A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(44)

“Welcome to my castle, Derek Novak,” came a chilling voice. “Finally, my daughter does something right for once.”

Daughter. I shivered. I was in the presence of the Elder. I opened my mouth to speak but I found my throat so dry, no words came out.

“Does this boy bring you happiness, Emilia? Does his presence ignite your bones?”

“Yes, Master. I’ve wanted him for the longest time.”

I never thought I could ever be as elated as I was at that moment to hear Emilia’s voice. At least I’m not alone.

“You gave yourself to me once.”

I felt a caress over my hair, an indication that it was once again me whom the Elder was talking to. I began to remember the time I gave myself over to darkness. I did it so I could make a sanctuary out of The Shade. What sanctuary it turned out to be.

“I’m glad to finally have you back in my territory, Derek Novak. I used to be able to get to you so easily, but ever since you let that impetuous redhead’s light into your life, it’s been more and more difficult to get to you.”

I swallowed back the bile rising from my throat. This was why Vivienne never wanted me to be apart from Sofia. This is why the Elder cannot touch Sofia and just destroy her himself despite all the power that he has. It’s her light. Darkness cannot have control over light.

The caress over my head suddenly turned into a chokehold over my throat. I struggled to breathe, not quite able to comprehend what was going on.

“Now, you’re in my territory, thanks to my daughter’s obsession with you. I now have you in my full control.”

Evil echoed in his voice. I was in the presence of pure and utter evil.

“I must welcome you to my castle, Derek. My daughter, Emilia… you once knew her as Cora… can attest that I welcome all my guests the same way.” He paused, relishing the way I struggled as he choked me. “I hit them where it hurts.”

He threw me onto the bed and I completely blacked out. By the time I came to my senses, I found myself making love to Emilia. She clutched the back of my head and whispered into my ear, “He punished you for turning your back on him. He rewarded me for bringing you back to him. You are my reward, Derek.”

At that moment, even as her body bucked and writhed beneath mine, I hated her with every fiber of my being, and yet the words that came out of my mouth were, “I love you, Emilia.”

Chapter 25: Sofia

I jolted up on the bed, out of breath, images of Derek kissing Emilia floating on my mind. Tears were streaming down my face and my body was racked with deep, uncontrollable sobs. I looked around and found Vivienne staring at me with concern. I was in my bedroom at The Catacombs and the last thing I remember was the sun beginning to dawn on the island.

“What happened?!” I demanded, panic beginning to take its hold on me.

“After five hundred years of night, the sun has risen on The Shade.” Vivienne affirmed my greatest fears.

“She promised. Emilia promised. We had a deal… She could have Derek for a week, but The Shade will remain protected.”

“The force field is up, The Shade is protected from any attack or even from being detected by outside forces. To the world, I’m sure we are invisible.” Vivienne rose from her seat before sighing. “But I don’t think you ever mentioned anything to her about keeping The Shade enveloped by darkness.”

My heart sank. “I just assumed it was part of the protective spell.”

Vivienne shook her head. “Cora placed the spell of the never-ending night in The Shade during the battle of First Blood. It wasn’t until years later after Derek went to sleep that she put the protective spell over the island. And now, she has Derek in her grasps. I never would’ve thought that Cora would ever turn to the dark side.”

“I don’t understand…”

“Emilia is Cora, Sofia.”

The information I was given was a blow to my senses. “How is that possible?”

Vivienne shook her head. “I’m not sure either.”

“Can’t Corrine do something about it? She’s back in control of The Sanctuary, is she not? She has her powers back, does she not?”

“She’s been trying, but Corrine says that the spell was originally done by Cora and that she never had to do anything with keeping that spell running. She doesn’t know how Cora originally did it.”

I rose from my bed, burying my face in my palms, trying to make sense of what we had to do. I had no idea what to do. You’re an eighteen-year-old kid who didn’t even hang around long enough to get her high school diploma, Sofia. Stop fooling yourself. You’re no queen. You have no idea how to run things. I found myself voicing out my biggest concern. “I’m afraid of losing Derek, Vivienne.”

She just stared at me. Vivienne Novak was never one to give in to flattery just to provide consolation. From the first day I met her, she was straightforward and honest through and through. “He is more vulnerable now than he ever was before,” she told me honestly. “Our only hope is that what you shared together would be stronger than what they’re putting him through. For the next week, we’ll both fare better if we don’t think about it. We must concentrate on keeping order here on the island and hopefully finding the cure.”

“How do we find the cure, Vivienne? I don’t even know where to start…”