By the time Emilia was done with me, I couldn’t look her in the eye. She slowly lowered me into the ground. “I know you, Derek. I saw you slowly give in to the darkness. I saw you for exactly who you were back then when you were at your worst and I loved you. I’ve always loved you.”

I stared at her, still trying to make sense of the visions I saw. I steadied myself on the ground and stood to my full height, aware that the woman before me could easily break me in half should she wish it. I flexed my jaw before looking her in the eye and voiced out my question. “You’re Cora?”

She didn’t answer my question. She just smiled and said, “I’m the girl prophesied to help you find true sanctuary. Not Sofia.”

At that, I smirked, my heart swelling with pride as I recalled the woman I loved. Sofia. Her beautiful face, her green eyes, her smile, her touch… I shook my head. “It makes no difference. She has my heart.”

Emilia snapped her fingers, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t remember what Sofia looked like. Panic took hold of me as my eyes shot toward Emilia.

It was her turn to smirk. “Trust me, Derek. I can take every memory you have of Sofia and replace her presence with mine. You’re in my territory now. Sofia Claremont may have your heart today, but believe me when I say that the week won’t end without me taking it from her.”

Emilia’s words hadn’t completely registered in my mind yet when a chilling cold began to sweep throughout the room. I knew Emilia felt it too by the way that she shuddered, her eyes betraying her fear. It was the strangest sensation I’d ever felt - one that I hated to admit wasn’t completely foreign to me. The cold penetrated through my skin to the very core of my bones. I was aware of a presence, dark and foreboding, I could not see. Fear began to envelop me and suddenly I couldn’t see anything but pitch black darkness. I wasn’t even sure if Emilia was still there, because the presence that arrived began to overwhelm my senses and I began to find it hard to breathe.

“Welcome to my castle, Derek Novak,” came a chilling voice. “Finally, my daughter does something right for once.”

Daughter. I shivered. I was in the presence of the Elder. I opened my mouth to speak but I found my throat so dry, no words came out.

“Does this boy bring you happiness, Emilia? Does his presence ignite your bones?”

“Yes, Master. I’ve wanted him for the longest time.”

I never thought I could ever be as elated as I was at that moment to hear Emilia’s voice. At least I’m not alone.

“You gave yourself to me once.”

I felt a caress over my hair, an indication that it was once again me whom the Elder was talking to. I began to remember the time I gave myself over to darkness. I did it so I could make a sanctuary out of The Shade. What sanctuary it turned out to be.

“I’m glad to finally have you back in my territory, Derek Novak. I used to be able to get to you so easily, but ever since you let that impetuous redhead’s light into your life, it’s been more and more difficult to get to you.”

I swallowed back the bile rising from my throat. This was why Vivienne never wanted me to be apart from Sofia. This is why the Elder cannot touch Sofia and just destroy her himself despite all the power that he has. It’s her light. Darkness cannot have control over light.

The caress over my head suddenly turned into a chokehold over my throat. I struggled to breathe, not quite able to comprehend what was going on.

“Now, you’re in my territory, thanks to my daughter’s obsession with you. I now have you in my full control.”

Evil echoed in his voice. I was in the presence of pure and utter evil.

“I must welcome you to my castle, Derek. My daughter, Emilia… you once knew her as Cora… can attest that I welcome all my guests the same way.” He paused, relishing the way I struggled as he choked me. “I hit them where it hurts.”

He threw me onto the bed and I completely blacked out. By the time I came to my senses, I found myself making love to Emilia. She clutched the back of my head and whispered into my ear, “He punished you for turning your back on him. He rewarded me for bringing you back to him. You are my reward, Derek.”

At that moment, even as her body bucked and writhed beneath mine, I hated her with every fiber of my being, and yet the words that came out of my mouth were, “I love you, Emilia.”

Chapter 25: Sofia

I jolted up on the bed, out of breath, images of Derek kissing Emilia floating on my mind. Tears were streaming down my face and my body was racked with deep, uncontrollable sobs. I looked around and found Vivienne staring at me with concern. I was in my bedroom at The Catacombs and the last thing I remember was the sun beginning to dawn on the island.

“What happened?!” I demanded, panic beginning to take its hold on me.

