"Your kind? You mean vampires?" I didn't care to lower my voice. It didn't matter to me who heard. Vivienne really wasn't giving me much reason to feel a need to protect her.

The surprised expression on her face showed that she was nowhere near used to my audacity, but she quickly recovered. "Yes. Our kind. Derek asked Cora, a great witch Corrine's ancestor to put him under a sleeping spell. He wanted to escape all the things we did in order to keep The Shade safe. The guilt was killing him."

"Why? What exactly did your kind do to make him feel so guilty?" I interrupted.

Vivienne shifted in her seat, showing her discomfort. Still, she maintained her posture and set her eyes on me. "That's a question you'd have to ask him yourself."

My shoulders sagged. It took me by surprise how much her statement made me ache with longing. I smiled bitterly and slightly shook my head. "Go ahead. What were you saying?"

She gave me a lingering gaze, before proceeding with her story. "Derek thought he'd already fulfilled the prophecy when we established The Shade. The island, he thought, was our true sanctuary. Cora knew otherwise. She knew that he wasn't done, so without his knowledge, she tacked on an end to her spell. Derek was to wake once it was time to find the girl who would help him fulfill his destiny."

She paused and looked to me for a reaction, but the words were still sinking in and I couldn't find a proper way to respond.

Thus, she continued, "It was Corrine who signaled that he was about to wake and she made it very clear that the girls taken on a certain night were to be reserved for him."

"My birthday..." I threw the words out there, remembering the way I felt that night. Ben forgot my birthday and spent most of the day wooing Tanya.

"Yes... Your birthday..." She said the words as if she found it amazing that Lucas abducted me and brought me to The Shade on that particular day. "Derek hadn't fed on human blood for four centuries. You couldn't possibly understand how difficult it was for him not to feed on you. When he slammed you against that pillar, I thought you were done for."

I remembered what it felt like to have Derek's large, virile form pressed against mine, his strong arms holding me up against the pillar, his breath chilling the skin on my neck... I was terrified.

"But he spared you. I don't know what you told him, but you got to him in a way no other person was ever able to. Not our father or our brother or myself or even Cora was able to get through to him the way you did..."

I swallowed hard as I tried to make sense of what she was trying to tell me. I couldn't bring myself to accept what she was implying. "I am not the girl Cora was speaking of, Vivienne."

Vivienne gazed at me with what could almost pa.s.s as affection. "Sofia, look me straight in the eye and tell me that you don't feel anything for my twin."

My lips pursed and my jaw twitched. Even if I tried to lie, I knew that I wouldn't be able to fool her. There hadn't been a day that pa.s.sed since I left The Shade that I haven't thought of Derek in one way or another.

Vivienne's smile was bitter as she understood clearly what my silence meant. "I thought so."

I clutched the armrests of the couch I was seated on and steadied myself over its edge. I wasn't about to let her win just like that. "I care about Derek, Vivienne, but that doesn't really mean anything. That doesn't prove that I'm some girl destined to help him fulfill some sort of prophecy." A wry, sarcastic laugh escaped my lips. "Besides, why on earth would I help Derek save your kind? After everything you put me through, after everything you put Ben and so many others through..."

"Because as you said, Sofia, you care about him..." Her blue-violet eyes glistened as she spoke. "He needs you."

It was impossible for her to say something like that without it meaning anything to me. She was his twin... she knew him better than I ever did... Her words had weight, but I couldn't wrap my mind around someone like Derek needing someone like me. Who am I? Still, her words were enough to trigger all the pent-up longing I had to be with him again, and I found myself asking, "How is he?"

"The darkness came for him the moment you left. It's taking away the man that he became when you were there."

I could feel my face lose color, and my lips parted as I drew a breath. "The darkness is coming..." I muttered under my breath.

It seemed the words meant something to Vivienne, because her eyes flickered with recognition.

"What did you say?"

I shook my head. "Nothing." I wasn't particularly fond of the idea of revealing to her all the nightmares I'd been having. My phone began to vibrate over the coffee table. I glanced at it, but decided not to check the message. I took another sip of my not-so-hot-anymore latte. I found myself overcome with worry for Derek. If my nightmares held any meaning, then... I gulped.

"How are the girls?" Guilt claimed me the moment I thought of Ashley, Paige and Rosa. They were my friends and I just abandoned them, did nothing even to help rescue them from The Shade.

When Vivienne told me that Derek attacked Ashley in the Sun Room, that he drank her blood almost enough to kill her, I had no idea how to recover from both the guilt and the shock. I felt like it was partially my fault, because I never did anything to get Ashley and the other girls out of The Shade, but I was always secure that Derek would keep them safe. I couldn't even wrap my mind around the idea that Derek could be capable of something like that.

