A Shadow of Light (A Shade of Vampire #4)(6)

When Borys threatened to make a widow out of her and kill Derek, so that he could take his rightful place as Sofia’s husband, I was overwhelmed with relief. I could still be there at her wedding!

My stomach clenched at my own sick thinking, but before guilt could creep in, I snapped into attention when Borys pushed Sofia to the ground and looked my way to instruct me to “heal my daughter.” I was transfixed by the sight of Sofia whimpering on the ground. I had no idea what to do. I wanted to help her out and ease her pain. Yet another part of me just wanted to get as far away from her as possible.

I ordered two guards to help me take her to her bedroom.

“Be gentle with her,” I snapped at them. “She is, after all, to become your queen.”

They gave me strange glances, but I ignored them and walked ahead to the bedroom. Later, I had vampire blood brought to her in order for the wounds on her legs to heal.

“You’ve drunk vampire blood before,” I told her, noticing how the idea of drinking the blood didn’t seem to faze her at all.

She just glared at me. That’s when I realized that she wasn’t like me at all. I thought that she was weak—and from her appearance alone, it seemed that way—but I could see underneath her shaking exterior. I couldn’t help but shudder, because at that point, I could only sense one thing from Sofia: power.

Intimidated by her, I tried to break her down the next time I had an encounter with her. Borys sent me to her so that I could bring her to his chambers. I wondered if he was being cruel or if he was testing me to see if my loyalty would belong to him or to Sofia. I found the idea ridiculous. Hadn’t I already proven how loyal I was to him?

I went to Sofia’s bedroom and found her speaking to her best friend, Ben—Amelia’s son. I found myself missing my best friend—one who’d been there for me during some of the toughest days of my life, while I was Camilla Claremont. I hated looking at Ben because of how much he reminded me of Amelia, and I couldn’t stand being around him.

“I want time alone with my daughter,” I told the guards. “Have the young man brought to the little blonde vampire from The Shade. She’s been harping on about him since she got here.”

I could feel the atmosphere tense as I watched the look of horror on Sofia’s face. For some reason, I found delight in evoking terror in her.

“No…” Sofia begged. “Please…no… Not her… Not Claudia… Mother, please.”

Mother. The word was like a splash of cold water calling out to the remaining fibers of maternal instinct left in me—a final plea for me to show the motherly affection my daughter was clearly starving for. I raised a hand toward the guards who were already approaching to take Ben. “Wait. What did you just call me?” I asked, hungry to hear the word again.

“Mother…” Sofia’s lips trembled as she spoke. She grabbed Ben’s hand, seeming to both give and draw strength from him. “Isn’t that what you are? My mother?”

“Yes. That’s right, Sofia.” I smiled, confused by the emotions whirling inside me. “I’m your mother.” Despite the delight I felt over this truth, the powerful Ingrid would always win over weak and pathetic Camilla. “That means you do what I say, right?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

“So you’re not going to cause any trouble tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” I noticed how her grip on Ben’s hand tightened.

“Yes. Tomorrow. You’re to be wed to Borys tomorrow.”

“Why? Why would you do this? Why would you force your own daughter to marry that brute?”

I began brushing strands of her hair away from her face. At that point, I found myself once again shoving Camilla back into my subconscious and letting Ingrid take over. “You just don’t know him, Sofia. Borys deserves the best and you, Sofia, are the best. Why wouldn’t you be? You’re my blood, my beautiful, perfect little girl. You belong to Borys.” I then straightened to my full height. “I’ve changed my mind,” I announced. “Leave the boy here. The Shade’s little blonde vampire can have him after the wedding. Right now, Borys is requesting the presence of his blooming bride. Have my daughter brought to his chambers.”

I watched as the guards dragged my daughter away to whatever fate Borys had for her that day. I watched wondering why I was so threatened by her. I watched hoping that she would break down, because the strength of her spirit only served to highlight the weakness of mine.

One would have to be blind not to see how much Sofia loved the legendary Derek Novak, rumored to be the most powerful vampire alive—king of The Shade, the largest and most influential vampire coven in existence. The look on his face upon seeing her made it quite evident that he felt for her the exact same way. Their reunion would haunt me my whole life, the way they whispered comfort into each other’s ears and caressed one another would forever be etched into my mind.

I had hoped that I would experience the same thing upon once again seeing Aiden, but when the hunters attacked and our eyes met for the first time in almost a decade, all I could see was a million unanswered questions behind his eyes and pure and utter hatred.

I still loved Aiden Claremont, but he no longer felt the same way about me. I couldn’t blame him, but I hated that he couldn’t look at me with affection, yet he could still look at Sofia as if he worshiped the ground she walked on.