“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life,” I told him.

“What’s the prince going to think?”

“I think he will love me still.”

After I returned to my quarters from the meeting with the rebels the night before, I found Ashley waiting there for me. We shared an embrace and a couple of tears. She apologized for not having visited sooner. She was afraid of her own cravings and what she could possibly do to me and the girls. She wished now that she’d come earlier. Rosa arrived with Gavin. She remained silent, visibly shaken. She and Paige had been very close. I found myself at a loss for words when it came to trying to console Rosa. It seemed Ashley felt the same way.

I eventually asked how Derek was and Ashley assured me that he was recovering, though he was still mostly unconscious. I wondered what he would think if he found out what I was up to. I asked Ashley to let him know that I loved him.

“Do you want me to let him know what exactly you’re getting yourself into?”

I gave it a moment’s thought and nodded. “I think he knows where I stand. I think he knew that, by telling me about the culling, something like this would happen. We love each other, but I guess this is just us fighting our own battles.”

“You really are a piece of work, Sofia Claremont.”

The next morning, as Gavin and I made our way to the opening of the Black Heights, I wasn’t exactly feeling like “a piece of work.”

“What if nobody shows up?” I asked Gavin.

“Ian will.” He shrugged as we descended one of the ladders.

I had to chuckle. “So that makes three of us?”

“Nah…” Gavin assured. “People will show up, Sofia. Don’t worry your pretty little head over nobody showing up. Give the Naturals more credit than that.”

I wanted to ask him how he was so sure, but I figured it might just be him trying to reassure himself. When we reached the entrance to the Black Heights, it seemed our fears were unfounded, because thousands of Naturals already stood at the cave entrance, in silent protest against the culling.

We didn’t have any weapons, no means whatsoever to fight against the vampires—who were in every way more powerful than us, but winning wasn’t our objective. We didn’t have any delusions about actually being able to stop the culling. It was just the Naturals coming together to make a stand against a blatant massacre of their own loved ones.

We saw Ian approaching us. “I can’t believe this many people showed up…” I confessed, still stunned by the sheer number of people standing there, protesting the culling.

“Did you really think you’re the only one crazy enough to stand for the lives of people you love?” Ian teased before his eyes fell and lingered on a lone figure coming out of the Black Heights—Anna.

From the way he was looking at her, I knew immediately that they had an untold story—most likely too tragic and heartbreaking to hear. I gently brushed a hand over his shoulder.

“She was beautiful,” Ian said breathlessly. “She still is, but it wasn’t just physically. She was one of those rare beauties who are just as beautiful inside as they are outside. She was a gentle soul who loved people and who loved life. She was vibrant, smart and kind…”

“Many have been destroyed by The Shade,” I muttered, my own thoughts on Ben, Gwen, Paige and the many innocents ruined by the island.

From just one look at the young men I was with, one could already easily surmise that the embers burning within them were now a full-on fire, ready to set ablaze anything that came in their way. They’d had enough and it seemed thousands of others shared their sentiments.

A sense of tension and excitement filled the atmosphere, but more than that, it was an overwhelming sense of unity that overtook us all. Still, whatever elation we felt was short-lived because we were well-aware that we had a great battle ahead of us—one we had no chance of winning.

When the vampires arrived, it was clear to see that we outnumbered them, but we knew that meant nothing. We would be lucky to even take down a handful of the vampires who arrived under Gregor’s command.

Gavin, Ian and I were still standing at the back of the crowd, by the cave entrance. The collective hush that swept over the crowd was enough to tell us that trouble was brewing. Gavin and Ian began to push through the crowd in order to make way for me. I was surprised to find that every time someone saw that it was me they were making way for, they quickly stepped aside—almost as if in reverence. At some point, they were already making way of their own accord, and all Gavin and Ian had to do was stand on either side of me as some sort of protective gesture.

“Why are they looking at me like that?” I muttered under my breath at Gavin when I finally had enough of the way people would look at me and nod their heads in a show of respect.

“You’re a legend, Sofia. What happened at the square last night was unheard of…the prince of The Shade thought of you highly enough to take fifty lashes for you—even knowing that he’d just been administered a suppression serum. That’s a big deal. The fact that other vampires took on the same punishment for the rest of us, it gives a lot of us something that we thought we could never have.”

