A Shade of Vampire (A Shade of Vampire #1)(23)
Author: Bella Forrest

I motioned to a guard to come stand near Sofia and then turned toward her. “You’re going to be alright?” I asked in a choked whisper.

She nodded. “Go.”

I entered Corrine’s chambers and she closed the door behind us.

Corrine began to busy herself in one area of the room, which based on the bottles and spices and little what-nots located there, seemed to be where she created her potions, or whatever it was that she did with her time. She gave me a quick glance and smiled, most likely sensing my impatience. “I must admit I didn’t see what you saw in her at first. I couldn’t understand what was so special about Sofia Claremont to make you so taken by her, but I get it now.”

I leaned forward, interested in what she had to say.

“I’m not certain, but I believe she has a condition that I would like to look into further. I’d like to have her come to me daily… It won’t take long. All I require is an hour or two a day.”

I didn’t fully trust the witch, but was intrigued by her sudden interest toward Sofia. “What condition?”

“It’s nothing to be concerned about. It’s nothing deadly or anything to worry over. If I’m right about her, however, then you’ve found yourself quite a catch in the young girl. There aren’t many like her.”

She was telling me what I already knew. I doubted that there was anyone at all like Sofia. Much as I wanted to hear more about this “condition” Sofia supposedly had, I was more concerned by the immediate matter at hand.

“Did she tell you who did it?”

“She claims not to remember.”

“Do you believe her?”

Corrine shook her head. “No. She’s too smart, too aware, not to remember. She’s protecting something… someone.”

“Why would she protect whoever did this?”

“Maybe it’s not her assailant that she’s protecting.” Corrine shrugged and stood to her full height, giving me an expression that meant business. “I suggest that you make sure she’s protected at all times. I also suggest that you not bombard her with questions about what happened. If she’s ready to tell you, I’m pretty sure she will. Stop forcing her to do things just because you’re the ruler of this bloody Kingdom and your word is law. Respect her by making her feel like she has a choice!”

I wanted to defend myself, tell Corrine that I never forced Sofia to do anything against her will, but I knew what Corrine was trying to say. I wasn’t exactly doling out pleases and thank yous Sofia’s way either. I spoke to her in orders and commands, taking advantage of her obvious fear of me to make her cooperate. I kept convincing myself that I saw humans as equal if not superior to vampires, yet I didn’t exactly treat Sofia as an equal. I treated her just as everyone else in the Blood Shade did – a captive, a slave.

I gave Corrine a long look before nodding. “Thank you. She’ll be back tomorrow…” I headed for the door and paused just before twisting the knob open. “That is, if she wants to.”

I could sense the witch’s smile – a show of approval perhaps. “Have a good day, Derek.”

CHAPTER 21: SOFIA

The moment our eyes met, he looked away, almost as if he were embarrassed over something. It was actually… cute – a word I never thought I’d use to describe Derek Novak. As we walked back to the Pavilion, he remained silent, deep in thought, never even looking my way.

“You said that you wanted to teach me how to defend myself…” I eventually said, breaking the silence, detesting the wall that seemed to be building up between us.

“Yes,” he nodded. He then paused as if to catch himself. “But if you don’t want to…”

I frowned. Since when does he care what I want? I decided not to make a fuss over it.

“I want to.”

The heaviness in our conversation was weighing on me. I wanted to go back to how comfortable and light and casual our interactions were before things took a turn for the worse. Before Lucas happened. I was still shaken, still afraid of what Lucas was capable of, but dwelling on woes really wasn’t one of my strong suits. It was one of Ben’s major influences on me. He never allowed me to dwell on self-pity. So I slipped my hands into Derek’s, getting used to how cold it was, hoping to let him know that what happened didn’t change my view of him.

“I’d like it if you let the other girls join in too,” I suggested, squeezing his hand.

The gesture seemed to lighten his mood a bit. His shoulders relaxed as he gave me a fond look.

“Of course.” He nodded.

He then stopped walking and took both my hands in his. He heaved a sigh. It seemed like he was weighing every word he spoke carefully.

“I’m thinking that you should start sleeping in my chambers from now on.”

I was taken aback. Then a teasing smile crept over my lips.

“Don’t you think we’re moving a little too fast?”

I joked, squinting an eye at him. I was making fun of his proposal, but the truth was that I had quite a handful of reservations about being in the same bedroom – much more the same bed – with a blood-sucking vampire.

He gave me a funny look, perhaps wondering if he should take me seriously or not.

“I mean it, Sofia. I understand you have reservations, but I promise I won’t try anything with you. I just want to make sure that you’re safe.”

I really made a conscious effort to keep my jaw from dropping. Was he actually asking for my consent? He wasn’t just ordering me to sleep in his bed? Have we gone past the no questions asked because his oh-so-royal word was the say all and be all of my entire existence? I gave it some thought. The idea of even going back to my bedroom at the penthouse sickened me. I wasn’t sure if I trusted Derek enough to keep his word and not actually try to jump me, but then the alternative of being alone in a room, and the chance of once again having Lucas climb into my bed in the middle of the night was a far less attractive option.

I nodded and looked up into those bright blue eyes of his.

“I can trust you, can’t I, Derek?”

The expression on his face and the way he responded was enough to tell me that he wasn’t taking the situation lightly.

He nodded. “Yes, Sofia. You can.”

In the days that followed, he proved his words true. Derek never did anything or even said anything that would violate my trust. It seemed he took extra care in making sure that I wanted to do what he was asking me to do, but that really was the major difference. He actually began to ask. It seemed so unlike him at first… almost unnatural, but as time passed, we became a lot more used to having each other around. Or at least I did.