A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire #3)(72)

“You still dare mention him to me?” he said in a low voice, his breath cold against my ear, his lips so close they were almost touching me.

“Where is he? What have you done to him?”

I could feel his anger. He didn’t like my defiance. He didn’t like that I was holding my head up. He wanted me to whimper and beg. He wanted me to cry. I’d already done that and I was determined to no longer give him this satisfaction.

“Do you still love Derek Novak, Sofia?”

This time, I turned my face toward him, looking him straight in the eye. I smiled. “I will always love him.”

Fire burned in his muddy brown eyes as the muscles in his face tensed. I realized at that point that Borys could’ve been a very handsome man if his features weren’t so marred by his brutality and blatant wickedness. When he grinned, I braced myself for what was to come. A smile coming from Borys Maslen was never a good thing. “Very well then. I will show him to you.”

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body against his as he sped out of the room and along the corridors. We went up several flights of stairs—I could barely keep track of the places we passed. He was going too fast. I was out of breath and slightly dizzy when we stopped in front of a wooden door. He twisted me around so that my back was pressing against his chest, his arms clamped around my waist, keeping me in place. The corner of his lips pressed against my cheek as he said, “When you see him, I’m sure you’ll beg me to kill him. If only to end his misery…”

My heart broke at his words. I’m so sorry, Derek. This never would’ve happened to you if it weren’t for me. I steeled myself for what I was about to see, but nothing could’ve prepared me for it.

We entered the dungeon—and all my resolve not to cry was gone at the sight of Derek. He was hanging by his wrists, held by thick metal chains. He was unrecognizable. He was just a mass of blood and flesh hanging from the ceiling.

Borys chuckled when I began to struggle against his embrace. “Is this what you wanted to see, Sofia?”

“Sofia?”

My heart leapt at the sound of Derek’s voice. It was weak and broken, but it was his. He’s alive. My Derek is alive. Still, as I tried to break free from Borys’ grasp, I wondered if it would be better if Derek really did die…if only to escape this.

Finally, still chuckling, Borys let me go. I hurried toward Derek, tears still streaming down my face. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I wanted to touch him, but I was afraid it would only add to his pain, so I just looked up at him, hoping that I could do something to ease his pain. “Who did this to you?”

“I did,” Borys answered, sounding very much proud of himself. “Although I can’t take all the credit. Lucas helped a lot too.”

Derek forced his swollen, bloodshot eyes open in order to look at me. “I love you,” he mouthed.

I wanted to respond, but I was too overcome by sobs to form coherent words. The thought that Derek’s own brother would do this to him shattered my heart. I knew that despite everything that had happened between them, Derek truly did hold affection for Lucas. He never would’ve done anything like this to his own brother.

“So you’ve seen him.” Borys began to approach after closing the door behind him. “Are you satisfied now, Sofia?” He stopped behind me and stared up at Derek with delight, as if admiring his handiwork. “Is this what you wanted to see?”

I stepped away when Borys began to run his hand down my shoulder. Borys responded by using one strong arm to grab my waist and pull my back against him, holding me in position so that he could touch me any way he pleased right in front of Derek.

I kept my eyes on Derek’s, wondering if things would really end this way. I was grasping for any thread of hope. I wanted to be strong for Derek, but I had no idea how to do it. We were both too weak, too broken.

When a soft knock interrupted Borys’ shameless display, I could hear Derek sigh with relief. “What?!” Borys screamed. A guard entered. He looked terrified.

“Your highness…” His voice trembled. “The boy…Ben…he escaped with the blonde vampire. They both left The Oasis…they haven’t yet returned.”

I could feel Borys’ breathing suddenly get heavy. His arms clamped around me so tightly, I thought he wanted to snap me in two. Instead, he pushed me to the ground and marched toward the guard. He grabbed the guard’s neck. “How long have they been gone?”

The guard stuttered as he replied, “More than fifteen hours, sir…”

Borys growled and ripped his heart out. The guard’s body dropped to the ground and Borys sped out of the dungeon, shutting the door behind him and locking it from the outside.

My jaw dropped open. What just happened? He’s leaving just like that? Did Borys really just lose it? I snapped to attention. Who cares? Do something. I rushed toward Derek, doing the only thing I could think of. I offered him my wrist.

Upon seeing it, he gave me a weak smile. All he said in response was: “No.”

CHAPTER 52: DEREK

“I’m not going to drink your blood, Sofia.” I shook my head—or at least tried to. I wondered if she could even understand what I had just said. To me, it all just sounded like a raspy mumble of words. Every part of my body was in agony, but it was nothing compared to what I felt inside, knowing that if I didn’t survive, it would be the end of both of us.