“So you admit to having tried to kill Kyle by exposing him to sunlight?” Vivienne asked. “And you did this after he tried to stop you from attacking a human, which we all know is something that we have prohibited here at The Catacombs?”

Desperation formed on Rex’s face. The truth was clear to everyone. We were going to test out Sofia’s theory that sunlight could possibly be the cure, and Rex was going to be our very first test subject.

Chapter 31: Sofia

We were headed for the Pit in a rather odd procession. Xavier, Yuri and Claudia were helping each other restrain a frantic Rex. He was fighting and clawing with every ounce of his might to avoid what was to come. Vivienne and Corrine were walking right behind them, while I trailed behind. Aiden walked right next to me, Ingrid on his other side. I didn’t bother to look at whoever else decided to come to watch the show, because I was torn inside about what we were about to do.

“What if he dies?” I asked, surprised at myself for voicing out the thoughts. “Is this the right thing to do?”

“If we want to find out if this is the cure, I guess we don’t have much of a choice,” Aiden explained. “Sofia, when you’re leading people, you have to make certain compromises.”

I felt sorry for Rex, but I also knew that I had no choice in the matter. The whole Elite Council agreed that it was the right thing to do to put Rex through the same thing he put Kyle through. It was only fair.

We eventually reached the Pit and it was clear from the dim light inside that the sun was already beginning to rise outside The Shade.

I watched as they threw Rex inside and locked the door from the outside. I cringed when I began to hear him scream, a clear indication that the sun was rising. I was about to move forward, but Xavier took one look at me and shook his head.

“It’s best for you not to have to sit through this, Sofia,” he warned. “Perhaps it’s best for you to spend your time elsewhere while waiting for what’s to happen to him.”

I gulped as it sank in to me how awful it must be. For some reason, the warning only heightened my desire to find out what was going on. Aiden held my arm as I once again moved forward.

“Sofia, no…” Aiden shook his head. “Let’s just go.”

“Your father’s right, Sofia,” Ingrid agreed. “It’s probably best if we just wait to be told what happened. Believe me when I say that what’s ahead isn’t going to be pretty.”

I stared at her incredulously. I still didn’t trust her and it was easy to see by the way she could never look me in the eye, that she knew it.

“Perhaps we could take this time to have a talk…” Aiden suggested “as a family.”

After everything the three of us had been through, I was finding it hard to believe that we could ever be anything close to a family, but there was such a hopeful tone in his voice that I couldn’t ignore it. I nodded and agreed to his proposal.

We returned to my quarters, now completely abandoned, because everyone preferred to be where the commotion was. We made ourselves comfortable on the couches in the living room, aware of how awkward the setting was.

Aiden opened his mouth to say something, but shut his mouth in hesitation. Ingrid sat beside him, staring into blank space, looking as if she were about to cry.

“So?” I asked. “What exactly do we talk about?”

“Do you think we could ever be family again?” He turned toward Ingrid expectantly. “How about you? If the cure works, would you be willing to be Camilla again? I know that it’s a painful process, but…”

Ingrid nodded, though I could tell that she was torn up about her response. “I’ll do anything to be completely yours again, Aiden.”

I scoffed. I immediately felt guilty after, but I couldn’t help it. It was difficult for me to believe anything that came out of her mouth after everything she put me through.

I shook my head. “I want to believe you, Ingrid. I really do, but how can you just have a sudden change of heart? The last time I saw you before you came up with this whole story about wanting to be Camilla again, you were shouting curses at me and killing me with your eyes because I just murdered Borys.” I choked on the words. The recollection that it was my hands that ended a man’s life never did quite sit well with me. Still, I had a score to settle with my mother. “Did you forget that? I killed Borys, Ingrid. I’m supposed to believe you’re just going to forgive me for that even after you’ve made it clear that he means much more to you than we do?”

Ingrid’s lips twitched several times through my entire spiel. She didn’t seem too happy about the things I told her, but it didn’t matter all that much to me. I needed to let my apprehensions and questions out and they gave me the perfect stage to do it. “I don’t know what to say, Sofia…” She stood up. “I can’t take this. I’m sorry… I need to go out for a walk.”

