“My father made laws that I cannot defy, but if Sofia is to stay here, I will not have her live like a pauper. Not while I’m prince of the island and commander of its army.”

“I understand that, Derek.” The brunette nodded as she planted her hands on her hips and took several deep breaths. “There’s really nothing any of us can do if you demand that this be done, but do you realize that this will only earn Sofia the other human citizens’ ire? She’s a Migrate, for crying out loud. To give her such lavish treatment is a slap in the face to those who’ve been loyal Naturals for generations!”

“They know who she is to me. I will have the head of anyone who dares lay a hand on her.”

“Does she know about this?”

I shook my head. “I want it to be a surprise. A birthday gift.”

“Derek, are you still so naive when it comes to what kind of person Sofia is?”

My ears stung at her words, but I was unrelenting. I ran my hand through my hair in frustration as I responded to the witch. “What would you have me do, Corrine? Would you have me just send her there, living in the same dire conditions as the rest of them?”

“If you help improve the living conditions of all the humans there, then she wouldn’t have to!”

“That action could turn all the vampires against me. Everything I do for Sofia puts me and her in danger against the other vampires. If I start siding with the humans…” my voice trailed off, refusing to think of the implications. “Are you going to get this done or not, Corrine?”

Her shoulders sagged in resignation as she looked at me from head to foot, not bothering to hide her disdain. “It’s not like I have a choice in the matter.”

And thus, it was done. It took barely a week until everything was set up exactly the way I had specified. Her quarters were composed of a master bedroom, two guest rooms, a living area, a kitchen and a dining area.

It wasn’t until everything was in order that I brought the girls—after having Corrine and the guards effectively distract Sofia—to the refurbished quarters. While Paige and Rosa were busy exploring the rooms, I stood beside Ashley, knowing that she would never withhold the truth from me.

“What do you think?” I asked.

Ashley crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “It’s gorgeous. I’m sure she’ll love it,” she replied flatly.

“That’s really what you think?”

“I mean it when I say that the place looks incredible. I’m astounded at how quickly it was finished, but how many people were kicked out of this space in order to make room for Sofia? Have you even looked around The Catacombs, Derek? Half of the levels barely have electricity and you wiped out families from half of the one level that has stable electricity.”

I gave Ashley the same reason I gave Corrine. Sofia chose to live in The Catacombs. She chose this fate. I wasn’t about to stand by and just watch her live an impoverished life while I enjoyed the comforts of my extravagant treetop villa.

“I can’t just let Sofia live the way they do. If any of the people here have a problem with this, then they can take it up with me.”

“You really do love her, don’t you?”

I was surprised to hear softness in Ashley’s voice. It was the first time I could remember her talking to me in a tone that was free from spite.

“I feel like I’m losing her,” I admitted, surprised that I would divulge something as private as that to Ashley. I realized at that moment that without Sofia, Ashley never could’ve been safe around me. She couldn’t stand in that living room with me without danger of me completely destroying her. I found myself wondering why, in spite of the constant thirst for her, the temptation to feed on her wasn’t as all-consuming as it was before. Love is a powerful force, I told myself.

“She left everything for you. How on earth could you lose her?”

“Time is our enemy.”

I took a good look at the young woman standing before me. I wasn’t blind to her beauty. Some could even say that the former cheerleader was fairer to the eye than Sofia, but she wasn’t the girl I loved. Still, I knew she deserved happiness—something that The Shade had stolen from her.

“I’m sorry for everything I put you through, Ashley. I truly am.”

“Water under the bridge…” Ashley shrugged and shook her head.

My eyes narrowed at her. “You’re a hunter,” I reminded her, the memory of the hawk tattoo on her lower back coming to mind. “Why on earth would you want to turn into one of us, the very thing you wanted to completely eradicate?”

“You used to be a hunter too, right? I saw the tattoo on your back. Yet here you are…”

“That’s different. I wasn’t given a choice when I was turned. You’re choosing to be one of us. Why?”

She was silent but a moment as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Because I don’t ever want to feel powerless again… I don’t want to feel like I don’t have a choice.” She paused, her gaze distant. “More than that, I envy what you and Sofia have. I want to have that too…with Sam.”

