“How courteous of you…” I responded through gritted teeth, irritated by his entire demeanor. “So you’re Reuben Lincoln now?”

“To the hunters, yes. That’s how I’m known. To the rest of the world, I’m still Aiden Claremont.”

“Which of the two identities is really you?”

“Both” came his immediate response. He gave it a moment’s thought. “Neither.” He shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Sofia needed you.”

His lips tightened as he placed his cigar on a nearby ash tray. He then glared at me with intensity that I never before saw in Sofia’s green eyes. “As I said, I don’t need to answer to you, boy. Let’s cut to the chase. Why do you want to become a hunter? Why are you here, Mr. Hudson? How did you come to know Eliza? And how was she able to tell you about me?”

At the mention of the name, Zinnia gasped. Her brown eyes began to burn through me with anticipation. She was obviously hanging on my every word.

Distracted, I asked them the first thing that came to mind. “Could you tell me more about Eliza? I’m curious.”

“We really don’t have time for this.” Reuben was obviously growing impatient.

“She was my older sister,” Zinnia admitted.

I looked at her in surprise. “I’m sorry...”

Tears blurred her hazelnut irises. “She’s gone?”

I nodded solemnly. “I barely knew her, but she felt like a kindred soul. She could’ve tried to escape without me, but she risked helping me out. I truly am sorry, Zinnia.”

She smiled bitterly, wiping her tears away. “We all lost someone to the vampires. If not, we were – like you – victims ourselves. That’s why we’re hunters.”

Reuben must’ve realized that I wasn’t about to let go of the idea of finding out how Eliza came to be in Cancun, and gave me the information I wanted.

“Eliza was always rather hard to keep a rein on. She was so eager to prove herself to us and was far too impulsive, acting before thinking things through. We sent her to Cancun mainly as a way to get her out of here. It was supposed to be a treat, a vacation. The last time we heard from her, she was asking for backup because she discovered a vampire from the Novak coven. We told her not to do anything about it, that she should wait for us, but I guess she put matters in her own hands. We haven’t heard from her since that night.”

Satisfied with the explanation he offered me, I steeled myself and set aside what personal biases I had against Reuben. This was business. I began to unbutton my shirt as I spoke. “As Zinnia already implied, revenge is the main reason I want to become a hunter. I want revenge on the vampire who did this to me.” I showed them the scars on my torso. “Eliza was captured by that same vampire. She tried to help me escape, but we were caught. The vampire’s name is Claudia.”

Reuben’s ears perked up at the mention of the name. “Claudia? She belongs to the Novak coven just like Eliza messaged us?”

“Yeah… I guess… Derek Novak was their prince or something… He was the one who killed her. Claudia offered her to him as some sort of tribute…”

My voice trailed off, realizing that they were staring at me in stunned silence, trying to take in what I just told them.

I began to question my judgment in revealing to them so much already. I barely know these people.

“We want you to tell us everything you know about their coven, especially where they are. You’re the first person in hundreds of years to ever have been captured by the Novak coven and come out alive. Most of them just disappear… no bodies even… never to be heard of again.” Reuben sat on the edge of his seat. “Go ahead, Ben. Tell us what you know.”

I shook my head. “No. I’ve already said enough. Incidentally, I don’t trust you, Aiden. Not after what you did to Sofia. I’m not telling you anything until I get answers.”

The man gave me a murderous glare. “Look, boy. I’m here for one reason and one reason alone and that is to find Sofia. I don’t care what you think of me. The last time you and my daughter disappeared, I practically turned the world upside down trying to look for her. I arrived at one dead end after another, and then you two little juveniles show up out of thin air, giving authorities this crap story about running away – no explanations, no records… nothing.” He began swearing loudly. “And now she’s gone again right after a private conversation with Vivienne Novak!” Another swear word escaped his lips. “Vivienne Novak! After centuries of not even seeing a trace of her or anybody from her clan, she shows up and she goes after my daughter. If you don’t want her to end up the way Eliza did, you’re going to tell me everything you know.”

He looked nothing short of intimidating and Zinnia looked absolutely terrified of him, but his outburst only made me relax. I leaned back on the couch and cocked my head to the side. His reaction just showed me how important I was to them. “Don’t you have Vivienne in your custody?” I replied nonchalantly. “Why don’t you just ask her what you want to know?”

“You’ve obviously never tried to break a vampire,” Zinnia muttered.

I raised one shoulder. “I’m willing to learn.”

“Now’s not the time.” Reuben was reeling in his anger. “Tell me where my daughter is.”

“She returned to The Shade.”