If I thought Lucas could be beautiful, Vivienne was even more stunning to behold. She was a couple of inches shorter than her brother, but had the same dark hair and pale complexion. Her eyes, however, were different. Against the light in the room, her eyes almost looked violet, with hints of deep purple.
She was eyeing me warily, as if I was a heavy burden that she had to bear.
“Thank you,” I told her, genuinely meaning it even though I had no idea what she had in store for me.
There was a deadpan expression on her face as she looked at me.
“Understand, girl, that you are nothing here. You’re nothing but a pawn, a piece used to make the board move. Your best chance at survival and proving your significance is to win Derek’s affections. Considering everything I know about my brother, I’m not sure that’s even possible.”
Her words dealt my hope a final crushing blow. She made it perfectly clear that wherever this place called the Blood Shade was, I had no allies. No friends. I had only myself to rely on. That, I thought, was the most frightening aspect of my predicament. After all, how could I rely on someone whom I couldn’t trust?
****
The moment my eyes shot open, I could hear everything, smell everything, feel everything within at least a quarter mile radius around me. I was sure that the sensation alone would bring my body into complete shock, until my vision settled on a familiar face. The woman I had trusted enough to provide my escape from everything.
“Cora?”
It was strange. The last thing I remembered was Cora’s face as I’d faded off into slumber. It felt like I had only slept for a few moments before being jolted awake. I wondered if something had gone wrong with the spell.
Looking at the witch, I couldn’t help but wonder how it was possible that she looked younger. I found my answer when the buxom beauty with light brown skin and long, cascading locks of chestnut hair shook her head.
“I’m not Cora. I’m Corrine.”
I lifted myself up from the slab of stone that served as my resting place…for how long, I could only muse. I took in my surroundings - I was in a candlelit hall with marble floors and giant pillars. The first word that came to mind when I surveyed the place was sanctuary.
I eyed the young woman I was alone in the room with, wary of her intentions. It took a moment for her strange clothes to register.
I became aware of how I was dressed and realized that perhaps more time had passed than I initially thought. At that point, it didn’t really matter.
The bottom line was that I wasn’t supposed to wake up. Ever.
Contemptuous that I would wake when I so explicitly asked to be given an escape from which I would never wake, I shouted a command as prince of the Blood Shade.
“I want to see Cora. Bring her to me.”
I hated the authoritative tone my voice naturally took on. Who was I to issue commands? I was no prince – much less the savior Vivienne painted me to be.
The prophecy she spoke soon after we were turned into vampires immediately haunted me as I recalled it.
The younger will rule above father and brother and his reign alone can provide his kind true sanctuary.
I still remember the look on Vivienne’s face when she uttered those words. More than that, I saw the expressions of my father and brother. Resentment.
I snapped myself out of the bout of nostalgia I was sinking into and raised a brow at the woman before me. Why isn’t she moving? I was surprised by my own indignation at the idea of her not immediately jumping on my order.
Despite my misgivings about ruling, I wasn’t used to others not obeying me. After a hundred years of fighting for survival and leading my coven to the Blood Shade, I’d grown accustomed to being revered and followed.
I wasn’t sure I liked that about myself, but it was what it was.
“Would you like us to dig her grave up, your highness? I doubt her corpse will do much good to clarify whatever questions you have in mind.”
I grimaced. Your highness. A reminder of the day my father took to heart the coven’s silly notion to establish himself as king of the Blood Shade.
However, the title did not bother me as much as the news of Cora’s demise and this young woman’s manner of addressing me. I swallowed hard as I grabbed the edges of the stone slab I was then sitting on.
The sensations coursing through my veins made it clear exactly what my body was crying for at the moment. Blood. I was famished for blood. Another bitter reminder of the past I meant to escape when I gave the witch permission to put a sleeping curse on me.
Desperate to divert my thoughts to other matters, I shifted my gaze toward Corrine.
“Who are you?”
“I’m the witch of the Blood Shade, descendant of the great witch, Cora.”
