“We’ll have to go back to the Catacombs. We have to save as many of them as we can.”
“That’s suicide.” Gavin said.
I could sense his hesitation. I couldn’t blame him. They knew that without Sofia, I was a volatile force that no one could control. We’d gone a long way in terms of building a trust and a friendship, but I was still Derek Novak, the ruthless leader who’d built The Shade, and considering how I was oozing tension at that moment, he was probably expecting my temper to erupt any time. I had to maintain control, or I would lose whatever trust these men still had in me.
The two hunters stepped out of the room. I eyed both of them—Zinnia and Craig. I recognized them from the time I had to spend at the hunters’ headquarters. I was fond of neither of them.
“He’s awake,” Zinnia announced, not bothering to hide her disdain for me. “He asked to see you.”
I made my way to the cell. The last time I saw Aiden, he’d been walking Sofia down the aisle. Guilt came over me. He trusted me with his daughter, and now she’s…
“How are you doing?” I asked half-heartedly.
“You need to get my daughter out of The Blood Keep.” Aiden’s voice was low, cold, almost accusing.
“My thoughts exactly.”
“No, you don’t understand. You don’t have much time. You need to get her out of there. Now.”
“Not much time? What are you talking about?”
“She’s going to give birth soon, and the Elder… he’s after the child. You can’t just…” He paused when he saw the shock in my eyes. “You didn’t know?”
Suddenly, all of it made sense. The witches had kept on saying that I had time, that there was no rush. They figured that the Elder wouldn’t kill Sofia—not until she gave birth. The news began to sink in and the fire began to build up. If I didn’t get out of there, I would burst into flames and end up murdering Aiden and the rest of the men.
Not sure if I still had my speed, I leapt up and started running. Within a few seconds, I was in the wide open field that separated the Port from the thick dark forest of The Shade.
I didn’t have the time to process how I got there so quickly, because within a few breaths, flames shot out of my palms as I screamed in agony over all the worry, all the pain that I felt over my Sofia’s predicament. That she was carrying my child, that I could even have a child, was supposed to bring me the greatest joy. Instead, at that moment, all I felt was guilt that I wasn’t there for her, that Sofia was going through her first pregnancy without me. Tears spilled from my eyes.
A forest fire was now well on its way. I had no idea how to quench it, so I was relieved when Corrine appeared, whispering words to conjure a mighty wind to battle the flames.
When the fire was gone, she approached me.
“Did you know about her pregnancy?”
“I…”
“Corrine, did you know?”
Corrine nodded.
“And you allowed her to go through it on her own? I thought you were her friend!”
“There was nothing I could do about it, Derek. The Ageless wouldn’t allow me to intervene. Not in this case.”
“The Ageless can appear at The Blood Keep and whisk my wife to safety anytime she pleases and yet she chooses to remain perched in your Sanctuary, looking down as the rest of us in the other realms suffer. She sits there high and lofty as Sofia suffers! How can that not matter to you, Corrine? What’s the point of all that power if she doesn’t use it?”
“We’re only allowed to intervene to maintain the balance. The Ageless saw fit to keep you alive in order to do that. You would’ve been killed if she hadn’t taken you to The Sanctuary. She has done her part.”
“I can’t believe you’re defending her.”
“We have our parts to play in the grand scheme of things, Derek. The Ageless cannot, under any circumstance, abuse the power she has been given to…”
“Stop. Just stop, Corrine. My wife is held captive by a sadistic monster who won’t hesitate to bend and break her any way he can. She is more fragile than she ever was before, now that she’s with child, and I come home to this! How am I going to help her, Corrine? I can’t even get a grip on these powers that your ancestor bestowed upon me!”
That was it. I’d reached my breaking point. I was at the end of my rope. I had no idea what to do and I couldn’t help but blame the witches for not helping.
“The way I see it, Derek, the battle has always been between the vampires and the Guardians. We exist to maintain the balance between the two. You humans… you’re simply caught in the middle. Here at The Shade, the vampires are starting to get the upper hand. If you want an ally, you have to go to the Guardians.”
“How on earth do I do that?”
“You go to the hunters.”
What she was implying sank in slowly—a revelation. The war between our realm’s vampires and the hunters was only a miniscule version of the greater war that was going on in realms that weren’t our own.
I knew then what I had to do. I was about to return to the Port to let them know that we were headed for hunters’ headquarters when Cameron staggered into the field, bleeding, barely able to breathe.
“Cameron,” I gasped.
“You need to stop it, Derek. I was barely able to escape. They’re turning all the humans into vampires. They’re going to kill everyone who was loyal to you. I…” He broke into a sob. “Liana…”
Cameron, one of the strongest and toughest men I’d ever had the pleasure of meeting, crumbled right before me.
I looked back through all the years that I’d fought and bled with Cameron. I couldn’t remember a time when the Scottish warrior had been as distraught. I wasn’t even certain if I’d ever seen him cry before.
A million thoughts whirled through my mind—questions, fears, apprehensions, doubts. All I could do was stand there and clench my fists, desperately trying to rein in the heat building up inside of me. I had half a mind to just run into the forest and burn everything down. I fought to maintain control, focusing all my concentration on keeping all those emotions and questions locked in.
It’s not like Cameron can answer them anyway. Before Sofia came into my life, I couldn’t have cared less that my friend was in pain. I would’ve pried all the information I could get from him—with force if necessary. This time, I couldn’t dishonor the legacy Sofia had left in my life, because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to face her again.