He eyed Sofia as if she was the most despicable thing he’d ever laid eyes on. “She isn’t much to look at. Attractive, yes, but she isn’t exactly above and beyond all the other lovelies you’ve had in your bed, so what is it exactly with her that makes you willing to turn the world upside down just so you can have her?”

I gently held Sofia and pushed her behind me in an attempt to shield her from my own father. Her hands clasped mine as I faced off with him.

“What are you doing back here?”

“Vivienne’s been caught by the hunters. Lucas has gone off to join the Maslens, and I hear alarming news that you’re putting my kingdom to ruin for the sake of indulging the whims of a human wench.”

I could easily take your kingdom away from you and you know it. I held my tongue and tried to get the information I wanted from him.

“What do you mean Lucas joined the Maslens?”

“Borys Maslen and his baby vampire, Ingrid, have managed to convince him to join their coven, something he willingly embraced after you had him hunted down for her.”

“He had it coming. I warned him not to lay a hand on her.”

“Borys and Ingrid Maslen…” Sofia muttered from behind me, sparking both my interest and my father’s, our eyes turning toward her.

“You’ve heard of them?” I asked.

“One of Vivienne’s memories has been recurring recently. It’s the day Borys Maslen visited the island. Borys gave her a necklace with a ruby pendant. It drove her mad. I don’t fully understand why… Their names… especially Borys’… they are oddly familiar to me.”

“My daughter gave you her memories?” Gregor spat, each word dripping with contempt.

“Not all… just…”

I cut Sofia’s explanation off. “You allowed Borys Maslen onto the island?” I glared at my father disbelievingly. “After what he did to Vivienne?!”

“Don’t look at me that way, Derek. You escaped from all the chaos and we had to deal with it. Don’t you dare look at me like you’re better than me, because I was man enough to face the issues that you chose to run away from. This island survived because of me, Lucas and Vivienne. You wake up after four hundred years and now you’re running this kingdom to the ground.”

“I’m trying to save The Shade, because you let it grow weak with all its indulgences. That’s why you have to run around attempting to secure alliances with various vampire covens who want nothing other than to take us down.”

“Indulgences? Like the human abductions? Those weren’t indulgences, Derek. They were necessities. We did what we needed to do in order to survive.”

“Hunters were the only human threat we had. When you started abducting teenagers to populate your harems, you made the entire world a threat to the island. How can you not see that?” I tried to control my breathing. “We never had to end the life of someone who wasn’t a hunter until you ruled.”

“Don’t be a hypocrite, son. The young beauty you’re so adamant to protect is here because of these abductions. Is it not her sweet young blood staining your bed? You always did have a penchant for virgins … Perhaps now that you’ve had her, she’ll be less of a threat to us all.”

I could hear Sofia’s breath hitch from behind me. It killed me to think what kind of effect my father’s words could possibly have on her.

“Don’t ever talk about her that way again, father. Better yet, don’t talk about her at all unless you want to see me use the power you know I have against you.”

“How dare you…” My father’s fists clenched and he looked as though he was about to attack me, but he directed his rage toward Sofia instead. “Beware of the day he loses interest in you, little girl. I doubt you’ll have him to protect you then.”

I stepped forward, my tightened fists a clear warning that he was overstepping his boundaries. “I love her. You of all people should know me well enough to realize what that statement means. She’s the girl I love and if you ever lay a hand on her, make no mistake about it, I will turn against you.”

The moment the confession spilled out of my lips, his eyes widened with shock. He looked at Sofia as if she’d just become an enormous threat to his life and I had no doubt in my mind that it had something to do with what Corrine told me about after our visit to the Catacombs: Vivienne’s prophecy about you can never be fulfilled unless the young woman Cora spoke about does her part.

I didn’t fully comprehend then the whole meaning of the situation I found myself in, but based on my father’s reaction, it dawned on me that Sofia was far more important than I gave her credit for. And it wasn’t just because she was my heart and my life. She was so much more and I would soon find out how and why.

At that moment, however, I knew that no other person had ever mattered to me as much as Sofia Claremont.

EPILOGUE: LUCAS

The Oasis, the underground Egyptian tombs that were now home to the Maslen coven, was every bit the fascinating legend it was rumored to be. The triangular gate, the seven levels, the circular glass lift, the lavish royal quarters… It was a worthy abode of the second most powerful vampire coven existing. I wasn’t too happy about being in the arid deserts of Egypt, but I wasn’t about to complain. The Oasis was the only place I could think of running to – especially after the Maslens offered me sanctuary after my own coven, my own flesh and blood, turned against me.