I almost choked at her statement. “Sam?”

She looked at me with panic-stricken eyes. “You’re not going to tell anyone, are you? Only Kyle and Eli know how I feel for Sam…not even the girls know…not even Sofia!”

I was having trouble wrapping my mind around the whole thing. I knew of her closeness to both Kyle and Sam, but I had no idea that she’d also developed a bond with the island’s resident scholar, Eli Lazaroff, who along with his brother Yuri, were part of the island’s Elite. I’d been sending Ashley to Eli for a while so she would divulge everything she knew about the hunters’ operations.

“What do you think you’re doing, Ashley? Are you on some sort of quest to divulge your deepest secret to every male vampire on this island?”

She hit me lightly on the shoulder and pouted in that strange way teenage girls have a habit of doing. “Shut up.”

“You’re one of the craziest people I’ve ever met,” I teased. “That’s saying a lot, considering how long I’ve been alive.”

“Come on…the four hundred years you spent snoring doesn’t count.” She scowled at me.

“I don’t snore.”

“M-hm…can you get Sofia to vouch for that?”

I paused before changing the subject. “Look, Ashley, if you want to be with Sam, why do you want Kyle to turn you?”

“Well, Kyle’s like a protective older brother to me. I’m not sure about the rules on the island, and you made it sound like whoever turns me becomes my family.”

“What?! I never said anything like that.”

“You told me that if you turned me, I was going to be Ashley Novak!”

Hard as I tried, I couldn’t hold back the laughter. The look in her eyes was too precious, the secret she’d just divulged too sacred. Her face deadpanned as she watched me try to hold back the snickers.

“I’m so screwed.”

“Seriously…I’m just surprised that you would entrust me with information on this schoolgirl crush of yours.” Sam was in his mid-twenties when he got turned. I honestly doubted that he saw Ashley as anything other than a sister.

Before Ashley could react to my statement, Paige and Rosa stepped in.

“Could we please go now?” Ashley stomped a foot. “His highness has once again proven to be the most irritating creature on earth.” She began to walk toward the doorway.

Paige and Rosa exchanged knowing glances, smiles forming on their faces. As they followed their friend out, brushing past me, I could hear both girls mutter, “What’s new?”

CHAPTER 9: SOFIA

The moment Derek stepped into the penthouse, I began tapping my foot on the hardwood floor, showing him my impatience. I crossed my arms over my chest, before demanding, “What’s going on, Derek? You’ve been acting really strangely lately.”

Since Ashley announced that she was going to be a vampire and the subject of my eighteenth birthday was broached, it was almost as if Derek had been avoiding me.

He was barely ever home. I was asleep by the time he arrived and he was gone when I woke up. He kept me busy with either the girls or the guards and when I began questioning him about it, he gave me a string of words that barely constituted a decipherable answer before sending me to Corrine.

I wondered if it had something to do with my birthday, if he was concocting some sort of elaborate surprise. For a few days, that appeased me. Still, as far as I was concerned, it didn’t excuse how aloof he was being toward me. At a certain point, I just about gave up trying to figure him out. I wasn’t much of a fan of surprises when I was the one being surprised—even more so when I was left out of the preparations for the surprise. I told him that, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to him.

Derek took a quick look at me, before diverting his eyes elsewhere. “I’m tired,” was all he said, his voice cold and calculated.

“This is your way of making it up to me?” I took a couple of quick steps forward in order to block him from walking off toward his bedroom. That was another thing that had changed since that day. He’d moved me out of his bedroom. It left me utterly confused, but I obliged. A succinct “it’s better this way” was the only explanation I received from him.

He tried to side-step me, but I blocked his way once more, staring him down. “I don’t care if you’re tired. You’re immortal. I’m tired of you avoiding me.”

“I’m not avoiding…”

“Yes. You are. You can’t just walk away from me. Not again.”

His shoulders sagged and he looked at me with longing. I couldn’t help but feel butterflies inside my stomach at the sight of those blue eyes on me. It seemed I could never really get used to the powerful effect his mere presence had on me.