We moved to the control room where there was more seating.

Rose and Griffin began to share some banter while I looked out toward the dark island. The Shade. Will it ever be my home again the way it once was? Will I ever be able to roam its beautiful beaches and forests again without being a constant threat to our human residents?

The island looked so peaceful at this early hour. The redwood trees swayed gently in the wind, the glistening ocean waves lapping against the shore.

Having lived here since I was five, I had taken this place for granted. It was only now that I couldn’t have it that I realized just how much I appreciated my home.

I caught sight of Shadow in the distance, racing full speed along the beach. Eli was about half a mile behind him, walking alone. I smiled as the dog raced toward the waves and began splashing about as he chased his tail. That dog had the spirit of a puppy with the strength of a rhino. But if it weren’t for him, I didn’t know if I would’ve even seen the light of day—my mother might’ve never escaped the Elder’s grasp.

I continued watching the dog from my seat, but then stood up as a screeching pierced the quiet morning. Shadow’s strong jaws had clamped around something.

“A mermaid,” my mother gasped. “He’s caught that mermaid.”

We all watched in horror as he dragged the creature onto the sand. His jaws were clamped around her left arm. If he let go and bit into another part of her body, there was no way she’d survive the attack.

Having noticed what had happened, Eli sped up along the beach. He shouted something at the dog, a word I couldn’t recognize, and Shadow instantly let go of the mermaid. As she squirmed across the sand back into the waves, she left a trail of blood behind.

My father had said that he would ask Ibrahim to get rid of these creatures from our waters, but it appeared that they had both been too preoccupied to see to this yet.

By some strange coincidence, almost as soon as I thought of the warlock, he appeared before us in the center of the control room. There was a sheen of sweat on his brow and his face looked strained.

“I can’t find Corrine,” he said, looking around the room at each of us before his eyes settled on me and my mother.

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” my mother asked.

“She’s not in the Sanctuary. I gathered together a search party of other witches, vampires and werewolves. We’ve searched every nook and cranny of The Shade looking for her. I even visited the dragons’ mountain quarters to see if she might have gone there for some reason. None of the fire-breathers had seen her. She must’ve left the island.”

I frowned. “For what?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said.

“And we have no idea when she’ll be back,” my mother said, her expression mirroring Ibrahim’s. “That means that unless she returns within the next one to two hours, we’re going to have to leave without her. Derek isn’t going to want to hang around.”

Ibrahim looked anything but happy with the idea, but he nodded. “I hope that she’ll return before then.”

I was just pondering over where the witch might’ve gone when more people appeared in the room. River and Shayla. I was surprised to see only the two of them. I’d been expecting River’s family to arrive. From the look on their faces, it was clear that something had gone seriously wrong.

River looked at me with panic in her eyes.

“The Oasis. They’ve taken my family.”

Chapter 6: Derek

Thoughts of the hunters surrounding our island slipped from my mind for the first time in weeks as I went about making preparations to leave for The Oasis.

I was just making my way around the vampires’ residences, gathering up those who were willing to come, when Sofia came rushing toward me. I was surprised to see her away from our son.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as she reached me. I feared for a moment Ben had gone berserk again and done something horrifying.

“River and Shayla returned. They went to her apartment in New York, and they also went to Cairo. River couldn’t find her family and she’s convinced that The Oasis has taken them. Also, Ibrahim can’t find Corrine. Did he tell you?”

Sofia was speaking so fast, I was still processing the first piece of news. “I haven’t bumped into the warlock since we parted ways earlier. What makes River so certain that The Oasis has her family?” I asked, frowning.

“She saw something strange in her grandfather’s house in Cairo. A rat that appeared to be under some kind of supernatural influence. It left behind a gold coin—identical to those she had been given in The Oasis. She’s extremely shaken by it.”

“And Corrine? Has Ibrahim searched everywhere on the island?”

“He says so.”

Where has that witch gone? I had no idea what had gotten into her head, but we couldn’t hold things up for her any longer. She couldn’t expect us to wait for her indefinitely when she hadn’t given us even the faintest idea of what we were waiting for. As much as I respected Corrine, sometimes her way of doing things irritated the hell out of me.

I drew in a deep breath. “Okay. You should go back and wait in the sub with Ben. Tell River that we will leave as soon as possible.”

Sofia nodded, then hurried off.

Now we have a second reason to storm the place.

So far, I had gathered Xavier, Ashley, Landis, Gavin, Zinnia, Matteo, Helina, Erik, and three dozen other vampire guards. Yuri hadn’t yet turned back into a vampire, and so was off limits. Liana and Cameron were also still human—and besides, they were still finding their feet after a long journey. And, of course, Claudia and Vivienne were pregnant.