A Castle of Sand

“My thoughts exactly,” Gavin agreed. “Sofia is far too loyal to The Shade or perhaps more to you.” He gestured toward me.“To leave The Shade out of her own accord.”



“The arrival of the human boy…this friend of hers…changes everything and we know it.” Felix frowned. “He might have been working with Lucas all along and they might have been communicating with Claudia and Gregor.”



“You’re Gregor’s right hand man, Felix,” Gavin butted in. “Don’t you know what he’s been up to?”



Felix frowned. It was clear to see that the fact that my father made a move without his knowledge wasn’t something that he was entirely pleased with.



“Why would Claudia turn her back on us?” Xavier spoke up, ignoring Felix entirely.



“I know Claudia has several scores to settle with you,” Yuri spoke up, looking at me with a hint of accusation. “You took Ben from her, you had her punished simply for defying you, then you shortened her sentence after sleeping with her. Does that sum up all the things that would give her a reason to hold a grudge against you?”



I grimaced. Claudia may not be the most shining example of a good-hearted vampire, but I had to admit that neither was I, and it was true that I’d wronged her in the worst possible way when I visited her cell and ended up sleeping with her. I knew immediately that I’d made a mistake when I told her that I’d shorten her sentence. I regretted it, and I regretted never apologizing to her properly for it.



I looked Yuri in the eye. “I never intended to sleep with her. It happened, and I offered to shorten her sentence without thinking it through. I should’ve apologized.”



“Well, it’s too late now, isn’t it?” Yuri narrowed his eyes at me.



“I wronged Claudia and I’m sorry for that, but make no mistake about it, Yuri, I will make her pay for what she has done.”



Yuri’s eyes saddened. He’d always stood as Claudia’s protector for as long as I could remember. I always wondered if he actually held true love for Claudia. I knew him well enough, however, to be secure that his loyalty to me far outweighed whatever feelings he held for the beautiful blonde.



“Regardless of Claudia’s reasons for betraying Derek and thereby, betraying us all, the fact still remains that we have no idea where they are,” Liana butted in. “Besides, that’s not the point. If Sofia was taken against her will, then yes, we really do have to find her, but if she went out of her own accord…”



Cameron straightened in his seat, clearly bothered as he finished his wife’s sentence, “Then finding Sofia is the least of our worries. There’s nothing stopping Ben from betraying us to the hunters and having The Shade blown up.”



“Sofia did not leave out of her own choice. I’m certain of it.” I tried to push back any doubts. I hated the feeling of not trusting her.



“Well then, we’re going round in circles. Truth of the matter is that I think they’re at The Oasis.” Xavier shrugged. “Where else would Lucas run off to? I think they sought sanctuary there.”



I thought about what Lucas could possibly be putting Sofia through and I found myself fighting the urge to break someone’s neck. I fought back tears, sickened by the idea of my beloved being in any kind of pain. The additional thought that she could be within Borys Maslen’s territory was even worse.



A knock at the dome’s large oak doors momentarily interrupted any responses anybody present could’ve given to Xavier’s statement.



The doors swung open and I could make out Sam standing outside the dome. “Sir, Miss Natalie Borgia is here,” he announced.



I straightened up in my seat. “Let her in.”



The beautiful diplomat strode inside with grace and dignity. “Natalie,” I acknowledged as she took the stand.



She swallowed hard as she nodded her head toward me in response. She didn’t seem comfortable with the message she was about to give me. “I have a message for Derek Novak from Borys Maslen and Sofia Claremont.”



Murmurs were exchanged throughout the dome. I gulped as Natalie left the stand and climbed up toward the balcony in order to hand me the letter.



“I’m sorry,” she said quietly before turning and once again taking her place at the stand.



I stared at the envelope, dreading what it could possibly contain. I swallowed hard as I opened it. No words could explain what I felt upon seeing the wedding invitation. I let out a deep growl.



“Derek…” Natalie knew me well enough to know when something was tearing me apart. We’d had our fair share of memories together. She heaved a deep sigh. “I was told to let you know that you are to go alone. Any vampire from this coven seen stepping anywhere near the desert will be shot down. Only you are to go there if you want to see her.”



“What is it?” Xavier rose to his feet, taking a place at the stand. “What’s going on?”