”A walk?” I snapped. “No, you’re not, Ingrid. You’re not going anywhere. I’m not just going to let you roam the island without….”

Aiden held my arm. “Let her, Sofia…”

“It’s too much of a risk… I don’t trust her.”

“But I do,” Aiden said firmly. “Trust me instead.”

Ingrid took this as a go signal, stood up and headed for the doorway.

Aiden, however, looked absolutely distraught as he stood up and called after her. “Camilla, are you sure this is what you want to do? We could talk this through…”

Ingrid stopped and slightly turned her head toward us. “She’s not ready for this, Aiden. She has a lot going on. I don’t think I’m ready for this either. Some other time…”

“Camilla…”

His next plea fell on deaf ears because Ingrid already sped to who knows where. When Aiden sat back down on the couch across from mine, I couldn’t help but quip, “You really should go after her. You’re in charge of her, Aiden. She can’t go out, because the sun is up so who knows what trouble she might end up starting here at The Catacombs?”

I knew I was being cold. I probably sounded heartless to my father, but two things were predominant in my mind: Derek and the cure. I was used to the issues I had with my father and my mother, so dealing with them didn’t feel like a priority to me at that time.

“Do you really think that she’s beyond redemption, Sofia?”

“Don’t you think I want to believe that this could really happen, Aiden?” I burst out. “I dreamed of having a family of my own for the past decade. I longed for your embrace. I longed for hers. But neither of you were there! Ben was there for me and when he could no longer be there, Derek filled that place in my life that you were supposed to fill. Derek became the man of my life when you should’ve been the one holding that spot. Now, in the midst of all this, you just want me to welcome both you and Camilla with open arms. You want me to forget that you lied to me about finding a cure so you could stab Derek in the back. You want me to forget that Camilla watched without even flinching as Borys physically abused me.”

Aiden’s shoulders sagged. He knew he was guilty. He knew she was guilty. I knew that he knew. I was so overwhelmed by emotion; I began to break down in tears. I shook my head and stood to my feet, finding myself exhausted by the events that had just unfolded.

“I’m going for a nap.”

I didn’t wait for any response from him. I just went to my bedroom and left him to do as he pleased. The moment my head rested on the pillow, I drifted off to sleep and found myself in Derek’s arms.

“I love you, Sofia,” he whispered into my ear.

He had his hands on my waist and he was rocking me gently as soft music played in the background. We were in some sort of garden and we were both all dressed up. Derek looked dashing in a tux and I felt pretty in the powder blue pixie dress I had on.

“You believe me, don’t you?” he asked. “You know that I will always love you, right?”

I creased my brows, made anxious by his unusual questions. “Of course I do, Derek. I know you love me.”

“I don’t want that to change.”

I was beginning to get nervous with the way he was acting and the things he was saying. “Why would that ever change?” I pulled away from him and looked up into those electric blue eyes that always made me go weak in the knees.

“Because we don’t have control over everything, Sofia. We never really know what life will throw our way.”

A cold wind swept through the place and panic began to overwhelm his countenance.

“No… No… This can’t be happening.” He shook his head furiously.

“Derek, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t love you, Sofia. That’s what’s wrong. I’m so sorry…” He was saying the words so quickly, it took me a while to comprehend them, but once I did, I wish that I hadn’t.

“Derek, why are you doing this? What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to do this, but I have to. I’m sorry, Sofia,” he gasped, before pulling out a dagger and driving it right through my heart.

I screamed even as I opened my eyes to find myself staring up at my bedroom ceiling. I was breaking into a cold sweat, my breathing heavy, my nerves on overdrive, my heartbeat drumming so furiously against my chest, I was sure it would somehow break out. I was trying to catch my breath when my father suddenly showed up on my door and ran to my bed, sitting on the edge of it, to check on me.

“Sofia, what happened? I heard you scream from the living room.”

I stared at him, unable to speak. I wondered how long I’d been asleep, surprised that he would wait for me at the living room and not just go off and find Ingrid.

“Where’s Ingrid?” I asked. “Shouldn’t you be with her?”

“When Camilla says that she needs time alone, it’s better to give her the space she’s asking for,” he quickly explained. “What happened, Sofia?”