When the gorgeous Italian vampire walked into my chambers, I wanted to jump up and hug her, but this was Natalie Borgia. She was a rogue vampire perfectly capable of ripping my heart out should she decide to. I wasn't about to take my chances, but it was too hard to fight the urge to flirt with her. It didn't make sense to me how they expected me to organize a way to get to The Shade and retrieve Sofia while I was still being kept a prisoner at The Oasis, but this was how the Maslens worked, so I had to deal with the situation. "You're looking like a total babe, Natalie…" I crooned. It sure wasn't my best line, but it was all I could come up with in such short notice. "I never thought I'd be stuck in the same bedroom with you…" "Shut it, Novak…" She rolled her eyes. She had never responded well to my attempts to hook up with her. She looked around my room. "There have been worse dungeons." Her eyes then fell on me. "I never thought I'd live to see the day when I would find a Novak

He tried to compete. He failed miserably. My smile was bittersweet. "I miss him." Or at least the version of him before The Shade destroyed him. "Does Derek know that? I might have to report you for dreaming about other men while he's so enamored by you." I rolled my eyes. "Much as I love the banter, Gavin, what exactly are you doing here?" "You've been in The Catacombs for more than three days. I'd given you all the time to rest and adjust. It's time to get your ass to work. Contrary to Derek's opinion, you're no princess of The Shade." He paused and raised his brows as he gave his last statement some thought. "At least not yet." Gavin saw the frown in my face before I could conceal it. "What? Don't tell me that you thought you'd be sitting pretty here all night long…everyone in The Catacombs works. You have to earn your keep, and considering how glorious your keep is, you'd better be good at what you do." "It's not that I don't want to work. I just…" I heaved a sigh. My stay in

I cleared my throat to catch her attention. She looked my way and a brilliant smile formed on her face. "Derek!" she exclaimed before throwing herself at me in an exuberant embrace. "I had a great day. How was yours?" "Can we talk in private, please?" I eyed Gavin warily. I wasn't thrilled about what I had to reveal to her. Worry traced her green eyes as she pulled herself away from me. She turned toward Gavin and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks for everything, Gavin." The boy nodded his head toward her and curtly bowed his head in my direction. "Tomorrow again, Sofia," he said. "If you're still alive by then." She snickered at the statement, so I figured it was some sort of inside joke they had between them—an idea that grated at my nerves. I was relieved when Gavin was finally gone and I had my girl all to myself, but any pleasure I felt in her company was overshadowed by the news I carried with me. "What's wrong, Derek?" she asked pensively as I held her hand and pulled her to a

It all happened so fast, I could barely catch up with what was going on. One minute, I was exchanging jokes and witty banter with Gavin. The next minute, he was lying on the ground, staring defiantly at Derek. One look at Derek's blue eyes was enough to let me know that he was more than ready to make a kill. "Derek…" I had meant to shout, but his name came out in a breathless, choked whisper.Derek's hand coiled around Gavin's neck. "So this is why you've been avoiding me? To be with him?" It was as if Derek wasn't there. His blue gaze seemed vacant and deadly in a surreal way. Gavin was choking but there was no fear in his eyes—just resignation. I, on the other hand, was panicking. "Derek…" I held him by the arm, wondering if this was one of his blackouts. He didn't even seem to feel my touch. "Come back to me." He let go of Gavin's neck and for a moment, I thought that I'd succeeded in getting through to him, only to find myself completely knocked out of breath when Derek pushed

My suspicions were solidified the moment Derek said, "…she wouldn't have given up her whole life outside of the island just to come back here to me." If my conclusions were correct, Ben and Sofia had already been outside the island after their captivity. Only Sofia came back. I knew then the message that I was going to relay to Lucas. I was about to find a scout in order to relay a note to Natalie Borgia, but just as I was about to head off to the port, Yuri Lazaroff showed up. The same strange mixture of irritation and affection came over me. I owed the handsome young man so much more than I was willing to admit. Though I couldn't relate to Derek and his lunacy over the redheaded human, I could relate to the feeling that I didn't deserve the person I loved. I would rather die than admit it to anyone at The Shade, but I'd always been in love with Yuri, a man I knew I would never in a million years deserve. "What are you up to, Claudia?" Yuri asked, giving me an irritated glare. "Y