“See for yourself.” I threw the invitation his way.



He caught it with both hands. His eyes widened. “Oh my…”



“What? What is it?” Gavin asked as everyone looked curiously at the message.



Xavier looked up at me. “It’s an invitation for one to Sofia and Borys’ wedding.”



“Derek,” Liana spoke up. “You realize this is a trap, don’t you?”



“It doesn’t matter.” I shook my head. “If Sofia is in the Maslens’ hands, I have to go to her. There’s no other way.”



“But what about The Shade?” With all the noisy murmurs and mild commotion going on, I didn’t even recognize who was asking questions anymore.



“Cameron, Liana, Xavier and Eli are more than capable of working together to run the island while I’m away.”



“Derek, you’re seriously considering this?” Xavier seemed apprehensive.



“You of all people are aware of what Borys is capable of,” I told him. “You know what he did to Vivienne. Borys will break and ruin Sofia.”



“Sofia is stronger than we’ve given her credit for,” Cameron spoke up and I knew immediately that what he was saying was true. “Maybe she will find her way out of there by herself and back here.”



I smirked. “Yeah…maybe…maybe she can, but I’m not going to hang the fate of the woman I love on maybes, Cameron. I’m not going to just sit here and allow that shameless brute to have his way with Sofia.”



“So you’re actually going to The Oasis?” Liana verified.



I nodded. “I wouldn’t miss Sofia’s wedding for the world.”



CHAPTER 47: SOFIA



It felt like days since I was brought to The Oasis. I hadn’t seen Borys since our first meeting—something I was immensely grateful for. The only vampires from The Oasis I’d seen then were the two guards they sent to keep watch over me and the women who came to take my measurements and do the fittings for my wedding gown.



To my relief, they kept Ben inside my room, but he wasn’t supposed to talk to me much, and the guards strictly warned us that he was not to touch me. Apparently, Borys made it some sort of law that no man would be allowed to lay a hand on me until the day of our wedding.



“He wants you pure,” the guard explained.



I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of a demented lunatic Borys Maslen really was.



“Doesn’t the idea of marrying him just make you sick?” Ben wrinkled his nose, as he sat on the edge of the bed next to me. He said the question in a low voice so that the guards wouldn’t hear.



“All I can think about is escaping. I haven’t even really let the possibility of being his wife sink in. It’s too horrible a thought to be with anyone other than Derek.” I bit my lip, wondering for a moment if I was being insensitive toward Ben, knowing how he felt toward me.



I was relieved to find him nodding as he eyed the guards warily. “Yeah…I’ve stopped thinking of you ending up with anybody else other than Derek, but…I can’t see how we’ll escape this place alone. We’re hundreds of feet below ground, and these two nuts are always around.”



I blew out a sigh as I eyed the two guards standing nearby. During the time we’d spent there, we’d gotten more information—mostly from the women dolling and dressing me up—about what exactly The Oasis was. I tried chatting the two guards up, but I quickly found out that they were thoroughly lacking in personality—completely unlike Sam and Kyle, who’d always been more than willing to exchange witty banter.



Their presence made both Ben and I uncomfortable because of the way we would catch them staring and licking their lips whenever they laid eyes on me. They weren’t subtle in showing how much they were craving me, and based on the way I saw Derek black out and attack Gavin, I knew that if these vampires suddenly flipped out, neither Ben nor I had any defense against them.



I suddenly heard a knock at the door. My stomach fluttered when I realized who it was. Ingrid. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around her being my mother. Questions whirled within my mind, questions I wasn’t even sure I wanted to hear the answers to.



The guards quickly made way for her and she walked into the room with grace and elegance. She stopped near the end of my bed and gave Ben a pointed look.



“So it’s you that my daughter has been hiding with all these years.”



Ben sneered at her. “So it’s you who abandoned Sofia all these years. For what? So you could become Borys Maslen’s baby…”



“You’re going to regret saying that, boy.” She tilted her head to the side. “You obviously mean something to my daughter, so I’ll let that go for now.” She walked toward us—toward me and stopped right in front of me. She used a finger to lift my chin so she could take a good look at me. I turned my eyes away from her. I found myself recoiling from her touch.



“I did not abandon you, Sofia. Your father kept you away from me. I’ve been looking for you all these years.”