I expected a violent reaction from my best friend, but apart from the spark of surprise in his eyes, he just nodded with resignation and said, "I'm happy for you." His reaction was enough for me to realize that something had changed in him and I wondered what could have happened to bring about such a change. "Why are you here, Ben?" So many questions were whirling in my mind regarding his return to The Shade and I had no idea where to begin. "How could you have possibly known how to get here? Ben, please…you can't give away the location of The Shade to the hunters…" "I really just wanted to see you, Sofia, find out if you're alright, if he's treating you the way you deserve to be treated." The longing that I saw in his eyes as he stared at me made my heart ache on his behalf. "I missed you so much." No matter how much I tried to harden my heart against him, to try and figure out why he was at The Shade out of instinct to protect the man I loved, Ben still mattered too much to me,

I glared at him in response. He rolled his eyes. "You're at The Oasis. If you don't know what that is, it's the home of the Maslens. We're in the middle of the desert now, Sofia." The Maslens… Tears began to brim my eyes. The thought was horrifying. "What have I done to you?" He smirked. "Well, the question I think should be what do I want to do with you, but I'll spare you those details? Sadly, as much as I wanted to have my way with you, I had to bring you to Borys Maslen unscathed. He wanted you to remain a virgin until the night of your wedding to him. Now, for you final question, I'm about to take you to your betrothed, Sofia." I was finding it hard to take in the information that I'd just been given. My mind was whirling. "Why would you do this?" was all I could manage to ask. "You ruined my life, Sofia. I'm about to ruin yours." He lunged forward, pushing me down on the bed, and letting his weight fall on top of me. He then whispered right into my ear, "Make no mistake abo

She swallowed hard as she nodded her head toward me in response. She didn't seem comfortable with the message she was about to give me. "I have a message for Derek Novak from Borys Maslen and Sofia Claremont." Murmurs were exchanged throughout the dome. I gulped as Natalie left the stand and climbed up toward the balcony in order to hand me the letter. "I'm sorry," she said quietly before turning and once again taking her place at the stand. I stared at the envelope, dreading what it could possibly contain. I swallowed hard as I opened it. No words could explain what I felt upon seeing the wedding invitation. I let out a deep growl. "Derek…" Natalie knew me well enough to know when something was tearing me apart. We'd had our fair share of memories together. She heaved a deep sigh. "I was told to let you know that you are to go alone. Any vampire from this coven seen stepping anywhere near the desert will be shot down. Only you are to go there if you want to see her." "What is it

I sat up on the bed and backed away from her. She reached out for me and I flinched when her fingers brushed over my shoulder. I glared at her, expecting to see the same glint of manic glee in her eyes—the same look she always gave me when she held me captive at The Shade. Instead, the look on her eyes was soft and pensive—practically moist with tears. "Do you love her, Ben?" "Love who?" I practically spat the words out. I was sickened by the way she was acting. I felt as if someone like her had no business talking about love. "Sofia…" I stared at her incredulously. She didn't have the right to talk about Sofia and I had every right not to give her a response. "And if I do?" I managed to say. She shrugged one shoulder. Her head bowed slightly, a mass of curls falling over her shoulders. "I love someone too. I didn't realize how much until I got here. I never should've left The Shade. I need him." I practically gawked at her. I had no idea who I was facing at that moment. Gone wa

Despite my tears, I laughed wryly. "It's you who's been brainwashed, Ingrid…or maybe I ought to call you Camilla…is there still any part of her left in you? Dad was right about you. You are insane. You left your own family to blindly serve this villain of a king." "You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know what my life was like. I loved Aiden. He was everything to me, and then you came along. I never wanted you, but I gave in to his requests for a child, because I loved him. You stole him from me." She was saying the words calmly, her eyes set on the bite marks on my neck as she proceeded to tend to the wound. The spite every word contained mixed with the calmness and affection by which she expressed them made her one of the scariest people I'd ever met. I couldn't begin to fathom how broken a creature my own mother was. I was certain, however, that even though I had been born of her womb, she was now a complete stranger. No more words were exchanged until she was