A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire #3)(60)

I could remember clearly the significance of the ruby red pendant based on one of the memories Vivienne shared to me—one of Xavier handing her a velvet pouch, telling her that it was a gift from Borys Maslen. When Vivienne retrieved the heart-shaped pendant from the pouch, she was livid. I’d always known Vivienne as this calm, collected person who sometimes seemed cold and heartless, so to see her so hot with fury was hard to forget.

“Sofia?” A voice came from the other side of the door after a timid knock. “Are you alright?” The door creaked open and someone peeked in. I was hoping that it would be Derek, but it was Ben.

I must’ve looked frightened out of my senses because he immediately stepped into the guest room and climbed on the bed next to me.

“What happened?” he asked, gently brushing his hand over my hair.

“It’s nothing. I just had an awful nightmare…” I pulled my knees up, embracing them against my chest. I gingerly looked at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to visit you… I kept on knocking, but no one was answering, so I just let myself in. Rosa told me that you spent the night here. I could hear you screaming from outside…”

I hated how much I doubted him, wondering if what he had told me was true. I wondered if Claudia even knew that he was around. I hadn’t seen the crazy, blonde vampire since the last council meeting.

It then dawned on me. Where’s Derek? If Ben was knocking, Derek would’ve heard it. He was a very light sleeper. If I’d been screaming because of my nightmare, he would’ve heard.

“I need to go find Derek…” I motioned to get off the bed.

“Wait.” Ben grabbed my wrist and held on tight.

“Ben?” I actually felt nervous. Suddenly, being alone in the same bedroom with my best friend didn’t feel safe. “Let go of my wrist.”

He looked surprised, and even hurt, by my reaction. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rough. You’re obviously shaken.” He got off the bed and stepped away from me. “I just wanted to tell you that just as I crossed the walkway leading to your bedroom, I saw Derek’s father enter the penthouse. He’s in the living room, and I don’t know...something’s not right. I don’t trust him, Sofia.”

I laughed wryly. “Yeah? That makes two of us.” I had no idea what was going on, but I was sure about one thing: Ben was right. Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

CHAPTER 43: DEREK

Clad in a glowing white dress, Sofia held a bouquet of white roses as she marched across the aisle. The only ornaments that graced her were beautiful pearl earrings and the diamond necklace I had given her. She was a vision to behold—just as I imagined she would be on our wedding day.

Her smile was enough sunlight to brighten up the darkness that had been my life. She was my life and she was about to become mine, bearing my name, making it known to the world that we intended for our love to last far longer than they ever gave it credit for. However, it seemed fate had other things in mind.

She was halfway down the aisle when she suddenly stopped, panic evident in her eyes. Blood began to trickle from two small holes in her neck and she began to breathe in pants as she held on to her neck.

I immediately ran toward her the moment I saw the bouquet of flowers fall onto the ground. To my horror, the diamond pendant she was wearing morphed into a heart-shaped ruby red one. I didn’t understand what it all meant, but I didn’t have to. It was clear that something wasn’t right.

When I reached Sofia, she looked at me, her eyes wide with terror. She swallowed hard as tears began to run down her face. “I’m scared, Derek.”

And just like that, she was gone.

Eyes still shut, I tossed and turned in my bed, half-asleep and half-awake. The terrified look on Sofia’s eyes still etched into my brain. I knew that something was wrong and that I had to do something about it, but I was still in a state of limbo, trapped in the place between wakefulness and dreams. I knew I was mumbling something even as I shifted on the bed, but I couldn’t quite make out what I was saying.

Then a feminine voice said my name. “Shh…everything’s going to be alright, Derek. Relax.”

I could feel the bed shift and I knew then that I wasn’t alone. Warm lips began to press against mine and I found myself breathlessly saying the name of the girl in my dream. “Sofia…”

“Yes…Sofia…”

I was conscious enough to know that the woman in my bed wasn’t her, but it all still felt like a dream. I wanted to snap out of it, but it was almost like I was trapped in that state, unable to get out. When the lips pressing against mine pulled away, I forced my eyes open.

Blinking several times until my vision cleared, seeing who was lying on my bed was like a blow in the gut. Claudia.

She smiled and before I could even react, she stabbed a large syringe right into my veins. “I’m sorry, Derek, but you made a big mistake the day you treated me like your whore.”

The last thing I could remember was the crazed and manic look on Claudia’s face as I drifted off into unconsciousness. Just before I completely faded away, I could hear Sofia’s voice croak out the same way she did in the dream, “I’m scared, Derek.”

And by instinct, I knew that when I woke up from the sleep that Claudia had put me in, Sofia would be gone.