A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire #2)(67)

I shook my head. “No. I’ve already said enough. Incidentally, I don’t trust you, Aiden. Not after what you did to Sofia. I’m not telling you anything until I get answers.”

The man gave me a murderous glare. “Look, boy. I’m here for one reason and one reason alone and that is to find Sofia. I don’t care what you think of me. The last time you and my daughter disappeared, I practically turned the world upside down trying to look for her. I arrived at one dead end after another, and then you two little juveniles show up out of thin air, giving authorities this crap story about running away – no explanations, no records… nothing.” He began swearing loudly. “And now she’s gone again right after a private conversation with Vivienne Novak!” Another swear word escaped his lips. “Vivienne Novak! After centuries of not even seeing a trace of her or anybody from her clan, she shows up and she goes after my daughter. If you don’t want her to end up the way Eliza did, you’re going to tell me everything you know.”

He looked nothing short of intimidating and Zinnia looked absolutely terrified of him, but his outburst only made me relax. I leaned back on the couch and cocked my head to the side. His reaction just showed me how important I was to them. “Don’t you have Vivienne in your custody?” I replied nonchalantly. “Why don’t you just ask her what you want to know?”

“You’ve obviously never tried to break a vampire,” Zinnia muttered.

I raised one shoulder. “I’m willing to learn.”

“Now’s not the time.” Reuben was reeling in his anger. “Tell me where my daughter is.”

“She returned to The Shade.”

“The Shade?” they both asked in unison.

Not wanting to tell them anything about the island, I said the words that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Sofia is Derek Novak’s lover.”

Silence followed as both hunters let the statement sink in. My eyes remained locked on Reuben, watching as the blood rushed to his face, his knuckles growing white from the way he was clutching the armrests. After what felt like forever, he managed to react. “Lover?” The way he said the word made it sound foul and disgusting. “How could something like this happen? How does my own daughter fall prey to a Novak?”

I was surprised by the anguish I saw in his face. The anger increased how menacing he looked, yet a deep sadness was mingled with the fury.

“I was trying to protect, keep her hidden from vampires and hunters and all this bloodshed. What they’d do to her should they find out that I’m her father…” He rose from his seat and began pacing the hardwood floor in front of us. It did little to ease the tension.

I couldn’t keep myself from speaking my mind. “Protect her? What the hell are you talking about? You abandoned her!”

“To keep her away from all this! She was safer without me…”

“Safer?” I scoffed. “Really? You mean like she is now? Safe as that vampire prince’s slave?”

“Slave? I was under the impression that she went out of her own free will…” Something dark and foreboding flickered in Reuben’s eyes.

I knew then without a shadow of a doubt that Reuben would willingly burn down the entire world if it meant he could keep Sofia away from Derek Novak.

That’s what earned him my trust. That’s what made him my ally.

I drew a deep breath. “You don’t know Sofia. She’s naïve. She trusts people too much. You must’ve heard about what was happening when the hunters came to take Vivienne from Sofia. It was almost like the vampire was brainwashing or hypnotizing Sofia. I don’t know… they did something to Sofia on that island. She’s fiercely loyal to Derek for reasons I can’t even comprehend. After we got back from The Shade, I tried to reason with her as best as I could, but it was of no use. He had her. I don’t know if there’s anything we can do about that.”

Fierce determination deepened the lines on his face as he sat back on the recliner. “We’re going to get my daughter out of there, and you’re going to tell me everything you know about The Shade.”

CHAPTER 40: DEREK

1509

A slight drizzle had begun over the thatched roofs and stone walls of our small village. The fresh air of the countryside was a welcome change to the city atmosphere I’d grown accustomed to since joining the hunters. However, even the comforting sight of our beloved and closely-knit farming community failed to ease the heavy burden I brought with me upon coming home.

Though our neighbors greeted me with nods and smiles, I could tell that they were wary of me, some even fearful of me. After our mother was murdered inside our own home two years ago, I was written off as having gone mad, because I was convinced that a vampire took my mother’s life. It didn’t take long until I couldn’t bear working our farmlands anymore. I had to get away. Rumors were circulating about an order known as “the hawk”. They were hunters, determined to rid the world of vampires. I found them and I joined them. Of the several times I went home since I joined the hunters, this homecoming proved to be the most difficult, because along with it came a mission I was afraid I didn’t have in me to accomplish.

Upon reaching the thatched roof and brick walls that made up our home, the first person I wanted to see was my twin. Vivienne joined me during my first year of becoming a hunter. She didn’t become one herself, but she assisted me in more ways than one, given her premonitions and ability to see into the future. She eventually had to go home, however, due to an illness she contracted during one of our travels. Expecting her to greet me by the door, I was surprised to find our older brother instead.