As if The Shade not being protected by a spell wasn’t enough chaos to contend with, Yuri and Claudia showed up with an alarming announcement.

“The Shade is under attack.”

Chapter 21: Derek

I was overwhelmed beyond belief. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. Everyone present was looking to me for either direction or action and I had neither.

I stared at Vivienne’s sleeping form, hoping that I could somehow communicate with her. I never should’ve second-guessed her. I knew, however, that I needed to come up with a plan of action and I needed to do it fast.

Everything that was going on in The Shade was crashing down upon me. The Shade is no longer protected by the spell. That means that the hunters can now detect Aiden’s tracker. It also means that we need to finish the battle by sunrise. The battle. The Shade is under attack. My sister is under some sort of spell and Emilia has taken over The Sanctuary. What are you going to do, Novak?

“I’m going to The Sanctuary…” I announced.

Sofia nodded. “I am going with you.”

I shook my head at her and was about to tell her why when Xavier stepped forward, eyes narrowed at me.

“Derek, didn’t you hear? The Shade is under attack.”

“I know that,” I responded through gritted teeth, trying to reel in my temper. “Xavier, you and Cameron pretty much think the same way that I do when it comes to battle. Yuri and Claudia are more than capable of helping. Lead the battle. I need to deal with Emilia, because I’m pretty sure that she will refuse to deal with anyone else but me. We can’t afford to keep The Shade unprotected. Corrine is coming with me.”

Sofia was about to say something, but I shot a glare at her that made her quickly shut her mouth. I could tell that she was trying to be sensitive to the enormous pressure I was under. “Do you trust me, Sofia?”

She nodded. “Of course I do.”

“I want you by my side, but right now, I need you to go to your father. Tell the guards there that I’ve authorized his release. They will believe you. Get him to do everything he can to hold off the hunters. If the protective spell is gone, and I think that it is, I’m pretty sure they have The Shade’s location by now.”

She gave me a quick nod and assured me that she would be on it. I was about to leave, but I took a step back to assuage my fears. “Make sure you have one of the guards with you, Sofia, okay? At all times. Sam and Kyle… I need to know that you’ll be alright…”

Trying to secure myself in the knowledge that I had capable men and women going about the tasks that needed to be done, I grabbed a hold of Corrine’s hand and sped toward The Sanctuary. The moment we got there, I moved forward toward the door and found myself shocked to find an invisible force field blocking my entry.

“She’s blocking everyone out,” Corrine said, staring at the temple.

“Can’t you do anything about this?!” I didn’t want to lose my nerve in front of the one person who could possibly help us, but the panic was taking hold of me.

Corrine shook her head. “She’s more powerful than I am. A lot more powerful. I think she’s suppressing my powers.”

My fists clenched and every muscle in my body tensed. “Emilia! Emilia!” I began shouting the woman’s name out as if my life depended on it. Everything we worked for to build the kingdom was gone. With the spell lifted – if it was indeed lifted – I knew that I had to find another safe sanctuary for our coven. True sanctuary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. Where on earth am I going to hide a bloodthirsty vampire coven of this magnitude?

My breath hitched when Emilia emerged from The Sanctuary’s doors, a smile on her face, her eyes fixed on me.

“Hello, Derek,” she greeted.

I hated that even then, I could feel an almost magnetic attraction toward her. Images of what it would feel like to press my lips against hers began to invade my mind. I shook the thoughts away, thoughts I couldn’t allow myself to entertain. “What have you done?” I hissed at her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I know what’s going on in your mind, you know.” She nodded knowingly as she wet her lips suggestively.

I swallowed hard, horrified that she may have seen my mental images of her kissing me. To my relief, however, she quickly clarified exactly what she thought was running through my brain.

“You’re wondering if the protective spell over the island is still up.” She shook her head and slightly rolled her eyes. “It’s not.” She directed her gaze toward Corrine. “You did a good job keeping it up this whole time, Corrine.” She said the words with baffling fondness, almost as if she were a mother speaking approval to a child. “But your work is done. It’s time for The Shade to have a new witch.”

“And you think that’s you?” I spat out. Before I could say anything else, we heard a loud explosion and the ground shook beneath us.

