Gathering my wits about me, I knew that I was just lucky and that the hunters were surely after me. I found a cell phone in the pocket of one of the teenagers I had killed. I then searched the cabin for clues about its address, before dialing Natalie Borgia’s number.

My message to her was simple: “Wherever Borys is, let him know that I’m alive and that I need him to get me.”

Within a few hours, a helicopter arrived. At first, I thought that it was the hunters’ and I was beginning to panic, but when I saw Borys, I sighed with relief. I ran into his arms, tears streaming down my face.

He embraced me and pulled me against his chest as he whispered into my ear, “I thought I lost you, Ingrid.”

I once again felt the strength and security that I could only feel when I was around the vampire who sired me. I sobbed into his shoulder for a few seconds before whispering into his ear, “I think I know how you can get your hands on Sofia. Do you still want her?”

I could practically hear the spite and menace in his voice when he responded in a low voice, “I’ve never wanted anything more than to feel her lovely, trembling form in my arms again.”

I shuddered when I realized the hell Sofia was going to go through should Borys ever get a hold of her again. I swallowed hard as I remembered my daughter telling me she loved me. I dreaded the day that Borys would once again have Sofia within his grasp.

But it’s too late, Ingrid. You’ve already told him about her. You have no choice but to surrender her to him.

CHAPTER 43: GREGOR

The moment I was taken from my daughter’s chambers and brought back to The Cells, I knew that I was in trouble. An odd mixture of determination to not disappoint Vivienne and pure terror began battling for the right to rule my will.

I shivered just thinking about what I had gone through in between the time when I had left The Oasis and finally returned to The Shade. If there ever was any doubt in my mind that we vampires were creatures of the dark, it was totally eradicated when I was forced to come face to face with what a dark creature I had allowed myself to become. Darkness took hold of both Borys and me in such a way I had never thought possible. It took full control.

Perhaps this is what happened to Derek before he decided to escape to his slumber. It’s the reason he was so powerful. Darkness gripped him and made him the heartless leader that saved The Shade.

Clarity had come over me the moment I had looked upon my beautiful Vivienne’s blue-violet eyes. Her unconditional love for me as her father awakened what little shred of humanity I still had left in me. I realized that the only reason I was thinking beyond the darkness’ control was because Vivienne somehow illuminated something deep within me. One small spark was all it took to light up pitch black darkness.

However, my match was quickly running out of its flame. I knew that I was about to lose myself again. I would once again forget the love I felt for my children—especially Derek.

Alone in my cell, moonlight streaming from the small, barred window, I felt like a million voices were ringing in my ear all at the same time. I knew the kind of power I was up against. I knew the hold it had over me. I knew that this was a battle I couldn’t win, but couldn’t afford to lose either.

For the first time in the past five hundred years, I realized how I, as a creature of the dark, craved so much for light. I was desperate to keep the spark inside me burning.

Traitor, a voice whispered—coming from within me rather than from my surroundings. I shuddered. I tried to fight it. I tried to summon all the will power I had within me to keep myself in control. I couldn’t do it.

My body was no longer my own, my thoughts conflicted and out of control. Claws came out of my hand, and with my forefinger, I began scratching a message on my arm. My own claw cut through my skin and it cut deep. I bit my lip against the pain as I saw the message take form.

You chose the wrong side.

Chills ran down my spine as it dawned on me exactly what it meant. At that moment, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was absolutely no way I could make it through the night, and yet I felt in me an unnerving calm. I was able to hold Vivienne in my arms again. I was able to see her beautiful eyes and her calming smile.

I had all the consolation I needed knowing that should I die that night, in the final moments of my life, I had chosen light.

CHAPTER 44: DEREK

She was silent. She was soothing calm amidst a raging tempest. She peered at me through her long lashes and I found myself breathless.

Suddenly, the waves crashing over me seemed less threatening, the winds blowing at me seemed a little gentler. The storm surrounding me ceased to matter. Sofia was once again in my arms, serving as my calming center.

Her lips moved to press against mine, and I knew that if I wanted to, I could take it further. I knew her well enough to sense that she would happily give in, but I didn’t want that. Not with her. I was determined to stay true to my vow that I would not make love to her until after she’d become my wife. It was my way of setting her apart from all those other women who came before her. It was my way of honoring her.

