A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire #3)(4)

“As if I had any other choice…”

Excitement sparked in her green eyes. Her zest for life was one of the many things I loved about Sofia Claremont. She lit up the darkness surrounding The Shade, and for a kingdom that had no mornings, only eternal night, her light was life.

We exited my penthouse. I sighed as I looked out at three others like mine; interconnected by glass-covered walkways and hanging bridges, and built on top of the towering redwood trees. One penthouse each for the Novak family, although only two were occupied by our clan. After Vivienne was caught by the hunters, her best friend, Liana and her husband, Cameron, moved into her penthouse.

On the other hand, my older brother, Lucas, was still on the run. After he tried to kill Sofia, I began hunting him down and he left the island. The last I heard of him, he’d completely turned his back on his own flesh and blood by joining the coven of our family’s greatest vampire rivals, the Maslens.

Sofia led me to an elevator that allowed us to go from the top of the giant redwoods down to the ground below. We strolled through the woods for about an hour before reaching an open field, one of the few still undeveloped on the island.

“Okay…” I said. “Now what?”

Sofia stuck two fingers into her mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle.

I heard the distinct rumbling of a vehicle’s motor and, in the distance, saw a car drive toward us. Behind the wheel was Kyle, a vampire guard I deeply trusted. His passengers were my second guard, Sam, and the three girls belonging to my “harem”—Ashley, Paige and Rosa.

Ashley, with her blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail, looked like she was having the time of her life. The mere sight of her made my blood pound. Of all the girls in my harem, hers was the only blood I’d had a taste of and it took a lot of self-control to resist my craving to feed on her.

Having Sofia around made it much easier for me to hold myself back. I felt Sofia’s hand squeeze mine when she saw my eyes on Ashley and the craving quickly left me.

“So… what exactly is going on?” I asked as I watched Kyle park the vehicle. I’d never actually been in a car. Four hundred years robbed me of that indulgence and in The Shade, we did most of our traveling by speeding our way from one place to the other, or taking leisurely walks—like I normally preferred to do whenever I was with Sofia. I was introduced to cars through movies and magazines Sofia showed me when she first began schooling me in the ways of the 21st century.

“Since it’s your day, I had Kyle and Sam spruce up this old fixer-upper so you could finally learn to drive a car,” Sofia said with a sly smile.

“I don’t know if I should trust that smile.” I eyed her warily. “What do you mean it’s my day? And why on earth would I need to learn to drive a car?”

“Because it’s kind of pathetic that you’re five hundred years old and you still have no idea how to drive a car,” Ashley quipped as she got out of the car.

“Must you speak, Ashley? The sound of your voice really does grate on my nerves no matter how hard I try to ignore it.”

“What acerbic wit you have, your highness.”

“What despicable nonsense you have a talent for spouting out, peasant.”

Seeming to have run out of wisecracks, Ashley frowned and muttered, “Bite me.”

“Didn’t I already do that?”

Sofia began snickering beside me, as did the other two girls and the guards. They were all used to Ashley and me bickering. I knew that Ashley still hated and resented me for the things I put her through during the span of time when Sofia left the island with Ben. It was a time when I completely lost myself and did things I regretted. I couldn’t blame Ashley if she was forever unwilling to forgive me. I doubted I could ever forgive myself, but my guilt didn’t mean I’d just stand there and take it whenever she threw sarcasm and ridicule my way.

“You two love each other so much,” Sofia remarked as she pulled me toward the car. “Come on, Derek. Get behind the wheel.” She got in the passenger’s seat right after the others got out of the car. I stepped forward and ran a hand over the hood of the car. A smirk formed on my lips as I gave Sofia a questioning glance.

“Are you really sure you want to do this, Sofia?” I started loving the idea of learning to drive a car the moment I saw her nervously gulp. “Oh yeah…” I nodded. “This is going to be fun.”

CHAPTER 3: SOFIA

“Derek!” I screeched. “You’re driving the car right into the woods! Derek!”

He waited until the very last minute before turning the car to the right. He seemed to be having the time of his life.

“You’re getting a kick out of this, aren’t you?” I frowned.

“You know I am!”

He hit the brakes and I found myself thanking the heavens for the invention of the seatbelt, because had it not been created, I would’ve been thrown right out of that convertible.

The car’s motor died down as Derek pulled the keys from the ignition. We were right in the middle of the field, the vehicle’s headlights providing more than sufficient lighting. I felt Derek’s gaze taking my shaking form in.

“You’re right. You are overdressed for this.” He chuckled.

Annoyed, I hit him on the shoulder. “At one point during that crazy ride, I swear I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. Whose stupid idea was this?”