All eyes were on me, as they waited with bated breath, for what I was about to say.

“First off all,” I began, “who among us knows how to swim?”

I grinned inwardly as our plan took form. Gregor Novak won’t know what hit him. I couldn’t help but smirk at the notion. Well, what’s new?

CHAPTER 28: SOFIA

Aiden escorted me to where they were keeping Ingrid. Anxious wasn’t too befitting a word to describe how I felt about seeing Ingrid again. I fumbled with my fingers nervously, wondering why on earth she had such an effect on me.

She’s your mother, Sofia. If what Zinnia was saying is true, then you’re about to see a tortured version of her—the same way Vivienne looks now. The idea made me sick to my stomach. I knew that no matter what Ingrid did, I could never really wish her wrong. No matter how insane she was, to me, she would always be Camilla Claremont.

I gave my father a glance, wondering to myself if he felt the same way. A wave of nostalgia hit me, remembering what coming home from school was like when we were still together as a family.

He always came on time. I never once had to wait. Whenever the school bell rang and I ran down the front steps of the red brick school building that I went to for my elementary education, I could always expect the black BWM waiting for me at the parking lot.

Most of the time, my dad wouldn’t be inside the car. Instead, he’d be leaning against the passenger side door, arms crossed over his chest and a big smile on his face.

“Hello, baby,” he greeted me, before taking my backpack away from me and putting it on the passenger’s seat. “Would you like some ice cream?”

“Yes!” This was routine. We never went home without some sort of treat—ice cream, candy, perhaps a smoothie.

He would tell me to hush and not tell my mother, but once we reached home, I would tell her anyway and he would make a mess out of my hair for getting him into trouble.

After the afternoon snack, we would drive home together and he would ask me how my day was. He never once made me feel like he wasn’t listening. He always seemed genuinely interested and actually delighted with what I had to say.

More often than not, once we got home, we would find my mother in the kitchen or in her study. I loved her study. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to touch any of them, but there were so many interesting trinkets and artifacts in there. Every single one of them had a fascinating story behind it. The Red Orb was my favorite. My dad said that it was how he had gotten my mother to fall in love with him. I loved that story.

Dinner was never without laughter, and there were always plenty of hugs and kisses to go around. I was a happy child. I felt loved. I never would’ve imagined that things would turn out the way that they did.

I always felt like Aiden adored me and I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the idea that Camilla held any form of resentment toward me. We were a picture perfect family. Perhaps that was why it was all the more traumatic for me when they had abandoned me. It didn’t help either that growing up, I was diagnosed with so many psychological disorders—ranging from ADHD to OCD. It wasn’t until I reached The Shade that Corrine figured out exactly “what was wrong” with me. I had LLI or Low Latent Inhibition. It heightened my senses. No filters. I could hear, see, feel, sense everything going on around me at the same time. I wondered if this was the reason I felt deeply for those in pain.

I remembered all the times that pain was inflicted upon me and I shuddered—even more so when I remembered seeing Derek in the dungeons of The Oasis. I couldn’t stand the sight of him. I could practically feel his agony. I knew then that I would rather die than ever be held captive by Borys Maslen.

“You’re shaking, Sofia.” Aiden broke through my thoughts. “Nervous?”

I nodded. “Kind of. I’m always antsy whenever I have to see Ingrid. She says the most disturbing things sometimes. Trips to her demented mind are never pleasant.”

Aiden chuckled. “That’s true,” he said, the hint of bitterness in his voice hard to miss.

“Do you love her still?” I asked.

He gave me a short look as if to wonder if he ought to answer my question. He bowed his head and nodded, before giving me what seemed like an honest answer. “I think I always will.”

I could sense his sadness. I would never really understand how my mother could’ve ever let go of him and what we had together as a family.

By the time we reached Ingrid’s cell, I really couldn’t think about anything other than the question “Why?”

When we showed up and the lights were turned on inside her cell, I was surprised by her appearance. She didn’t look as awful as Vivienne, but it was clear to see based on the blood stains lining her mouth that her fangs had already been ripped out. A group of scientists were already there—milling around her. They had her strapped to the cot, so she wasn’t able to move.

