A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire #3)(10)

“You’re sorry for what exactly?” Ashley quirked her head to one side, her ponytail swinging like a pendulum. “Do specify, dear prince, because you have a lot of things you ought to be sorry for.”

Sofia frowned as my eyes bore into hers. She knew—like she always did when it came to me—that what I was saying wasn’t to be taken lightly. Her grip enveloped mine.

“It’s like they’re communicating through Bluetooth or something…” Ashley muttered under her breath.

“Shut up, Ashley.” I turned back to address Sofia. “I had no idea it was going to be your birthday. I guess that makes me an awful boyfriend.”

My sensitive ears didn’t miss it when Ashley breathed out “True that” as she rolled her eyes.

Sofia smiled. “You couldn’t have known.”

“I should’ve at least thought about it… especially after everything you did for me…”

“It’s not a big deal, Derek. Really…”

“It is. And I’ll make it up to you.”

“This ought to be interesting…” This was a remark that should’ve come from Ashley, but this time it was Sam’s voice. He had a goofy smile on his face, one that quickly disappeared when I glared at him and said, “What are you smiling at? You’re going to help.”

Before anyone could react, Sofia’s arms were around my neck and she placed a soft, gentle kiss on my lips. Tears were streaming down her face. I couldn’t understand why she was crying, but it made the kiss—innocent as it was—utterly heartbreaking. Sofia was forever going to be an enigma to me—I’d long accepted that fact, but if there was one thing I couldn’t stand seeing, it was her tears.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

She shook her head and smiled amidst the tears. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Not as long as you’re here.”

And that, I realized, was the reason for the tears. I could be there for her for as long as she lived, but she couldn’t possibly be there for me for as long as my immortality lasted. The realization strengthened my resolve to make every moment I had with her a memory worth keeping.

My life was no longer about myself or the prophecy I had to fulfill. It had just become entirely about Sofia.

CHAPTER 7: BEN

The hunter was lunging toward me at full speed, throwing all the strength he had left into a tackle that I knew wasn’t going to work. I grinned. Pathetic. I twisted my upper torso to the side in order to dodge him and watched him fall to the ground on his hands and knees. I still found time to run a hand through my hair—wet with sweat—before tripping him with one strong kick to his legs as he tried to stand up.

“You’re getting smug, Hudson,” our trainer, Julian, warned.

“Way to kick a man when he’s down, Ben.” Zinnia laughed. I found her lighthearted jibes endearing, but I doubted the man I just sent writhing on the ground felt the same way.

We were right in the middle of the glass-enclosed atrium, which served as the main martial arts training center at the hunters’ headquarters. I was going through a final test in order to qualify for advanced training at the hunters’ academy. Most hunters went through years of training before advancing into that level, but I’d already been promoted. I guessed that Reuben had something to do with it.

Being the best friend of the boss’s daughter did have its perks. Of course, not everyone knew my connection to Reuben. It seemed as if only Zinnia and I knew that Reuben was, in fact, Aiden Claremont, Sofia’s father.

Determined to prove that I was worthy of the special treatment I was getting, I positioned myself ready to deal one final blow onto my opponent.

“Enough!” Julian bellowed, sparing the wincing hunter more pain.

I stood to my feet, taking in deep, even breaths as I stood over the hunter. I couldn’t keep the smirk off my face. I got this in the bag.

“So? What do you think?” Zinnia asked Julian. During my stay at the headquarters, she’d become everything to me from a friend to a tour guide to my closest handler. I could tell from the get-go that she was into me, and I’d already returned her flirtatious attempts with several quips of my own, but I wasn’t ready to get into anything serious.

In every way, my heart still belonged to Sofia, and I doubted it could belong to anyone else. The slightest thought of Sofia, my best friend, my Rose Red, was enough to distract me from what was going on around me. I wondered where she was and if she was being taken care of. It sickened me to think that Derek Novak, the vampire she was inexplicably head over heels in love with, could be taking advantage of her.

I wished I’d never let her go back in the first place. After everything I’d learned during my stay with the hunters, I knew that I’d made a big mistake letting Sofia go back to The Shade. The vampires were irredeemable monsters. I should’ve known that then, but I didn’t have the heart to keep her away from what she told me she wanted. I’d been too selfish with Sofia all my life and letting her go was perhaps the first selfless act I’d ever done for her.

“Hello? Is anyone at home?” Zinnia was snapping her fingers in front of my face. She was accustomed to me spacing out on her by now, so I figured the annoyed look on her face was more on Julian’s behalf than hers. “Did you hear what Julian said?”