Xavier’s jaw twitched. He was clearly not happy, but he had no choice but to obey.

Once left alone, I studied Vivienne. “What’s going on, Vivienne?”

“Something’s wrong, Aiden. I’ve had a bad feeling all day and then Natalie shows up and…” Stark panic was in her eyes.

“Vivienne, get a hold of yourself.”

“I can’t. I can’t take Derek and Sofia’s place here at the island. I don’t have it in me to lead. Not when all this is happening.” She wasn’t listening to me. Her eyes were blank, staring into the space between us.

I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. It did little good. Instead, she just began to sob.

“If anything happens to them…”

I found it strange seeing a powerful vampire have a nervous breakdown right in front of me, but more than the awkward situation, I felt guilt. We did this to her.

Vivienne had been attempting to convince Sofia to return to The Shade after she’d left with her best friend, Ben, when we’d caught her. Before being taken to hunters’ headquarters, she was strong and enigmatic, with a lot of confidence and fight in her. By the time we were done with her, however, she’d become a broken, whimpering and frightened woman.

As she stood before me, shaking like a leaf, afraid of everything and nothing, I did the one thing I knew how to do at the moment.

I slapped her square in the face.

“Snap out of it, Vivienne,” I hissed. “Remember who you are. You ruled The Shade for four hundred years. I know you’d like to think that it was your father or your brother, Lucas, but while Derek was asleep, it was you. You kept this place together and you’re going to do it again as soon as you get a hold of yourself.”

Vivienne stared at me, shock in her bright violet eyes. For a couple of seconds, we stood frozen. Finally, she broke the silence through a gasp. She shrugged my grip off her shoulders as she stood to her full height, her chin tilting up.

Gratefulness flashed on her face when she finally looked me in the eye. No words came out, but Vivienne Novak and I had an understanding that day. I don’t know what it was that made me so sure, or how I understood her mere gaze, but I knew three things to be true:

One, we were about to see a very different Vivienne Novak—or at least the one The Shade had always known before we broke her.

Two, I had her forgiveness for what I’d put her through back at the hunters’ headquarters.

Three, I was never, ever allowed to hit her again.

Chapter 8: Sofia

I was close to throwing up.

It felt like a flurry of little creatures were doing cartwheels inside me. The cold air seeped through my skin and penetrated my bones. I shivered as I tried to get a grip on our dark surroundings. Flashbacks of my first night at The Shade returned to me in full force. The darkness, the musty atmosphere, the feeling of being inside a dungeon… I half-expected to be thrown over the wall on my back.

Then I remembered everything I’d gone through over the past two years. No. I wasn’t back at The Shade, but there was a great chance that I was indeed inside a dungeon.

I tried to recall what had happened before I’d lost consciousness. Two vampires—one red-eyed and one brunette—had been in our hotel room. From the look in Derek’s eyes, he knew who they were. For the first time in my life, I’d seen terror in Derek’s face.

I’d known without a doubt that the two intruders wouldn’t hesitate to end my husband’s life. Derek had been poised to fend off an attack from Kiev when something sharp had stuck me on the neck. I’d lost consciousness after that—but not before Kiev hit Derek over the neck with his sharp claws.

Now that I’d jolted fully awake, terror filled me. Where’s Derek? The thought of what they could’ve done to him began eating at me. I tried to recall who they were and remembered how the brunette had spoken about Emilia. Could they be… My breath hitched. If they were who I thought they were… the Elder’s children…

I fought back all negative thoughts. I refused to sink into that kind of darkness. I needed to believe that Derek was okay. He was a survivor, the strongest man I had ever known. I wasn’t going to lose him—not even in my thoughts. Not ever.

Please be all right, Derek. I love you. You know I love you.

I was whispering the words out loud when a movement nearby jolted me to attention. I blinked several times, trying to adjust to the dimness. To my relief, the trace of moonlight streaming through a high window allowed me to make out a small figure nearby.