“After five hundred years of night, the sun has risen on The Shade.” Vivienne affirmed my greatest fears.

“She promised. Emilia promised. We had a deal… She could have Derek for a week, but The Shade will remain protected.”

“The force field is up, The Shade is protected from any attack or even from being detected by outside forces. To the world, I’m sure we are invisible.” Vivienne rose from her seat before sighing. “But I don’t think you ever mentioned anything to her about keeping The Shade enveloped by darkness.”

My heart sank. “I just assumed it was part of the protective spell.”

Vivienne shook her head. “Cora placed the spell of the never-ending night in The Shade during the battle of First Blood. It wasn’t until years later after Derek went to sleep that she put the protective spell over the island. And now, she has Derek in her grasps. I never would’ve thought that Cora would ever turn to the dark side.”

“I don’t understand…”

“Emilia is Cora, Sofia.”

The information I was given was a blow to my senses. “How is that possible?”

Vivienne shook her head. “I’m not sure either.”

“Can’t Corrine do something about it? She’s back in control of The Sanctuary, is she not? She has her powers back, does she not?”

“She’s been trying, but Corrine says that the spell was originally done by Cora and that she never had to do anything with keeping that spell running. She doesn’t know how Cora originally did it.”

I rose from my bed, burying my face in my palms, trying to make sense of what we had to do. I had no idea what to do. You’re an eighteen-year-old kid who didn’t even hang around long enough to get her high school diploma, Sofia. Stop fooling yourself. You’re no queen. You have no idea how to run things. I found myself voicing out my biggest concern. “I’m afraid of losing Derek, Vivienne.”

She just stared at me. Vivienne Novak was never one to give in to flattery just to provide consolation. From the first day I met her, she was straightforward and honest through and through. “He is more vulnerable now than he ever was before,” she told me honestly. “Our only hope is that what you shared together would be stronger than what they’re putting him through. For the next week, we’ll both fare better if we don’t think about it. We must concentrate on keeping order here on the island and hopefully finding the cure.”

“How do we find the cure, Vivienne? I don’t even know where to start…”

Before Vivienne could respond, a piercing scream echoed from outside. Our eyes met and we both got up and began running outside my quarters. I leaned into the wooden banister, which allowed me to see The Catacombs below. The first thing that struck my senses was how crowded The Catacombs were. With The Shade surrounded by light, every single vampire was inside The Catacombs, surrounded by humans they craved desperately. This can’t be good. I swallowed hard.

Ashley appeared beside me. Vivienne was on my other side. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure.” I caught sight of Ian carrying Anna in his arms, heading for my quarters where she had a bedroom.

“One of the vampires attacked Anna,” he explained when he saw my questioning glare. “Kyle’s fighting him off. He’s not Elite, but he’s definitely much more powerful than Kyle is.”

“Where are they?” Vivienne asked.

Ian pointed toward a level of The Catacombs that was beginning to get crowded with people.

“I’m on it,” Vivienne assured me, as she rushed toward the area where the fight was happening.

Ashley was obviously horrified by the idea of the vampire who sired her being in any form of trouble. She quickly rushed right behind Vivienne, leaving me to fend off my own frustration. Not wanting to be alone, I followed Ian toward Anna’s bedroom.

“We have to do something about the living situation, Sofia.” Ian frowned. “Having the vampires here every time the sun comes up is complete chaos. A week of this and every human of The Shade will most likely become vampire breakfast and lunch. Not all the vampires are as good at controlling their cravings as Vivienne.” He began applying some sort of ointment on Anna’s bitten neck before putting a bandage on it.

“I have no idea what to do. Where’s Gavin? Does he have any idea on what we can do about the situation?”

“He’s with Lily and Rosa. They’re trying to bring all the orphans and young women together in a safer place. With an attack already happening, the humans are panicking…”

“Well, we can’t just send the vampires out into the sun, Ian.”

“I know that, but we have to do something. No one will be able to control the vampires if they start blacking out. Derek’s not here and he’s the only one they respect enough to listen to. You know what happened the last time Derek wasn’t here in The Shade to run things.”

I shuddered at the thought. While Derek and I were trapped at hunter territory, The Shade, especially The Catacombs, descended into complete and utter chaos – with rebellions and riots going on. “I don’t know what to do.”