A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire #3)(42)
Author: Bella Forrest

“Hi. Is this Natalie Borgia?”

“Perhaps. Who’s calling?”

“Ben Hudson. You were calling my home, trying to get in touch with me?”

“Finally,” she said. “I have a message for you.”

“A message?”

“Yes. From Lucas Novak. Does the name ring a bell?”

That’s when the name finally clicked. Natalie Borgia. She was mentioned in one of our training lectures. She was one of the oldest known vampires existing. She was a rogue, not belonging to any covens. Catching her would make for a king’s ransom. Every vampire coven would be clamoring for her. What on earth did she or Lucas Novak want with me?

“Hello?” she cleared her throat. “You still there?”

“Yes. Lucas Novak? What does the prince of The Shade want?”

“He wants to help you get to The Shade.”

“Why on earth would he do that?”

“He wants to separate Sofia Claremont from his brother. He wants her out of The Shade and he believes only you can help him do that. He will arrange transport for you. Of course, you won’t know how to reach the island. Its location must remain protected.”

“What kind of fool would I be to trust Lucas Novak? Or you for that matter?”

“Lucas says that he knows where your family lives…”

My jaw tensed at this blatant threat. “Look, whoever you are…If Lucas…”

“Hey, Ben…” she interrupted me calmly. “I don’t care about whatever it is that Lucas Novak is up to. I’m just a messenger. Don’t shoot me. What message do you want me to relay to him?”

I gave it a moment’s thought. Before I could completely think things through, I went with my impulse. “Fine. I’ll do what he says, but I have my terms.”

“And those terms would be?”

“I keep Sofia.”

“Interesting. I’ll let him know. I’ll be in touch with you, Ben Hudson.” Natalie chuckled, and then hung up.

The only thought on my mind was whether or not to kill Lucas Novak while I had the chance. And for some reason, I realized that I didn’t want to. I wondered why. After the things he’d put Sofia through, I knew he deserved to die. As I mulled over it late into the night, I realized the reason behind my willingness to spare his life.

Lucas Novak was the only chance I had to get to Sofia.

CHAPTER 33: SOFIA

What we were doing was suicide and I knew it, and I think every other human insane enough to join in on our “stand” knew that they could die for what they were doing, but we did it nonetheless.

On the day of the culling, the whispers of our stand passed on through word-of-mouth like wildfire across every single one of the thousands of cells within The Catacombs. The message was simple: Tomorrow, there will be a culling. Make a stand against this and guard the entrance to the Black Heights.

Gavin visited my quarters earlier. We exchanged glances and gave each other a weak smile.

“You sure you’re up for this?” he asked.

“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life,” I told him.

“What’s the prince going to think?”

“I think he will love me still.”

After I returned to my quarters from the meeting with the rebels the night before, I found Ashley waiting there for me. We shared an embrace and a couple of tears. She apologized for not having visited sooner. She was afraid of her own cravings and what she could possibly do to me and the girls. She wished now that she’d come earlier. Rosa arrived with Gavin. She remained silent, visibly shaken. She and Paige had been very close. I found myself at a loss for words when it came to trying to console Rosa. It seemed Ashley felt the same way.

I eventually asked how Derek was and Ashley assured me that he was recovering, though he was still mostly unconscious. I wondered what he would think if he found out what I was up to. I asked Ashley to let him know that I loved him.

“Do you want me to let him know what exactly you’re getting yourself into?”

I gave it a moment’s thought and nodded. “I think he knows where I stand. I think he knew that, by telling me about the culling, something like this would happen. We love each other, but I guess this is just us fighting our own battles.”

“You really are a piece of work, Sofia Claremont.”

The next morning, as Gavin and I made our way to the opening of the Black Heights, I wasn’t exactly feeling like “a piece of work.”

“What if nobody shows up?” I asked Gavin.

“Ian will.” He shrugged as we descended one of the ladders.

I had to chuckle. “So that makes three of us?”

“Nah…” Gavin assured. “People will show up, Sofia. Don’t worry your pretty little head over nobody showing up. Give the Naturals more credit than that.”

I wanted to ask him how he was so sure, but I figured it might just be him trying to reassure himself. When we reached the entrance to the Black Heights, it seemed our fears were unfounded, because thousands of Naturals already stood at the cave entrance, in silent protest against the culling.

We didn’t have any weapons, no means whatsoever to fight against the vampires—who were in every way more powerful than us, but winning wasn’t our objective. We didn’t have any delusions about actually being able to stop the culling. It was just the Naturals coming together to make a stand against a blatant massacre of their own loved ones.

We saw Ian approaching us. “I can’t believe this many people showed up…” I confessed, still stunned by the sheer number of people standing there, protesting the culling.

“Did you really think you’re the only one crazy enough to stand for the lives of people you love?” Ian teased before his eyes fell and lingered on a lone figure coming out of the Black Heights—Anna.

From the way he was looking at her, I knew immediately that they had an untold story—most likely too tragic and heartbreaking to hear. I gently brushed a hand over his shoulder.

“She was beautiful,” Ian said breathlessly. “She still is, but it wasn’t just physically. She was one of those rare beauties who are just as beautiful inside as they are outside. She was a gentle soul who loved people and who loved life. She was vibrant, smart and kind…”

“Many have been destroyed by The Shade,” I muttered, my own thoughts on Ben, Gwen, Paige and the many innocents ruined by the island.

From just one look at the young men I was with, one could already easily surmise that the embers burning within them were now a full-on fire, ready to set ablaze anything that came in their way. They’d had enough and it seemed thousands of others shared their sentiments.