A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(24)

There was a certain ease about her that most of the Naturals in The Shade didn’t seem to possess. Whenever I interacted with any of the humans, they often didn’t look me in the eye. They cowered as if they were fearful that I would suddenly just bite into their necks – something that was known to have already happened to some citizens of The Shade.

She was different, however. She seemed wary of me seeing her bare, but that was more because I was a man and she was a woman, not because I was a vampire she was afraid of.

She stared at the spot on the ground where she left her dress, signaling to me that she wanted to get out of the water.

I nodded and turned around to give her the privacy she needed.

“Thank you,” she said and my heart leapt at her gratefulness.

“What’s your name?” I asked, my back still turned to her.

“Anna.”

“Anna,” I repeated, as I listened to the gentle ripple of the water as she got out of the lake. “You live at The Catacombs?”

“Yes.”

“All your life?”

A chuckle could be heard in her reply. “Yes.”

“Do you have family left?”

“No. My parents were killed a couple of years back.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

She paused, and I wondered if I said something wrong. “Thank you.”

I creased my brows, wondering what she was thanking me for. “Thank me? For what?”

“For being sorry… Most of us have lost someone you know… Most of us Naturals,” she said softly. I could hear the sadness in her voice. “Most of the vampires think that it’s normal. It’s the first time I heard a vampire sympathize.”

I had no idea what to say to that, so I just remained silent, finding myself moved by the sweetness of her voice.

“It’s okay to turn around now…”

I turned to face her and found her tying the knot of her haltered dress behind her neck. When she finished, she dropped her arms to her side and smiled at me.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Why are you not afraid of me?” I couldn’t help but ask.

She seemed taken aback by the question for a couple of seconds. I felt as if she were scrutinizing me, checking if she could really trust me. At some point, I was sure she wasn’t going to respond, but to my relief, she eventually gave me a shrug.

“My parents were always afraid. They would’ve gotten a heart attack if they found out that I’d been bathing at the lake and that a vampire,” she pointed at me, “found me doing it. When they died, I decided that I wasn’t going to be afraid anymore.” She looked around, a bitter smile on her face, tears moistening her eyes. “This is my life. My parents hoped that we would someday escape The Shade, but I don’t want to wait until I’m free of The Shade to start living my life. I could tremble in fear of you, sir, but I’m thinking that if you wanted to take advantage of me or drink my blood then you would’ve already done so. And if you did, I would be powerless to stop you, but you are doing nothing of that sort, so…” She tilted her head to the side, her eyes set on me. “Should I be afraid of you?”

I shook my head. “No, Anna. You’ll never have anything to fear when it comes to me. You’re safe with me.”

From then on, I began to cherish those moments when Sam and I would be assigned to guard the part of the wall near the lake, because I knew that I would see Anna. I looked forward to the conversations I had with her. She was smart, funny and eager to learn. She often asked me about what the world was like outside The Shade and she hung on to my every word. I wanted to tell her how I felt about her, how much I adored her and one night, I decided that I would, but then she didn’t show up.

My heart broke the next time I saw her again. I was at The Vale when I caught a glimpse of her. She was in the arms of Felix, a huge smile on her face, her green eyes twinkling with adoration as she stared up at the Elite vampire. He obviously thought the world of her as he brushed his finger over her dark hair and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

They seemed to be a couple in love. When news broke out that Felix was going to turn Anna into a vampire so they could be together, I lost all hope of ever being with her, then all of a sudden, he got tired of her. He left her at The Catacombs and she lost her mind.

The next time I tried to approach Anna, gone was the fearless young woman who felt safe around me at the lake. She took one look at me and screamed in terror before backing up into a corner, whimpering like a scared child. I never found the guts to approach her again after that… until time came when I just had to.

It felt like Corrine had been talking to Anna for hours. When the door to the room they were locked in finally opened, a radiant Anna stepped out. Ian and I stood up at the sight of her. She raised her eyes and gave Ian a quick glance – almost as if she didn’t even recognize him – before shifting her gaze toward me. Her face lit up in a huge smile and to my surprise, she ran to me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I was frozen for a while, not sure what was happening. I looked at Ian then at Corrine, who smiled and nodded my way.

“Should I be afraid of you?” Anna whispered in my ear.

The familiar question tugged at my heart, reminding me of the first time I saw her at the lake. “No, Anna,” I responded, my voice choked. “You’ll never have anything to fear when it comes to me. You’re safe with me.”