A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(15)

The look Xavier was giving me knocked my breath away. His eyes bore into me with an intensity I’d never quite seen from him before. It was as if he saw me for the first time that day, his eyes moist with tears.

I gave him a curt nod even though I wanted to do so much more. I made a mental note to have a long, meaningful talk with him. He deserved that.

“Let’s go meet Natalie.” I broke the silence, trying to put my focus on work. I walked past Xavier, my arm brushing against his. The contact sent shivers down my spine. Dear heavens, Vivienne, what is happening to you? Get a grip.

As I walked on, ignoring the fact that I was keenly aware of his presence right behind me, I tried to push away the same truth I’d been denying for the past five centuries.

Xavier Vaughn had always had that effect on me.

We arrived at the room where Corrine was keeping Natalie. The rogue vampire was still unconscious. The Shade’s witch was sitting on a couch, cross-legged, sipping a warm drink. She made it look like everything in the world was just as it should be, which was the farthest thing from the truth.

“Corrine,” I acknowledged her.

“Princess,” she responded, eyeing me from head to foot before gazing at Xavier who was standing right behind me.

I could practically feel his eyes settled behind my neck.

Corrine smirked. “Tense, your highness?” She always had a way of making the title seem like an insult.

I kept my cool and perused her the same way she had me. “Hello to you too, Corrine. It’s nice to see someone here at The Shade can afford to remain relaxed.” I looked toward Natalie. “When will she wake?”

“Something’s different about you.” Corrine cocked her head to the side. “Your old fire… it’s back.”

I didn’t know how to respond so I just made my way toward Natalie, standing by her bedside. “Come on, Natalie,” I whispered. “Wake up.”

As if on cue, Natalie stirred on the bed. I drew in my breath when she slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times to get a clear look at me. “Viv…”

“What happened to you? Do you know if Derek and Sofia are doing well?”

For the first time since I’d met Natalie, I saw terror in her eyes.

“They’re opening the gates, Vivienne. The Elder is opening the gates.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but anything that involved the Elder couldn’t possibly be good.

Corrine stood, her knuckles growing white as she gripped the cup between her hands so hard it seemed she intended to break it.

“That’s impossible.” The witch shook her head, her brown locks wildly swaying behind her.

“What’s going on? What is she talking about?” I directed my eyes toward Natalie. “What does all this have to do with my brother?”

“I don’t know.” Natalie shook her head. “But I was there when Kiev and Clara wiped out an entire vampire coven because they chose to side with Derek. The Elder seems to have quite a vendetta against your brother, the cure being a threat and all.”

My knees weakened, and I leaned against Xavier, who had already taken my side for support.

“What coven are you referring to?” he asked.

“The Underground,” Natalie managed to rasp out before breaking into coughs.

“Kiev and Clara.” Corrine said the words with utter spite. “The Elder’s children.”

I asked the question I was dreading the answer to. “Do they have my brother, Natalie?”

She nodded. “I tried to stop it, but Kiev and Clara… they’re powerful. I didn’t stand a chance. They have both Derek and Sofia.”

My stomach turned. My brother was mortal. How on earth was he going to protect himself? “What would they want with…”

“They’re after Sofia,” Corrine announced. “They’re after the immunes.”

Aiden’s hands balled into tight fists, a muscle on his jaw twitching. Behind him, Zinnia stood, arms crossed over her chest, leaning against the wall, seemingly enjoying everything that was happening.

I tried to ignore how irritated I was by the little brat. “And my brother?” I was afraid for his life. They only wanted Sofia. That meant Derek, especially now that he was a human, was dispensable.

“They told me to tell you that they would return Derek alive in exchange for one thing. They want The Shade’s side of the portal activated. The Shade’s gate.”

“No. Never.” Corrine shook her head violently.

“What?” I blurted out. “What is going on, Corrine? What portal? What gate?”

“We can’t have that, Vivienne. Trust me. We can’t allow something like that to happen. The stakes are too high.”

Collect yourself, Vivienne. I breathed a deep sigh. “Something like what, Corrine?” I said through gritted teeth. “Make it clear to me what’s so important about this portal that you are willing to exchange my brother’s life for it.”

“Surely they wouldn’t kill Derek,” Corrine muttered.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Natalie said. “Derek has been a pain in their ass since he woke up. Now is the best time to get rid of him. As a human, he’s the weakest he’s ever been in centuries.”

“If they wanted him dead, they would’ve killed him when he was in their territory—when Emilia was madly in love with him.”