A Darkness Of Vampire

Chapter 13

Not long after Sofia left us to discuss whatever it was that Vivienne saw as too confidential for her to hear, my siblings took me on a tour of the island, mainly the Crimson Fortress and how they'd fortified it over the past centuries. What used to be just what it was – a wall surrounding the island – was now home to over three hundred vampire guards and scouts who sought refuge at the Blood Shade and swore to defend it.

At certain key areas of the fortress, there were large stone houses with distinct pointed turrets in front of the buildings that lined the wall. I was told that several of the men and women belonging to the Elite trained for battle and were called Knights. The homes were theirs for times when they were called to duty at the wall.

The Elite consisted of the twenty original clans who swore allegiance to our family. They were those who fought and bled with us, hunted down by shadow hunters until we finally found sanctuary at the Blood Shade. Everyone else – guards, scou