A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire #3)(25)

I fought the urge to sigh with relief that someone else had seconded me.

“You all do this now?” Ashley frowned, unable to hide her irritation. “You guys had all of the past few days to dissuade me from this…”

“Think about what you’re about to do, Ashley…” I made a step toward her, towering over her, once again feeling my thirst for her blood after weeks of being able to keep it at bay. “Once you turn, your first instinct will be to kill. Do you really want to live craving every human you come across? Can you really deal with wanting to suck the blood right out of Paige and Rosa?” My gut clenched at the mention of the next name. “Can you bear the burden of wanting to kill Sofia?”

I could hear Sofia’s soft gasp as she realized what I was asking Ashley. Does Ashley really want to turn into a murderer by nature? I couldn’t bear to look at Sofia. I knew then that should Ashley ever try to harm Sofia, I wouldn’t hesitate to end Ashley’s life.

Based on her silence, I actually thought that I was getting through to Ashley, so I was surprised when she stepped away from me, head bowed and lips pursed.

She nodded her head slowly. “I know what I’m getting myself into.”

She then turned her back to me and walked right back to the stone slab. She motioned for Kyle to help her get back on it. Kyle swallowed hard before looking my way to check if I agreed with what he was about to do.

Despite every internal alarm inside me screaming against what was about to happen, I nodded. Ashley was right. I didn’t own her. This was her choice.

“Let’s do this.” Ashley nodded resolutely, coaxing Kyle to do what had to be done.

Kyle stepped forward and placed his hands gently over her waist. I finally forced myself to shift my gaze toward Sofia and found myself wishing that I hadn’t.

Her lips were quivering and her eyes were moist with tears. As she stared at Ashley, it was as if she was lost in a daze, her long fingers clenching into firm fists. I wondered then what was going through her mind, because from the look on her face, it almost seemed like she knew exactly what Ashley was about to go through.

CHAPTER 16: LUCAS

When the gorgeous Italian vampire walked into my chambers, I wanted to jump up and hug her, but this was Natalie Borgia. She was a rogue vampire perfectly capable of ripping my heart out should she decide to. I wasn’t about to take my chances, but it was too hard to fight the urge to flirt with her.

It didn’t make sense to me how they expected me to organize a way to get to The Shade and retrieve Sofia while I was still being kept a prisoner at The Oasis, but this was how the Maslens worked, so I had to deal with the situation.

“You’re looking like a total babe, Natalie…” I crooned. It sure wasn’t my best line, but it was all I could come up with in such short notice. “I never thought I’d be stuck in the same bedroom with you…”

“Shut it, Novak…” She rolled her eyes. She had never responded well to my attempts to hook up with her. She looked around my room. “There have been worse dungeons.” Her eyes then fell on me. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when I would find a Novak within the tombs of The Oasis.”

“If I remember correctly, you delivered the message that brought me here.”

“That’s because I never thought you’d bite, you idiot.” She then bit her lip as if regretting what she had just said. She was about to open her mouth to say something else, but she quickly shut her lips again.

I was surprised by what she had said. It was completely unlike her to voice out her own opinions. She was usually the one who had that infuriating poker face that made everybody wonder what exactly was going through that pretty little head of hers.

“I’ve never heard you voice a personal opinion about any vampire’s decisions before, Nat…”

“Don’t call me that.” She gave me a long and meaningful gaze. I searched her eyes for judgment or condemnation. There was none. In its place were questions that would never be asked.

Natalie was the ultimate diplomat. She was the one vampire who had the trust of all the covens all over the world. If one coven wanted to deliver a message to another coven, she was the rogue to go to. There weren’t many rogues like her—vampires who didn’t belong to any covens—but the few that existed were invaluable to all vampires. If anybody messed with a rogue, they messed with at least three—if not more—covens at the same time.

Natalie made herself comfortable on one of the Egyptian couches. “Do tell, Novak. Why have you summoned me here?”

“I want you to get a message through to Claudia at The Shade.”

A dark brow lifted. “Claudia? Okay…the message?”

“Ask her if there’s any way we can get Sofia Claremont out of the island.” I took out an envelope from my pocket. “I also want you to hand this over to my father. Make sure he gets it and make sure no one else sees the message it contains.”

Natalie stared at me long and hard—almost as if she couldn’t comprehend what I was trying to tell her. She eventually nodded her head—slowly and thoughtfully. She took the envelope from my hand and nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Lucas.”

“Is that you caring about me?”

She shook her head. “It’s me caring about Derek.”