A Shade of Blood (A Shade of Vampire #2)(76)

“I had no idea the Catacombs looked like this,” he admitted.

“You’ve never been here before?” I asked, finding it strange that the prince of The Shade never bothered to visit such an important part of his kingdom. Does he not rule over the humans too? Doesn’t he care at all?

He shook his head. “No. I never had a reason to.”

Never had a reason to? Aren’t these people your subjects just as much as the vampires? I held off my questions. It felt like I was about to find out exactly what role humans played at The Shade.

“Sofia?” A familiar voice from a level above called to me.

I followed the sound of the voice and saw Corrine. She caught sight of Derek and seemed to be holding her breath.

“You brought him?”

I saw Derek tense up. It was no secret to me that he and Corrine weren’t exactly the best of friends and it always surprised me how vocal Corrine was about her disdain toward him.

“Wait for me. I’m going to be right down.”

Corrine disappeared and Derek looked at me. “So it was the witch who gave you the idea of coming here?”

“When I came to visit her, she told me that I should come here – to get a clear picture of how the Naturals live.”

“The Naturals and the Migrates…” He winced. He said each word with bitterness – even a hint of spite. I couldn’t help but wonder why. I caught sight once again of the children on the level below. Both had their big brown eyes on us. The little girl clung tightly to her brother. I realized that they were both looking at Derek. They were mortified. The boy whispered something into the girl’s ear and they backed away slowly before completely turning back and running into what I assumed was a tunnel that led to some other section of the pit.

“You should’ve said that his royal highness was coming. We could’ve prepared a warm welcome of sorts. The Elite rarely visit the Catacombs.”

I did a one-eighty and found Corrine standing behind us.

Derek was more reluctant to face the beautiful witch. He slowly twisted around before glaring at Corrine.

“Hello to you too.”

They dueled with glares before both directed their attention toward me.

“So you finally decided to visit the Catacombs.” Corrine slightly chastised.

“Well, there was Vivienne’s memorial… I was adjusting to being back… I…”

“Hush, Sofia. You do have the tendency to ramble when you’re trying to defend yourself.” Corrine eyed me before once again giving Derek a wary glance. “Follow me. There’s someone I’d like for you to meet.”

As Corrine led us along the round ledge we were standing on, I could sense Derek’s discomfort. I wondered if it was difficult for him to be around all those humans. I instinctively grabbed his hand and squeezed. His grip on my hand tightened. To me, the gesture was well understood. I was there for him and he was grateful for it. I looked around me at the place shrouded with darkness.

“How is everyone able to cope without sunlight?” I found myself asking. During the months I stayed with Derek before leaving The Shade, we were given doses of Vitamin D along with other nutrients – I wondered if all humans were given this treatment.

“Most of the people who live here at the Catacombs were born here,” Corrine explained. “It’s hard to miss something they never actually had. They get nourishment of Vitamin D from supplements. The lack of sunlight does weaken them however, in ways that artificial nutrients could never make up for … the average life span of the humans on this island is not long.”

I glanced at Derek, remembering the Sun Room and everything it took just to give him a glimpse of the sun. The lavishness of his penthouse seemed an excessive extravagance compared to the drab living conditions of The Shade’s human slaves.

Corrine went down a spiral wooden staircase leading to the level below. We followed. I could sense curious eyes on us as we trailed behind Corrine who didn’t even bother to check if we were still following her.

“A vampire and his migrate…” a young woman whispered to an elderly one with graying hair.

“Beautiful young woman,” the older woman responded. “Poor thing.”

I knew Derek heard too because his grip on my hand tightened just enough for me to sense his tension, but not enough for it to be painful.

We kept following Corrine as she took a turn toward a tunnel – wider than the one we entered. It was the same tunnel the children had retreated to. We passed several arched doorways. I strained my neck to see what was through them, but only saw darkness. Corrine kept walking until she stopped in front of one of these entrances. We walked in and found the two children we saw earlier bundled up with their mother – a beautiful woman with dark auburn hair and a sad smile. Sorrow filled her eyes. Inside what I assumed was their home, were three cots – very similar to the ones found in the Cells. An old table was positioned in one corner of the room, upon which a single candle flickered.

Corrine must’ve noticed me staring at the candle. “Not all the areas of the Catacombs have electricity - even though The Shade’s power plant wouldn’t even exist without human labor. Those who don’t have electricity get a ration of candles every week – candles that humans also make.” Her eyes were on Derek.

I shifted glances between my two companions and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “How do they generate electricity?”