I remembered the last time I saw Ingrid. She was looking at me with so much hatred, because I had just killed the man who turned her into a vampire – Borys Maslen. She was loyal to him above all – a loyalty that transcended even her love for her husband and her daughter.
I shook my head as I stood up and motioned to leave. Before the guard could open the door for me, I turned back to my father. “I am nothing like Ingrid.”
I left his cell with a heaviness in my heart that I couldn’t quite describe. I wasn’t sure why but I felt within me an overwhelming sense of loss. Perhaps it was just the recent events catching up with me – all the deaths that The Shade suffered, losing not just my foes, but also people I cared about. Whatever the reason, I couldn’t just sit around sulking and I knew it; so I picked myself up, tried to ignore the melancholy and moved on with my tasks for the day. I headed to meet with two of the most intelligent people in The Shade – the island’s resident genius, Eli Lazaroff, and Corrine, The Shade’s witch.
The challenge that Derek placed upon me when we last spoke of the cure weighed heavily on my shoulders. He was prophesied to be the man who would bring the vampires to “true sanctuary.” I, on the other hand, was believed to be the woman who would help him do it.
I believed with all my heart that the cure was “true sanctuary.” Derek had already lost hope that the cure could even be possible. His words still rang in my ear.
“Don’t ask me what true sanctuary is, Sofia. I fought for it for an entire century, practically gave up my soul for it. I thought I already got sanctuary after establishing The Shade only to find out that I didn’t… I just don’t understand the prophecy. What I do know is that war is brewing. That’s what’s going to happen.”
“So that’s just it? More bloodshed?”
“Did you think there was ever any other way?”
Eli and Corrine were supposed to help me discover if a cure could even be possible. Our meeting proved fruitless, with Eli and Corrine scouring what resources they had to find any indication of the possibility of a cure and the existence of immunes like me. Immunes were humans who couldn’t be turned to vampires – for reasons no one knew about. In The Shade, we suspected that aside from me, there was one other immune. Anna.
I made a mental note to speak with Ian and Kyle about her. Recently, it seemed the two men had placed it upon themselves to look after the young woman’s well-being. Hence the reason behind the tension that always seemed to exist between them.
The cure was still on my mind, right along with everything else going on in The Shade. When lunchtime neared, I found myself returning to The Catacombs to have my midday meal. Over the past days, I found myself looking forward to this time, a time I got to spend with Rosa and Ashley.
Rosa and Ashley were abducted and taken to The Shade the same time I was. Along with two other girls, Gwen and Paige, who had met their demise on the island. We were given to Derek as a part of his harem. He had just woken up from a four-hundred-year sleep and we were placed under his care. Because of this history, we managed to form a strong bond with one another.
“I am so exhausted,” Ashley complained, as she leaned back in her seat and laid down her glass of animal blood. “Derek has been putting us through hell in military training.” She shot me a look. “Can you talk him into being a bit more lax? Every bone in my body hurts.”
I grinned. “I am not going to interfere with that,” I said, throwing my hands in the air in surrender.
“What good is it that the ruler of this island is in love with you, if you don’t use your connection to him to help your friends out?” Ashley frowned.
I rolled my eyes at her and, deciding to ignore her, directed my attention toward the more soft-spoken Rosa. “What have you been busy with today, Rosa?”
“The usual.” She shrugged. “Lily and I have been busy going about our rounds here at The Catacombs. We really need to do something about those who are sick, Sofia. Also, there are a lot of orphans who need care. Isn’t it about time that we get both a hospital and an orphanage here in The Shade?”
“That is something we ought to mention at the general assembly,” I said. I wasn’t blind to all that had to be done at The Catacombs, but everything was taking a backseat due to the incoming war. Thinking about all of it at once just felt overwhelming. “Gavin, Ian and Kyle are working it out right now.”
“Kyle?” Ashley narrowed her eye at me. Kyle was the one who turned her into a vampire, so technically, she was part of his clan. “Why Kyle? Isn’t he supposed to be involved with preparing for the war?”
“Derek allowed him to focus on the humans upon his request,” I explained.
Ashley scowled, seemingly not pleased with the reason behind his request. “Looks like he’s deeply enamored with Anna…”
“You have a problem with that?” I asked, surprised.
“I don’t know,” she admitted with a shrug. “I guess I have to support whatever makes Kyle happy, but Anna… I don’t know. She’s kind of messed up.”
I was hurt by that. I knew that Ashley had every right and reason to give the comment, considering how Anna had lost her mind from trauma and acted like a blubbering child, but my heart went out to the girl. Perhaps I held Anna close to my heart, because she was the only other immune I knew. I didn’t have to go into that with Ashley though. For some reason, I didn’t like talking to them about the cure or being an immune. Those topics were too heavy, too close to heart, and the time I spent with Ashley and Rosa were times in my day when I could just relax, chat and laugh with them.
It was with them that I could still feel like an eighteen-year-old. Lunch with Ashley and Rosa gave me a sense of normalcy, something that was a rare commodity in a place like The Shade.
That day in particular, I hated that lunch had to end. “Lunch was lovely, Rosa. You really are a great cook.”
Rosa smiled. “Thanks, Sofia.”
Ashley wrinkled her nose as she stared at the animal blood she just finished drinking. “I miss eating food. Pizza in particular. Don’t get me wrong… Mozzarella and pepperoni don’t satisfy me as much as human blood does, but considering that we’re on a strict animal blood diet lately, I keep craving.” She narrowed her eyes and grinned as she eyed both mine and Rosa’s necks, implying that she wouldn’t mind having a drink of our blood right then.