“Not everyone will stay loyal to you up to the very end. This will get worse before it gets better—especially if you are unable to secure a supply of human blood for the vampire population.”

“I know that, but what I really want to know is whether I’ll have your back to the very end—yours, Cameron and Liana’s, the Lazaroffs…”

Xavier was silent, weighing his words very carefully before finally nodding. “We started The Shade together. If we have to see it crash and burn, we’ll still do it supporting you.”

Derek smiled. “That’s all I needed to hear. Let’s get to that council meeting, shall we?”

“I’ll return to The Catacombs.” I volunteered, bowing my head and pulling my hand away from him.

He held on tight as he shook his head, pulling me back to his side. “No. As king of The Shade, I want you to become part of the Elite—you, Corrine, Gavin and the other rebel leaders. It’s time we brought the humans in when it comes to matters regarding how we’re going to run the island.”

Both Xavier and I stared at him in surprise. Things were changing fast. Though I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride over what was happening, I also couldn’t help but shudder at what was to come, because I knew without a shadow of a doubt that somewhere along the line, Derek was going to pay a very high price for the decisions he was making.

At that realization, I swore to myself that through it all, I would always be by his side.

Let the sandcastle collapse. In its place, I will build a fortress—one that the waves of nature and time could never destroy.

Just because he was the only man I knew deserving of it, I was determined to give Derek my forever.

CHAPTER 34: DEREK

To say that the vampires were adjusting to the new setup we had during council meetings was a huge understatement. The presence of Sofia, Gavin and Ian during council meetings was definitely making it hard for them to concentrate—especially Claudia who’d already had a taste of Gavin’s blood.

Even I had to admit that Sofia’s presence often made my mind wander off to multiple far off directions when it should have been concentrating on matters concerning The Shade.

Corrine wasn’t as much of a temptation, considering how most of us feared her too much to crave her, but she rarely ever attended the council meetings either.

I had already taken the place of my father as king of The Shade and occupied what used to be his seat at the dome. My former place was reserved for him as a show of respect, but he never showed up to any of the meetings either. As far as I knew he kept himself cooped up inside his penthouse, perhaps planning how to take me down.

Sofia took Vivienne’s seat. Though I could sense some resentment from several members of the Elite when it came to this move, they kept their mouths shut. After all, no one could question just how much of a voice Sofia had at The Shade. The fact that she was able to inspire a showing of protest the likes of which had never happened before, proved that she had a lot of sway among the human population—thus making her a force to be reckoned with on the island. After all, the fact that the humans greatly outnumbered us was a reality that wasn’t lost on any of The Shade’s vampires.

Gavin and Ian didn’t seem to have any issues or qualms taking their newly assigned positions as ambassadors for the Naturals. It was mostly the vampires that were finding it difficult to be around the two virile young men.

I couldn’t help but smile whenever I caught Claudia licking her lips every time she caught sight of Gavin. I could practically imagine the amount of self-control she needed to keep herself from devouring the lad.

During a particular council meeting, I was particularly finding amusement in Claudia’s discomfort after Gavin chose to sit right beside her. I was so distracted by it, I was barely paying attention to what Eli was saying as he took the stand.

It wasn’t until he cleared his throat and I saw Sofia looking over her shoulders at me that I finally snapped back to attention.

“What? What were you saying?” I asked, forcing myself to focus on Eli.

“I was saying that the chilling chambers are nearly empty of human blood,” Eli announced. “If we don’t get replenishments soon, we might just end up with another coup—this time, to overturn you.”

The Shade’s blood supply was, of course, the main point of contention at The Shade. I hated discussing the matter, because it felt like something I was incapable of finding a solution to. But it was an issue I couldn’t escape.

“Well, we’ve gone through this matter so many times before. Has anyone been able to offer up a solution?”

The silence was irritating.

“There must be a way,” Sofia spoke up to break the silence. “There are thousands of blood banks across the world. Could we not tap into that supply?”

“How, Sofia?” I snapped, sounding harsher than I intended to be. “How on earth are we going to do that?” I bit my lip when I saw a pensive look glaze her eyes. I didn’t mean to throw all my negative energy on her, but the pressure was on me and I was definitely feeling it.

