My stomach turned when I realized that he was wearing nothing but a loincloth to cover his bulking frame. His gaze quickly went from my face to my body. I wasn't even sure if he heard Ingrid's explanation that I was just nervous to be presented to my bridegroom. "Leave us," he ordered, his eyes traveling the length of my body. Ingrid gave him a nod. I grabbed her hand before she could move. "Please…don't leave me…" "You'll be fine, my love. He won't take you to his bed until after the wedding. He's a gentleman that way." A gentleman. I almost laughed at the thought. How could she call him that after what she had witnessed him do to me? Ingrid shook my hand away and quickly strode out of the room. "Enjoy getting to know each other, children!" she chirped before closing the door behind her. Standing in the middle of the room, I couldn't control the way my body quivered as Borys slowly approached. He began circling me like a vulture, his eyes taking in my form, violating me with mer
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
Borys let go of her and the moment he did, she ran into my arms, tears streaming down her face. I held her tight, unwilling to let go, sickened by the thought of what she'd been through since she arrived at The Oasis. I didn't need to ask if she was alright or if they hurt her. It was clear to see that she wasn't. It was obvious that they had. "Get me out of here, Derek," she sobbed against my chest. "He's going to destroy me. Everyone here is insane. Especially my mother…" She knows. I shut my eyes, trying to find words to soothe her, wondering how on earth I was going to get her out of there. I could smell the blood on her neck. My mouth watered at the scent, but I was too mortified by the idea that Borys had already tasted her blood to even start craving her. "Sofia, I'm so sorry," was all I could think of to say. She shook her head. "You didn't do this." "I've failed to protect you so many times…" "Don't do this, Derek. Just don't. We have to get out of here—you, me and Ben
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
I stepped away when Borys began to run his hand down my shoulder. Borys responded by using one strong arm to grab my waist and pull my back against him, holding me in position so that he could touch me any way he pleased right in front of Derek. I kept my eyes on Derek's, wondering if things would really end this way. I was grasping for any thread of hope. I wanted to be strong for Derek, but I had no idea how to do it. We were both too weak, too broken. When a soft knock interrupted Borys' shameless display, I could hear Derek sigh with relief. "What?!" Borys screamed. A guard entered. He looked terrified. "Your highness…" His voice trembled. "The boy…Ben…he escaped with the blonde vampire. They both left The Oasis…they haven't yet returned." I could feel Borys' breathing suddenly get heavy. His arms clamped around me so tightly, I thought he wanted to snap me in two. Instead, he pushed me to the ground and marched toward the guard. He grabbed the guard's neck. "How long have th
The moment the circular glass elevator stopped at level four, I saw my father rising up to his feet as he pulled a wooden stake from a vampire's chest. At the sight of me, his eyes widened. More questions than I could make sense of flashed through my mind at the sight of him. My mother was a vampire and my father was a hunter. It felt like my entire life had been a lie. However, I knew that I wasn't about to get any answers, because this was no time for teary-eyed reunions. War was breaking out all around us. As I stepped out of the elevator, I realized that my father had just begun to take note of the dress I was wearing and the blood on my wrists. He then saw Derek stepping out of the elevator right behind me. My heart stopped when I realized what it looked like. "Dad, no!" I screamed, but he was already pulling out a gun and aiming it at Derek. I immediately acted out of instinct and used myself to cover Derek. I was about to tell Aiden—who was running toward me—that if he ever
Amidst all the bedlam surrounding me, I was certain of one thing and one thing alone. Claudia had reverted to her old mad and twisted self. I knew it the moment she attacked Sofia and sank her fangs into her neck. "What is wrong with you?!" I hissed at her after seeing her claws come out, ready to put me through another painful ordeal. "She's safer as a vampire than she is as the pathetic little twig that she is," she told me. "I was doing her a favor." She wasn't feeding on Sofia. She was turning her. I couldn't even begin to imagine what was going through her mind. "This place is filled with hunters. Nobody is safe, you crazy bitch." Her claws retracted and she pressed her palm over my chest to keep me down. "You were going to shoot me," she accused. "You were sinking your bloody teeth into Sofia's neck. Of course I was going to shoot you." I pushed her away from me and was slightly surprised when she actually backed off. I searched for Sofia in time to see her pinned to a wall
It felt like I was riding to my death. I was surrounded by hunters and I was willingly heading toward the last place any vampire should be. The hunters' headquarters.I could feel Aiden's glare burning through me. I knew that in his eyes, I was the enemy. In his eyes, I had brainwashed Sofia into loving me. I knew that he would do everything to take Sofia away from me. It's the way I would've thought had I still been a hunter. I clung to Sofia, driven mad by how much I was craving her blood. I swallowed hard as I pressed my lips against her cheek. I couldn't remember ever wanting anyone as much as I wanted her. The fact that I was in love with her only added to the heavy ache that seemed to permanently settle on my chest. No wonder Lucas couldn't keep himself away from her… Lucas. My jaw tightened at the recollection of seeing my brother burst into flames. I'd never liked him, but he was still my brother. Seeing him meet his end brought no satisfaction whatsoever. I found myself w