“I didn’t think it was true…” I said as I placed a kiss on her head. “I didn’t think you could’ve survived, but you did.”
“Barely…” She chuckled dryly. “If it weren’t for Sofia, I never would’ve gotten out of the haze they put me in.”
I tightened my jaw at how she attributed her survival to the redhead my son was so madly in love with, the same young woman I hated with every fiber of my being.
“The darkness is coming for her,” was all I managed to say.
At that, Vivienne scoffed. “It’s been after her since the day she was born, Father.”
I didn’t understand fully what she was trying to tell me. When it came to her, I rarely ever did. Finding that any talk of Sofia Claremont—especially when speaking about her in glowing terms—made me sick to my stomach, I decided to change the subject. “Do you know what your brother did to me? He took over ruling The Shade. He overthrew me and put me in prison.”
“I’m sure he had good reason to do it, Father.”
Her words were a blow to my gut. I had forgotten how fiercely loyal she was to her twin. I couldn’t blame her. Derek was the one who risked his life to save her from Borys, not me. He was her savior, while I cowered in fear.
“Father, was the prophecy not clear to you?” she asked as she turned her eyes toward me. “We are supposed to support Derek if our kind is to survive. The Shade and all of its people are his to save and rule, not yours.”
In the deepest recesses of my heart, where goodness and bravery and what was left of my conscience still thrived, I knew that what my daughter was saying was the truth. Only Vivienne was able to access those parts of myself that I had to turn off in order to survive the past centuries, but her words were difficult to swallow. “Was everything I did for The Shade all those years for nothing, Vivienne?”
“Everything we did was to prepare for Derek’s awakening, so that he could fulfill the prophecy and bring our kind to true sanctuary. I thought that much was clear to you, Father.”
My jaw tightened as a battle waged inside of me—a battle I was afraid I could never win.
Vivienne kneeled up on the bed—slowly and carefully—so that she could face me and look into my eyes. The moment her blue-violet gaze bore into my eyes, I knew that she knew what was behind the mask of confidence and courage I was trying to keep up.
Her face fell and a tear ran down her cheek. “The darkness has gotten to you, hasn’t it?” she asked, her voice clearly about to break.
I nodded, affirming her worst fears. She’d spent hundreds of years trying to protect me from the darkness and to sit there and look her in the eye and tell her that she’d lost me was heartbreaking.
“I’m so sorry, Father. I didn’t think… I had hoped…” She choked on her own words and tears began streaming down her face.
I pulled her into my arms, and let her sob into my chest, not knowing what to say or do in order to console her.
“Have I failed you so badly, Vivienne?” I asked, my own voice choked with the tears I was trying to hold back.
She shook her head into my chest and kissed me on the cheek. “No, Father. It’s not too late yet. You can fight this, but you have to listen to what I’m saying. You have to be a father to Derek. He is not your nemesis. You need to honor the prophecies. If you fail in this, Father, the darkness is going to use you to destroy us all.”
Her words made me sink into deep despair, knowing fully well the weight of what she was telling me. Despite my fears that I could never do what she was asking of me, I nodded. She didn’t have to know how weak her father was. She didn’t have to know that it might be too late, that the darkness already had too firm a grip of me.
“I’ll do that, Vivienne.” I lied. “I can’t allow myself to be your downfall.”
Even as I said the words, a hiss echoed from within me—dark and menacing—full of spite and with a hint of amusement. You’re a fool, Gregor Novak. It’s your weakness that will destroy them all, and your beloved princess will be the first to fall.
CHAPTER 40: CLAUDIA
I couldn’t stand being inside my penthouse. It reminded me of how much I’d allowed darkness to take over me since I had turned into a vampire. I had become exactly like the monster that I’d hated. I became exactly like the Duke. The memories of everything that had happened inside that place haunted me. All the horrors I put Ben, and so many young men like him, through began to replay in my mind. I could almost feel their presence inside my home. I hated who I was when I was with them.
I hated Lucas, but I reminded myself that I was just like him—evil to the core—so he was one of the few people who frequented my home. The other person was Yuri.
Thus, when I heard a knock at the door, it was easy to surmise who it was, considering Lucas’ grisly demise back at The Oasis. I found myself shaking as I made my way to the door. I opened it and gulped when I saw Yuri standing on my doorstep.
I was expecting him to say something mean or give me a condescending glare. We were known around The Shade for our frequent fights and irritable banter. This time, however, he just stared at me and I stared back.
When I saw a tear run down his cheek, it was my complete undoing.
“Yuri…” I choked out.
“I can’t believe you left, Claudia.”
The dynamic between us radically changed. I began to sob, because for the first time in the past centuries I’d co-existed with Yuri, I felt completely vulnerable and exposed to him. I guess I always was. I just had trouble admitting it to myself: that he knew me even more than I knew myself. He saw right through the hard, wicked exterior I’d been putting up.