A Shadow of Light (A Shade of Vampire #4)(73)

I hate you. With all the defiance I still had left within me, I spat in his face. Angered, he once again threw me forcefully to the ground. Vivienne rushed to my side.

“Sofia, you look awful,” she muttered under her breath. She bit into her wrist and made me drink her blood.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Borys fisted a clump of Vivienne’s hair.

“Healing her. If I don’t, she will die. Do you not see how much you’ve broken her?” Vivienne responded through gritted teeth. “I can barely see a trace of her original complexion. She’s black, purple and blue where she’s not bleeding.”

“Serves her right for not giving in to me…” Borys walked away from us and leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he watched Vivienne feed me more of her blood.

The momentary reprieve was exactly what I needed as my eyes met with Vivienne’s. Her blue violet gaze bore into mine with sympathy and compassion. She was the one person I knew who had been through Borys’ cruel hands before, which is why I was so shocked when she looked at me and said, “Just give in to him, Sofia. Let him have his way. There’s no point in fighting back. You’ll only get hurt much worse if you don’t give in.”

I stared up at her in horror. She must know exactly how I feel about him, how disgusted I am by the idea of his touch, how revolted I am whenever I sense his eyes on me. How could she ask this of me? Her own memories—ones that she had shared with me before—came flooding through my mind. How she fought back with everything that she was, how he continued to defeat her and break her until her mind snapped and just let things be. It took years before she was able to completely recover from the trauma of what Borys had put her through.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Delight was sparkling in Borys’ dark eyes as he stared at Vivienne with amazement, reveling in her words. “You should listen to Vivienne, Sofia. She knows. If Derek hadn’t taken her away from me, I know Vivienne and I would’ve gotten along well even to this very moment. Isn’t that right, Vivienne?”

Vivienne didn’t respond. Instead, she checked on me and seemed satisfied that I was healing fine. I could see the fear and the dread in her eyes and I gulped at what she was planning to do. She rose to her feet and faced Borys.

As I followed her with my gaze, it finally dawned on me what she was doing. She was using herself as bait, as a distraction to get Borys’ attention away from me. My heart broke in the process, knowing the kind of sacrifice she was making for me.

Vivienne approached Borys slowly, biding her time. Caught in her spell, he remained still, devouring her with his eyes, taking in her lovely form, loving every minute of her approach. I couldn’t help but sneer at how delighted he seemed. I was certain that no woman had ever given him the same attention Vivienne was giving him at that moment. She gently caressed his face and hair. She then pressed her lips against his jaw. A sigh of pleasure escaped Borys’ lips. The idea that he was getting pleasure out of Vivienne’s humiliation sickened me.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her body against his, before rolling over so that Vivienne’s back was against the wall and he had full control. Now having a pliable victim under his grip, he seemed to revel in the idea that Vivienne was just going to let him do whatever he pleased.

I rose to my feet, my eyes on Vivienne. She looked straight at me even as Borys began ripping the neckline of her shirt and kissing her collarbone. What am I waiting for? This is my chance. I reached for the wooden stake attached to my thigh and slipped it out. Vivienne’s eyes widened and she nodded at me, but she also raised one hand to motion for me to wait.

To my shock, she began running her hands over his bare torso and slightly tugged at his jeans to lower them. What is she doing? I heard Borys moan over the idea of a woman actually willingly reciprocating his advances.

“Borys is good to those who are good to him, isn’t that right?” Vivienne said and Borys moaned his agreement as his hands gripped her hips and lifted her up higher against the wall, his own hips supporting her weight. “Let me teach Sofia how to please you. You’ll like it when she learns.”

He hesitated for a moment. I was afraid that he was going to turn and look at me and find the wooden stake in my hand, so I hid it behind my back as I slowly approached them. But Vivienne continued to coax him. “You’ll have us both. Isn’t that what you want?”

It sickened me to think of him smiling at the notion, and I sped up my steps toward him. I was about a foot away when Vivienne nodded.

“Let me down, Borys…” she gently pleaded right after she had kissed him.

His head was probably still reeling from her kiss because he gently lowered her to the ground. Vivienne continued to kiss him. “Turn around, baby… Sofia is right behind you and I’m going to instruct her on what to do so that you won’t get so mad at her all the time.”

He must’ve been expecting kisses from me—something evident from the look of euphoria on his face as he quickly spun around to face me. By the time he saw the stake, it was already driven deep into his heart. He motioned to attack me with the strength left in him, but Vivienne held his jaw from behind and swiftly snapped his neck.

Just like that, we saw the great Borys Maslen drop to the ground, dead.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. We actually did it. Vivienne and I had defeated Borys Maslen. As much as I was relieved, however, I could feel pain in my heart. This is what it feels like to end the life of another. Overwhelmed by everything that had just occurred, I did the only thing I could. I broke down in tears, and so did Vivienne.