A Gate of Night (A Shade of Vampire #6)(17)
Author: Bella Forrest

“You don’t.”

I frowned, taken aback by the bluntness. “What do you want from me? Why would you want to help me? What is The Sanctuary?”

“I came to get you out of here. I don’t want to help you. I just know that I have to. You’ll discover what The Sanctuary is if you come with me.”

“I’m not leaving without my wife.”

“You have to. If you stay here, mark my words, child, you will die. They won’t harm Sofia. They need her. You, on the other hand…”

I wasn’t used to being called a child, but if she was as her name implied, a five-hundred-year-old man was indeed a child compared to her.

“I can’t leave Sofia here.”

“You have a better chance of helping her outside of The Blood Keep than inside where they can torture you and make your powers regress.”

“Huh? Powers?” My breath hitched as I tried to comprehend the words she was speaking.

“Your ignorance is astounding.” She huffed impatiently. “Are you coming or not?”

“Where are we going?”

“The Sanctuary.”

I only knew of one Sanctuary—the witch’s temple back at our island kingdom. I definitely saw the benefit of returning there, where I had forces to command to free Sofia from the Elder’s grasp.

“Sanctuary? You mean at The Shade?”

She scoffed at the notion. “No, child. The true Sanctuary.”

I saw no other choice. Kiev would end my life if I stayed there. I was more useful to Sofia alive, though weak, than dead.

The moment I nodded, the Ageless grabbed my hand and within seconds, I was no longer at The Blood Keep.

I opened my eyes only to be blinded by a radiant sun. Once I had adjusted to the sudden change of lighting, I realized I was situated on the top floor of a towering building, standing on a broad white-marble verandah, overlooking a magnificent—almost ethereal—city.

A gentle breeze brought with it the fragrance of exotic flowers. For as far as my eye could travel, pure white architecture sprawled beneath me, with domed roofs studded with gems, glistening in the sunlight. The buildings were surrounded by lakes and green pastures. Not far in the distance came the crash of water. My gaze fell upon the crown of a waterfall, gushing down into a lush valley. An elegantly crafted bridge hung across the basin, allowing for passage.

One look at my surroundings and I could understand why anyone would call it true sanctuary.

Chapter 13: Aiden

Tense and irritated, I stood on one side of the large room they kept the rogue vampire in. I was infuriated that the witch and the vampire princess could go on and on about Derek with little thought to my daughter.

It’s not that they don’t care about Sofia. Stop taking things too personally, a voice of reason said, while the greater part of me was screaming, How can I not take it personally? This is my only daughter whose life is on the line!

Vivienne began tapping her foot on the marble floor in an attempt to control her temper. “Corrine said that they want the immunes. Sofia’s life is not in immediate danger. Derek’s is.”

“We don’t know what they want her for, Vivienne! Who knows what they can do to her?”

She glared at me and I began to wonder if I preferred this feisty leader to the mousy and pliable version of her that had existed not long ago. “I understand that, Aiden, but what would you have me do?” She spoke the words slowly, as if she was speaking to a child.

“Don’t patronize me, Novak. We both know that you do not scare me one bit. So don’t try to intimidate me either.” I groaned. “We’re getting nowhere. We’re on the same side, are we not?”

“What do you think we should do about Derek? Do you agree to a trade?” Xavier butted in.

I mulled it over before shaking my head. “Opening the portal to a realm of original vampires seems like welcoming more trouble than we can handle. I think our best option is to ignore their trade proposal and just try to get both Derek and Sofia back. Of course, it’s likely these Elders will try to open the portal anyway—with or without my daughter and son-in-law as bargaining chips.”

“I agree with Aiden.”

Arron. He was standing in the open doorway, looking more relaxed than all of us combined.

“There will be no trade. We cannot allow for the portal to be opened so easily.” Arron said the words with a finality that was hard to ignore. “We’re going to have to rescue Derek and Sofia from The Blood Keep. That’s our only option.”

“Are you mad?” Xavier eyed Arron from head to foot, wrinkling his nose in disgust. “We don’t even know where The Blood Keep is!”

“Why would we even bother, Arron?” Zinnia stood up, her pretty face twisting with confusion. “Why should we care what happens to them? With Derek and Sofia taken, The Shade is without its ruler. We can do whatever we want with it.”

Vivienne grimaced. “Silence this little fool before I rip her throat out and bleed her dry.”

“Let’s not get feisty,” Arron drawled. “Zinnia is not privy to a lot of our organization’s inner workings. The reasons are way above your pay grade, Zinnia, but right now, it is the hawks’ priority to get Derek and Sofia as far away from the Elder as possible.”

“How do you propose to do that, hunter?” Vivienne tilted her head to the side. “Do you know where The Blood Keep is?”

Corrine, who’d been silent the whole time, placed her cup on a wooden table. The thud diverted our attention to her.

“What’s on your mind, Corrine? What do you think of all this?”

“Well, princess, I do have a way of finding out where The Blood Keep is.” She eyed Arron from head to foot. “I don’t trust him, but it seems to be the only recourse you have. At least, for once, you hunters and vampires actually agree.”

I turned toward Natalie. “What did the Elder say about how we’re to negotiate with them?”

“All I know is that they want the portal opened in exchange for Derek.”

Xavier shook his head. “Vivienne, you can’t seriously be considering not accepting the trade. Our number one priority is to make sure Derek is safe. Our loyalty is to him. The trade is the easiest way to ensure that he won’t be harmed.”

“Of course you’d be willing to have the portal opened,” Zinnia muttered. “Why wouldn’t you want more vampires coming in to help you?”