but she quickly gained composure and maintained her diplomatic air. “I guess you have a decision to make, Derek.”

I couldn’t find a reason for me to go. I didn’t even have the slightest clue how the other vampires even intended to orchestrate an attack on the island without being detected by the outside world.

“Tell them I need time to think about it. I’ll let you know once I’ve made my decision.”

Natalie handed me a sealed envelope. “The details of the meeting are in there.” She gave me a long look—a warning—practically a plea to keep me from going.

“Thank you, Natalie.” I tried to smile as I took the envelope. “For everything.”

As if the world weren’t already crashing on me all at the same time, Cameron showed up—a grave look on the Scot’s freckled face.

“Cameron? What’s wrong? Natalie was just about to leave the island.”

“She can’t,” he said.

“What do you mean I can’t?” Natalie frowned.

“Gregor and Felix just attacked the port. They have control of it,” Cameron announced. “I think they know that Natalie is here. They’re making it look like you’ve taken her hostage.”

I swallowed hard, knowing the implications of being accused of harming—in any way—a rogue vampire as important as Natalie. I eyed her anxiously, wondering if she had had any idea that this was coming. She seemed genuinely surprised.

“We need to take back control of the port,” Xavier mumbled.

The words had barely just escaped his lips when a loud, piercing scream echoed through the cavernous walls of The Catacombs.

Gavin, Ian and Kyle ran out of Sofia’s quarters—located at the topmost levels of the many layers of The Catacombs and within minutes, only Gavin returned, announcing, “A riot. They’re killing one another out there.”

It was my first night back at The Shade and I could think of nothing more appealing than to kill myself right then and there.

Adding fuel to the fire of my despair, Natalie stated the obvious, “Looks like you’re kingdom’s falling apart, King Derek.”

CHAPTER 20: AIDEN

I held Ingrid’s hand in mine as we walked toward the garden where we had our now regular midnight rendezvous—the same garden Sofia had discovered and tried to escape from. I was silent until we reached the garden, lost in my thoughts, relieved that Ingrid wasn’t trying to make conversation.

I knew the risk I was putting myself in by being in a relationship with her. I knew that the higher-ranking officials of the hunters had their eyes on me. The pressure I’d been getting for losing Derek Novak and for keeping vampires alive at headquarters was intense, but I couldn’t do what they wanted me to do. I couldn’t kill Claudia out of honor for Ben. I couldn’t kill Ingrid because the thought of my daughter suffering another death was beyond what I could handle. Stop lying to yourself, Aiden. Ingrid is still alive because you can’t stand the idea of losing your wife.

I let go of her hand, fully aware of how tightly I was clinging to our past. The nights I’d spent with Ingrid had been pure ecstasy—Ingrid was a passionate lover in bed in a way that Camilla never was.

That night, however, I had to shove away any wanton thoughts of having her in my arms and focus on the questions and doubts weighing in my mind. The moment we reached the garden, Ingrid motioned to kiss me, but I quickly pushed her away. I stepped back, keeping a safe distance between her and me, so we could have a conversation.

“How did Sofia know how to get to the garden?” I asked Ingrid.

Her shoulders sagged and she heaved a sigh. “She wanted to escape, Aiden. She asked me for help, so I helped her. My conscience couldn’t stand it though. It felt like I was betraying you, so I had to tell you…”

If she was putting on an act of a conscience-ridden woman, she was good at it. I couldn’t help but still draw a breath at the sight of her. She will always be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.

I clenched my fists, my recent conversation with Sofia still stuck in my mind. “She’s talking crazy. Sofia.”

That statement seemed to spark delight in Ingrid’s eyes, but she quickly covered that up. “Why do you say that?”

“She’s talking about being immune to vampirism. She’s talking about a cure to the curse.” I looked at Ingrid, not missing how ironic it was that I was discussing this with a vampire. I’m such a hypocrite. I’m condemning my daughter for loving a vampire, when I myself am in love with one. I gave Ingrid a lingering look, hoping that she couldn’t see the disgust in my eyes when I thought: it’s your curse too. How on earth could I allow myself to still love you?

Conflicted was a word that did little justice to the war raging within me ever since Ingrid and I first slept together.

“Sofia and her delusions…” Ingrid said, sounding melancholic, almost as if she felt sorry for Sofia. “She actually thinks that because she’s immune, there’s some sort of cure that will make a lifetime of bliss possible for her and her beloved. Delusional darling...”

“Immune? She is immune?”

“Yes.” Ingrid stared straight at me before quickly reminding me why I should be revolted by her very being. “Borys tried to turn her the night I gave her to him. She didn’t turn. She’s immune to the curse, if we could even call it that.”

I stood there, unable to wrap my mind around the idea that she could speak so nonchalantly about offering her nine-year-old daughter to a century-old vampire and allowing him to try and turn her. How many times must I be reminded that she is not my Camilla?

“Don’t look at me like some monster, Aiden.” She shook her head. “It’s not like you didn’t know that I wanted Sofia to end up with Borys all those times we made love. Does it really make a difference now?” She drew close to me, pressing her body against mine.

This time, however, I found myself repelled by her. I pushed her away. “This ends now, Ingrid. No matter what we’d been doing these past days, my loyalty remains with our daughter. You were right all along. You lost me to Sofia, and make no mistake about it… If she ever asks it of me, I wouldn’t think twice about killing you.”

Fury unlike anything I’d ever seen before sparked in her eyes as she bared her fangs, poised to attack me, not quite remembering that I was a formidable hunter and compared to other vampires I’d fought before, a decade-old vampire like her was no match for me. As she was about to sink her teeth into my neck, I grabbed her head with both my hands and used all my strength to twist her head and snap her neck in two.

Quickest way to maim a vampire. I thought as she dropped to the ground. She was still alive, but once I instructed someone to snap her neck back into place, she would realize that she had just lost all leverage she had gained from my renewal of love for her—or perhaps lust.

She was going to wake up in a dungeon, her fangs ripped from her mouth, regretting the day she had ever tried to harm my daughter.

CHAPTER 21: SOFIA

Since my confrontation with him, Aiden kept me locked in my bedroom. The only person coming and going was Zinnia, and she usually came only to bring me food or take the dirty dishes away. During this time, she would barely speak to me or even look at me.

“How long is he going to keep me here?” I asked once after she had brought me breakfast on a tray. It was the morning of the second day after my botched escape attempt.

She glared at me. “Until you die, I hope. Ben gave up his life in order to get you safely back here, and this is how you repay him? By bolting the first chance you get so you could go back to that vampire boyfriend of yours?”

“You don’t know Ben as well as I did, Zinnia. You weren’t there with him at The Oasis. He didn’t risk his life to get me back here. He gave it up so I could be happy, so I could be with Derek.” I was choking up with tears at the memory of my best friend.

“Ben was loyal to the cause of the hunters. He never would’ve wanted you to end up with Derek.”

“Really? Is that why he chose to stay with me at The Shade instead of returning here? Is that why he agreed to give me away on my wedding day, with Derek as my groom?”

Her eyes widened. “You married Derek Novak? Your father knows this?”