I paused, keeping my eyes on her. That information alone commanded my respect. No wonder she speaks to me as she does. If she was Cora’s descendent, it was better to keep her as ally rather than foe. I heaved a sigh, not quite sure I wanted to hear the answer to my next question.
“What century is it?”
“The twenty-first.”
I removed my gaze from her as I let that information register. Four hundred years. I escaped for four hundred years.
Corrine began circling me like a damned vulture. I could sense her distrust. She was scrutinizing me, perhaps wondering what my awakening meant for the Blood Shade.
I wanted to tell her that it meant nothing, because I fully intended to escape from it all over again. But there were so many questions running through my mind, although I was uncertain if I really wanted to hear the answers to them.
“Why am I awake?”
“It’s simply time.”
I clenched my fists. “Time for what?”
“For Derek Novak to stop acting like a coward and face what he was meant to do. Rule.”
My jaw tightened, my teeth gritted. “I didn’t ask for this.”
“Neither did any of us, but if his highness is entertaining any notions of going back to his dreamy reprieve, then I suggest you forget them now, Prince. Until you’ve played your part, there’s no means of escape. Cora made certain of that.”
“What do you mean…”
Before I could finish my question, the double doors made of fine acacia swung open and my older brother, Lucas, and my twin sister, Vivienne, strode into the chamber.
Lucas gave me a curt nod. I nodded back. That was the closest we ever got to showing each other brotherly affection.
Vivienne, on the other hand, threw her arms around my neck, whispering how glad she was that I was finally awake.I couldn’t keep myself from telling her exactly what I felt. “That makes one of us.”And then it happened. I could feel my gut clench in an excruciating twist. The smell was overwhelming – practically intoxicating. When I saw them, I couldn’t help but wonder whose idea it was to bring about this sort of cruelty upon my wake.As my sister stepped aside to allow me full view, I remembered everything. I remembered why it was so important for me to stay asleep.Five beautiful young women – innocents – no older than I was when I became a vampire, stood before me. I could sense their fear and the predator in me was desperate for release. I hated myself for it, but I wanted nothing more than to suck every last drop of blood out of every single one of them.My eyes were glued to the young man Vivienne was embracing only moments ago. There was no question in my mind that it was him
From the Cells, we were guided through a well-traveled pathway across a dark, murky wood, before we arrived at a very large clearing at the center of what seemed like a massive forest. Whispers from the guards who were escorting us to our destination informed me that we were at “The Vale”. I assumed that it was the Shade’s center of civilization.I guess I could say that it was the Blood Shade’s main town, built up of several structures, whose architectural styles were the likes I’ve never seen before – almost like a mix of modern and Victorian architectural design with certain elements that looked like they just popped out of fantasy or sci-fi movies.I was still marveling at the places we were passing by when they ushered us to a place that reminded me of a spa Ben often dragged me to for massages.It was at “the spa” that we were pampered, perfumed, and exquisitely dressed in gowns made of fine silk - the kind which I could only dream of ever affording.We asked several times why w
Lucas chuckled. “This is cruel and unusual punishment, Vivienne. I told you that. Derek hasn’t had blood for the past four hundred years. He can’t be expected to not want to rip these girls’ heads off. Hell, I’ve been feeding for the last four hundred years and I still want to have my way with them.”Derek, still looking like he was about to attack us at any moment, simply gave him a sideward glare before he roamed his eyes toward each of us girls – one by one.“A harem? A hunt? Since when do we have these? Who are these girls and where exactly did you ‘hunt’ them?”Lucas, Vivienne and the other woman present in the hall exchanged uncomfortable glances.It was Vivienne who eventually answered the question. “They’re humans abducted from the outside world. We hunt humans from the outside world to become slaves here, to do the work necessary. Those who prove to be useless are fed on. The choicest and most beautiful among the captives are kept by the Elite as part of what we began calling
