Her brow rose. “You want to know because…?”

“It’s high time we figured out the actual state of this island and its residents, don’t you think?”

This seemed to take the witch by surprise. She studied me as though trying to figure out if I had some sort of angle, but she eventually took her place at the stand, straightened to her full height, and began to address the issue at hand.

“The numbers fluctuate constantly – as you might well expect…” She glared as if to accuse every single one of us for the crimes we knew we were guilty of. “However, the number of Naturals doesn’t change much. It’s the Migrates who come and go depending on your vampire nature’s whims.”

“Naturals? Migrates?” From the look on the council’s faces, it seemed none of them had any idea what Corrine was talking about.

“Of course.” Corrine rolled her eyes. “You vampires haven’t really paid attention to the state of the humans brought here as long as they keep in line. We humans – myself included actually – have classified ourselves according to those who were born on this island – the Naturals – and those who were taken from the outside world and brought here – the Migrates.”

Growing impatient, I sat up straight and leaned forward to emphasize what I needed to know. “How many of them are there, Corrine?”

“As of our last tally, the island had seven thousand five hundred and thirty two Naturals, all crammed into the Black Heights, and two thousand three hundred and twenty nine Migrates living at the Residences along with their vampire masters. Of course, that number has most likely changed. Who knows how many of them have died since the last time we checked?”

The numbers Corrine uttered left me shell-shocked as question after question flooded my mind. How are we sustaining all these human lives? What are they all doing here on the island? How did their population get so large? What happens to the dead? I found the numbers absolutely staggering and unacceptable.

Then the reality hit me full force. They outnumber us at least five to one. If they ever realize their strength, we’re done for. I stared at the witch, whose loyalties I wasn’t certain of. All they had to do was get Corrine on their side for The Shade to meet its end.

CHAPTER 19: LUCAS

Claudia swung the door wide open and stepped beneath the doorposts of the bedroom she was keeping me in. Feet wide apart, hands planted on her hips, blonde locks cascading down to her waist, the little spitfire actually looked incredible.

I smirked. This is going to be interesting.

“Your brother is going to drive everyone at The Shade mad!” she exclaimed.

Oh yeah… this is going to be very interesting indeed. “What’s he done now?” Having just stepped out of the shower, I was still rubbing my hair dry with a towel.

“He asked for a census of all the humans in the island.”

“What an enormous waste of time…”

“That’s what I thought. Of course, the mighty Prince Derek won’t hear any of it.”

“Any of what?” I chuckled. “Your thoughts?”

She shot me a stern look of disapproval and I was almost certain that I’d just earned myself a fight, only to find her groaning loudly. Her shoulders sagged. For a moment, it seemed she totally forgot about my brother when she began complaining about how every muscle in her body ached. “He made us fight him in the arena. It was exhausting. I haven’t bled this much in a long time. Makes me hate Cora sometimes…”

“What does the great, dead witch have to do with Derek making the Elite fight him?” I found the idea quite amusing. I never thought Derek would go this far to satisfy his bloodlust and start using vampires.

She rubbed her palm against her neck as she walked toward my bed and let her curvy form drop over it. “She’s the reason he’s so powerful. Wasn’t it her that made sure Derek’s sleep would also serve to strengthen him over time? Damn that witch for falling in love with your brother.”

The recollection of Cora’s unrequited love for Derek re-opened old scars. “My brother and the strange effect women can have on him…” I bemoaned.

“More like the strange effect he has on women…” Claudia sighed, her face softening. I didn’t need to be a mind reader to figure out that a dozen daydreams about my brother just flashed through her demented head.

I threw the towel I was using to dry my hair on the floor. I was reminded of the many reasons I myself resented Cora. If it weren’t for her, Derek wouldn’t be ruling over me. I frowned. Hard as I tried to deny it, to say it was the reason I resented Cora was a lie. The uncomfortable truth was confronting me even as I leaned on a bedpost watching Claudia as she repositioned herself on my bed. The look she was giving me as she began to twirl the ends of her long blonde hair clearly indicated what she wanted from me. They keep choosing Derek over me. Even Claudia. I hated to admit it to myself, but I had to. I resented Cora because I had desired her, but her heart was Derek’s up until her very last breath.

Wanting to get my mind off Cora, I joined Claudia in bed when it seemed something sparked inside Claudia’s mind, effectively distracting her from her wily seductions. I inwardly groaned, because it seemed she was about to once again gripe over some crazy edict my brother forcibly put into place. For all her messed up mind games and her unabashed hatred toward human men, she still came off as a whiny little teenager sometimes, despite the fact that she was fifty years older than I was.