As we left the Sanctuary and eventually entered into what was now the Vale, I asked question after question to satisfy my curiosity and make me forget my hunger. Sofia and the other slaves were walking right behind us, escorted by the guards. I was still so conscious of Sofia’s proximity, still overcome by the scent of her blood.

“What happened to the wild animals that occupied the forest?” We’d made plans to keep our residences atop the redwoods, because of what a nuisance the wildlife had turned out to be.

“They’re around,” Vivienne explained as we took a leisurely pace strolling past the Vale. “Cora helped us gather most of the wild animals into certain parts of the island we call dens. Some of the fiercer ones, however, are kept in the Cells.”

“The Cells?”

“The prisons,” Lucas butted in. “They’re located at the Black Heights – you know,” he shrugged, “the mountain ranges. The dungeons and slave quarters are kept there.”

I raised a brow. “Sofia?”

I didn’t miss how Vivienne’s eyes shot toward me in question. I knew she was intrigued by the concern I was showing the girl. At that time, there was no way for me to explain to my sister exactly how I saw Sofia: a ray of light. The truth was I didn’t even fully understand myself.

“Harems stay at the Residences with their keepers,” Vivienne explained, assuring me that Sofia wasn’t going anywhere without me.

I nodded. “And what exactly are the Residences?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. That’s where we’re going.” There was a certain smugness to my brother’s tone. I imagined he was mighty pleased that he had four hundred years’ worth of experience and knowledge over me.

I stared back and forth from my sister to my brother, wondering about the amount of knowledge and wisdom they’d managed to accumulate over all that time. I didn’t know if it was my bias against my brother or the fact that we were never close due to how our father always pitted us against each other, but Lucas didn’t seem to be any wiser than he was when I went under Cora’s spell a long time ago. Vivienne, on the other hand, had a sager aura about her and I couldn’t help but feel some sort of reverence toward her.

I then began to wonder where my father was. The fact that I had no pressing desire to see him told me a lot about my feelings toward him. I immediately assumed that he’d be in the Crimson Fortress, the massive walls I made sure would be built to protect the Blood Shade before I sought escape. I found myself asking to verify if the fortress was still standing strong and if Oliver, always the fierce warrior, was there.

“The fortress is stronger than ever. We have knights, guards and scouts stationed at its walls to keep us all secure,” Vivienne assured.

“Knights? Scouts?”

“Knights are members of the Elite who also serve as warriors,” Lucas explained. “Scouts are those we send to the outside world for supplies or new blood.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about that last piece of information. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a way for our kind to survive without preying on humans. I was sure that just saying those thoughts out loud would be labeled as sacrilege by my father.

“And father?”

“He’s meeting with leaders from the other covens to discuss how to stop the damned Shadow Hunters once and for all,” Vivienne explained.

My jaw tightened at the mention of the hunters dedicated to ending our kind. I remembered a time when I was one of them. That time was long gone. “They’re still a threat?” I asked.

“More so than before,” Lucas said, almost sounding indignant that I didn’t know that – as if it were my fault that the Shadow Hunters were so powerful. “We’re the strongest and most powerful coven remaining. A lot of the citizens of the Blood Shade – Lodgers we call them – escaped from covens that the hunters managed to find and completely annihilate.”

Vivienne most likely sensed my agitation over the news, because she quickly changed the subject.

“Shadow Hunters are a topic for a later date.” She said, curtly.

We had just reached the outskirts of The Vale and were now about to enter a different part of the redwood forest. I couldn’t help but draw a breath over how the Blood Shade changed since I last saw it. Before the spell, it could barely be called a community. It was our escape, our safe sanctuary from the Shadow Hunters, who were threatening to expel every single one of our kind from the earth.

If I didn’t have my father, brother and sister to fight for, I would’ve surrendered myself to the hunters, ending my life under their cruel hands. I couldn’t bear to do that to my family though, especially not to Vivienne. The coven needed me at that time, but when I fulfilled my part of the bargain and managed to bring them to this safe haven and win Cora over to our side as our protection, I knew I couldn’t bear living another second with all the blood that was on my hands. I had to end it.

But I was a coward. I dreaded to think of what would happen once I actually die. What happens to the living dead once they pass away? I shuddered every time I found myself thinking about it. It was perhaps quite a strange thing that the undead could be so afraid of death, and yet it was truth. I was afraid to die, so I went to sleep instead.

As we walked through the dense wood, I couldn’t help but speak my thoughts. “You must hate me for having done what I did…abandoning you all.”

I noticed how Lucas’ jaw twitched, a flicker of the familiar resentment showing in his eyes. I didn’t need to hear a response from him to know what was going through his mind. Of course he hated me.

Vivienne was far more gracious. “No, Derek. You did what had to be done to protect us all without even knowing it. Your rested state has caused you to gain energy over the hundreds of years that you were under Cora’s spell. Because of this, you’re most likely the strongest and most powerful vampire in existence today.”

Lucas asked a question about how exactly I managed to win Cora over to our side, but Vivienne’s words echoed through my head… strongest and most powerful vampire. Recollections of how I practically threw Sofia up that pillar roamed through my mind.

My gut clenched. She looked fragile under my grasp and yet so fearless. I was death and I was looking her right in the eye. She looked right back. Without even flinching. She was walking behind me. I could hear her gentle footsteps and the clanging of the shackles over her wrists. I could still smell and practically taste the blood on her lips. I wondered if this was the same effect women had on me before. I couldn’t even remember.

I stopped in my tracks and called to her. “Sofia.”

Everyone stopped our walk through the night the moment I spoke the words.

Her youth showed in the way she responded to me. “What?”

Without even looking back, I knew that she was about to suffer pain for her insolence in addressing me. I could practically see the guard behind us raising his hand to hit her.

“Don’t touch her,” I commanded. “Sofia, walk beside me.”

I held my breath at the momentary silence that followed. I could almost sense her thinking, weighing the pros and cons of what could happen should she dare defy me. I breathed a short sigh of relief when the shackles began clinking with her every step as she filled the empty spot on my side.

I didn’t dare look at her. Having her so close was already taking its toll on my self-control… I was certain that just the sight of the bright red blush on her cheeks would remind me of her blood and my longing to partake of it.

“Get rid of these restraints. She has nowhere to run to.”

“Brother…” Vivienne began to protest. “If she uses the freedom you’re giving her to raise a hand against you, you might not be able to control yourself from…”

“I won’t feed on her.” I said it with more conviction and self-assurance than I actually felt. “Do as I say and remove the chains.”

My command was heeded to immediately. It was yet another reminder of who I was before, of how much they all feared me. I waited until the restraints were removed before I took a first step forward, the group following my pace.

Lucas and Vivienne tried to make conversation as we trekked through the dark wood, but I was no longer paying attention. I was too distracted by Sofia, aware of every single one of her actions. She rubbed her wrists even as she observed her surroundings. She was taking in every detail of her surroundings, her eyes showing bright curiosity and mild fascination. Before I could keep myself from doing it, I grabbed her hand, my fingers intertwining with hers.

She flinched from my touch. I knew I had no right to take that sort of liberty with her, but I gave myself that indulgence, because I really just wanted to feel her warmth.

I could only guess what was going through her mind, because at some point, she squeezed my hand like she did to that other girl back in the Sanctuary. She couldn’t have known how much that meant the world to me.

CHAPTER 9: SOFIA

His hand was so cold. A chill climbed from the hand he was holding all the way up to my elbow. I couldn’t understand why he would do that – hold my hand. But the gesture strangely brought me comfort where I had none.