I grumbled as I took his hand in mine. I saw amusement flicker in his eyes once I started drinking his blood.

“Stubborn girl.”

It took about half a minute of drinking before my punctured ligament repaired itself. The skin over my wound was just about to completely close when Kyle showed up by the door. He had a smile on his face. He was most likely expecting that I had a joyous reunion with Derek. It was agonizing to see his smile fade away, a pained expression replacing it when he saw Ashley, in her state of undress, inside the room.

“Take her to the Cells.” Derek commanded the moment he realized the guard was there. “She will stand trial in front of the council tomorrow for attempting to kill me.”

Kyle’s eyes grew wide with shock. “Of course, your highness.” He approached Ashley and gently helped her up. I noticed the pained look in his eyes when he saw the bite marks on her neck.

“Wait…” I could feel Derek’s frustrated glare on me as I stood up. Ignoring him, I rushed to Ashley and embraced her, water moistening my eyes. I wanted to say something to assure her, but I found myself at a loss for words.

She was stiff against my embrace, refusing to return the gesture. “Now you return?”

“I couldn’t stay away even if I wanted to,” I whispered back.

We pulled away from each other. She looked at me coldly, her expression far too close to hatred. Unnerved by her eyes on me, I shifted my gaze toward Derek. “Let her put on something first… It’s cold there.” I could almost feel the chill just remembering what it was like to wake up in one of the dungeons.

Derek seemed to give it some thought first. He looked annoyed but gave Kyle a curt nod. “See it done.”

They both left the room. That left me with Derek and all the unanswered questions we had between us. Even with my back still turned to him, I could feel his eyes on me. Just knowing that I was standing in the same room with Derek caused a wave of unfamiliar sensations to course through my veins. My breathing grew heavy when I sensed him approach. When I felt his large hands on my waist, pulling my back against him, his breath chilling the nape of my neck, breathing proved to be quite a task.

“You’re here.” He sounded just as breathless as I was.

“Is that a good thing?”

“You tell me.”

All of it was too much for me to handle. I’d been pining for him since I left the island. I didn’t know exactly what to expect upon returning, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to find Derek about to murder one of my friends. The sensations caused by his hands on me, holding me, and the feel of his lips brushing the back of my neck, breathing my scent in … it was all too much in too little time.

“Do me a favor, Sofia…” his voice broke through my silence. “I don’t know if you can, but please, for a few hours… try to forget what you just saw. Forget what just happened. If only for a short time, be with me. Please.” In a choked, husky voice, he admitted, “I missed you so much.”

His plea gave me the escape I needed from all the thoughts plaguing me over what I just witnessed. One emotion came to the forefront and that was the deep longing I had to once again be in his arms. I took his hands from my waist and wrapped his strong arms around me.

“Are you still the man I left behind, Derek?” I dared to ask.

His arms around me tightened, clinging to me. “No.”

My heart dropped. I didn’t quite expect him to be so blunt in his honesty. “Then who are you?”

His lips pressed against the back of my head, before he held me by the shoulders and forced me to face him. Behind his blue eyes, I saw a galaxy of questions unanswered, doubts unsettled, guilt and shame deeply felt.

“Who do you want me to be, Sofia?”

I saw so much anguish in his handsome face, I could barely comprehend his question. At that moment, he wasn’t the prince of The Shade, the strong and powerful Derek Novak. The man who stood before me was one weakened and wearied by the daily battles he was fighting. He was a broken being, trembling beneath my touch. He bowed his head, his forehead pressing against mine as I ran my hands over his muscular arms.

“I want you to be you, Derek.”

We both began to sway gently to music I couldn’t hear, but knew was playing inside his creative mind. His hands once again engulfed my waist as he led me to a dance. We were trying to return to the way we used to be, dancing to music that only he could hear, in an attempt to erase from our minds what just happened.

When his lips found mine, however, the pain in my heart was too much to contend with and I couldn’t help but step away from him. “I can’t do this.” I brushed my fingers over the upper lining of my mouth, my lips still throbbing from once again feeling his lips pressing against them. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He shook his head. “I understand.”

He looked at me with longing that seemed to dwarf the longing I felt for him. Intense. Consuming. Painful. I wanted to explain that I shied away from his touch not because I didn’t want to be with him, but because I couldn’t just turn a blind eye to what I walked in on him doing.

“I’m going to win you back, Sofia.”

I planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. “I don’t understand why, but somehow … you never quite lost me.”

CHAPTER 33: DEREK

Seated on the edge of my bed, waiting for Sofia to emerge from the bathroom, I wondered if she had any idea how much her words meant to me.