A Shade Of Vampire 5: A Blaze Of Sun (12 page)

I was snuggled against Derek on his living room couch, my head leaning against his shoulder. We were both exhausted, because we just spent hours searching for Vivienne and failing to find her. I was sure that Derek had already scoured every single nook and cranny of The Shade to find his twin, but only got frustrated when there was absolutely no sight of her anywhere. Nobody saw her at all.

“I feel so bad about not hearing her
out,” Derek muttered, as he brushed his fingers over my hair. “It’s Vivienne. She doesn’t freak out like that for just no reason.”

I didn’t voice out my thoughts in fear of how Derek would react, but Vivienne
had been in pretty bad shape back at hunter territory. The hunters had been brainwashing her in order to try and extract information from her regarding the location of The Shade. She was far too loyal and too intent on protecting her family and the kingdom that she managed to block out all information that would compromise The Shade. The hunters never got anything from her, but she was a paranoid mess when she was first brought to me at Hawk Headquarters.

“Don’t torture yourself, Derek. We were doing what we thought was right. I’m sure Vivienne is okay. She probably just needs time
to herself.”

“I just don’t understand where she could’ve gone. Why can’t anybody find her?”

“Is there any possibility that she could’ve left The Shade?”

Derek shook his head. “I doubt it. Vivienne would never risk that.
I don’t see why she would have any reason to leave. Besides, people at the Port would know. If she didn’t pass through the Port to take one of the subs, then she would’ve been swimming in broad daylight.”

Right then, Xavier burst into the room without even bothering to knock first. “We’ve found her,” he announced.

Derek and I jumped to our feet.

“Where? Where is she?” Derek asked.

Xavier’s jaw clenched. “Inside her bedroom. Fast asleep. She refuses to wake up, Derek.”

Derek immediately took hold of me and carried me as he sped toward his sister’s bedroom. Corrine was standing by Vivienne’s bed.
She immediately set her eyes on us the moment we arrived.

“What’s going on, Corrine?” Derek asked. “What happened to Vivienne?”

“She’s under a spell,” Corrine explained. “The same spell you asked Cora to place on you. This is definitely her sleeping spell at work. I would know it anywhere.”

“Did you do this?” Derek spat out at the witch.

Corrine glared at Derek like he’d gone mad, but as usual, she remained unaffected by his burst of anger. If anything, she appeared irritated more than intimidated. 

I grabbed his arm
. “Derek! Corrine is on our side.”

“Well, who else would know how to use that spell?” Xavier, who had followed us to Vivienne’s bedroom, fueled Derek’s suspicions. “There aren’t any witches in this island aside from her!”

“Why would I do this to Vivienne?” Corrine rolled her eyes. That’s when I noticed that she was feeling tense about something.

“What’s going on, Corrine?” I let go of Derek’s arm and began to approach the witch who had actually been a good friend to me throughout
my time in The Shade. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think I’m the only witch in this island. Not anymore.”

“What are you talking about?” Derek frowned.

“I think Emilia is a witch. I left
The Sanctuary a couple of hours after you left. I did my routine visit at The Catacombs, went to check on Anna and how she was doing. When I returned to The Sanctuary, I couldn’t enter anymore.” She turned her eyes toward Derek. “I was about to tell you, but Xavier alerted me about having found Vivienne. I think Emilia had something to do with this.”

Chills began to run up and down my spine, as question after question flowed through my lips. “What does that mean for us? How much of a threat is she? How could she have healed so quickly?”

“Vivienne was right. We never should’ve let her on the island.” He turned toward Corrine. “Can you break the spell she put on my sister?”

Corrine shrugged. “I can try, but I don’t think I have my powers anymore, Derek.”

“What? If you don’t have your powers anymore then how is the protective spell still over The Shade?”

“Either
The Shade is no longer protected or Emilia is keeping it up. I’m sure of neither.”

As if
The Shade not being protected by a spell wasn’t enough chaos to contend with, Yuri and Claudia showed up with an alarming announcement.

“
The Shade is under attack.”

I was overwhelmed beyond belief. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Everyone present was looking to me for either direction or action and I had neither.

I stared at Vivienne’s sleeping form, hoping that I could somehow communicate with her.
I never should’ve second-guessed her.
I knew, however, that I needed to come up with a plan of action and I needed to do it fast.

Everything that was going on in
The Shade was crashing down upon me.
The Shade is no longer protected by the spell. That means that the hunters can now detect Aiden’s tracker. It also means that we need to finish the battle by sunrise. The battle. The Shade is under attack. My sister is under some sort of spell and Emilia has taken over The Sanctuary. What are you going to do, Novak?