Ingrid raised her eyes to see who had just graced her with a visit and a manic grin—that would most likely haunt my nightmares—formed on her face. “Well, look who came for a visit. Aiden and his beloved Sofia… To what do I owe the honor of your presence? Once again, it looks like I failed to bring you two apart.”

I grimaced, not even certain if I wanted to know what exactly was going through her demented mind. Does that mean she’s already tried before? I stared at her, wondering if what we were about to do was right. Of course it is. How could it not be? This may be her one saving grace.

Aiden ignored Ingrid and turned to me. “They have been here prepping her system for what has to be done, making sure all her vitals were as required. I’m going to administer the final stage of the process.” He pulled out a syringe and began shaking it.

“How does this even work?” I asked, feeling a knot form in my stomach.

“We used the samples of blood that you gave us and mixed the first sample with vampire blood. Let’s just say the molecular structure of your blood began to battle that of the vampire’s blood. Of course, nothing happened, or should we say, nobody won, until we put the mixture through a heating process and added vervain roots to the mixture…”

Ingrid had been listening and horror showed in her eyes when she realized what was about to occur. She once again fought against her restraints.

“You sure you want to see this?” Aiden asked me.

I nodded, although I wasn’t feeling as confident as I might’ve put on. “Yes. Let’s do this. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Wide-eyed terror flashed into Ingrid’s face. “What are you going to do to me?”

“Relax, honey.” My father’s deep voice tried to soothe her.

The scientists surrounding her stepped aside as she writhed against her restraints on the bed. “What’s that? What’s it for?” She stared at the syringe like it was about to bite her.

Bite her. That’s exactly what it will do. Or perhaps, it’s more accurate to say that it will reverse the effects of a bite.

In my father’s hands was the cure, and if the hunters’ scientists got it right, I was about to watch Ingrid Maslen turn back into Camilla Claremont—whether she wanted to or not.

CHAPTER 29: GREGOR

The general assembly was far too tempting to pass up. I hadn’t had fresh human blood in weeks and the idea that the lockout was over and I could just grab any person at random and drain the blood out of them was hard not to bite into.

“It could be a trap,” I told Felix.

We were at the port’s control center, trying to figure out how we were going to keep ourselves fed. The moment we realized that we did the siege with just a few packets of blood to keep us from starvation, I knew that there was a possibility that Derek would just wait us out until we came out desperate for blood. Thus, I was pleased to find out that Natalie Borgia was in the island and keeping her hostage there wouldn’t bode well for Derek at all.

Felix shook his head. “One of my men was there when Derek stopped the riot. He swore that Derek just came up with it in the spur of the moment. Besides, what are they going to do?”

I stared at Felix wondering if I could trust what he was saying. He wasn’t the greatest strategic mind. Here’s to me hoping Eli was on my side. I grimaced, once again feeling the pain of betrayal upon realizing that my own subjects—ones I’d served for four hundred years while my son slept like a baby—could turn their backs on me. What I would do to them should I ever regain my power… They’re going to pay. I swear it.

“I don’t get it,” one of Felix’s men muttered. “Derek could easily just speed his way down here and kill us all. Why doesn’t he just do that?”

I raised a brow at him. “Interesting that you have so much faith in the capabilities of my son… I don’t care what you think. Derek Novak isn’t that powerful. It was I who sired him. I am more powerful than he is.”

Obviously, he had something to say to that too, but perhaps he was able to see that talking about my son in glowing terms was most likely going to get him killed, so he shut his mouth. Smart boy.

“So what are we going to do?” Felix asked.

“We get ourselves a bunch of humans to prey on. Let’s see Derek quell another riot after we do that.”

Our plan seemed perfect. I had no doubt in my mind that it would work. It was quite simple. Divide up the men. Some would stay at the port to make sure that we would keep it held, while the others would stake out the pathways that led from The Catacombs to the Vale. We didn’t need to attack the town square. All we had to do was create panic by killing the humans while they were on their way to the assembly.

I wanted blood so I chose to be with the group that would stake out the humans. Felix stayed behind to lead the guarding of the port.

As I hid myself behind a tree trunk from where the opening to the Black Heights was visible, I could practically feel the pleasure building up inside of me at the mere thought of once again drinking fresh human blood straight from a beating heart, pumping the liquid right to my parched throat.