A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire, #1)(17)

“What?” I asked her.

“Thank you… for rescuing me this morning. I was pretty sure nothing would stop the guards from turning me into their breakfast.”

I didn’t answer. She was my responsibility. It was my duty to see to her safety.

“I’m sorry you were taken away from life outside. I understand how all this could be… traumatic,” I said.

She focused on preparing her breakfast, though her long lashes fluttered at my apology.

After a pause, she spoke up. “I can’t make this clear enough. No matter what you think, I’m not yours, Derek. You told the guard that I was yours. I’m not.”

I admired her boldness. She was talking to me like she would an equal, never holding back from speaking her mind and yet she managed to pull it off with a feminine grace I found charming and rather off-putting. I debated with myself whether I should address her statements. As far as everyone in the Blood Shade was concerned, she was mine. It was just the simple truth and no matter how she would like to believe otherwise, it remained true. I heaved a sigh and let it go. Let her believe what she will.

“It’s never morning here. Why is that?” She perhaps realized that she wasn’t about to get a response from me regarding her statements about how I didn’t own her, when I actually did.

“A witch’s spell keeps the sunlight away.” I looked out of the window. “Here at the Blood Shade, it’s forever night. I haven’t seen the sun in five hundred years.”

When I gazed at her, I was taken aback by the way she was looking at me. It felt like she was seeing through me, studying me.

“You’re five hundred years old?” She asked after a pause, seemingly satisfied by whatever it was that she saw in me.

I shook my head. “I’m eighteen. I will forever be eighteen.”

“That’s how old you were when you… turned?”

I nodded.

“Who turned you?”

Unnerved by the barrage of questions, digging up unwanted memories, I lifted myself off the counter and looked her straight in the eye.

“Let’s have breakfast now, shall we.” I said, bluntly.

I was relieved that she didn’t pry further. She picked up her plate and headed off with me to the dining area. A smile formed on my lips when I found a glass of blood already waiting at the table for me.

She stared at it even as she took her seat.

I found myself amused by the expression on her face even as I sat across the table from her, taking a sip from the glass.

Sofia watched, her eyes wide with a mix of fascination and horror.

“I’ll never get used to this,” she muttered.

“Get used to what?” a deep baritone voice asked from one corner of the room.

Her eyes shot toward the direction of the voice, but I didn’t need to look to know who it was.

“Lucas.” I said, flatly.

“You killed a vampire – a guard at that.” Lucas eyed Sofia curiously. “For her.”

“You’ve heard.”

“Pitchy and his squeaky voice have been chirping about it all morning.” Lucas took a seat beside Sofia.

It didn’t take a lot of perception to see that she was uncomfortable around him. I wondered why. Knowing my brother, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find that he tried to pull something with her.

Lucas set his eyes on her as he laid an arm over the back of her seat.

“So what makes Sofia – stunning as she is – worth the life of one of our own, Derek?”

“She’s mine,” I repeated, giving Sofia a pointed look. “The guard assaulted her, tasted her blood. He had it coming.”

My brother’s left brow quirked at the mention of the guard having tasted Sofia’s blood. I was certain from the expression on his face that he wasn’t thrilled by the news. The reaction drew my curiosity. Does he want Sofia?

“I see how that could’ve been a problem. This one has something about her that just makes us vamps crave her.” Lucas’ gaze traveled from her face to her body. “The pathetic loser wouldn’t have been able to resist.”

The lust was unmistakable. He was practically undressing her with those eyes and I could tell that Sofia felt it based on how she sat there tense and unmoving.

I wanted to tackle my brother to the ground, but was certain that it would only serve to earn Sofia his ire.

“Why are you here, Lucas?”

That effectively snapped his attention back to me.

“As much as I would like to say that I missed having you around, little brother, I really didn’t.” He sighed. “Vivienne asked that we meet. No better time than today to let you know what you’re up against now that you’re awake.”

“What exactly am I up against?” I raised a brow, leaning back on my seat as I took another sip from my glass of blood. “And where is Vivienne?”

“Busy doing heaven knows what.” Lucas fished for something from his pocket and threw it my way.

I caught it and stared at it. It looked like a metal slate of sorts. What it was for, I had no idea.

“What is this?”

“It’s a cellphone. You use it to call people, text them. A communication device.” He once again laid his eyes on Sofia. “I’m sure your teenage lovely here is perfectly capable of teaching you how to use it.”