I couldn’t help but grunt with frustration as I tried to entertain the idea of giving my daughter away in marriage to Derek Novak. The thought made me sick and yet, despite my hunters’ instincts telling me that it was wrong, I had been in The Shade long enough to know that what she had with Derek wasn’t just a passing flame.
Sofia wasn’t raised to hate vampires like I was. She was raised to never know vampires and when she encountered one, he fought for her and protected her in a way I was never able to. Upon seeing firsthand how she interacted with the vampires in The Shade and how much affection they held toward her, I couldn’t help but see her through the eyes of the island’s citizens. I saw why she was loyal to the vampires, but I also realized that it’s not even really loyalty to any specific sort.
Sofia has simply chosen to take the side of good – to follow where she believes goodness lies. I grimaced. Hate the idea as much as you will, but your daughter sees good even in vampires.
I found myself speaking my thoughts out loud in frustration. “How could you be so naïve, Sofia?”
Right then, it dawned on me that I was wrong. It wasn’t just naïveté.
She has a strength in her that I’ve never seen in anyone else. She is strong enough to trust and forgive and to risk getting hurt again, no matter how much she’s been betrayed. She doesn’t put up walls to protect herself from those who could possibly hurt her. She is strong enough to allow herself to be vulnerable. How does she do it?
Right then, I couldn’t help but contrast her with her mother. The irony that came with a fierce hunter like me ending up with a wife who was a vampire, and a daughter who was madly in love with a vampire, didn’t escape me and I grimaced at the notion. Camilla and Sofia had many similarities between them, but I knew then exactly what set them apart.
No matter how powerful a creature Ingrid has become, she was always weak on the inside in a way Sofia never was.
Chapter 8: Derek
I couldn’t get her off my mind. From the moment Emilia arrived at the island, she invaded my every waking moment and my every dream. The only times I could distract myself from thinking of her was when I was with Sofia, and even then I had to consciously gather the will power to keep my focus on Sofia instead of letting my mind run off to daydreams of the lovely brunette.
What is wrong with you, Novak? It’s like you’ve never seen an attractive vampire before. I knew, however, that something was different about Emilia. When it came to physical appearances, she was my idea of a perfect woman. The fact that she kept talking about a connection between us, one that I couldn’t deny I felt too, made it even more difficult for me to forget her.
At some point, I couldn’t take it anymore, and though it was against my better judgment, I found myself walking through the door of The Cells and heading for the jail we were keeping her in.
A smile lit up her face when she saw who it was that came to visit. Obviously, she was delighted to see me there – something that I found completely unsettling.
“What have you done to me?” I asked her, before she could even mouth a greeting. “Why can’t I get you off my mind?”
She laughed before tilting her head to the side, looking at me like I was the most adorable child she’d ever laid her eyes on. “You’re actually blaming me for that?” She raised a dark brow at me. “How am I supposed to know why you’re thinking about me all of the time? I think I should be the one who ought to be worried that a man keeping me prisoner can’t get me off his mind.”
I gritted my teeth, annoyed by her amusement, and yet keenly aware of the attraction I felt for her. “Don’t play games with me, Emilia…” I shook my head.
She rose from her cot as the smile on her face widened. “You remember my name.”
“I also remember who you are and why you shouldn’t be trusted, so whatever you’re doing, stop. I don’t want to play games with you.”
“Who’s playing games? I’ve been locked up in your prison. How on earth am I playing games with you?”
She began walking toward me and I suddenly felt vulnerable as she got closer.
“Stay there,” I commanded.
She stopped in her tracks and studied me. “You really are quite a man, Derek Novak. What a team we’d make together.”
What am I doing here? She was danger and I knew it and yet I was right there with her, standing on the precipice, very close to taking a leap. Eager to get away from that place and as far away from temptation as possible, I asked her what I needed to ask. “Did you or did you not come here to lose a battle?”
Her face turned serious and she creased her brows in seeming bewilderment. “That wasn’t very subtle,” she commented. “And it doesn’t make sense. Why would I purposefully lose a battle – especially against you? Do you have any idea what my father could do to me for this failure?”
The strangest thing happened when I realized that she could get into trouble for not having accomplished what she came to do. I actually felt sorry for her, worried even. I couldn’t understand why. I couldn’t understand why she had that effect on me, but much as I tried to fight it, I was at ease around her – almost as if she were a kindred soul I’d known all my life.
“What’s he going to do to you?” I found myself asking even if I knew that it was a step closer to danger.
“I don’t want to talk about that. How long do you intend to keep me here?”
I shrugged. “For as long as this war lasts maybe.” I could swear that she sighed with relief. I narrowed my eyes at her. “You want to stay?”
“If I go back, I would have to face the Elder, my father. And my siblings. I find that terrifying.”
“So there are others like you who belong to the Elder’s family.”
“Family,” she scoffed. “I don’t know if I could call it that.” She sat back on the cot and stared at the space in front of her, sadness marring her beautiful face.
I fought the urge to draw closer to her, but I lost. I took a couple of steps forward and held her by the chin, lifting her face up so that I could look at her loveliness. “We vampires are very loyal creatures. Betraying your clan is practically unforgivable. Speaking against it to other clans is unheard of. If you really are the original vampire’s daughter, you don’t seem very fond of your father or your clan, Emilia. Why is that?”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she bit her lip and blushed the moment our eyes met. I looked away, bothered by the flutter in my stomach. This girl is dangerous. I backed a couple of steps away from her, letting go of her chin as if the feel of her suddenly burned. “I think I have to go,” I quickly said, not trusting myself around her. I spun around and I was about to call the guard when I heard her speak in a thoughtful tone.