That's nothing like the Derek I knew.

"I don't know how long my brother can keep himself from hunting her," Vivienne kept clasping and unclasping her fingers. "Now that he's had a taste of her blood, I'm pretty sure he's craving her. Even though she's living with Kyle now, she's still too close. He would still be able to sense her."

The news she brought was more than I knew how to handle. "Why are you telling me all this, Vivienne?" Tears were threatening to spill down my cheeks.

"Remember the night when you arrived? When you were in the dungeon? I told you that you were nothing but a p.a.w.n."

I could still remember her exact words and how mortified she made me feel: "Understand, girl, that you are nothing here. You're nothing but a p.a.w.n, a piece used to make the board move. Your best chance at survival and proving your significance is to win Derek's affections. Considering everything I know about my brother, I'm not sure that's even possible."

I smiled bitterly. "How could I forget?"

"I was wrong." Vivienne, in all her grace and beauty, looked me in the eye and said, "You're not a p.a.w.n, Sofia. You're the queen."

Before I could fully make sense of the words, the vampire's eyes widened with horror, as if she had just seen something behind me that gave her cause for terror. I looked back and saw nothing but a group of people having their coffee.

"Vivienne, what's wrong? You've been acting strange ever since..."

"It doesn't matter." She cut me off. "The hunters are here. You need to go back to The Shade, Sofia. There's no other way. You can stay at my home. You won't go back as a slave. I'm going to give you some of my memories along with instructions on how you're going to get to The Shade. They'll know I sent you."

"What are you saying?! How on earth are you going to give me your mem "

She grabbed both my hands and I had to shut my eyes as a deluge of images flooded my brain, channeling from her to me. Vampires being burned at the stakes... A smile and a kiss on the hand from a handsome young man... The same man screaming as he was tortured... A symbol of a hawk branded with burning iron on Derek's bare back... Imagery some sweet, others confusing, most of it horrifying flashed through my mind in one wave after another until finally, I saw a way back to The Shade and found myself once again engulfed by darkness.

Snapping out of the sudden influx of memories that didn't belong to me, I opened my eyes to find Lyle in front of me, holding my face with both hands. "Are you alright, Sofia?" I heard panic in his voice. "What did she do to you?"

Behind him, I could make out Vivienne's unconscious form on the couch across from me. Two men, who looked like paramedics, rushed to her. One of them stabbed her in the arm with a syringe before they carried her out of the coffee shop.

Where are they taking her? I wanted to ask, but realized that Lyle was moving his lips and I couldn't hear what he was saying. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. Then my vision began to betray me, blurring before everything around me faded into black.

CHAPTER 28: DEREK.

What the h.e.l.l am I doing here?

The Black Heights was the last place I would expect to find myself. I hated the mountain caves and its complex network of dark tunnels. They brought about too many memories of more desperate times.

Still, despite the adverse reaction I had to the caves, I found myself inside them, following a guard, who guided me through well-lit stone corridors leading to the cell where Claudia was being held prisoner. The Cells had changed drastically since the last time I visited. Much had been done to develop the caves. Flat, concrete flooring, electricity, doors... those were just some of the modifications that made the place feel more like the interior of an actual building instead of what it used to be dark, dank caves, void of life and light.

The guard stopped in front of a gate or at least what looked like one light white-blue rays formed the bars keeping Claudia prisoner.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing at the bars.

"UV rays, your highness," the guard responded.

"How many of these types of cells do we have?" I was curious.

"Three. We rarely ever have vampire prisoners."

Of course. The Cells are mainly for humans after all. He pressed a b.u.t.ton and the rays retracted. I entered the cell and found Claudia sitting cross-legged on top of the small cot she was given for a bed. Her blonde mane made her round face look small. Her blue eyes were set on me. She was wearing a simple white smock a contrast to the garish outfits I was used to seeing her in. The simple get up and the lack of makeup made her look like a regular teenager. A seventeen-year-old with old eyes, eyes that have seen too much...

I could hear the rays close in behind me, imprisoning me with her.

"Just call when you wish to leave, prince."

I nodded and waved him off. I focused on the beautiful blonde I had before me.

"The almighty prince pays me a visit. What did I do to deserve such an honor?" If she was resentful of me, she was hiding it. Her golden lashes fluttered at me, a playful grin forming on her lips.

"I wanted to ask you a question."

"Oh?" Her head tilted quizzically to the side. "Ask away then."

I hesitated. Why am I here?

