“That’s not true,” I said even though my brain was saying the exact opposite.
“Yes, it is. You want to return to The Shade.”
I didn’t respond verbally. If you can read my mind, then you know I don’t want to be with you. You know how in love I am with Sofia. And yes, I do want to return to The Shade. Nothing’s ever going to change that.
“Why can’t you love me? I gave so much of myself to you, risked everything to help you establish The Shade, and yet you never looked at me the way you looked at her.”
Because it’s Sofia I belong with, not you. That’s just the way it is. You don’t get to choose who you fall in love with the same way I’m sure you never chose to fall in love with me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Emilia. I’m in love with you.” What happened to you, Cora? You were my best friend, and now you’re just a crazy half-vampire, half-witch.
“I fell in love with you. That’s what’s wrong with me.”
It should’ve bothered me that she was able to read my thoughts, but I wasn’t bothered. At least she knew that she was just fooling herself to believe that I was in love with her. At least she knew that even when I touched her, even when I professed love to her outwardly, it was still Sofia that I wanted to be with. I liked the idea that Emilia would never get the satisfaction she was looking for – at least not from me.
Before our conversation could go to stranger places, we heard a shriek from nearby. Emilia’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Finally! Something’s happening… It’s been freaking boring in here,” she exclaimed, as she ran toward the place where the scream came from, hand still clasping mine as I trailed behind her.
We arrived at the very edge of the Elder’s territory – the part where the night stopped and the day began. I could see sunlight past the force field that was keeping the Blood Keep away from any human detection – the same spell Cora cast on The Shade. I wondered if it was the reason the original vampire made Emilia a part of his clan to begin with. She was too powerful to let go of. Something tells me that he’s really just using her.
The scream came from a young woman – human and immune. We came just in time to find her being held in the arms of one of the vampire guards. He was drinking her blood and clearly enjoying it. The woman, on the other hand, was clawing at him with all her might.
I instinctively moved forward to help the young girl, but Emilia held me back. “No. I think she’s new. She’s most likely being trained to submit.”
I looked at her, disgusted that she could find such a scene entertaining.
She turned her eyes toward me, giving me a pointed look. “Besides, I don’t want you going anywhere near an immune.”
So we’re just going to stand here and watch? This is sick.
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do, Derek.”
The guard seemed to like that Emilia was watching and finding entertainment in what he was doing, so he lifted the girl in his arms, tightly wrapping his large arms around her waist as he continued to drink from her neck. She was writhing to free herself from him, but we all knew it was pointless.
I wanted to do something to stop it, but I was powerless to do as I pleased. I was under Emilia’s control.
For crying out loud, Emilia. Do something. Enough of this.
I wasn’t expecting her to actually do anything about the situation at hand, but if she was still reading my mind, then I figured I could annoy her by continuously thinking something that would displease her.
I began thinking of Sofia, of my most treasured memories of her – the way she clung tightly to me when I first made the hundred-foot leap from the top of the Crimson Fortress to the ground in order to take her to the Lighthouse, all the times she smiled sweetly while she was updating me about the ways of the modern world, her laughter, the slow dances, the kisses, the night she agreed to marry me…
“Enough!” Emilia screamed so loudly, I couldn’t help but jump back in surprise. She turned toward me with an infuriated glare. “Stop thinking about her!”
I would’ve been intimidated by her had I not caught a glimpse of the guard, who was just as stunned by Emilia’s outburst as I was. Considering the awkward way he was carrying the squirming young woman in his arms, he lost his balance when he jumped back in surprise. He let go of the girl and crashed outside of the castle’s protective covering, right into the rays of sunlight. He tried to get right back into the covering, only to be thrown back by a force field.
Emilia stared in horror at the vampire guard. I could swear that she was beginning to panic. I could see it in her eyes. “No… this can’t be happening…”
It felt as if my heart just stopped beating as I watched the guard scream in pain when the sun’s rays began to peel away his pale skin. Emilia, do something. He’s going to die.
I gasped when Emilia let out another scream and slammed the back of her hand against my cheek before she pulled a dagger from a hidden pocket on her dress and threw it at the guard, right through his heart.
“Why did you do that? Couldn’t you have just saved him?”
“I did. He wouldn’t have wanted the consequences his stupidity would’ve brought about.” She brushed past me and began walking toward the castle.
I gave the trembling young woman a quick glance. She was clinging to her neck, terror evident in her eyes. I was craving her blood, knowing that a drink could temporarily restore my sanity, but I had no control over my actions. All I could do is send the young immune a sympathetic gaze before following Emilia. For the first time in a long time, I found myself desperate for someone to save me.
Chapter 30: Kyle
It was after the human rebellion in The Shade that I began to find hope that I could have the old Anna back. We were successful. Much to the disdain of Gregor Novak, there wasn’t going to be another human culling. This relieved me, because I knew that should there be another one, Anna would surely be one of those who would be killed.
I searched her out the moment the rebellion was over. I found myself disheartened because I found her in the arms of Ian. I hated the jealousy that I felt, but I couldn’t deny it either.
“What’s going on?” Ashley stood by my side, following the direction of my gaze. She raised her brow when she realized who I was staring at. She wrinkled her nose and stared at me in wonderment. “So you’re into Ian?”
I scowled at her. “No. I’m into Anna.”