A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(39)

I couldn’t help but wonder what Zinnia, his right-hand person at hunter territory, could’ve said to cause such a reaction in him. During the time I spent at hunter headquarters, Zinnia was almost like his little pet. She did everything he told her without question. Now, it seemed like she was no longer under his every beck and call.

When Aiden hung up, I knew immediately that we were in deep trouble. He shook his head. “Zinnia said she’s going to have to ask my superiors regarding my command. She’ll call me back when she hears word from them.”

So much for not letting me down. I heaved a sigh, hating the idea of going back to Derek with this news. “We can’t afford an attack from the hunters, Aiden. Not now,” I said with as much conviction as I could mutter. The earth once again shook after another explosion. The battle raging outside the Black Heights was enough indication of the trouble The Shade was in.

“I know Sofia, and I’m going to try and do everything I can to hold the hunters back, but I can only do so much.” Aiden shrugged. “They think that I’ve gone weak, that I’m now siding with the vampires.”

“Are you?” I couldn’t help but ask, wondering how much sway The Shade now had with Aiden.

“No. I can never side with the vampires, but I’m no longer on the hunters’ side either. I’m on yours. I’m siding with my family.”

I didn’t miss the way his hand sought after Ingrid’s and I didn’t miss seeing the sorrow in Ingrid’s eyes when their fingers clasped together. I don’t understand what’s going on. For a moment, I stared at my parents holding hands, wondering what could’ve happened to bring about this change. I looked at Ingrid, hope surging within me. Could it really be possible that she wants to change? That she wants to become Camilla again? I shoved the thoughts away, knowing that I didn’t have the luxury of wallowing in my family drama.

I turned toward Sam. “Take me to Derek.”

Sam pointed at Aiden and Ingrid. “And them?”

I faced Aiden and looked at the phone. I wanted to see Derek. I wanted desperately to know what was going on at The Sanctuary, but as much as I hated to admit it, I still couldn’t trust Aiden. Half of me still believed that he would divulge every secret, every weakness he learned about The Shade in order to further compromise it.

“You can trust me, Sofia,” he assured me after noticing my hesitation.

It broke my heart to do it, but I shook my head. “I should be with Derek right now or even fighting alongside the citizens of The Shade, but I can’t. I want to trust you, but I’ve heard you say that before and then you stabbed me in the back right after.”

It wasn’t so long ago when Aiden told me to trust him, to believe that the cure the hunters found was legitimate, only to find out that he had lied to get into The Shade and figure out its weaknesses, perhaps even end Derek through it.

I could see the hurt in his eyes at my refusal to trust him, but this was his doing, not mine and he also knew that, so Aiden just nodded and sat back on the cot, Ingrid sitting beside him, their hands still clasped together while Aiden toyed with the phone using his free hand.

I shifted my weight from one foot to another, unsure what to do. To ease my tension, I began fidgeting with my fingers and tried to make small talk with Sam. “I feel like I have to be out there doing something… anything…”

“You’re in here doing what you can do, Sofia,” Sam assured. “The vampires can hold their own ground without your help.”

I laughed wryly at his statement. Of course they can, but can Derek really say no to this attraction he feels for Emilia? I was desperately trying not to be paranoid. I meant it when I said that I trusted him, but if she was as powerful a witch as she seemed to be, then could she not somehow control him and make him return her affections? Who knows what she wants?

I practically jumped at least a foot from where I was standing when the phone began to ring. Aiden picked it up and just listened, his facial expression growing grimmer and angrier by the second. “This is unbelievable, Zinnia…” he muttered in a calculated and controlled tone that was more menacing than I’d ever heard him speak before. “After all those years I’d given to the order, you just turn away from me like that?” Zinnia must’ve said something that lit up his fuse because he began muttering one curse word after another. “Don’t give me that crap, Zinnia! I deserve more than that!”

When he hung up, I didn’t need him to tell me what was going on. The hunters were coming for us. We had to face the inevitable.

I reached my hand forward, palm up. “Give me the phone…”

“Sofia, I tried…” Aiden croaked out, most likely surprised by what happened. “I did what I could.”

I nodded. It was hard for him to realize that he wasn’t indispensable to the hunters. He gave his entire life to the cause of the hunters and they screw him over. He’s loyal to them, but the hunters seem to be loyal to no one. “I know you did, Dad, but right now, we have a lot to deal with… Please give me the phone.”

He handed the phone over to me. I was just about to ask Sam to take me to Derek as quickly as possible, but I found myself hesitating, knowing that my father deserved more than what I was giving him. I stopped to kiss him on the cheek and whisper a thank you to him before Sam and I headed off, leaving them at The Cells.