A Blaze of Sun (A Shade of Vampire #5)(8)
Author: Bella Forrest

I made my way to the door and pulled it open just as Gavin was about to start banging on it once again. When he saw me, surprise registered in his eyes.

“Oh, it’s you. I didn’t know you were here.” He quickly recovered from his shock and walked right in.

I was expecting him to address Sofia, but was surprised to find him talking to me instead.

“It’s good you’re here though, because everyone’s looking for you.”

“What’s going on?” Sofia’s fists clenched as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “What happened?”

“They’re coming. The other covens are coming,” Gavin said grimly. “It’s war.”

Chills ran up my spine, accompanied by panic. This was the moment we’d all been preparing for, and yet, now that it had arrived, I couldn’t help but admit to myself that we were nowhere near prepared. As I ran off to what felt like absolute death, I forgot to do the most important thing: kiss my fiancée and assure her that everything was going to be alright.

If I hadn’t been too busy fearing for the fate of the island, I would’ve once again heard my mind echoing to me those familiar words: You’re being an absolute fool, Novak.

Chapter 3: Sofia

As I watched Derek speed away, my heart ached with disappointment. I wanted to hit myself over the head for being so stupid. We were at war. We could lose our lives any time and I was standing in the middle of that bedroom, feeling sorry for myself over missing a date with Derek.

“Sofia.” Gavin laid a hand over my shoulder. “Ian, Kyle and I are trying to round up humans from The Catacombs – anyone willing to assist the vampires in defending The Shade. Are you coming with us?”

I was about to nod, but then I caught sight of Vivienne, Derek’s twin sister, standing by my door, leaning on my doorpost. I was surprised to see her at a time like this.

Gavin shifted his eyes from me to Vivienne and then back. “I guess that’s a no…” he said, before rushing out of the room.

My eyes were set on Vivienne. The two of us had come a long way since the night of my seventeenth birthday when I was brought to The Shade. Vivienne had gone from referring to me as Derek’s “pawn” to Derek’s “queen.” There was a time when she had to transfer some of her memories to me. These memories were instrumental in reminding her of who she was after the hunters had brainwashed her.

“Vivienne?” I asked, not sure if I was pleased to see her.

Vivienne was a seer and often times, when she sought out a person, she rarely came bringing good news with her.

I stared at Vivienne, making a mental note of how ridiculous it was that we were both standing there, about to have a conversation while the island was under attack by other covens. “What can I do for you?”

She slowly walked inside my room and sat on the edge of my bed. It was as if she was unaware of everything going on in The Shade. “I told you that finding the cure is an absolute necessity. Has there been any progress?”

I stared at her, unsure of what to say. The Shade is falling apart and you came to ask about the cure? “Well, there’s no progress whatsoever, Vivienne, but I’m not going to give up…” I began feeling antsy. I stared at Vivienne and she seemed to have not a single worry over the fate of The Shade. What is wrong with you?

Vivienne took a deep breath. “I am so sick of all this war and bloodshed and revenge. I can’t wait until Derek actually finds true sanctuary. We need that cure.”

“Vivienne, you do know that The Shade is under attack at this very moment, right?”

She gave me a knowing glance and shrugged a shoulder nonchalantly. “I know.”

“Aren’t you worried?”

She shook her head. “No, not really.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“We’re going to win this one.”

I knew she was a seer, but I still wasn’t able to resist the urge to ask, “How could you be so sure that we’re going to win this war?”

She chuckled at my naiveté. “We’re going to win this particular battle, Sofia. Not the war. I’m not sure what will come of this war or even how it will end or if it will even end. I do know for certain that the war has just begun, and that the first victory… is ours.”

Chapter 4: Ingrid

I hate her. I hate Sofia.

The image of Borys lying dead on the floor was still fresh in my mind. I had no idea how they did it or how they could’ve outsmarted him, but they did and I felt like I was to blame. I knew that Vivienne and Sofia were Borys’ greatest weaknesses. He’d been pining for Vivienne for centuries. His obsession with her only subsided after Sofia came along and replaced Vivienne in his mind.

I relied too much on the women’s fear of him and his brute strength. I should’ve been aware that he would be weak against their manipulations, against their attempts to seduce him. I should’ve known.

But it’s too late now. He’s gone. And while I have my own part in his demise, it’s still Sofia I ought to blame.

My daughter was a plague I couldn’t escape from. She took everything away from me and I was determined to make her pay.

I was backed up in a corner of the cot they provided inside their dungeon, moonlight streaming from the small window above the cell, barred with UV rays. Consumed by my own dark thoughts, I shuddered when a freezing wind began to blow through my cell. The breeze was unlike anything I’d experienced before. I could sense power coming from it and when it hit my skin, it felt as if it were penetrating right through my flesh and bones. I began shivering as fear took over my senses. What is going on?

My eyes darted across the small space surrounding me. I couldn’t see anything. Suddenly, I was enveloped by pitch black darkness and all the moonlight that had been previously streaming through the small window somehow disappeared.

“Camilla…”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I recognized the voice. The voice was Borys’, but he never called me Camilla, especially after he turned me into a vampire. “Who are you?”

“Anybody you want me to be really…” the voice responded.

I could sense a presence near me, so I began waving my hands in front of me, but I felt nothing and saw nothing. “What do you want? How did you get here?”

“It doesn’t matter how I got here, but yes… we must discuss what I want.”

Another cold breeze swept through the room and I found myself crashing to the floor, balling myself up in a fetal position as I sensed the strange presence standing over me. Immediately, it sank into me that I was up against a powerful force I had no business messing with. “Please…” I begged. “I don’t want any trouble.”