A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(26)

Her eyes began to moisten. “Of course I do,” she nodded before saying, “I adore you, Derek Novak.” She then cupped my face with her soft hands and pressed her lips against mine. “For the record, I can’t wait to become Sofia Novak.”

Chapter 15: Sofia

Spending the night at Derek’s penthouse, waking up in his bed, and eating breakfast with him reminded me of the way we used to be during our first few months together, when I was still known as his slave and he was still the prince of the island. For the span of a few hours, we were in our own cocoon, away from all the troubles surrounding us.

As I dabbed butter and jam over my piece of toast, I smiled, recalling the time I popped a piece of my breakfast into Derek’s mouth. I looked at him as he drank a gulp of animal blood from his glass on the table. I wonder when I’ll actually be able to share a meal with him.

He noticed my eyes on him and a smile formed on his face. “Can’t get enough of me, can you?”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t turn the tables on me, Derek. You’re the one who’s craving me all the time.”

His eyes dropped with shame.

I winced. Bad joke. Too close to the trouble our relationship is facing.

He opened his mouth to say something but then he quickly shut it. I wanted to say something to somehow make us forget the elephant in the room – the question we couldn’t ignore. What kind of married life are we going to live out if he’s craving my blood all the time?

“It’s not right and I know it,” he began to say. “I don’t have any excuse for it. I don’t want to give you some lame excuse when it comes to this. You don’t deserve that. I’m sorry.” He began rubbing the back of his neck.

I was sure that he was recalling what happened the night before – something that’d been going on a lot more frequently lately. It was almost as if he would momentarily snap and just give in to the craving. Without really thinking it through, he just takes what he wants and bites.

I didn’t want to talk about it simply because I didn’t know how. I didn’t want to dwell on the heaviness of the issue. “Let’s talk about something else.” I pulled a piece from my toast and threw it at him. “Anything other than that.”

He seemed a bit more hesitant to move on than I did, but he eventually breathed out the tension and threw the piece of toast right back at me. “You’re wasting food.”

“It’s not a waste if I get a smile out of you because of it.” I grinned.

A smile eventually appeared on his chiseled face and despite my familiarity to him, I still found myself blushing.

He seemed pleased, but then he shifted on his seat and I could tell that we weren’t about to escape discussing serious matters. To my relief, he didn’t talk further about our wedding or the cure or his craving for my blood. To my dismay, however, he began talking about my mother.

“Ingrid is acting strange. She asked to see Aiden and when I told her that I couldn’t risk that in fear of what she might do to him, she told me to ask you.”

I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous. We can’t trust her.” I remembered all the times I dared to put my trust in her and sorely regretted it after.

“That’s what I said, but she was asking for another chance. She even asked not to call her Ingrid and call her Camilla instead.”

At that, I couldn’t help but crease my brows in surprise. It was unlike her to ever want to be called Camilla again. “I wonder what game she’s playing.”

“Whatever it is, it’s bothering me,” Derek admitted.

“Could you come with me?” I requested. “When I go see her?”

Derek frowned. “I want to, Sofia, but I did leave a lot of my responsibilities to the council yesterday when I hung out with you. I do need to get back to running The Shade. I can’t bail on them again. I can, however, get one of the Elite to escort you. Ingrid won’t be powerful enough to go against one of the Elite.”

I was disappointed, but I understood. “I think Claudia would be great if that’s alright. She’s been able to spend time with Ingrid. She knows Ingrid.”

Derek wasn’t able to hide his surprise. “You trust Claudia enough?”

I nodded. “Her relationship with Yuri has been good for her I think.”

“Your ability to forgive and forget amazes me.”

I was saddened by the statement. Claudia was probably one of the most demented vampires The Shade had ever known. It took months of me living in The Shade before I found out that Ben, my childhood best friend, a guy I was deeply infatuated with, had also been abducted and brought to The Shade. He was taken by Claudia, who had proven to be a cruel and sadistic mistress. Claudia was the reason Ben hated vampires so much.

Somewhere along the line, however, Claudia managed to get Ben to forgive her, enough that he requested the hunters to spare her life.

“Ben forgave her.” I shrugged. “How could I not?”

“Must I remind you that she tried to turn you into a vampire without your consent?”

“She thought she was doing the right thing. She thought it was the only way we could be together.”

Our eyes met and the tension – as if it ever really left – came right back as we were once again faced by the fact that Derek was immortal and I was not. I was getting tired of the issue, but the urge to find the cure was even more adamant than it was before. I had no idea how to figure out what the cure was.