A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(14)

I was so overcome by surprise, I started tuning her out right after she said, “Derek wants to get married as soon as possible. I agreed.”

I was going through another set or two of push-ups when she arrived in my cell, sat on my cot and just began talking. I actually appreciated that she decided to come to me in order to pour her heart out, but I was nowhere near prepared to hear about the things she was saying.

She was in the middle of a sentence, when I just found myself bursting out, “Have you gone mad, Sofia?”

She sealed her lips and looked at me as I stood to my full height, giving her that certain glare fathers gave their daughters when they were very, very displeased.

“You’re a mortal talking about getting married to an immortal. Do you even realize what that means?”

“Well, it’s not like you didn’t know that he is my fiancé to begin with.”

I stared at her in disbelief, her green eyes – the same shade as mine – staring up at me in wide-eyed defense of the talk she was giving.

“Why on earth are you even talking to me about this if you’ve already made up your mind, Sofia?” I leaned against the stone wall across from the cot and crossed my arms over my chest. When she didn’t respond, I glared at her. “You’re still hanging your hopes on this ridiculous idea of a cure, aren’t you?”

She blew out a sigh, her shoulders sagging. “If you’d been listening and not finding yourself too busy preparing to throw one of your fatherly fits, then you would’ve heard me say that I do have my doubts about the marriage. Truth be told, I’m wondering why he’s in such a rush. Why now? Why does he want to get married all of a sudden?”

It took a couple of seconds before her words registered in my mind. I cocked my head to the side, wondering if she was playing some elaborate joke on me, but she really did seem to be truly considering this. Maybe she’s not as stubborn, irrational and immature as I think. I’d been told many times by the people of The Shade that Sofia was a strong and free-spirited young woman. I wanted to see that side of her, but whenever I laid my eyes on her, all I could really see was a stubborn and rebellious teenager lovesick over a vampire, something I could not accept as a hunter.

I wanted to capitalize on her doubts, but for the first time, I gave her the credit she was due and decided to just listen to her. “Why do you think you have these doubts?”

“Well, don’t get me wrong… I want nothing more than to marry Derek…”

At that, my lips twitched, but I fought the urge to give her a violent reaction. Calm down, Aiden. It’s not like you haven’t seen firsthand how much they are in love with each other.

She was waiting for me to react to that one, so when I just stood there and stared at her, waiting for her to explain further, she continued her explanation, “I just feel like something’s wrong. Peace has always been my compass, and I don’t have any of that when it comes to this. I don’t even know why.”

“If that is so, why did you agree to the wedding, Sofia?”

“Because I love him. You know that… He seemed so excited and so into it, it was just hard to say no, but now that I’m thinking about it… I feel like we’re not strong enough for something like this. Not yet.”

“So, what are you going to do now? Are you still going to push through with it?” I was testing her, wondering how her mind worked, how she made her decisions. Up until that time, I always saw her as being rather impulsive, like a child who follows even the slightest of whims. I was hoping that she would prove me wrong.

“I have to be honest with Derek about this. I can’t marry him feeling this way. At least not now. I need to have clarity for a commitment as huge as marriage. It would be unfair for both of us if I just pushed through with it in spite of my apprehensions.”

Every fatherly instinct I had began to applaud for her. I wanted to pull her into my arms and embrace her for thinking straight for once, but all I did was nod my head and shrug one shoulder. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Aiden…” she said my name with a hint of gratefulness.

I raised a brow at her. “Yeah?”

“When I do get married someday, it would mean the world to me if you walked me down the aisle. You’ll do that, right? No matter who I marry?”

“Sofia… I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world.”

Later, after she had gone off to do whatever it was that kept her busy in the island of vampires, I realized that I meant it. I knew that even if she married Derek Novak, I could never say no to walking her down that aisle. It would be my deepest honor.

I caught that thought and remembered the last time I acknowledged something as my “deepest honor.” It was the day I became a hunter.

Four ugly scars lined the face of my father. Whenever I was in his presence, I would always take a few moments to stare at them, reminding myself that they were one of the reasons I should always hate vampires.

That night, we were at the gardens of his large estate, right beside the koi pond, and he was circling me like he would a vulture.

“This is it, son,” his gruff voice spoke up. “You must avenge the family. You must restore our good name.” His voice broke.

Memories of the tragedy that occurred began to flood back through my mind. Blood streaming out of the hardwood floor, lifeless bodies strewn all over the hall – men, women and children alike. Indiscriminately murdered by vampires.