A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(2)

Those screams were going to haunt me in my dreams. I wanted to do something—anything—but I couldn’t. I’d become the rogue because I was a coward. I never chose sides, and the one time that I had chosen, I’d paid a heavy price for it. I had a better chance of survival if I did what I always did best. Stay neutral. This time, however, staying neutral felt like I was siding with the Elder, and that was selling my soul.

Are you willing to pay that price, Natalie?

Chapter 1: Derek

The image of Sofia emerging from the ocean, that red swimsuit highlighting her curves, would forever be etched in my mind. My wife was a stunning sight to behold and spending my entire lifetime with her was more than I could’ve ever dreamed of.

I was sitting on the sand, finishing a sandcastle that she had started but abandoned in order to take a dip in the ocean. When she reached me, she slapped my shoulder.

“What was that for?”

She sat beside the sandcastle and pouted as she looked me over from head to foot. “It’s annoying. I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

“I’ve been living under the sun for most of my life and I’m still as creamy white as the day I was born, but you…” She groaned. “You’ve been under the sun for a week after hiding out in darkness for five hundred years, and you already have a tan!”

I doubled over with laughter at her outburst.

“It doesn’t make sense.” She lifted her arms and stared at them. “The Prince of Darkness himself can get a tan, but no matter what I do, I never can.”

My laughter subsided. She was right. We’d been on our honeymoon for over a week now and a good chunk of our time had been spent outdoors. My skin had already bronzed nicely, but Sofia’s skin was still as pale as the day I’d first met her.

“That is odd.” I frowned, narrowing my eyes at her. “Are you sure you’re not a vampire, Sofia?”

She sighed and stretched out on her towel. “Ben used to tease me about it. He always got a beautiful tan during the summer while I just ended up red and sunburned.”

I kept my eyes on her, amused. Sofia was an old soul and she had accomplished so much at The Shade already. Moments like these, however, reminded me that she was an eighteen-year-old, young and with her whole life ahead of her, a life she’d decided to live with me.

I found it humbling. She’s mine. She willingly gave her life and love to me.

The expression in her green eyes changed to something more pensive. I didn’t need to ask.

“You miss him, don’t you?” I asked, referring to Ben Hudson. She’d grown up with the young man. He had been her best friend and the fact that he’d died not so long ago—at the hands of my older brother—wasn’t lost on me. It was a reminder of how resilient and strong Sofia was. She’d been through hell and back the past year.

She nodded. “Of course I do. And I feel guilty I haven’t spoken to Ben’s family since the funeral. It’s been difficult to contact them. I couldn’t bear the thought of facing them, you know? Besides, with what’s been happening with us and The Shade and… I haven’t even really thought about them until now. That’s awful, isn’t it?”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Sofia. There was no way you could’ve communicated with them.” I paused and gave it some thought. “But we’re out here… we can do whatever we want. Maybe we should pay them a visit.”

“We’re in Tahiti, Derek. Are you seriously proposing that we fly to California?”

“They deserved to be at our wedding, but since bringing them to The Shade wasn’t an option, I don’t see why we can’t visit them now.”

A smile broke into her lovely face as she gave me an affectionate look. “I love you, Derek Novak.”

I flashed her a wide grin and shrugged a shoulder. “I know.” I threw a plastic shovel toward her. “Now, get to work, lazy. You started this sandcastle. Come help me finish it.”

Sofia jumped up from her towel and she was in my arms, her slim form comfortably settling on top of me as she kissed me. Her kiss was gentle and sweet, and to my delight, lingering. Even with my eyes closed, I could sense the smile on her face—that beautiful smile that always had a way of melting my heart—that same smile that I got to see once our lips parted.

“I adore you, Derek. You know that, don’t you?” She grinned.

I squinted my eyes at her. “All right,” I drawled. “What do you want in exchange for that?”

“You.” She bit her lip. “Just you.”

She wrapped her legs around me and pulled me on top of her. Being with her was like a piece of heaven—one that I wished would last forever. But I knew that our honeymoon was borrowed time. It would soon be over, so I intended to enjoy every single moment.

I was needed back home. The Shade was crippled without us there—especially with the hunters looming over us and the discovery of the cure that had created all sorts of enemies and all kinds of threats—but this was my one shot at normalcy. This one-month honeymoon was the only time I could just be a young man in love with his wife.

I let all the responsibilities I had as ruler of The Shade roll off my shoulders. I had one month to have Sofia all to myself and I wasn’t going to trade that for the world.