A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(76)

“This is Arron,” Aiden introduced. “He’s one of the hunter elders.”

My gut clenched. Hunters. In The Shade. It felt like the beginning of the end.

“So this is him? The infamous Derek Novak? The ever-elusive king of the vampires…” Arron stepped forward and retrieved a dagger from his pocket. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

He grabbed my arm and then ran the dagger through it, cutting deeply. I winced at the pain. I couldn’t remember a dagger ever cutting so painfully when I was a vampire. We watched the wound, waiting for it to heal. Nothing happened.

Delight flickered in his dark brown eyes as a manic grin formed on his face. “Wonderful.”

That was when I came upon an important conclusion. Vampire or not, I had absolutely no business putting my trust in the hunters. Sofia’s wary face told me that she thought the exact same thing.

Chapter 47: Sofia

Borrowed time. It felt like every moment I spent with Derek was just borrowed time. The hunters insisted that Derek, Kyle, Anna and I be shipped to hunter headquarters immediately. A select number of vampires were also to be taken to headquarters – mostly those who were willing to become human again. The rest were to remain on the island – under hunter surveillance. If we refused to cooperate, they would threaten to blow up The Shade.

Derek shook his head. “I’m not going to hunter headquarters to spend my honeymoon getting poked and prodded for your research.”

We were at his penthouse, Arron and Zinnia sitting on the side of the dining table across from us. Aiden was sitting on my side, while Vivienne was sitting on Derek’s.

I clasped his hand tightly, wondering what it was that he had in mind. Does he not realize the threat that the hunters are posing to all of us?

Arron’s face remained stoic as he eyed Derek. “We’re not exactly giving you a choice here, Novak. It’s either you go by our demands or we destroy The Shade.”

“Arron, they just got married. If you want people to study, Kyle and Anna are more than willing to take Derek and Sofia’s place while the couple have their honeymoon.” Aiden was speaking very carefully, as if he was weighing every word that came out of his mouth, almost as if he was afraid of making a mistake.

I noted that I’d never seen him as on edge as he was when he was around Arron. I eyed the imposing old man with a sense of intrigue. How can he make even my father tremble?

Arron shifted his beady eyes toward Aiden. “Do you really think I care whether or not someone like Derek Novak has a peaceful honeymoon? He may be human now, but that doesn’t erase the hundreds of years when he was a beast.”

Derek slammed his left hand over the wooden table while his right hand tightened its grip on mine. “Let’s cut the nonsense, Arron.”

I caught the way Vivienne was staring at her twin in horror. She was looking at him as if he had gone mad. I could practically read what was going through her mind. Does he not realize that he is no longer as powerful as he was yesterday? Does he not realize how vulnerable The Shade is?

“Now that we’ve found a cure,” Derek began to speak up, “you and I both know that to blow up as valuable an asset as The Shade – and all its citizens – would be complete nonsense. The Shade has existed autonomously for the past four hundred years. We have a strong workforce and our own technologies that have enabled us to thrive independently and without your knowledge. To destroy The Shade – after having found a cure – is stupidity.”

“Are you saying that I’m bluffing, Novak?” Arron sat up straight.

He appeared menacing to me, but a quick glance at my husband took my breath away. Derek was just as intimidating as a human as he was a vampire. At that moment, everything about him exuded power.

“Yes.” Derek nodded confidently. “I think you’re bluffing. The cure changes everything and you know it. I was a hunter once and I’ve heard the whispers of what a cure could mean. You and I both know, Arron, that any vampire who would willingly take on the cure isn’t your enemy anymore.”

Arron wetted his lips, giving thought to Derek’s words. It seemed to me as if he wasn’t used to people standing up to him.

“We are willing to cooperate with you, Arron, because we want this cure just as much as you do, but we’re not going to do it as your prisoners or even as your hostages. I may be human now, and no longer the beast that I used to be, but I am still ruler of The Shade, and I will not let you treat my subjects like slaves or lab rats. If we’re going to find a cure that won’t require every single vampire to feed on Anna or my wife, then we’re going to do it here in The Shade after I spend time with my wife on our honeymoon.”

“If I disagree?” The hunter raised a brow in question.

Derek shrugged. “Well, it’s not like there’s anything you can do about it, is there? I would think that you’d prefer our cooperation instead of taking us by force, and we both know that you’re not going to blow the island up. It’s a waste of a valuable resource.”

Zinnia chuckled. “I don’t believe this. He’s talking about a partnership between hunters and the vampires of The Shade.”

I could swear that I saw a flicker of respect in the way Arron eyed Derek as he gave thought to what Derek was saying.

He nodded. “Two weeks. I expect your honeymoon to be over in two weeks, and then we can discuss how to proceed. During that time, I expect to have full access to all the people and resources of The Shade, as well as the cooperation of everyone in finding out a way to multiply the blood of the immunes. Do we have a deal?”