“I’m going to
The Sanctuary…” I announced.

Sofia nodded. “I am going with you.”

I shook my head at her and was about to tell her why when Xavier stepped forward, eyes narrowed at me.

“Derek, didn’t you hear? The Shade is under attack.”

“I know that,” I responded through gritted teeth, trying to reel in my temper. “Xavier, you and Cameron pretty much think the same way that I do when it comes to battle. Yuri and Claudia are more than capable of helping. Lead the battle. I need to deal with Emilia, because I’m pretty sure that she will refuse to deal with anyone else but me. We can’t afford to keep The Shade unprotected. Corrine is coming with me.”

Sofia was about to say something, but I shot a glare at her that made her quickly shut her mouth. I could tell that she was trying to be sensitive to the enormous pressure
I was under. “Do you trust me, Sofia?”

She nodded. “Of course I do.”

“I want you by my side, but right now, I need you to go to your father. Tell the guards there that I’ve authorized his release. They will believe you. Get him to do everything he can to hold off the hunters. If the protective spell is gone, and I think that it is, I’m pretty sure they have The Shade’s location by now.”

She gave me a
quick nod and assured me that she would be on it. I was about to leave, but I took a step back to assuage my fears. “Make sure you have one of the guards with you, Sofia, okay? At
all
times. Sam and Kyle… I need to know that you’ll be alright…”

Trying to secure myself in the knowledge that I had capable men and women going about the tasks that needed to be done, I grabbed a hold of Corrine’s hand and sped toward
The Sanctuary. The moment we got there, I moved forward toward the door and found myself shocked to find an invisible force field blocking my entry.

“She’s blocking everyone out,” Corrine said, staring
at the temple.

“Can’t you do anything about this
?!” I didn’t want to lose my nerve in front of the one person who could possibly help us, but the panic was taking hold of me.

Corrine shook her head. “She’s more powerful than I am.
A lot
more powerful. I think she’s suppressing my powers.”

My fists clenched and every muscle in my body tensed. “Emilia! Emilia!” I began
shouting the woman’s name out as if my life depended on it. Everything we worked for to build the kingdom was gone. With the spell lifted – if it was indeed lifted – I knew that I had to find another safe sanctuary for our coven.
True sanctuary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. Where on earth am I going to hide a bloodthirsty vampire coven of this magnitude?

My breath hitched when Emilia emerged from
The Sanctuary’s doors, a smile on her face, her eyes fixed on me.

“Hello, Derek,” she greeted.

I hated that even then, I could feel an almost magnetic attraction toward her. Images of what it would feel like to press my lips against hers began to invade my mind. I shook the thoughts away, thoughts I couldn’t allow myself to entertain. “What have you done?” I hissed at her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I know what’s going on in your mind
, you know.” She nodded knowingly as she wet her lips suggestively.

I swallowed
hard, horrified that she may have seen my mental images of her kissing me. To my relief, however, she quickly clarified exactly what she thought was running through my brain.

“You’re wondering if the protective spell over the island is still up.” She shook her head and slightly rolled her eyes. “It’s not.” She directed her gaze toward Corrine. “You did a good job keeping it up this whole time, Corrine.” She said the words with baffling fondness, almost as if she were a mother speaking
approval to a child. “But your work is done. It’s time for The Shade to have a new witch.”

“And you think that’s
you
?” I spat out. Before I could say anything else, we heard a loud explosion and the ground shook beneath us.

“The Shade is falling
apart, Derek,” Emilia stated the obvious, before shrugging one shoulder and pouting like a teenager. “I can put a stop to all of this, you know.”

“Then put a stop to it, Emilia…” My tone was controlled and calculated. I was facing a power far greater than my own and it was willing and capable
of destroying everything that mattered to me. “What do you want?”

Her
eyes settled on me, blazing with fire and with more intensity than I knew how to handle. She said, “You, Derek. I want
you
.”

Another round of explosions began to shake
The Shade and I just stood there, not knowing what to say or do until Emilia motioned for me to come to her.

“We need to talk in private. I’m sure Corrine will understand.”

I cast a glance at Corrine, who looked perplexed. She was staring at Emilia as if she was some sort of rare mystical creature that we should be in awe of.

Corrine looked my way. “There’s something about her… Something oddly familiar… and utterly horrifying…
Be careful, Derek. There’s much about her that we don’t know.”

I scowled.
That doesn’t help at all.
I made my way toward Emilia, bracing myself for what was to come. I walked toward The Sanctuary expecting to once again be pushed back by the force field, but then I got through. I looked back to find Corrine stepping forward in an attempt to follow me, but she was blocked by the force field.

