At this, the guard scoffed. “What could you possibly do to…”
“I think you have orders to keep me alive and unharmed… Otherwise, I’d be as you say…a corpse.” I stood up and walked toward the UV-lined steel bars. I grinned when at that moment, I could swear that I heard Aiden’s voice talking to someone as he passed the nearby corridor. I gripped one of the bars and genuinely screamed my lungs out because of the excruciating pain I felt in my palms.
The guard’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re crazy!”
Within minutes, I could hear footsteps running toward us. I was relieved to find Aiden show up beside the guard. “What is going on?” he demanded.
The guard looked nervously at his boss. “She just…she gripped the bars…”
I knew I looked crazy as I stared with stark amusement at my burnt palms. I knew that unless they gave me human blood, it would take hours before my skin was healed.
“Are you trying to kill yourself, Ingrid?” Aiden glared at me.
I wanted to smile at him, but I found myself strangely hurt that he called me Ingrid and not Camilla. You’ve lost him, Ingrid. Accept it. “I’m bored, Aiden…and I’m wasting away. I want a good long bath and I want someone to talk to.”
“You’re a prisoner here, Ingrid. Not a guest.”
My response to him was simple. I gripped the bars again.
Aiden watched—his face expressionless—as I once again screamed in agony. Eventually, he took a step forward, his jaw twitching as he said, “Damn it, Camilla! Stop!”
I let go of the bars. Camilla. Despite the pain, I found a reason to smile. I haven’t totally lost him after all.
“Boss, she’s insane. She’s just gonna keep torturing herself,” the guard said. “Perhaps we should just end her pain and kill her.”
Aiden shook his head, and confirmed my suspicions that he could never really let go of Camilla when he said, “No. Give her what she’s asking for.”
As I watched him walk away, I hated to admit it to myself, but I could never really let go of him either. I will always love him. Even though I knew that I could try to turn the emotion off at any time, I realized that I really didn’t want to.
CHAPTER 8: DEREK
The moment I stepped out of the submarine and into the port—the primary entry and exit point of The Shade—Cameron Hendry, one of my most trusted friends, greeted me with a curt nod and handed me a wooden stake.
I looked at him questioningly as I lifted the object in my hand mid-air.
“Trust me. It’s likely you’ll need it.”
I grimaced as I stared at the stake. I knew there was reason behind the sense of foreboding I had throughout my journey back to The Shade, but I wasn’t expecting something like this.
The majority of the Elite—some of the most powerful warriors we had at The Shade—were present at the port when I arrived. Liana, Cameron’s wife, came to me and explained, “We don’t know how news of your return came out. We tried to keep it between just the council, but well, someone got wind of it and now there’s a riot outside. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
A riot. Perhaps staying at hawk headquarters would’ve been safer. I pushed the thought away, trying to concentrate on the present circumstances.
“Maybe there’s a way we can avoid the crowd.” Xavier Vaughn, an old friend of ours—one I was sure had always been in love with my twin sister, Vivienne—looked distraught. I knew that vampires didn’t age, but I could swear I could see wrinkles on his face.
What has been happening during my absence? I felt I was about to find out just how much I owed these men and women who had remained loyal to my rule for hundreds of years.
I grimaced, balling my hands into fists. “Let’s face them. If they really want to go against me, then so be it.” I surged toward the exit of the port that would lead to the clearing between the port and the great forest of redwoods surrounding the island.
“Derek, you have no idea what you’re getting…” Liana began to object.
Too late. I was already at the topmost step that led to the rock wall which served as the entrance to the port. I found myself standing face-to-face with Felix, who’d always been more loyal to my father than to me.
Surprise was evident in his face upon seeing who was standing before him. A hushed silence began to sweep through the crowd behind him.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
“They said you were coming back.”
“Well, I’m back. What nonsense is this?” I looked over his shoulder and it looked like almost every vampire of The Shade was present there. I couldn’t help but wonder where the humans were. “Who’s looking after the Naturals?” I asked.
“They’re hiding out at The Catacombs.” Felix tilted his head to one side, sounding a lot more confident. “With the witch. They’re in a lockout.”
A lockout?! I was panicking inside, but I knew that I couldn’t show it. All it took was for me to break a sweat and show any sign of weakness, and it would be the end of me.
“The human leaders organized a lockout after Felix and his men threatened a culling.” Liana was now standing behind me.
I couldn’t help but think about Corrine, the witch keeping the protective spell that was hiding the island from all forms of human detection. If she’s at The Catacombs in a lockout, then how on earth is she still keeping the spell up?