“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.”
Chapter 21: Derek
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.”