“It’s just
you and me now,” Emilia said, before gesturing with her finger, directing me to follow her inside.

I took one last look at Corrine, heaved a sigh and followed the young woman.
The moment we were alone in the halls of The Sanctuary, I couldn’t help myself. I attacked her, pinning her against a wall, my claws sinking into her skin, right above her heart.

At the motion, Emilia simply leaned her head back
against the wall and smiled at me. “Go ahead. Do it,” she challenged. “Let’s see if you have what it takes to murder me in cold blood.”

I knew without a doubt that she could’ve done something to hold me back, but she didn’t and that disturbed me.
Why isn’t she fighting back?

“Don’t you think I saw the images that flashed through your mind the moment you laid eyes on me just a while back?”
She smirked, before brushing her lower lip against my jaw. “You want me, Derek Novak. I know it and you know it.” She pressed her lips against mine and my mind started reeling. “You can have me you know. Sofia never has to know. I’ll be the witch of The Shade and we can all pretend that you’re still in love with her and that she’s your queen, but we’ll both know that we belong together, that you belong here with me, at The Sanctuary.”

I had no idea what was going on, but at that moment, it was as if I was losing my senses. All I could think about was Emilia and how beautiful she was and how much I desired her. When she kissed me full on the mouth, I didn’t do anything about it. I didn’t respond but I didn’t resist either. I just stood there, savoring the
taste and feel of her lips and enjoying the way her body was pressed against mine. Still, my consciousness was ringing out in full alarm.
This is wrong, Novak. Stop! Right now!

At some point, I gathered up enough will to pull away from her
. I backed away from her as I wiped the taste of her lips away from mine. “I love Sofia. I belong to her.”

Anger flashed in Emilia’s eyes, fire burning with so much fury
. I cowered at how menacing and intimidating she looked. “What has she done to get such loyalty from you?!”

“She doesn’t need to do anything
.” I shook my head. “I love her. If you actually knew what love was, Emilia, you’d know that once you love a person, you remain loyal to them. Get it into your head that I am
in love
with Sofia and that there’s nothing you can do to change that?”

She began chuckling as she violently shook her head. “You’re wrong, Derek. You’re mistaken. You thought that she was the one that could help you lead your kind to true sanctuary, but look
how that’s worked out. Look around you. Look at everything you worked for. It’s falling apart. Can she fix this?” Emilia once again shook her head to emphasize her point. “Sofia can’t fix this, but I can.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, fighting the urge to laugh. “Need I remind you, Emilia, that it is
you
who contributed to bringing this chaos upon The Shade? You’re simply asking me to believe that you can fix the mess
you
made.”

“So what if I created the mess? I merely exposed all the weaknesses of this place. What kind of
‘true sanctuary’ is it when only a single witch upholds it? You do realize that Corrine is the last of her bloodline? When she dies, who then will protect The Shade? This isn’t
true sanctuary.
”

I grimaced.
Tell me something I don’t know.
“Get to the point, Emilia. I’m getting tired of this banter. What do you want?”

“I can help you turn
The Shade into a true sanctuary, Derek. Just like the prophecy said.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, unsettled by the things that she was saying. “What are you talking about?”

“I can put the spell back up, stop my father’s vampires from attacking The Shade… Basically get all your troubles to disappear. I am even powerful enough to hold back the hunters or even distort their lines if I have to. We can definitely put up quite a defense against the hunters should they try to attack. Better yet, we can work together to
destroy
the hunters once and for all.”

“Then why don’t you just do it, Emilia?” I shrugged a shoulder. “Why don’t you just help without anything in exchange?”

“Why? Because I want something in exchange for it… I love you, Derek. That’s why I can’t just let you go off with Sofia when I know that it’s me you belong to… I need to do this in order to get us both to where we belong.”

My jaw tightened as I stared right at her. “What
exactly do you want in exchange for making all of this go away?” My stomach turned at the notion that she could possibly ask for me or maybe even Sofia in exchange.

I shuddered at the way she smiled. I felt like a piece in a game and she was the game master controlling my every move. Her request, however, was something I couldn’t quite comprehend.

“Let me prove my love to you, Derek. Give me one week. All I want is one week with you, Derek. One week where I can have you all to myself.”

I couldn’t help but crease my brows in surprise. “Just one week?”

“Yes. One week with me. At the Blood Keep…”

“
The Blood Keep?”

“The
Elder’s castle.”

I knew it was
a trap, but when another explosion rocked the kingdom, I knew that it was a trap I was finding hard to resist. The bait she set in front of me was far too good. At that moment, staring at the lovely, but terrifying woman in front of me, all I could think of was,
don’t do anything you will regret, Derek.