I was starting to get frustrated. Rosa could probably tell, because she was beginning to nervously flinch on her chair. I decided to spare her from further discomfort and found a way to wave her off. “Rosa, could you please get Sam, Kyle and Ashley here? Ian and Gavin too…”
I didn’t miss the way her face lit up like a bulb the moment I mentioned Gavin’s name. I raised a brow in curiosity and she most likely mistook it as me waiting for her to get out so she practically leaped from her seat, mumbled something undecipherable, before going off.
I then shifted my attention back to Corrine. “What do you want to happen, Corrine? Even if I could get Sofia back here, how is she going to help fix all this?”
Corrine gave me a look that made me feel like the most irritating creature in the planet. Nobody at The Shade could make me feel as stupid as the brown-haired, olive-skinned witch could. She heaved a deep sigh. “You’re being a fool, Derek. Are you really that blind to the power Sofia has over the people of The Shade—especially the human population?”
I was taken aback. Humbling as it was, I had to admit that Corrine had a point. Sofia had a way about her that seemed to win the trust and affection of people around her. The people of The Catacombs—Naturals or otherwise—listened to her.
“If she was here, then all you have to do is keep the vampires in check and she can do whatever magic she does with the humans. That’s half of your work done for you.”
“Even if that were true, Corrine,” I said, refusing to admit out loud that it made sense, “I still haven’t got the slightest clue how to bring Sofia here.”
Right then, Ashley and Sam walked into the room, hands clasped together. Kyle and Ian followed right after—both men occasionally glaring daggers at each other when the other wasn’t looking. Gavin followed after, seemingly deep in thought, while Rosa trailed behind him, looking like a fan girl running after her biggest idol.
“Finally!” Ashley, who apparently heard the tail part of our conversation, exclaimed as she and Sam plopped on the couch beside Corrine. “We’re addressing the elephant in the room! How to get Sofia back here, because let’s face it… It’s been a disaster without the two of you here calling the shots.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn’t know why, but it came as a surprise to me that people around The Shade actually saw Sofia and me not as separate individual entities, but as a unit working together to rule The Shade.
“Well, I’d been bugging him about it, but he seems to think it’s hopeless,” Corrine informed.
Ashley stared at me thoughtfully. “Well, it kind of is…”
I was getting exhausted with the conversation. I wanted Sofia back. How could I not? But to go on and on about it, knowing that it was next to impossible for me to find her was beginning to get irritating.
“It seems impossible,” Ashley reiterated, glancing at Corrine, before addressing me. “Do you remember where hawk headquarters is?”
I shook my head at the baby vampire. “No. You were once a hunter, Ashley. Don’t you know where it is?”
“I never ranked high enough to ever be trusted with exact locations. I was blindfolded and escorted to headquarters whenever I needed to be there.”
“They did the same thing to me. There was absolutely no way I could figure out where exactly it was.” We were at a dead end, and I was hoping they’d just stop talking about it. Thinking of Sofia just made me realize how much I needed her, which was a depressing thought considering I had no idea how to get her back.
“Remind me again why you left her there.” Ashley testily squinted an eye at me.
I remembered the time when she was still human. I had completely lost myself and allowed the darkness to consume me. She suffered the brunt of the consequences that came with that after I attacked her and fed on her several times. I craved her so much after I had first tasted her blood. I left her because I might do to her what I did to you.
Not quite comfortable about discussing my choices with everyone there, I changed the subject. “I didn’t call you here to discuss Sofia. We need to put a stop to this ridiculous lockout. Gavin and Ian, you were working with Sofia as the human leaders of this place. What are your thoughts on this matter?”
Both men exchanged glances and Gavin was about to speak his mind when Xavier showed up. “The lovely Natalie Borgia comes with a message.” From behind him, Natalie emerged and stepped into the room.
I immediately stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re alright. I was certain that…”
Her eyes widened warning me not to say anymore, reminding me the trouble she would get into should anyone discover what she had done for me.
Thus, I restrained my urge to give her one big, grateful hug and nodded cordially at her. “Your message?”
She eyed all the people present at the room. “This message contains sensitive information threatening the security of this island. You sure you want everyone here to hear it?”
“They’ll find out eventually,” I assured her, steeling myself for the worst.
“The leaders of the other vampire covens want to meet with you,” she announced.
It’s a trap. Natalie wasn’t her usual warm and inviting self when she was around me. Even as a diplomat, she always had this casual way about her when it was me she was talking to. This time, however, she was stiff and guarded. I knew then that no matter what history I had with her, I couldn’t ever fully trust her. “If I don’t go?”
“Why wouldn’t you…” Xavier began to butt in.
I raised a hand midair to make him stop talking. I gave him a look to let him know that he was going to get his answers eventually. Right now, he had to shut up. He knew me well enough to figure out what I was trying to communicate to him.
“If you don’t go.” Natalie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “They’re going to attack The Shade.”
“And if I go, they’re going to capture me and most likely kill me, right?”
Her eyes softened for a moment, looking at me as if she was about to lose a dear old friend, but she quickly gained composure and maintained her diplomatic air. “I guess you have a decision to make, Derek.”
I couldn’t find a reason for me to go. I didn’t even have the slightest clue how the other vampires even intended to orchestrate an attack on the island without being detected by the outside world.