I creased my brows. “Hello?”

I was answered by shuffling and a quiet whimper.

A lump formed in my throat. Is she a child? What monsters hold us captive? I tried to keep my voice as soft and gentle as I could. “It’s all right, honey. I’m not going to hurt you.”

I barely heard her voice, hoarse and frightened. “I’m afraid.”

I nodded, though I doubted she could even see me. “I know, dear. I’m frightened too, but we need to be brave right now. We have to be brave if we want to make it out of here.”

“There’s no way out of here. The last one who tried to escape…” She choked on her own words.

I couldn’t imagine what kind of terrors the young girl had already gone through. I tried to steer the conversation away from the painful memories. “What’s your name?”

She said the words in a soft, hesitant tone, but the effect it had on me was so thunderous, it knocked the breath right out of me.

“I’m Abby. Abigail Hudson.”

I was so stunned, I wasn’t able to respond. I was overjoyed that she was alive. Ben’s little sister was practically a sister to me too, and the thought of seeing her after all these years in a place like this was tearing me apart.

“Abby?” I managed to squeak out. “It’s me. Sofia.”

A gasp and a sob cut through the tension and within seconds, soft arms wrapped around my neck, tears wetting the nook she buried her small face in. She held me so tight I could barely catch my breath. The way she clung to me said a lot about her relief, about what kind of things she’d been put through.

We stayed that way for a couple of moments before I pried her away from me. The questions running through my mind begged to be answered and I doubted we had a lot of time. I knelt on the ground and stood her in front of me. I reminded myself that Abby was barely seven years old and that she had probably been more traumatized than any child her age should have to be.

“Abby, I need you to answer a few questions for me, okay? I’m here now and I’m going to look out for you, but I need to know if…”

“They killed Daddy and Mommy. The red-eyed man and the scary woman with brown hair… they did it.” Abby was sobbing, but the words were clear enough, each one cutting me to the core.

I tried to search for words to comfort her, but all I could do was hold her in my arms, guilty over what part I might have played in the deaths of Lyle and Amelia Hudson, the couple who had raised me for nine years. On the other hand, I was also consumed by the hope that the love of my life had escaped a horrifying demise.

I held the little girl in my arms for what felt like an eternity before the wooden door swung open and a flood of light streamed through the room.

We really were in a dungeon—rusty shackles at the end of chains hooked on the stone walls, with hay on the ground. I blinked to adjust to the change of lighting. I gasped when a figure was pushed to the ground, causing a loud thud to echo across the room.

Abby shrieked at the sight. A man beaten, bruised and bloody lay on his stomach on the hard stone floor. One could barely decipher what was skin and what was flesh.

“Derek…” I managed to squeak out, reaching for him.

“Impressive. You recognized him.”

The red-eyed man leaned against the doorpost, his arms folded over his chest. Abby cowered behind me. I wasn’t going to give him the same satisfaction. Ignoring him, I set my focus on Derek, gently brushing my fingers over his damp hair. “Derek, baby, can you hear me? I love you… I love you. Please say something.”

“Sweet,” the vampire said. “It’s fascinating to see firsthand the kind of undying love you two are known for.”

My eyes shot up at him, forcing myself to look into those eyes. I tried to see a trace of compassion, of regret, and saw none. He seemed to be enjoying seeing us suffer. I held my gaze, channeling all my attention on him. “What made you like this?”

He smirked, but the expression in his eyes changed. Still, he said words meant to prove himself unswervingly cruel. “Pleasure, Sofia. I became a monster because I enjoy it, and believe me that I feel no regret in mangling your beloved. Not even a single ounce of it. Seeing the expression on your face when you lay eyes on him—how tortured you are—it’s fulfilling.”

I pried my eyes away from him. I was hoping Derek would heal. He always did, but I had to remind myself that he was no longer a vampire. He was as human as I was. Vulnerable. Mortal. So easily broken.