I stared longingly at her, hoping to be able to steal some time away with her. Since the day of the coup, I’d hardly been alone in a room with her. In fact, we saw each other mainly during council meetings—to discuss matters of The Shade. The rest of the time, I was either overseeing military trainings, making sure that Gregor and Felix and all other vampires suspected to be loyal to my father were kept under close surveillance, verifying Sofia’s genealogical background and generally making sure that my rule at The Shade was secure. It helped that Corrine backed me up by making it known that should anyone overthrow my rule, she would break the spell keeping The Shade hidden.

Sofia, on the other hand, took on her new role as champion of the humans of The Shade in strides. With Gavin and Ian acting as her advisers, she was able to quickly get the pulse of the people in The Catacombs, and get a sense of what they needed. She was also kept busy by making sure that Paige and the rest of the people killed in The Catacombs were given proper memorials.

We were quite a team—Sofia and I, but the demands of the world around us was keeping us apart, stealing time we barely had to begin with away from us.

At that point, with her looking up at me, I found myself keenly aware of how much I missed her, how much I longed for her presence. Without really thinking about it, acting on mere impulse, I stood up and leapt over the steps landing on her level at the dome’s balcony. She looked up at me in surprise.

I grabbed her hand before looking at Eli, who was still in his place at the stand. “Eli, look into the possibility of tapping into blood banks’ supplies. I expect everyone to give Eli all the support he requires.”

“Of course, your high…” Eli paused mid-nod. I’d already requested that they stopped using the royal titles on me. King or not, I much preferred to be called by my own name. Only my father and brother really ever felt the need to use the titles in the first place.

“Sofia, come with me.”

“Where are we going?” she asked.

I couldn’t help but smile when I heard the hint of breathless excitement in her words. I knew without a doubt that she was excited to be with me too.

“Off to where I can have you to myself.”

I didn’t need to tell her where that was. We were off to the lighthouse.

CHAPTER 35: SOFIA

It felt like forever since we’d been in the lighthouse together, and though I was surprised by his impulsive urge to leave the dome and run off to the lighthouse with me, I was thrilled he did it. I missed him so much.

Before he could whisk me off to the Crimson Fortress and make the deadly hundred-foot leap that would lead us to his only sanctuary at The Shade, I requested that we make a stop at my quarters in The Catacombs. It’d been so long since I had Derek all to myself. I really wanted the next few hours to be special.

I wore a green, sleeveless dress that Ashley used to tell me highlighted my eyes. With it, I wore the necklace Derek gave me for my birthday.

The smile that lit up his face when he saw me was enough indication that he appreciated the gesture.

“You like it?” I asked timidly. I felt awkward asking the question, surprised that I was secure enough to believe that he would like me just the same if I were wearing an oversized t-shirt and pajamas.

“Yes,” he said. “Very much, but you know you don’t have to dress up for me, right?”

“I know, but I want to…I want to look good for you.”

He caught his breath and I couldn’t keep the smile from my face when he gently laid his hands on my waist and drew me closer. He’d been treating me like a fragile piece of porcelain ever since he told me that he wanted to do things right this time around, to treat me differently than he did the other women in his life. I missed his touch and I knew right then that I wanted to be with him. I wanted what he wanted—for us to find a way to stay together forever.

He kissed me on the forehead, then on my temple, on my cheekbone, on the corner of my lips, before claiming my mouth once again—wooing, alluring, coaxing. He was intoxicating me.

Tears came unbidden. I couldn’t stop them. When Derek realized I was crying, he immediately stepped back, afraid that he might’ve crossed some sort of boundary.

“I’m sorry. Sofia, did I…” He was doing a careful inspection of me, wondering what he could’ve done wrong.

I chuckled as I shook my head, tears still streaming down my eyes. “Just kiss me, will you, please?!”

Relief replaced the anxiety in his countenance. He was about to once again hold me and draw me close when confusion marred his features. “But why are you crying?”

I grinned as I wiped my tears away. “Please don’t force me to say something corny.” I giggled as I bridged the gap between us by lifting up on my tippy toes and letting my weight fall on him. I reached forward to press my lips over his, but he pulled his head back.

He scrutinized me before a smirk formed on his lips. “Something corny? Like what?”