A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(2)

“I didn’t realize what a powerful force we were up against, Master.” I once again recalled Sofia and the way Derek looked at her. What I would’ve given to have him look at me that way. “She oozes with light and she’s gotten to him.”

“Would he have been able to kill you?”

“I think he was powerful enough, yes. When it comes to brute strength, even I don’t stand a chance against him.”

“You don’t stand a chance against him, not because of brute strength, Emilia, and we both know it.” At that point, I could sense the Elder running his hand against my hair, his breath cold against the back of my neck. I was shaking. His closeness always terrified me. “You don’t stand a chance against Derek Novak, because you can’t stand the idea of seeing him die. He was and will always be your greatest weakness.”

To that, I couldn’t respond, because it was true. I was deeply in love with the vampire, something he didn’t seem to give a damn about, and yet… I hung on, allowing myself to be at the losing end of an unrequited love. I ground the back of my teeth with determination. That’s about to change.

“Did he see you, Emilia?”

Despite the terror the Elder’s presence brought about, I couldn’t help but steal a smile at the recollection of how Derek’s deep blue eyes flickered with attraction and interest when he first laid eyes on me back in The Shade. “Yes, Master. He did.”

“Did he like what he saw?”

I slightly bowed my head as I felt the Elder’s hand fall on my waist and climb up my back. “How could he not? With what you’ve done to me, I couldn’t be anything but irresistible to him.” After being given knowledge of everything that Derek found physically attractive in a woman, the Elder gave me those features. I no longer looked the way I did when Derek broke my heart so long ago. I was irresistible to him now, and I intended to play up that advantage as much as I could.

I was still mulling over my obsession with the king of The Shade when the Elder painfully grabbed a fistful of my hair. I gasped, shocked by the sheer agony it brought about.

“I don’t like failure, Emilia,” he hissed. “Next time, you mustn’t fail.”

“Yes… Of course, Master…” I rasped out. “I won’t fail.”

“You are to return to The Shade, Emilia. I don’t want you staying up here, stinking up my castle with your failure. This little spitfire of a human has Derek Novak too wrapped up in her pretty little fingers. We can’t have that. He is too powerful a force to let the light have him. We have you to thank for that, don’t we, Emilia? Well, you need to fix this. We need to pull him right back into the dark. You’re going to do that.”

“What exactly do you want me to do, Master?”

His fist tightened against my hairline. “Bring on the attack of the covens. Lead it.”

The Elder managed to get all of the other vampire covens to go against Derek and The Shade. They had no idea he was behind all of it, of course, working behind the scenes, pulling at just the right strings. They’d long been threatening to attack the island and destroy it – something Derek had been desperate to prevent. The idea of attacking and destroying The Shade wasn’t one I was all too fond of, but there was no defying the Elder. “Consider this victory ours, Master. We will win.”

“No, Emilia. You won’t. I want you to lose this battle and I want you to be taken prisoner by Derek Novak. That’s how you’re going to get back in The Shade. Once you’re there, you should know what to do next.”

His plan took form in my mind and I nodded, as I then fully grasped what he was attempting to do. “I understand. And Sofia Claremont?”

He finally let go of my hair. “We will end her.”

With that, his presence swept out of the room like a powerful, foreboding wind; exactly the same way he arrived. Once he was completely gone, I found myself shaking so badly, I fell to my knees. I was a fool to try to convince myself that he was gone. I’d given myself to him a long time ago and he was a part of me that I could never escape.

The Elder was always with me. His touch made sure of it. He was a substance I carried around with me wherever I went.

Known as the original vampire. My Master. My father. A creature I had never once laid eyes on.

Chapter 1: Sofia

The moment I opened my eyes and woke up to the dim candlelight of my bedroom, I couldn’t help but groan. I turned to my side to check if Derek was beside me. He wasn’t. He hadn’t come to my room or called me into his for the past week. Another reason to groan.

I thought about the day ahead of me and felt like staying in bed forever. But I knew that I didn’t have a choice. I dragged myself out of bed, and started getting ready. Finally satisfied with my appearance, I stepped out of my bedroom and found breakfast already prepared on the dining table.

I smiled wryly at the sight of the food. Breakfast. Only here in The Shade could you say that you’re having breakfast in the dark of the night. I popped a handful of vitamin pills into my mouth and took a seat at the table. I made a mental note to thank Rosa and Lily for the lovely breakfast they had prepared.

I was sharing my quarters with Rosa, Lily and her children – seventeen-year-old Gavin, seven-year-old Robb, and five-year-old Madeline – and Ian and Anna. None of them were at home; they were hard at work already. Idleness wasn’t a welcome trait in The Shade – The Catacombs even more so.