She stood up and moved toward me, studying me. "You're always so tense, Prince Derek. That's your problem. You don't know how to loosen up like your older brother does." She brushed her fingers over my cheek.

I stepped away from her, revolted by her touch.

"When was the last time you laid with a woman?"

Every night since Sofia left. I had Vivienne send me a girl or two to keep me company in my bedroom. Without them, my chambers reeked too much of Sofia and her scent. Even with other women to distract me, she was still on my mind.

"I could help loosen you up..." Claudia offered.

I pushed her away before she could lay a hand on me. "That's not why I'm here. Sit down, Claudia. I wish to discuss something private with you."

Her brows rose. "Something private." The idea obviously delighted her. "This ought to be interesting." She turned her back on me to return to her cot.

I was surprised to find the back of her smock lined with blood stains.

I grabbed her arm to stop her. "The wounds from the lashes... they haven't yet healed? It's been days since..."

She shrugged my hand away from her arm and sat back on the cot. "My dear prince..." she hissed. "You really should find out what the extents of your punishments are before you dole them out. I was injected with a serum to delay the healing before the lashes were inflicted on me. As long as the serum is in my system, I will not heal."

I swallowed hard.

"Oh, don't worry yourself too much about this," she smiled bitterly. "Someone has been coming to treat the wounds."

"Who?" I raised a brow. I didn't know why I even asked. I already knew the answer before she gave it to me.

"Yuri," she responded. A sudden spark of delight appeared in her big brown eyes. "Are you going to punish him for helping me? You really should... his 'treatments' hurt like h.e.l.l. I'm starting to think he just enjoys hearing me scream with pain."

I had half the mind to ask her about the younger Lazaroff, but decided not to. The thought of exploring Claudia's twisted mind wasn't all that inviting and it wasn't why I came.

"Anyway, do tell me why you're here, Prince Derek. I'm dying to know."

"Ben..."

Her eyes flickered with recognition at the mention of the name.

"You remember him?"

"Of course. He was special... that one... hard to forget. I regret ever taking him with me when I visited you, but how could I have known that your fiery little pet once knew him? How is she anyway?"

Ignoring her, I got straight to my point. "I'm a.s.suming that you already had a taste of his blood from the first night you had him with you. Am I correct?"

She confirmed my suspicions with a nod.

"How did you manage to drink of him for so long without ending his life? How did you have that kind of control?"

She grew pensive, as if she too were surprised by what she was able to accomplish. "Why do you ask?" She stalled answering my question.

"I crave a girl. I've tasted her blood and now I'm desperate to finish the kill."

"Your lovely redhead? Such a beautiful thing to waste on one kill..."

"Answer my question." First, Vivienne. Now, Claudia. The constant mention of Sofia was grating on my nerves.

"Always so feisty." She pouted, and then gave my question thought before responding, "I was never able to control myself from finishing a human off for more than a week or two."

"But he was with you for many weeks... He was brought to The Shade not long after Sofia was..." Her name left a bitter taste on my mouth.

"He reminded me of someone. Someone from the past." Something dark and wicked marred Claudia's countenance. "As I said, he was special... I wanted to keep him for as long as I was able." She shrugged. "Perhaps rage toward a human gives us some form of control."

I shook my head, slowly comprehending. "Not rage... emotion..."

"Perhaps. Is that all you came to ask?" She stretched her back and winced at the wounds she forgot she had. She cast me a fleeting glance unintentional and full of rage.

I did this to her.

"Pretty little Sofia..." Claudia's gaze was now blank, her words full of venom. It was as if the girl I was speaking to only moments ago was gone and she was now possessed by a whole different person. "Ben spoke of her in his sleep. What is it with her that has got him and even you so wrapped up in her?"

She revisited the memory of their reunion, and forced me to relive it right along with her.

"Do you remember the look on their eyes when they saw each other? The way they embraced each other... so young... so in love... How does that not bother you?"

I swallowed hard. Unwelcome imaginations of Ben and Sofia in each other's arms, happy and in love, rushed through my mind. I wondered if Claudia was taunting me, but the anger blazing in her eyes told me that she too was living out the jealousy she felt upon seeing them together. Her rage was directed not at me, but at him, at her.

I remembered that day all too well. Claudia came to pay me tribute and Sofia arrived from a walk outside. It was clear to see that she and Ben held affection for each other, so I asked Claudia to give Ben to me for Sofia's sake. I remembered how I held Claudia and pulled her body against mine as I gave her my request. I used Claudia just to see how Sofia would react to me placing my hands on the sultry, blonde vampire.

I did not imagine it. I knew I saw jealousy in Sofia's green gaze.