A Dawn of Strength (A Shade of Vampire #14)(21)

“Your aunt’s here with Anna,” Kyle said. “Come with me and I’ll take you to them.”

Kyle was trying to distract and lure me away like a child, but I stared at my boyfriend.

“Please, Caleb,” I said, trying to steady my voice, “Make it back to me.”

Caleb dipped his head down and caught my lips in his. I closed my eyes, wishing time would just freeze and I could be lost in that moment forever. But then he let go of me and stepped back.

“I’ll try, Rose,” he said, his intense brown eyes fixed on me.

My heart pounded in my chest as I watched him leave the room.

I cast my eyes around the cavernous chamber. My mother’s words finally sank in. A hollow feeling welled in the pit of my stomach.

The black witches have arrived.

They’re probably attacking The Shade at this very moment.

And I’m stuck in here.

Chapter 15: Derek

Lining up on the beach, staring out toward the ocean, we all watched the battle unfolding with a mixture of astonishment and horror.

A barrier of white witches stretched out just beyond The Shade’s boundary for as far as I could see. And further in the distance a dark cloud of black witches hovered over the water. Balls of red, white and blue fire lit up the sky like fireworks as either side shot curses at each other.

The black witches were grossly outnumbered, but even in the few minutes that we’d been watching two white witches had fallen, whilst the black witches appeared to be unscathed.

“They’re protecting us because they have as much to lose as we do if they take over The Shade,” Corrine muttered. “If the black witches manage to penetrate the island, it will only hasten the demise of The Sanctuary.”

Of course, I didn’t need Corrine to tell me that they weren’t protecting us out of the goodness of their hearts. Anything the witches of The Sanctuary did could be traced back to one selfish agenda or another.

“Given the number of white witches,” I said, “how long do you reckon we have before the black witches break through?”

Corrine and Mona exchanged glances. “It’s impossible to say,” Mona said. “There are many white witches here now, but I don’t know how strong their endurance is… I wouldn’t count on much more than a day.”

A day.

Sofia gripped my arm. “We need to stop watching and start preparing,” she croaked.

I looked around at the crowd of vampires, werewolves and witches who’d gathered to watch the scene with us. “Gather round,” I called.

As everyone drew closer, Caleb approached. Seeing that he’d arrived without my daughter, I assumed he’d heeded Sofia’s request. I raised a brow in question. He nodded.

Knowing that our daughter was now within the mountain was at least somewhat of a relief.

“According to Mona,” I began, “we have at most a day before the white witches’ defense caves in. We must assume the worst-case scenario, that Mona’s spell will fail, and we need to prepare for the battle that will follow.”

Ashley repeated the question she’d asked me back in the Dome before Micah had entered and interrupted the meeting.

“Battle, Derek?” she said. “Don’t you mean bloodbath? How are we any match for these witches?”

I turned on the blonde vampire. “We’ve faced many opponents in the past whom we’ve been no match for.” I was about to name the Elders as one example, but stopped myself as I recalled how she’d lost Sam to them. “And we’ve weathered many a storm before now.” I raised my voice, glaring at each and every one of the island’s oldest and most loyal allies, daring them to refute it. “What we lack in brute force, we make up for in guts and grit. We are warriors of The Shade, and we’ll do what we have always done… Survive.”

The crowd fell into a hushed silence, the sounds of the battle going on outside pervading the atmosphere once again.

“Is anyone in disagreement?” I shouted.

When nobody responded still, I said, “Then we begin. Eli, Caleb, Aiden and Mona—I appoint you four in charge of strategy. Lead everyone to the Armory and start preparation. Think on the best armor and weapons, and make sure we have enough to go round. Then begin training. I suspect Xavier will be joining you soon, too.”

“What about you, Derek?” Aiden asked, frowning.

“I’ll be preparing a weapon everyone seems to have forgotten about entirely.”

Sofia’s eyes shot toward me. “What?”

I couldn’t stop a small smile from curving my lips as I said, “Me.”

Chapter 16: Sofia

My eyes were glued to Derek as everyone else obeyed his command and hurried toward the Armory.

I clutched his hands. “You’re going to take the cure? Are you serious?”

He nodded. Dragging me along behind him, he began hurrying away from the beach.

“How do you know that your fire powers will return even if you do become a human again?” I asked.

“Why shouldn’t they? Being a vampire is the only thing that’s stifling them. My ability to conjure up walls of fire just might give us the edge we need.”

I remembered his powers, of course, and I realized how invaluable they might prove, but that didn’t banish the fear that gripped me at the thought of my husband undergoing the cure again. I shuddered just remembering how painful it had been.