The manic look in her eyes was terrifying, I couldn’t suppress a shudder. She must’ve noticed my fear, because she quickly mellowed down and tears began to drop from the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry… I just… I’m so in love with you, Derek.”
I sat up on the bed, relieved that my torso was beginning to heal from the wounds she had just inflicted on me. “I know that, Emilia. I’m in love with you too. Why do you still doubt this?”
“Because you still say the name of the woman I hate, instead of saying mine.”
That tugged at my heartstrings, but I couldn’t help but sense that something was different about this woman she was speaking of. I knew Emilia as a woman who harbored hatred for more people than just one, but I could tell that this woman was high up on her list. “What has she done to you that you would hate her so much, Emilia?”
“She tried to take you away from me.”
I sneered. “No one could ever do that, Emilia. We belong together.” Anger was beginning to build up inside of me as I contemplated the thought of anyone ever trying to take me away from Emilia. “Who is she?”
Emilia’s eyes widened with anger and suspicion. “Why do you want to know?”
I couldn’t understand her paranoia, but I knew that I had to quickly assure her. “Because I want to know who would bother you in such a way. I want to know how I can help.”
“Kill her. I want you to kill her. If you love me, you will end her life.”
I stared at her, knowing how consumed she was by her own darkness and I wondered to myself why I loved her, but all I knew was that I did and that I wanted to please her. “If I do this, then will that prove my love for you?”
Dark delight sparked in her eyes as she nodded and exclaimed, “Yes! Yes, Derek. Kill Sofia Claremont and we will be in love and happy forever.”
“Consider it done. The moment I first lay eyes on her, I will rip her heart out just for you.”
I couldn’t help but feel an agonizing void form within me when I thought about killing the stranger who was Sofia Claremont.
Chapter 37: Emilia
I knew he was telling the truth and it was pure delight to see the determination in his blue eyes when he assured me that he would indeed end the life of the young redhead who was the one person who could take him away from me.
I couldn’t help but throw my arms around his neck and press my lips against his, reveling in the fact that no longer did I hear his thoughts fighting against me. He was mine. Derek Novak was finally mine and he was in love with me. My love for him was finally no longer unrequited.
“You make me so happy, Derek,” I whispered into his ear as I kissed him.
Just like clockwork, he told me what I wanted to hear. He told me that I made him happy too. I bit my lip and smiled, wondering how long the bliss would last, hoping that it would last for eternity.
We made love again and I snuggled against his arms, enjoying every moment I had, knowing that his heart was mine and mine alone.
His promise that he would end Sofia’s life gave me more assurance than I could ever dream possible and I found myself longing for the day that I would see him make good on his promise. When the familiar, fearsome presence of the Elder swept across my room, my eagerness to tell him what had just occurred overpowered the dread I felt whenever he was around.
“He has agreed to kill young Sofia, Master,” I blurted out. “Shall I arrange immediate transport to The Shade? It has to be done before the week is over and control over him is lost, although he is so enamored by me right now, I doubt we’ll lose control.”
I was expecting him to be happy. I wanted him to congratulate me or to express how he was proud that I was able to accomplish what he set out for me to do. I was able to pull Derek back to the dark side. I was able to make him fall in love with me like we had planned, but I was mistaken. Instead, I got a lash right across my chest. I whimpered in pain. Why? I asked him, knowing that he knew my thoughts. What have I done?
“You naïve fool, Emilia. You’re nowhere near done. Don’t celebrate just yet.” He hit me again and that’s when I realized that never before had I seen him happy for me nor for anyone else. Every triumph – whether by me or my siblings – was met with another challenge. We were never enough. We never achieved enough to justify a rest. We had to do more, accomplish more, be more until we failed so badly, he would have no other choice other than to end us. Those of us that were his children were never killed because we were good at succeeding at the tasks he gave us and then once again rising up to accomplish his next whim. That was the Elder’s endless and deadly cycle, and I was well aware that I could never get away from it.
“Will you ever be satisfied?” I found myself muttering out loud despite my better judgment.
His reply was as sinister and as dark as his very presence. “When your soul is a black hole, it can never be filled.” The lashes then came one after the other until I was certain that I was a bloody mess, whimpering in Derek’s arms, but desperate to not wake him.
“Gloat to me, Emilia, once you actually have him in your complete control, once he is once again utterly mine, because if not for you, Derek Novak would’ve remained mine hundreds of years ago. Return to The Shade and have him end the impetuous redhead’s life and then come to me with your bright-eyed eagerness. Until then, you’ve no right to the bliss I have allowed you to have in his arms.”
I knew right then that as long as I was in league with the Elder, my happiness would always be temporary and never satisfying. It was a counterfeit joy to the delight I saw in Derek’s eyes whenever he laid eyes on Sofia. I knew that what I shared with him was a fantasy, but I just wanted it to be real so badly, I was willing to embrace even the counterfeit pleasure it brought me.
I tried to force back a sob, but it came out anyway. I wished that I hadn’t surrendered to the Elder. I wished that I could go back and hopefully do things all over again, but it was too late. I’d gone too far into the darkness to ever be rescued.
I miss who I was when I still had goodness in me, when I was still Cora.
The moment the thought planted itself in my head, I saw it – a flash of the Elder’s bloody red eyes raging with fury at me. “How dare you, Emilia! How dare you think that after everything I’ve given you.”
Without another word, I was taken from Derek’s arms into one of my father’s chambers where I had to endure a night of torment in my so-called father’s hands. It took hours before he was satisfied with my punishment for my ever thinking of going back to the way I was before I met him.