A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(8)

“Uh, Sofia… What’s wrong?”

“What? Oh, it’s nothing.” I shook my head. “Let’s go get you your first taste of ice cream.”

The reaction on Derek’s face was priceless as he tasted his third flavor of ice cream. “This is delicious. Aren’t you going to have more?”

“I already had a second serving,” I told him. “That might go straight to my hips. We’re going to get some exercise now.”

“Exercise?” He wrinkled his nose.

“As a vampire, you never needed it.” I smiled. “Now, you do.”

He took a huge bite from his ice cream cone. “Well, let me just finish this first.”

I enjoyed watching him. He had a childlike delight at everything we saw during our honeymoon. He found pleasure in the things I took for granted—vending machines, phones, bells, food… Derek loved every second of being human, of being alive. He embraced every new experience he encountered.

Or at least it seemed that way to me. I remembered what he’d told me about his apprehensions, and I had to face the fact that as strong and as virile as he still was, he was no longer the most powerful vampire there was. As Derek Novak the human, he was vulnerable and so was I.

I’d never thought that he could have misgivings about being human again, but when the reality of the situation began to sink in, I found myself battling with fear.

Derek was prophesied to bring his kind true sanctuary. I was prophesied to help him do just that. Both of us were convinced that true sanctuary was the cure to vampirism, but by discovering that cure, we’d created enemies. Our lives were in danger and I knew it. Derek knew it.

As I stared at him, trying to make light of each moment we spent on our honeymoon, trying to just enjoy the temporary reprieve we’d been given, I caught myself wondering… How could this possibly be true sanctuary?

Chapter 6: Derek

“Woman, why would you do this to me?” I groaned at Sofia, who gave me a grin as she wiped the sweat off her brow and grabbed a towel to wipe away mine.

We’d been “exercising” for the past hour and a half and every muscle and bone in my body was screaming in agony.

“I’ve trained at the Crimson Fortress’ battle grounds for hours every day for weeks. I never ached like this.”

“Welcome to being mortal, Derek. You’re flesh and blood just like the rest of us. You need to get used to experiencing pain in order to get what you want.”

“And what exactly do I want? Remind me again why I’m doing this.”

She smiled at me as she slipped her hands under my shirt and over my lower torso. “We want to keep those abs of yours, Derek. That’s what we want.”

“No.” I shook my head. “That’s what you want.”

“Maybe so, but as my husband, you’re supposed to make sure that I get what I want.”

“Oh, is that so? I never thought you could be so selfish…”

“And yet you’re still madly in love with me.” She stepped forward and gave me a peck on the cheek.

“The things I let you get away with…” I heaved the duffel bag containing our belongings over my shoulder. “Could we get something to eat? I’m famished.”

“Again?” She wrinkled her nose.

She managed to convince me to settle for a salad—something she was easily able to do with a few suggestive quips and gestures. I wolfed down my dinner. I couldn’t wait to get Sofia back to our hotel room. I already had her on the bed and was about to undress her when I heard quick footsteps and a voice I was sure I’d already heard somewhere before saying, “Find them.”

I swallowed hard and looked around the room.

“Derek? What’s wrong?” Sofia asked from beneath me.

“We have to get out of here.”

“What? Why?”

A shadow moved from the terrace. Vampires. I motioned for Sofia to look towards the veranda. “That’s why,” I whispered.

Her eyes widened. “Who could possibly…”

“I don’t know, but we don’t want to stay to find out.” I got off her and quickly replaced my clothes, my eyes set on the terrace. Now there were two figures. “Sofia, hurry.”

She was already moving as quickly as she could, but the glass doors that led to the terrace slid open. My heart dropped when I saw who our intruders were. Kiev and Clara. The Elder’s children.

My stomach turned. Never before had I ever felt as incapable of defending Sofia as I did at that moment. When Kiev’s red eyes settled on Sofia—her hair a mess and her clothes still disheveled—I wanted to rip his throat out. I pulled her closer to me, stepping forward to block her from his view.

Kiev only scoffed as he eyed me from head to foot. We both knew how powerless I was against him.

I was so focused on Kiev I barely noticed Clara until she was standing right beside me, tracing a claw over my arm.

“I love the tan, Novak,” she drawled before pushing the point of her claw into my skin. I winced when blood trickled down my arm. She smirked when the wound didn’t heal. “I wonder what Emilia would think if you hadn’t killed her. She became a vampire because you were a vampire. Now, you’re nothing but an ordinary man.”

“Yes, which is why I’m wondering what you could possibly want from me.”