“Oh, and what’s that?” I asked as we finally broke to the crowd and reached the frontlines.

“Hope,” Gavin responded before we both took a deep breath in order to peruse what we were up against.

“We definitely need that now…”

About a hundred fully-armed vampires were standing before us. We might’ve outnumbered them ten to one—perhaps even more, but I was no fool to believe that we could possibly stand a chance against them.

“You…” Gregor sped my way, stopping a couple of inches away from me. “You did this?”

“You’re going to have to kill a lot more than just the weak and defenseless if you want to proceed with the culling,” I told him, sounding far more confident than I actually felt. “Are you really willing to cripple The Shade by murdering off a good chunk of its loyal human population?”

“Yes, you little fool. I’m willing to do exactly that.” He smirked at me and I knew then that he was made of pure evil. I couldn’t help but wonder how on earth he could be related to Derek and Vivienne.

I wanted to falter, wanted to run away, but this was my war now.

“You’re going to die, Sofia Claremont.” Gregor nodded. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“I know you’re immortal, Gregor Novak, but know that we all pass away eventually. At least I will pass away with dignity.”

Infuriated, he was about to lunge right for me, but a commotion within the vampires’ camp caused him to turn around. I froze when I saw Derek, towing along a good number of the Elite behind him, pushing through the vampires’ lines.

He still looked weaker than normal, but definitely a lot stronger than he was when I left him at the Sanctuary. He gave me a look and bowed toward my direction. I wondered if he meant it as a show of deference.

“There will be no culling today or anytime soon,” was all Derek said.

Every single soul present stared at him in shock. None of us—myself included—could believe what he was saying.

Gregor stood his ground, fists clenched, staring his son down. “I am king of The Shade, Derek. You answer to me.”

“You became king of The Shade out of my respect for you, out of my desire to heed to Vivienne’s wishes and keep our family intact. This time, however, I realize that I can no longer serve you. If I’m to fulfill my destiny, then I must rule The Shade.” Derek took several steps forward, looking more imposing and authoritative than I’d ever seen him before. “I am commander-in-chief of The Shade’s army, father. Consider this our coup d’état. I doubt you’ll find many vampires brave enough to go against me in this.”

One look at Gregor’s face was enough to tell us that he knew what Derek was saying was true. I sincerely thought that it was the first time he realized that the only reason he ever held any real power at The Shade was because of the respect the kingdom had for Derek—not for him.

“You can’t do this.” He shook his head, still in denial.

I could see in Derek’s eyes that the situation was tearing him apart. Gregor, after all, was still his father, but he was doing what he thought ought to be done. My heart went out to him as Derek smiled bitterly. “I just did, Father. You’re no longer king of The Shade. I am.”

Awkward was the only word I could think of to describe what happened next. Gregor walked away and Felix’s small contingent of men followed after him. Derek informed everyone that there wasn’t going to be a culling and that everyone ought to head back to their normal daily activities. As the crowd dispersed, he reached his hand out to me and squeezed.

“Thank you,” I said.

He nodded, but I could see how torn he was. I could only imagine the weight that now fell on his shoulders. He instructed Cameron and Liana to gather up the Elite for a meeting at the dome. The couple nodded and went off to do as instructed.

Xavier lingered, waiting for instructions from their new king. Still clutching my hand, it seemed Derek was in a daze. I wasn’t sure if he even fully understood the immensity of what had just happened.

“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Novak?” Xavier asked, giving me a quick glance, as if he were wondering if I had anything to do with what had just occurred.

Derek shook his head. “I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing or what I ought to do, but I figured it’s time I did what was right—no matter the cost.”

At that, I had to gaze up at him in wonderment and admiration. In my eyes, he never stood taller than he did at that moment.

“I’ve never lied to you, Derek. Not once in the past five hundred years…” Xavier stood to his full height, the features of his handsomely chiseled face taking on a very serious expression.

Derek nodded at his statement, his hand tightening over mine to prepare himself for what his friend was about to say.