A Dawn of Strength (A Shade of Vampire #14)(43)

I hadn’t even seen the final count of people whom the black witches had lined up along the beach. But I knew Saira, Micah and countless other werewolves—practically helpless against the witches in their four-legged form—had been there. Claudia, Eli and so many others in our vampire army had been there.

I knew my father had been there.

The dragons. The victory over the black witches. The sight of my daughter spouting flames. All of it faded into the background as grief consumed me. Traveling through the air on our dragon, back toward the most devastated area of the island, I couldn’t even speak as Derek asked me to recount what happened. I just pointed feebly toward the direction of the Port.

Most of the flames had been extinguished by now, thanks to our witches’ efforts, but this left me all the more terrified to look around as we touched down on the charred sand. There was barely a single discernible object—just lumps of ash.

I found myself leaving Derek’s side and wandering toward the strip of sand where my father had been imprisoned. Fallen trees lay atop it, and beneath, more piles of ash. I fell to my knees, dropping my head into my hands. I shut my eyes tight. After all Aiden Claremont, most feared of all the hunters, had been through… for it to end like this.

It was too much to bear. Tears streamed down my cheeks like rivers, wetting the parched ground.

Someone touched my shoulder. I couldn’t look up, but from her scent, I sensed that it was Rose. She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face against my neck. The tears on her own cheeks moistened my skin.

“Grandpa,” she choked. “He’s gone, isn’t he?”

I wasn’t sure if Caleb had told her or if she’d just guessed, but hearing my daughter speak those words was salt to my already gaping wound. I grabbed her and pulled her close, breathing into her hair. I sensed my husband approach. He knelt on the ground beside us.

“Dad,” Rose sobbed, “is there no way they could have survived?”

Derek sighed heavily. “We’ll search the island, darling.”

Slipping an arm around both of our waists, he pulled us into standing position and propped us up against him as we headed back toward the group. I was relieved that Derek took charge of things when I was in no state to.

“Ibrahim,” Derek said. “Have all the fires been extinguished now?”

“Yes,” the warlock replied.

“Then send word to Xavier that people can come out of the mountains now.”

When Ibrahim vanished, he turned to Corrine. “Has Mona been located?”

“Not yet, Derek,” she said, shaking her head sadly.

Kiev cursed, dropping to his knees and slamming a fist against the ground.

“Then whatever protection you can restore over this island,” Derek continued steadily, “restore it now.”

“Okay,” Corrine said. “I’d like at least three witches to help me.” She gathered together Adelle, Leyni and another witch, Shayla, before vanishing with them all.

I gazed at Yuri standing opposite me with blurred vision. I couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through. He’d lost both brother and wife in one swoop.

“And now,” Derek continued, “we need to search the island for more survivors. We’ll start with areas that are worst affected and move on from there. We must leave no stone unturned.” He looked at Bella and Brett. “You two are in charge of searching the caves. If you find anyone, report back immediately. Everyone else will search the rest of the island.”

And so we dispersed. Although I couldn’t conceive of how anyone who’d been on the beach when the dragons had struck could have survived, my heart kept the hope alive.

We spent the next five hours running around the island, searching through the charred undergrowth and moving toward the areas that hadn’t been touched by the flames. We shouted out names until our voices broke.

Kiev’s voice rang out in the distance. “I’ve found Mona!”

Hurrying toward him, I found him standing on the old rowing boat in the middle of the lake, the witch lying unconscious in his arms.

“She was just lying here… in this boat!” A mixture of joy and relief filled his voice, two emotions that I prayed I’d be experiencing shortly.

“How do you think she got there?” I called.

“No idea,” he said as he began to navigate the boat toward me. “She’s breathing, thank God. So I guess we’ll find out once she comes to.” He reached the bank and leapt out before racing away with Mona. “I’m taking her to Corrine,” he shouted back over his shoulder.

As he disappeared into the dark woods, my hope strengthened that perhaps we’d find the others too.

But that renewed hope only ended up causing more pain.

We didn’t find them.

After what felt like my seventh time traveling past the same stretch of forest, I finally stopped and stood still, staring around at the ravaged trees.

We’re fooling ourselves.

They’re gone.

Once the humans had evacuated the mountains and settled their families back into their homes—which, thanks to the Vale’s distance from the beach, hadn’t suffered damage—everyone who could fit into the courtyard in front of the Sanctuary gathered there.

Rose had made Derek and I aware of the fact that we still weren’t on stable terms with the dragons, but none of us could think of them right now. Thankfully, they were understanding. Rose organized some refreshments and offered them seating within the Black Heights where they agreed to wait a while before we gave them reception.