I looked up to find Kiev rolling his eyes.
“He’s not dead, if that’s what you’re worried about. So, enough of your moping, Lady Novak. Get up.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to leave him here. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
I was barely able to comprehend what happened next. Within seconds, his one hand was fisted over a clump of my hair, gripping it painfully. His other hand pressed against my back, pushing me against a wall, my cheek against the rough stone.
“My orders aren’t requests, sweet queen. They’re commands, which you are to immediately obey.”
I tried to hit him with my free hands, but he grabbed one arm and twisted it until I yelped with pain.
“I wouldn’t exert myself too much if I were you. Not in this condition.”
I had no time to wonder what he meant because he flipped me in one swift motion so that I was facing him, my back against the wall. His face was way too close to mine.
“Let go of me,” I hissed at him.
“You’re queen of The Shade, Sofia. Not queen of The Blood Keep. Your commands mean nothing here.”
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you to come with me.”
Derek lay motionless on the ground. He was clearly still breathing, but to still remain asleep even after his head had hit the ground when Kiev pulled me from beneath him was completely unlike him.
“Why isn’t he waking up?”
“Damn it, I could snap you in half and still it’s him you’re worried about.”
I slammed both my palms against Kiev’s chest. “Why isn’t he waking up?”
“I don’t know, okay? Maybe his body is trying to cope with the torture he went through. I don’t give a damn! I just know that I don’t want to be here when he does, so you better come with me right now, Sofia, or I am going to make you regret it.”
I froze. The threats meant nothing to me. What resounded in my mind was his slip-up. I don’t want to be here when he does. Was I just fooling myself or did it seem like he was still afraid of Derek?
I didn’t have time to ask because he began dragging me outside the cell.
“Let go of me!” I tried to pull away, but he was holding me by the wrist with such an iron grip I was sure my bones would break. “Let go of me, Kiev. I refuse to be treated like some child throwing a tantrum, being dragged to whatever hell you want to take me to.”
Kiev stopped in his tracks, right outside the dungeon, his grip on my wrist tightening. “You want me to stop treating you like a child? Stop acting like one. I am lord of this castle—your lord. You will do as I say without resistance.”
“Then get off me.” I wriggled my wrist away from his grasp. “It’s not like I can run away from you without you catching me. We both know that in both speed and strength, you overpower me.”
He reached past me. I flinched when the cell door slammed shut behind us. I hated leaving Derek there.
“Promise me that nothing will happen to him in my absence.”
“You are in no position to demand promises from me, Sofia.” Kiev tipped my chin up with his curved forefinger. “But I must say, you are stunning when you exert your authority as queen of The Shade. Too bad that fact doesn’t have that much pull here.”
“Promise me and I will cooperate with you.”
“I can force your cooperation and you know it. I might even enjoy your fighting back more.”
I stood on my spot and just stared, raising a brow at him, bluffing confidence.
To my surprise, he said, “Fine. As long as you’re with me, he won’t be harmed.”
I didn’t like the sound of his preamble, but I was going to take whatever I could get.
“Very well then. Where are you taking me?”
He placed his hand on the small of my back and gently pushed me forward. “Follow me.”
We walked through hallways with high ceilings and imposing pillars. Heavy velvet curtains coated with dust and cobwebs hung closed by every window. Everything about the castle was dark, foreboding and imbued with fear. Kiev led me into a room that looked like a laboratory of sorts.
“What is this place?” I grimaced, half-expecting Dr. Frankenstein to show up somewhere.
Kiev propped me on top of a desk. “Don’t do anything stupid, Sofia. Sit still.”
Within minutes, he was drawing blood from me through a syringe.
“What are you going to use my blood for?”
“You’ll know soon enough.”
“Where is Abby? Why would you take a child like her? What could you possibly want from her?”
Kiev eyed me for a moment, as if debating whether or not he should answer the question. To my relief, he did. “She’s an immune. Just like you.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “How would you even know that? That only means that you…”
“Clara tried to turn her.”
“She’s just a child.”
“As if Clara cares. Truth be told, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s drinking the child’s blood now.”
“And you don’t care that this is happening? Is there no humanity left in you?”
He began to chuckle. “Humanity? In me?” He pouted to mock me. “Is that what you’re looking for, sweet Lady Novak? Are you actually trying to find some good in me? I’ll show you what’s good about me.” He pressed his lips against mine. Invading. Intruding. Violating.
I tried to pull away from him but my struggles did me little good. When our lips parted, I gasped for breath—something he mistook as a gasp of pleasure. This can’t be happening to me. Not again.
He gave me a smug smirk. “Good enough for you? You know, Sofia, if you ever tire of your mortal, remember that I’m waiting for you to give yourself to me. After all, without his power, Derek might be a lot less appealing to a young woman like you.”
The idea that he was actually into me was sickening. I didn’t know if I had it in me to fend off another Lucas or another Borys. “You disgust me,” I spat at him. “I will always be Derek’s. Always.”
“Ah, yes.” He smiled with genuine pleasure. “I must say it’s beautiful to see the eternal love of Derek and Sofia Novak playing right in front of me. Riveting really. But I hate to say it, sweetheart. I doubt he’ll want you after we’re finished with you.”
“What are you talking about?”