A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire, #1)(26)

“If you hate us so much, why do you serve us? Why help protect us?”

“Your kind took me captive much like you did this girl. I had no choice in the matter.”

My brow rose at this news. “Is this true, Vivienne?”

“We needed a witch to keep the spell going…” my sister tried to explain.

I was perhaps losing half my mind because I looked at Corrine and without a hint of a joke on my face, I said, “You’re free to go anytime you please, witch. No one will stop you. You have my word.”

“Derek…” Vivienne gasped. “We can’t…”

“Be quiet, Vivienne.” I lifted a hand to silence my sister. I stared at the shocked expression on Corrine’s face. “You’re no longer a prisoner of the Blood Shade, Corrine. You may leave today if you wish. I’ll even see you to the port myself.” I was calling her bluff. She was Cora’s descendant and if she was anything like her ancestor, no one would have been able to keep her in one place against her will. She was here for a reason and it certainly wasn’t because we kept her locked up.

Corrine eyed me for a couple of seconds, her lips sealed tight. Afterwards, a small sideward smile formed on her face.

“I see now what Cora saw in you.”

Vivienne stepped forward, looking absolutely confused. “Corrine… you mean you’re not leaving? You’ve been harping about being held against your will since you got here.”

“You really are quite a lovely thing, aren’t you, Vivienne? I’ve inherited hundreds of years’ worth of power and knowledge from Cora down to every descendant she’d had. Do you really think that you can hold me captive with four walls or a cage?” Corrine then gave Sofia a glance. She heaved a sigh. “Now let’s get back to the matter at hand. If I’m to find out what really happened, I can’t have either of you lurking around, threatening her.”

“I would never threaten her,” I spat out.

“Don’t kid yourself, Derek,” Corrine smirked. “Your presence alone is a threat to her. Now, go on… leave.”

I cast a lingering gaze at Sofia, feeling like I was being ripped apart on the inside. My fists clenched as I gave the arrogant young witch a heartfelt plea. “Do everything you can to make things right for her…just…fix her.”

There was a spark of confusion in Corrine’s large brown eyes. Perhaps she was wondering why I cared so much, but she didn’t address the matter and instead, simply herded Vivienne and me out of the room. “You can see yourselves out. I will have a guard alert you once she is ready to return to the Pavilion.”

I stood outside as Corrine slammed the door on our faces. I didn’t budge from my spot, determined to stay there and wait until Sofia was okay.

Vivienne grabbed my hand and squeezed. “Sofia’s going to be fine. Corrine was in her senior year of psychology when we dragged her down here. She’ll know how to help Sofia.”

“I’m not leaving here until I know Sofia is okay.” I announced.

My sister knew me well enough to know that once I put my mind to something, I could be as stubborn as a mule about it. She nodded, knowing that nothing she could say would convince me to leave that place.

“If you need me, I’ll be at the Pavilion seeing to the investigations. We’ll find out who did this, Derek.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. I felt the guilt and shame come over me as Vivienne left me there to brood alone. I couldn’t think of anyone who could be capable of doing this to Sofia other than Lucas. But I had no proof and even if I did, I wasn’t sure that I could do anything about it. Lucas was my brother and no matter how important Sofia had become to me, blood runs thicker than water.





CHAPTER 19: SOFIA

Corrine took her time with me. She tried to make me comfortable, giving me a drink of water, which I truly appreciated, considering how the taste of Derek’s blood was still fresh on my mouth. She took great care in making sure that I wanted to do what she was asking me to do – never pushing or ordering or commanding, which I was certain was exactly what Derek would’ve done had I been left under his care.

She gave me a fresh set of clothes to wear. I was so relieved to see that she handed me skinny jeans and an adorable-looking white baby doll blouse. It was nice to see something I would wear in normal life, instead of the dresses and skirts afforded to me at the Pavilion. Oh, they were pretty and feminine, but it felt like the sole reason I had to wear them was so that the vampires could have easy access to my body – that’s certainly what Lucas got. I put on the jeans knowing how irrational my line of thinking was. It’s not like I would’ve worn jeans to sleep in the first place. Still, the snug fit of the denim on my legs provided me a thread of comfort. At least I won’t have to feel Lucas’ hand over my legs. I shuddered, recalling the way he touched me. I knew that it wasn’t going to be the last time he would do it. What terrified me most was how helpless I felt at that time. I never wanted to feel that way again.

“Would you like to talk about what happened?” Corrine asked.

I sat over the edge of her bed as she pulled an ottoman in front of me so she could sit right across me. From her bedside table, she pointed to a bowl of fruits.

“If you’re hungry…” she offered.