The idea that she could be my wife—in light of the hunters’ newfound cure—thrilled me. To live a lifetime of this, being with Sofia, tasting her, loving her… It was far more than I could ever dream of, far greater than my deepest wishes even as a human. It took centuries to finally find her, but it happened… I found the woman I loved and if it was all my immortality was good for, then it was worth it.

When our lips parted and I saw her blush the moment our eyes met, I could swear my heart stopped. I had no idea how I could’ve convinced myself that I could ever stand being apart from her.

“I was a fool to leave you,” I admitted.

She slapped my shoulder. “Damn right you were. I was going crazy trying to understand why you left.” Her voice broke. “You didn’t even say goodbye.”

“You wouldn’t have let me go if I had.”

“That’s because we belong together, Derek.” She paused and looked at me like the big fool that I was. “I can’t believe you still don’t know that.”

“I couldn’t stand the idea of preying on you, Sofia.” My heart sank as I recalled my need to have a taste of her blood the moment I had woken up. I didn’t even ask her anymore. I just took what she was clearly offering.

“Does it hurt when I drink from you?” I asked, wondering why I even bothered to ask the question. Of course it hurts.

“The bite stings at first, but it’s not like I’m not used to it…” She sat up on the bed and began pulling her hair up in a high ponytail.

I breathed out a sigh, hoping that we could freeze that moment and just stay cocooned in my bedroom. I hoped that we could just forget all the concerns that I needed to deal with. Of course, I knew that was impossible. Right at that very moment, I could hear people shuffling outside my room, waiting for me to emerge. I guessed that it was some of the Elite—perhaps present to discuss our severe lack of blood supplies. Just the thought of having to deal with all the drama going on made me groan out loud.

Sofia, who was already up and about the room, getting herself ready for the day, looked my way and chuckled, seeming to already know what was going through my mind. She leaned over my side of the bed and kissed my cheek. “We’re together again, and that’s all that matters right now.”

I didn’t know how to respond as I watched her step into the bathroom and close the door behind her. I loved that about Sofia. I loved how she seemed to take the heaviest of situations and somehow make it feel lighter.

My ray of sunshine was back and I wanted to kick myself for allowing things to go any other way.

By the time we both got ready and stepped out of the bedroom, we found a group of people waiting for us in the dining room—Cameron, Liana, Xavier, Eli, Yuri and to my surprise, Vivienne.

“Aren’t you supposed to be resting? Sofia and I were just planning to visit you…” I asked my twin.

“Liana came over and told me about the dilemma regarding the island’s blood supply. What are we going to do about that?”

I gave Liana a cold glare for worrying Vivienne over matters of the island. “That’s what we’re about to figure out today, Viv.” I pulled out a chair for Sofia beside mine before taking a seat at the head of the table. “Before I ask to what I owe the pleasure of this invasion, do you have any suggestions regarding how we’re going to fix this mess?”

I was greeted by a tense silence. There was a time when the answer would’ve been to abduct humans to feed on or to hold a culling—killing off all the weak and useless humans and draining them of blood that we could preserve at the chilling chambers. Now, none of us had any idea how to replenish the blood supply at such short notice. Until Sofia stated the obvious as she stared into space and shrugged. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

All eyes turned to her.

Xavier seemed irritated. “Do you have any idea how thirsty I am, Sofia? I only had one packet blood left and I had to give it to…” He bit his lip and caught his words as he glanced at Vivienne “…Not that I regret it of course, but not all of us have a fresh supply of blood like Derek seems to enjoy since you came back.”

My gut clenched as I followed the direction of Xavier’s eyes on the bite marks on Sofia’s neck.

“What Xavier’s trying to say is that if the vampires don’t get their blood, we won’t be able to keep them from attacking the humans at The Catacombs. We’re going to have another riot and considering that the hunters are coming and so are the other covens, we can’t afford that,” Liana summarized before taking in a deep breath.

“Yes. I get the dilemma,” Sofia said. “I just don’t know why you can’t see the solution when it seems pretty obvious.”

“Just tell us what you have in mind, Sofia. We’re all ears,” I said.

“For one thing, you could always live on animal blood. Vivienne has survived all these years on that.” Sofia raised her hands in the air before anyone could object. “Yes, yes. I know what you’re going to say. Not everyone can do what Vivienne is doing. I get that. I do have another idea. I’d like to believe that through the past year, we’ve already established some sort of rapport between the humans and the vampires. I don’t see why the humans wouldn’t agree to donate their own blood to feed the vampires.”