A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire #2)(32)

“And one more thing…” I added. “If we do get serious about this, I don’t want to be your dirty little secret, Ben. We let Lyle and Amelia know.”

It hurt how he didn’t seem happy about that particular condition, but again, he agreed to my terms. “Of course.”

It was awkward how we parted. We didn’t talk about it, but for the first time, the idea of sleeping in the same bed with him felt wrong. We said good night to each other and went our separate ways. I spent a good deal of the night, debating within myself if I ought to sneak to his room, if only to have someone there in case I wake up from another nightmare.

Just when I had made up my mind to stay alone, I heard my door creak open. The bed shifted and I turned to find Ben sitting on the edge of it. He didn’t need to explain. The look in his eyes told me enough about him needing the company. I made room for him and snuggled against him. His lips found my forehead. A kiss goodnight.

What Ben and I had used to be simple. We were best friends. We knew where we stood with each other. A couple of kisses, a few suggestive quips and an agreement to have one date were more than enough to ruin whatever comfort zone he and I had.

Lying next to him on that bed that night, all I could think of before I drifted off to sleep was how complicated things were going to become from then on. Still, a smile crept over my lips, because whatever it was that I had with Ben, it felt like a step toward moving on and finally leaving The Shade behind us.

It was wishful thinking, because the moment slumber came, the nightmares came right along with it and The Shade was proving itself to be a force that wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

CHAPTER 23: DEREK

After the blackout, things were bound to go downhill and I knew it. The darkness began to consume me and I didn’t have enough will left to fight it, so I simply surrendered to it and let myself roll along with the free fall, waiting to hit rock bottom.

The first step down was when I decided that Sofia was no longer my responsibility.

I asked Cameron and Yuri to meet with me right after I attacked Ashley and hit Vivienne. I was in the music room. I kept the lights dim, my fingers playing a sad tune on the grand piano. The knights approached tentatively. Perhaps my face betrayed that I was in no mood for company.

“Find yourselves a seat and tell me what happened. How was it possible that my brother escaped from you both?” I kept playing the sorrowful melody.

Cameron took the lead and made himself comfortable on one of the cushioned benches. Yuri followed soon after. He appeared to be on edge with the way his fingers were twitching as he fumbled with them. I noted then how Yuri never seemed to be at ease when he was around me.

“Well?” I coaxed impatiently. “Speak.”

“We found Lucas at Claudia’s,” Cameron obliged. “Apparently, he’d been hiding out with her all this time. He was quick to escape. Most likely heard us coming and jumped out the window of one of the guest rooms right before we arrived.”

“I ran after him…” Yuri chimed in.

“…and Lazaroff was pretty damned fast too. Always has been.”

From my peripheral vision, I could make out Cameron glaring at Yuri, as if to tell the younger vampire to let him do all the talking. Of the three of us, Cameron was the oldest – both in natural and vampire years. He’d shown me more reverence and respect than Yuri ever did however.

“Yuri caught up with your brother,” Cameron continued after a short pause, “but as you may well know, Lucas overpowered him. Had I not caught up in time, the prince would’ve ripped Yuri’s heart out. When Lucas saw me coming, he made a run for it. By the time I reached the port, he’d already knocked out the guards and escaped on one of the speed boats.”

“The speed boats?” At that, I abruptly stopped playing a tune. “He didn’t take a submarine?”

“The subs are new and far slower than a speed boat. He wouldn’t have known how to run the submarines,” Yuri explained. “He hasn’t shown any interest in navigating the subs anyway.”

“So he went out of the island in broad daylight?” I turned on my bench so that I was facing them. “He’ll die for sure…”

“I wouldn’t bet all my marbles on it.” Cameron chuckled. “If there’s anything I admire about your brother, it’s his will to survive.”

Cameron was right. Knowing my brother, he had a plan up his sleeve that would help him survive even the sun. Not being able to argue with Cameron’s reasoning, I had to ask, “Why was Yuri there?”

“He was the one who tipped me off that Lucas was at Claudia’s.”

I eyed Yuri thoughtfully. I didn’t know why I was surprised. I just thought that after all those centuries, the strange thing Claudia and Yuri had going on between them was over. I never fully understood the dynamic of their relationship or Yuri’s blatant outward disdain, and yet seeming fascination, of Claudia.

“How exactly did you come about this information?”

Yuri gave me a response – a long-winded one, as he was inclined to do. His explanation escaped me however, because my mind quickly drifted off to Sofia’s welfare. To say that I didn’t care what happened to her was a lie. The thought of any danger befalling her sickened me. I knew that if Lucas survived – and he most likely would – he would pose a formidable threat to her life. If he wasn’t aware that Sofia was no longer at The Shade, he still had plenty of time and means to find out that Sofia was no longer under my protection.