I could see the hurt in his eyes at my refusal to trust him, but this was his doing, not mine and he also knew that, so Aiden just nodded and sat back on the cot, Ingrid sitting beside him, their hands still clasped together while Aiden toyed with the phone using his free hand.
I shifted my weight from one foot to another, unsure what to do. To ease my tension, I began fidgeting with my fingers and tried to make small talk with Sam. “I feel like I have to be out there doing something… anything…”
“You’re in here doing what you can do, Sofia,” Sam assured. “The vampires can hold their own ground without your help.”
I laughed wryly at his statement. Of course they can, but can Derek really say no to this attraction he feels for Emilia? I was desperately trying not to be paranoid. I meant it when I said that I trusted him, but if she was as powerful a witch as she seemed to be, then could she not somehow control him and make him return her affections? Who knows what she wants?
I practically jumped at least a foot from where I was standing when the phone began to ring. Aiden picked it up and just listened, his facial expression growing grimmer and angrier by the second. “This is unbelievable, Zinnia…” he muttered in a calculated and controlled tone that was more menacing than I’d ever heard him speak before. “After all those years I’d given to the order, you just turn away from me like that?” Zinnia must’ve said something that lit up his fuse because he began muttering one curse word after another. “Don’t give me that crap, Zinnia! I deserve more than that!”
When he hung up, I didn’t need him to tell me what was going on. The hunters were coming for us. We had to face the inevitable.
I reached my hand forward, palm up. “Give me the phone…”
“Sofia, I tried…” Aiden croaked out, most likely surprised by what happened. “I did what I could.”
I nodded. It was hard for him to realize that he wasn’t indispensable to the hunters. He gave his entire life to the cause of the hunters and they screw him over. He’s loyal to them, but the hunters seem to be loyal to no one. “I know you did, Dad, but right now, we have a lot to deal with… Please give me the phone.”
He handed the phone over to me. I was just about to ask Sam to take me to Derek as quickly as possible, but I found myself hesitating, knowing that my father deserved more than what I was giving him. I stopped to kiss him on the cheek and whisper a thank you to him before Sam and I headed off, leaving them at The Cells.
When we arrived at The Sanctuary, we came to find Corrine standing alone outside the temple-like structure that’d been Corrine’s home since she arrived at the island.
“What’s going on?” I asked the witch.
Corrine shrugged. “I don’t know. Emilia demanded time alone with Derek and he’s been there with her for about a half an hour. I don’t know what’s going on inside.”
“You don’t have your powers?”
“I’m not sure. I still have them I believe, but Emilia’s using some sort of suppression spell on me. I’ve been trying to fight it, but she’s too powerful.”
“We’re going inside,” Sam decided, and to that, I nodded in agreement.
Corrine shook her head. “She has the building protected by a force field. No one can get in unless she allows them to...”
The witch hadn’t yet finished her sentence when Derek emerged from the doors, anger evident on his chiseled face. His face softened when he saw me waiting there.
“The hunters?” he asked with so much hope, it broke my heart to break the news to him.
I shook my head. “They’re coming. It seems his connection with me lost Aiden his position with the hunters.”
Derek heaved a sigh before he did the last thing I was expecting him to do. He grabbed my waist, pulled me against him and kissed me full on the mouth. I returned the kiss – passionate but hesitant at the same time, confused by why he was kissing me while everything around us was falling apart. When our lips parted, I couldn’t help but look at him questioningly.
“You know I love you, right?” he asked, desperation evident in his bright blue eyes.
I held my breath. This can’t be good.
He gripped my hands tightly and nodded toward The Sanctuary. “Come. We have a lot to discuss.” He began leading me toward the building before turning toward Corrine and Sam, who were about to follow us there. “Just us.”
Corrine didn’t seem happy about being kept out of her own home, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. Sam, on the other hand, just nodded before another explosion wracked The Shade.
Worry flashed through Sam’s eyes – the same look of anxiousness I’d been seeing every time we heard an explosion.
Derek nodded toward him. “Go,” he instructed. “You’re of better use there than here.”
Sam didn’t need to be told twice. He was out of there in a breath. I gave Corrine a faint smile before Derek led me to the building where Emilia was waiting.
I didn’t miss the spite in Emilia’s eyes the moment we entered her chambers, but I knew she couldn’t touch me – not in front of Derek. When they told me what Emilia was asking for in exchange for the safety of The Shade, I didn’t know how to respond other than to turn my eyes toward Derek. “What do you want to do?”
Derek shrugged and shook his head. “I think I don’t have a choice, Sofia, but I need to know that you’re okay with this.”
At that, Emilia rolled her eyes and scowled, but she didn’t say anything.
“I don’t know what to say, Derek,” I admitted. “It feels like I don’t have a choice either.”
“You know the dreams, Sofia. I told you everything. If you’re not up for this...”
“I’m scared of losing you,” I admitted, my shoulders trembling.
Derek cupped my face with his large hands and shook his head before kissing me on the forehead. “That’s impossible. You will always have me.”
At that, Emilia seemed to have had enough of our melodrama. “This is boring,” she spat out. “Do I get my demands or not? The way I see it, I think you’re getting the better end of the deal. You get The Shade back and all I get is one week with the man I love. Hardly seems fair…”
Something about what she said rubbed me the wrong way and I had no idea where I got the confidence but I managed to stare right at her and say, “You are not to harm Derek in any way.”