All because I wanted to be with him, build a life with him, cure him.

Sitting there, jolting in surprise when our captor slammed the cell door shut, I tried to remember why I’d ever thought finding a cure was a good thing.

How could we have fooled ourselves into believing that draining Derek of his power was the vampires’ true sanctuary?

Chapter 9: Derek

Every bone in my body screamed out in pain. Those red eyes were ingrained in my memory as a symbol for excruciating agony. I wanted to heal. I wanted to somehow recover the ability I’d taken for granted all those years. I was surprised to even be alive. I couldn’t understand how a mortal human being could survive what Kiev had just put me through.

The things we survive, I mused, thinking of the many things Sofia had to endure. Was it this painful for her too? A wave of guilt swept over me at the recollection of all the pain she’d gone through ever since she got entangled in my life. I struggled to meet her gaze, moaning at how even the slightest motion caused currents of agony to flow from the nape of my neck to the tips of my toes.

I drew a breath at the look on Sofia’s face. “I’m so sorry, Derek,” she whispered, obviously afraid to even touch me. “I’m so sorry.”

I couldn’t understand why she was apologizing. She wasn’t the one who’d done this to me. “No. Don’t.”

“If I hadn’t pushed for a cure… If I’d just… I’m so sorry.”

I hated the Elder and his children more than I ever had before. “I love you, Sofia, but you really need to stop this nonsense you’re sputtering out.” I tried to chuckle but the attempt only caused spasms of pain to go through my throat.

“You’re not supposed to be kidding around, Derek.” She choked back her tears. “What have they done to you? Who are these monsters? What do they want with us?”

I pressed my palms on the ground and pushed my upper body up, groaning. “Help me up.”

She helped me sit up, leaning my bleeding back against the wall. Now that I was sitting upright, my head began to whirl.

“You should lie down.” Sofia’s gentle hands ran over my matted hair before she pulled me to rest my head over her lap.

I tried not to groan too much, noticing how she winced. She was trying to be as gentle as possible with me—as if she were afraid that if she touched me, I would break.

Is this how she used to feel around me? So vulnerable?

“It’s all right, Sofia. We’ll be all right,” was my feeble attempt to assure her. Soft lips touched my forehead then my cheek then my lips. The contact caused my bruised face agony and yet my soul came alive just to have her shower those kisses on me.

I dared not groan, steeling myself against the pain. I had an inkling that the memory of those kisses would be the only thing I could hold on to in the coming months.

“Rest,” she whispered as she brushed slender fingers over my hair. I shifted my head on her lap to find the least painful position I could manage.

Only then did I notice the little girl backed up into one corner of the cell. She had her arms wrapped around her knees, her big eyes set on me. I felt like I was being assessed. I tried to recall where I’d seen the little blonde before. She looked awfully familiar.

“That little girl,” I moaned, my voice hoarse from all the screaming I’d done in Kiev’s hands. “Is that Ben’s sister?”

Sofia frowned. “You see her?”

“Why wouldn’t I see her? She’s right there.”

“It’s pitch black in that corner.”

I blinked as I scanned the room. The light left something to be desired, but I could still see everything clearly.

The little girl spoke up.

“Sofia?” she squeaked out.

“Abby, do you see me?”

“Not so much. Who are you with?”

“He’s my husband, Derek. He was there during Ben’s funeral. Don’t you remember?”

“Is he safe? He won’t hurt me, will he?”

“Honey, he’s not going to hurt you. Derek, you remember Abby, right?”

“I’m too hurt to even move, Abby. So yes. You’re safe with me.”

We were met with silence. The little girl was just staring straight right in front of her.

“Come here where I can see you, sweetie,” Sofia coaxed.

Abby crawled toward us, following the sound of Sofia’s voice, feeling the space in front of her.

Questions were running through my mind—ones I wasn’t sure I wanted answered. Why was she here? What had happened to the Hudsons? What would the Elder want with a little girl like her?