I was relieved when he nodded and said, “I feel the same.”

A comfortable silence followed, both of us focusing on the sun and its slow, steady rise. The view was magnificent, but it wasn’t enough of a distraction to ease all the conflicting thoughts roaming around in my head.

“Perhaps we should stay here for a day or two, gather our wits about us …” Ben suggested, “Then we can go home.”

“Sounds okay to me.”

I then paid more attention to what I was wearing. The bikini and the cover-up was the exact same outfit I had been wearing when Lucas took me from the beach and brought me to The Shade. I checked out what Ben was wearing – a black vest and red board shorts. I wondered if that was what he had on when he was taken from the beach. Did they return us here with nothing but the clothes on our backs?

As if he was reading my mind, a grin formed on Ben’s face. “Relax,” he said, but then a grim expression quickly replaced his smile. “They didn’t leave us empty-handed.” He nodded toward a spot further down the beach.

I followed his gaze and was able to make out a black backpack on the sand. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was bewildered by the scowl on Ben’s face. Why do you seem so ticked off? You should be happy they didn’t send us here empty-handed.

“Have you seen what’s in it?”

He shook his head. “I’m not exactly excited to find out what I now owe them.”

You and your ego. It was just like Ben to be too proud to accept help from anybody. Although, of course, the fact that this help was coming from the vampires who put him through hell made the whole thing much worse. The horrors he went through at The Shade constantly loomed over him… over us.

“Let’s just see what we have to work with.” I quickly walked over to the backpack, more concerned about our current predicament than any broken pride I might have over accepting help from the vampires.

I already reached the pack when I realized that Ben didn’t even bother to follow me. I knelt on the ground and checked the bag’s contents. There were only a few items: two sets of clothes – one for Ben, one for me – a large wad of cash and a sealed envelope with my name on it. Satisfied that we had enough to get by, I closed the bag and slung it over my shoulder before heading back to Ben.

“So?” he asked.

“We have clothes and probably enough cash to get us on a first class flight from Mexico to… I don’t know… India? Round trip. Twice.”

I was expecting him to at least be somewhat relieved, but no… All he did was scoff at the generous sum we’d been given.

“They throw us their scraps and expect us to be grateful for them. That’s nowhere near enough considering what they put us through.”

I knew he was right and I wanted to be on his side, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to hate The Shade as much as he did. At that point, I didn’t dare ask myself why.

“So that’s all there is?” Ben asked, glaring at the backpack as though it contained deadly venom.

I thought about the envelope addressed to me. Then I nodded.

“Yeah. That’s it.”

A tense moment ensued before he kicked the sand beneath his feet and said through gritted teeth, “Fine. Let’s go and indulge ourselves, using the oh-so-generous fortune they sent us.”

As he headed off toward the luxurious resorts that lined the white sandy beaches, I lingered behind long enough to look back at the ocean and whisper, “Thank you, Derek.”

CHAPTER 5: DEREK

Focus, Derek. Ignore everything.

I stood still and upright, my feet shoulder-width apart. My left hand kept a relaxed grip on my silver bow’s handle. I retrieved an arrow from the quiver slung across my bare back.

Drown everything out. All that matters now is that you hit the target.

Beads of sweat were trickling down my temples. I’d been at this all night. I started with boxing before moving on to sword practice, then firearms practice, and eventually every other training the Crimson Fortress’ grounds had to offer until I reached the archery range.

From the corner of my eye, I could make out the thick walls of the Crimson Fortress towering at least a hundred feet above me. They surrounded the island, protecting us from everyone who sought to invade us throughout the past centuries. The mere thought of the towering fortress and all its fortifications threatened to bring back a slew of dark memories that I’d long wanted to forget. I cleared my throat and refocused.

Shut it out. Don’t let the past haunt you. Not now.

I shut my eyes as I nocked the arrow and positioned its shaft onto the arrow rest. I took a deep breath.

Let your instincts take over.

I positioned the weapon to hit the target that I couldn’t even see. Using my back muscles, I pulled my right elbow backwards until my right hand was placed firmly against my jaw. I held my stance for a few seconds, trusting my instincts to aim right.

Then came the release. The arrow pierced through the cold night air and I heard a loud thud. Before I could even open my eyes to check if I’d actually hit my mark, I heard something that took me aback. From behind me came the sound of applause.

I opened my eyes and saw the arrow had indeed hit the bull’s eye, cutting right through the first two arrows I shot before it. I longed for the sense of satisfaction that came with a shot like that. Nothing. It only served as a cruel reminder that most of what I knew about combat, I had learned from hunters – back when I was one of them, the time before I became the Lord of vampires and Prince of The Shade.