A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(62)

“And she’s going to have to spend her whole life atoning for her choice. I hope it was worth it, Corrine.”

Corrine stared at Derek’s unconscious form. She grinned. My heart leapt when she said with conviction, “Trust me, Ibrahim, if this helps save Sofia, if it helps save the Novaks, then yes… it was worth it.”

Chapter 36: Aiden

When I woke up to find Derek Novak lying on the cot across from mine, barely breathing, I almost lost it. I wasn’t a stranger to loss and grief, having been surrounded by violence and warfare all my life, but something about seeing my son-in-law, proud and powerful, looking as weak as he did just rubbed me the wrong way.

I sat up over the edge of my bed and scoped the room. No one was there aside from us. What happened?

We were no longer at The Shade. That was for certain. We were in a closed, windowless room. I had a feeling we were on some sort of vehicle. The submarines. We’re moving.

The door swung open and Vivienne appeared. She seemed surprised to see me awake.

“What happened?” I asked. “Are we in one of the subs?”

She nodded slowly, eyeing her brother with concern. She motioned for me to follow her. I obliged, overcome by curiosity, not only at what had occurred during my sleep but also at what their submarines looked like. The last time I’d been in one, I was unconscious.

Vivienne led me to a small living area where Claudia sat on one of the lounge chairs, her eyes fixed on vacant space. Zinnia and Craig were also there, along with Gavin. All had loss written all over their faces.

Vivienne sat on a wooden chair and motioned for me to take the seat across from hers. She began to recount what had just happened, from the Elders’ attack at The Shade up to Derek’s arrival and eventually what had happened to Corrine, and how we now had another witch amongst us—one we weren’t certain we could trust.

I found it difficult to swallow everything that she was telling me. “So where is this Ibrahim person now?”

“He’s with Corrine.” Vivienne’s eyes were unfocussed, her brain likely recalling the eventful afternoon. “You should’ve been there. Derek… these powers he has… I think he’s even more powerful now than he ever was as a vampire.”

“That’s good, is it not? That means we have a better chance of rescuing my daughter.”

“I’m not sure, Aiden. All of these… I don’t understand. I just have a bad feeling about all this. Especially Sofia. We’ve just discovered that Derek can kill Elders. That makes him the largest threat to their kind. Do you really think they’re not going to use Sofia against him?”

A sick feeling settled at the pit of my stomach. Derek Novak had just became the hunters’ most valuable weapon. I wondered whether Arron even knew about this. Where is he anyway? I was sickened to think that I had given so much of my life serving the cause of this coward, someone I used to fear and respect. All the years I lost running after the hunters’ cause… years I could’ve spent with my daughter.

“We need to save my daughter and her child, Vivienne. We just have to.”

Vivienne’s face twitched. I could tell there was something she wasn’t telling me.

“What is it?”

“That’s the thing. Right now, we’re headed toward hunters’ headquarters. Derek doesn’t know. Soon after what he did at the Catacombs, he lost consciousness. With him out, we thought of bringing him to Sofia’s quarters at the caves, but the Elders returned. We were barely able to escape. They have The Shade now and everyone we left behind.”

“Who’s with us now?”

“We have Cameron, Claudia, Gavin, Zinnia, Craig and Landis.”

“That’s it?”

“The humans who were left behind were either bled dry or turned into vampires. The vampires, on the other hand, I think they’re all vessels now. Xavier, Ashley, Yuri and Liana… they’re all vessels now.” Her voice broke, pain etched in her eyes.

I recoiled at the recollection of what the Elders had made Ashley do to the man she loved. “We’re dealing with monsters, Vivienne, but if we’re headed for hunters’ headquarters, I’m not sure we’re going to deal with creatures who are any better.”

I was expecting a question from the princess, but all she did was nod. “I know, but do we really have any other choice? Derek is set on attacking The Blood Keep to find Sofia. We can’t do that without the help of the hunters.”

“They won’t help us without anything in exchange. You realize that they may demand Derek’s loyalty.”

“You know my brother, Aiden. He’s never bowed to anyone before—not even the Elder. He’s ruler of The Shade for a reason. He won’t just pledge loyalty to the hunters.”

“Even for Sofia?”

Vivienne hesitated. “What else are we going to do?”

She was clearly fighting back the tears. I saw the exhaustion behind her distant blue-violet gaze. Vivienne Novak was one of the most resilient women I’d ever met, but it was clear that she was nearing her breaking point.

“Have a rest, Vivienne. It looks like you need it.”

“I’m going to check on my brother.” She gave me a curt nod and made her way out of the living area.

Zinnia and Craig were quick to approach me the moment she left. My eyes zoned in on the blue star on Craig’s temple. Something about it seemed innocent and playful—attributes that had become increasingly lost in our world.