What is it with these people and shoving me up against hard surfaces? I was fully aware of the gravity of my situation, and yet that was the one thought that circled my mind the moment he lifted me so that my face was directly in front of his. He had me pinned against a black marble pillar. My back was suffering from the abuse it’d been receiving all night long – first from Derek’s brother and now from him. Lucas was probably right when he referred to me as a “fragile little twig”. It was exactly how I felt, with Derek pinning me there, all my attempts to push him away and break free failing miserably. I wasn’t even sure if he was aware of how strong he was, but he exuded a power that I didn’t sense even with Lucas. I felt like a china doll, as though he could shatter me the moment he wished to do so. Everything about Derek Novak was overwhelming my senses. The feel of his body pressed against mine, the chill of his breath against my skin, the sound of his uneven breathing, the lig
DEREKFour hundred years. Gone. Just like that.As Lucas and Vivienne led me out of the Sanctuary, apparently Corrine’s dwelling place, I couldn’t help but marvel over what they’d managed to turn the Blood Shade into over the past four centuries.Before the spell, the island we’d occupied and called the Blood Shade was nothing but a fortress surrounded by a dark forest with its towering redwoods and giant sequoias.We made a small clearing in the middle of the forest and called it The Vale. That was where we began making plans regarding what the Blood Shade would someday be like. I never thought it possible that the plans would actually materialize, but here it was – right before my very eyes – more amazing than it was in my imagination.As we left the Sanctuary and eventually entered into what was now the Vale, I asked question after question to satisfy my curiosity and make me forget my hunger.Sofia and the other slaves were walking right behind us, escorted by the guards. I was s
Lucas and Vivienne tried to make conversation as we trekked through the dark wood, but I was no longer paying attention. I was too distracted by Sofia, aware of every single one of her actions.She rubbed her wrists even as she observed her surroundings. She was taking in every detail of her surroundings, her eyes showing bright curiosity and mild fascination. Before I could keep myself from doing it, I grabbed her hand, my fingers intertwining with hers.She flinched from my touch. I knew I had no right to take that sort of liberty with her, but I gave myself that indulgence, because I really just wanted to feel her warmth.I could only guess what was going through her mind, because at some point, she squeezed my hand like she did to that other girl back in the Sanctuary. She couldn’t have known how much that meant the world to me.SOFIAHis hand was so cold. A chill climbed from the hand he was holding all the way up to my elbow. I couldn’t understand why he would do that – hold my
When I felt him pull away from me and settle my feet on what felt like hardwood flooring, I dared open my eyes. I found myself standing on a wide terrace overlooking one of the most magnificent scenes I’d ever laid eyes on. It was more beautiful than a painting. I walked toward the edge of the terrace and gazed out. Thousands of glittering stars were peppered across the pitch-black canvas that was the sky. These stars and the full moon’s beams were the only light to grace the landscape. I dared not look directly downward. I preferred not to scare myself by discovering just how high up we were. But I could tell that this was one of the tallest trees on the whole island. A massive sea of black treetops sprawled out beneath me for miles. And looming far in the distance were mountains. Mountains so high that the tops were capped with white. Snow. I could only imagine what everything would look like at sunrise. I drew a breath just imagining how stunning it would be. A cool sea wind w
Vivienne seemed to take notice of this, but paid it no heed. Instead, she walked toward her brother and gave him a hug. This time, he let go of my hand in order to reciprocate her gesture.I stepped backward. That’s when I noticed Lucas staring at the hand Derek just let go of. He looked like he wanted to crush it. I balled my fists and hid them behind the silky fabric of the exquisite dress they’d made me wear. I felt Lucas’ eyes on me, traveling along every curve of my body. I wanted to bolt away.“It’s only a few hours until morning. We’d best get going,” Vivienne said. “I’ll instruct the guards to have the girls brought to their quarters… unless you have other plans.”Vivienne gave me a pointed look from head to toe, as if she were wondering what was so special about me. That made two of us.She nodded. “Very well. See you tomorrow, Derek.”I wasn’t sure whether to be relieved by her goodbye. It meant that I would no longer be in the same room with Lucas, but it also meant that I