A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(20)

Sofia, whom I wasn’t much of a fan of in the beginning, was instrumental in getting Derek Novak, then prince of The Shade, to stand with the humans against the culling. Of course, where Derek stood, a whole bunch of the vampire elite followed.

Since then, the humans had gotten more of a voice in The Shade, and thanks to Sofia, mine was one of them. For the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to hope once again that things could turn around on the island. More than all of that, I hoped once again that perhaps I could have the old, vibrant, carefree and joyful Anna back. This hope was sparked further when one night when Anna found her way to my quarters. She was carrying a rose with her. She knelt on the ground and shook me awake. At first, I was annoyed, but when I saw that it was her, I once again found myself catching a breath over her beauty.

“Anna? What is it?”

She laid the white rose in front of me and smiled. “You don’t have to cry anymore, Ian. Everything’s going to be alright. I promise.” Her tone was childlike, her eyes wide with excitement.

I wondered where she got the rose, but I thought better not to ask. I was too busy choking back the tears as I remembered her being the adored beauty of The Catacombs, back before Felix broke her.

“Thank you, Anna.”

She lay on the stone ground beside me, rolling to her side to face me. “Can I sleep here, Ian? I don’t think Felix will mind as long as we don’t touch. I’m afraid to sleep alone tonight.”

I nodded, careful not to touch her, knowing how erratic her moods were. I liked this docile version of her. “You can sleep here, Anna, but not on the ground.” I got up and retrieved another mat – the one my mother used before – and set it on the space beside me. “You can lie down here.”

She seemed grateful as she took her place on the mat. I gave her my pillow and she seemed to hesitate taking it, but I insisted. “A pillow for the rose, Anna.”

She understood, smiled, and nodded, before laying her head on the pillow and quickly drifting off to sleep. She slept in my quarters three straight nights before she stopped. I sought her out that fourth night and found her sleeping like a baby in her own quarters. After another three nights, she once again requested to sleep in mine, something I readily allowed her to do. I got used to her requesting to sleep in my quarters, but I found myself craving her presence more and more.

So, when I heard that piercing scream during that night, I found myself worried because I realized that I had once again began to care about someone other than me.

The scream was followed by another and then another and I found myself jolting out of my room and rushing towards the sound of the scream. By the time I got to her quarters, I found three men – all older than me –inside her chambers. One of them had her pinned to the wall, his hand clamped over her mouth.

There’d already been rumors that some men were taking advantage of her but I never thought the rumors could be true. We all thought that they were just the insane mutterings of a crazy woman. After all, who would ever want to hurt Anna?

That night, I found out. “Get your hands off her!”

One of the men glared at me, a grin forming on his face. “Oh, look… It’s Ian. What? You’re not willing to share? Don’t play nice, Ian. We all know she’s been sleeping in your quarters for nights in a row.”

The thought that he was accusing me of what they were about to do – or perhaps even what they’d already been doing – caused me to see red and I began attacking. While I was able to take one man down in a wild fit of fury, I didn’t stand a chance against the two other men.

One was already holding me by the arms while the other was poised to hit me when someone unexpected showed up. Kyle. A vampire guard.

I looked at him and wondered, what on earth is he doing here? Anna ran to him, seeking safety behind him.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Anna,” he assured, before casting a glare at the two men holding me back. “Let go of him,” he commanded and the two men readily obliged, lifting their hands up in the air in surrender.

Even they were smart enough to know not to mess with a vampire.

“Did you ever touch her before this night?” Kyle asked them.

The men shook their heads while one shook as he swore, “We never did. Not until tonight.”

I knew without a doubt in my mind that they were lying. I gently brushed a hand over Anna’s bare arm and was relieved when she looked my way without flinching. “Have you ever seen these men before, Anna? Did they come to hurt you before?”

She nodded. “They always come. I’m afraid Felix might find out. He won’t want me anymore if they touch me. I try to tell them, but they won’t listen.”

I wanted to kill them then and there, but it seemed Kyle already beat me to that idea. “Get her out of here,” he ordered. “I don’t want her to see this.”

The men began begging for their lives even as I gently led Anna away. I didn’t even hear the men scream, but I was sure that they met their deaths. I wondered if they had children and wives to look after. I wondered if Kyle had created widows and orphans by killing them. I wanted to feel a sense of loss, but I couldn’t. It was the way of The Shade. Life was fragile. We were all used to that knowledge.

It didn’t take long before Kyle caught up with me and Anna.

“Where are you taking her?” he asked.