“The Shade is falling apart, Derek,” Emilia stated the obvious, before shrugging one shoulder and pouting like a teenager. “I can put a stop to all of this, you know.”

“Then put a stop to it, Emilia…” My tone was controlled and calculated. I was facing a power far greater than my own and it was willing and capable of destroying everything that mattered to me. “What do you want?”

Her eyes settled on me, blazing with fire and with more intensity than I knew how to handle. She said, “You, Derek. I want you.”

Another round of explosions began to shake The Shade and I just stood there, not knowing what to say or do until Emilia motioned for me to come to her.

“We need to talk in private. I’m sure Corrine will understand.”

I cast a glance at Corrine, who looked perplexed. She was staring at Emilia as if she was some sort of rare mystical creature that we should be in awe of.

Corrine looked my way. “There’s something about her… Something oddly familiar… and utterly horrifying… Be careful, Derek. There’s much about her that we don’t know.”

I scowled. That doesn’t help at all. I made my way toward Emilia, bracing myself for what was to come. I walked toward The Sanctuary expecting to once again be pushed back by the force field, but then I got through. I looked back to find Corrine stepping forward in an attempt to follow me, but she was blocked by the force field.

“It’s just you and me now,” Emilia said, before gesturing with her finger, directing me to follow her inside.

I took one last look at Corrine, heaved a sigh and followed the young woman. The moment we were alone in the halls of The Sanctuary, I couldn’t help myself. I attacked her, pinning her against a wall, my claws sinking into her skin, right above her heart.

At the motion, Emilia simply leaned her head back against the wall and smiled at me. “Go ahead. Do it,” she challenged. “Let’s see if you have what it takes to murder me in cold blood.”

I knew without a doubt that she could’ve done something to hold me back, but she didn’t and that disturbed me. Why isn’t she fighting back?

“Don’t you think I saw the images that flashed through your mind the moment you laid eyes on me just a while back?” She smirked, before brushing her lower lip against my jaw. “You want me, Derek Novak. I know it and you know it.” She pressed her lips against mine and my mind started reeling. “You can have me you know. Sofia never has to know. I’ll be the witch of The Shade and we can all pretend that you’re still in love with her and that she’s your queen, but we’ll both know that we belong together, that you belong here with me, at The Sanctuary.”

I had no idea what was going on, but at that moment, it was as if I was losing my senses. All I could think about was Emilia and how beautiful she was and how much I desired her. When she kissed me full on the mouth, I didn’t do anything about it. I didn’t respond but I didn’t resist either. I just stood there, savoring the taste and feel of her lips and enjoying the way her body was pressed against mine. Still, my consciousness was ringing out in full alarm. This is wrong, Novak. Stop! Right now!

At some point, I gathered up enough will to pull away from her. I backed away from her as I wiped the taste of her lips away from mine. “I love Sofia. I belong to her.”

Anger flashed in Emilia’s eyes, fire burning with so much fury. I cowered at how menacing and intimidating she looked. “What has she done to get such loyalty from you?!”

“She doesn’t need to do anything.” I shook my head. “I love her. If you actually knew what love was, Emilia, you’d know that once you love a person, you remain loyal to them. Get it into your head that I am in love with Sofia and that there’s nothing you can do to change that?”

She began chuckling as she violently shook her head. “You’re wrong, Derek. You’re mistaken. You thought that she was the one that could help you lead your kind to true sanctuary, but look how that’s worked out. Look around you. Look at everything you worked for. It’s falling apart. Can she fix this?” Emilia once again shook her head to emphasize her point. “Sofia can’t fix this, but I can.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, fighting the urge to laugh. “Need I remind you, Emilia, that it is you who contributed to bringing this chaos upon The Shade? You’re simply asking me to believe that you can fix the mess you made.”

“So what if I created the mess? I merely exposed all the weaknesses of this place. What kind of ‘true sanctuary’ is it when only a single witch upholds it? You do realize that Corrine is the last of her bloodline? When she dies, who then will protect The Shade? This isn’t true sanctuary.”

I grimaced. Tell me something I don’t know. “Get to the point, Emilia. I’m getting tired of this banter. What do you want?”

“I can help you turn The Shade into a true sanctuary, Derek. Just like the prophecy said.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, unsettled by the things that she was saying. “What are you talking about?”