A Shadow of Light (A Shade of Vampire #4)(39)

I calmly took my seat at the head of the table where Cameron and Liana, Eli and Yuri were already seated. Xavier, of course, was still on his feet, cooking up a storm. Words were coming out of his mouth, but it was barely registering in my mind. It was mostly about me losing my mind with the whole going on a drive thing and that he’d always known from the beginning that I was crazy.

“And yet, here you are, still fighting by my side.”

That halted him from his steamy tirade and the man paused to give me a pensive look. “Yes…well, you may be crazy, but the times you are brilliant make up for it.”

“Finally.” I threw my hands in the air. “A compliment. Now, could you kindly take a seat so we can get to business?”

Xander begrudgingly sat down before drumming his fingers over the table.

“We have three orders of business,” I began. “One, the general assembly. Two, the siege at the port. Three, the fact that it may take time before we are able to retake the port. This means that I may not be able to attend the meeting Natalie informed us about. The fact that it looks like we’re holding Natalie hostage spells a lot of trouble for us.”

“Can’t Natalie send a message to the covens that there’s a siege going on?” Liana suggested. “I’m sure she knows of a way to contact the other covens from within the island.”

I shook my head. “I’m sure she does, but the other covens are threatening to attack us. Is it really the best recourse to let them know that we’re on the brink of civil war? It’s exposing too much of our weaknesses.”

“We have to retake the port as soon as possible then…” Cameron concluded with the obvious.

“Right.” I nodded curtly. “How?”

“Let’s just go in guns blazing—so to speak—and just kill everyone. The island would be better off without the likes of them if you ask me…” Xavier said. Always the hothead.

Sounds great. Let’s do that. “We can’t afford to do that. We have to be able to do this with as little bloodshed as possible.” In this, I was firm, though I had no doubt in my mind that it was against my natural instincts. Perhaps that’s why Xavier and I got along so well. We’re both so trigger-happy.

“Why?” Yuri spat. “They’ve betrayed you. They’re out to ruin The Shade.”

I’m sure it’s what Sofia would have done. I straightened up on my seat. “These men fought and bled with us through First Blood. They may be misguided by whatever lies my father weaved to discredit me, but if we are to reach true sanctuary then we have to find a way to work together. Our military force is paralyzed without them. If the other covens attack without them on our side, it will be the end of us.”

Silence ensued. None of us knew what to do.

Xavier broke the silence. “Why is the general assembly necessary? And at the town square, Derek? The humans would be like sitting ducks there. What if Gregor and Felix attack?”

“What would they do?” Liana interjected. “Murder the entire human population? Even Felix isn’t stupid enough to do that. Let’s not forget that he’s one of the vampires who once was advocating better rights for the humans…”

“That’s because he was still in love with Anna at that time.” Yuri waved her comment off. “I honestly think that he wouldn’t mind killing her now.”

“Wait…” Eli lifted his glasses over the bridge of his nose.

I could practically see the wheels winding inside Eli’s genius mind.

“This could work to our advantage,” he spoke up. “If we could lure some of the vampires at the port into the assembly, then we’d have a better chance of taking over the port.”

“We still won’t be able to get in.” Xavier shook his head. “They’ll attack us the moment we’re at the narrow staircase.”

“No, no… This can work.” I shook my head before sending Eli an encouraging look. “We don’t have to pass through there. The port isn’t the only way out of the island.” I swallowed hard. The Lighthouse was my long kept secret. Only Vivienne, Cora and Sofia were aware of it. The shore near the lighthouse was where Cora and I drifted to the island from the shipwreck we were in five hundred years ago. Aside from the port and that small patch of shore near the lighthouse, the island was surrounded by rocky boulders and cliffs.

All eyes were on me, as they waited with bated breath, for what I was about to say.

“First off all,” I began, “who among us knows how to swim?”

I grinned inwardly as our plan took form. Gregor Novak won’t know what hit him. I couldn’t help but smirk at the notion. Well, what’s new?

CHAPTER 28: SOFIA

Aiden escorted me to where they were keeping Ingrid. Anxious wasn’t too befitting a word to describe how I felt about seeing Ingrid again. I fumbled with my fingers nervously, wondering why on earth she had such an effect on me.

She’s your mother, Sofia. If what Zinnia was saying is true, then you’re about to see a tortured version of her—the same way Vivienne looks now. The idea made me sick to my stomach. I knew that no matter what Ingrid did, I could never really wish her wrong. No matter how insane she was, to me, she would always be Camilla Claremont.

I gave my father a glance, wondering to myself if he felt the same way. A wave of nostalgia hit me, remembering what coming home from school was like when we were still together as a family.