I tried to explain that to Paige and Rosa. I tried to explain to them why I couldn’t give away information about The Shade after our escape, but my words were empty in light of the trauma Derek put them through while I was gone. In their eyes, I was siding with the enemy. From my perspective, I couldn’t help but wish they’d remember everything Derek did to protect us before everything went south.

Entering Ashley’s cell a second time, I realized that I didn’t have many girl friends growing up. Everything had always revolved around Ben and the Hudsons. Even as a child, I preferred to be alone and go on my crazy adventures rather than stay with girls my age. They bored me to death. That’s why I valued the girls so much, and now that they had this big grudge on me, I realized how much I missed them.

“Hi, Ashley…” I tentatively approached her. I crossed my fingers, hoping that she would cooperate.

“What are you doing here, Sofia?”

I sat beside her on the cot. She inched away from me. “How’ve you been?” I started. Suddenly, my throat felt dry and I had no idea what to tell her. “Have they been treating you well?”

She scoffed. “As well as they could a prisoner I guess. How long am I going to stay here?” Her lips quivered, her form trembling. “When is this trial even going to be? The anticipation is killing me…”

“I don’t think there’s going to be a trial…”

“What? Why?”

“Derek’s offered a deal. He’s willing to release you.”

“Oh yeah? In exchange for what?”

“Information.”

Ashley’s eyes widened. “I can’t believe you, Sofia. You come here as his lackey, trying to pry information from me? After what he did? Sofia, what ever happened to us looking after each other, huh?”

“That’s why I came here, Ashley. To look out for you. Would you prefer that he come instead? Knowing how much he craves you?”

The idea of being in his presence obviously scared her. She shook her head. “What do you want to know?”

“The tattoo on your back… it means you’re a hunter?”

Her jaw clenched. “Yeah. So what?” She began to twirl the ends of her blonde hair, something I knew she did when she was anxious about something.

“Vivienne was captured by the hunters…”

“Derek’s sister?”

I nodded. “She went out of The Shade to get me to come back…”

“Why? Why would she risk that? They’re safe in this island bubble of theirs. Why would she go through all that to get you back? Why are you so important to these people, Sofia?”

Vivienne’s words flashed through my mind. You’re not a pawn. You’re the queen. “Ash, I understand your hatred of the vampires. I saw it in Ben’s eyes. In a way, I shared that hatred too. They took away so much from us. Derek tried to kill you and whatever excuse he has isn’t reason enough for what he did, but we’re here and there’s no changing that…”

“You’re not answering my question, Sofia. Why are you here? Why would their princess risk being captured by the hunters to get you back?”

I told her what Vivienne told me back at the coffee shop. The part of the prophecy and the role she felt I played in it. This was the part of my conversation with Vivienne that I kept from Derek. Just saying it out loud to Ashley made me feel conceited. Do I really believe that I was that important? That I could make a difference here?

By the time I finished, Ashley’s face softened. “And you actually believe her?”

“At first, I didn’t, then she gave me some of her memories… random ones that told me of her story and the things she went through to protect this island. Then when I got here, Derek showed me the history of The Shade… the price they paid to have what they have… And I know for sure that Vivienne was sincere.” I inhaled and exhaled, hoping that I was somehow getting through to Ashley. “I’m not asking you to forgive him, Ashley. He put you through too much for me to ask something like that. I’m asking you to trust me, because we were friends. We are friends, and things weren’t so bad when we were here, and…”

To my surprise, Ashley cut my rambling off and pulled me in for an embrace. She then whispered into my ear. “I knew you’d come back, Sofia. I wished you’d come back to get us out of here, so it was disappointing to find out that you came back mostly for him. That still doesn’t mean that we didn’t miss you. And if I have to stay in this black hole of an island, I’d rather that you’re here than not.” She chuckled. “After all, I was a lot safer from him when you were here.”

I smiled at her, hoping that what was going on between Ashley and I was a road to reconciliation. When she stopped hugging me, I was relieved to find a smile on her face too.

“What do you want to know, Sofia? If it gets me out of here, then I’ll tell you…”

“We want to know any information you have about the hunters, Ashley... You were one of them.”

“There’s not much I can tell you, Sofia, but what I do know for sure is that if the hunters have had her for more than twenty-four hours, she’s done for. They never keep vampires alive for too long.”

“What reason would they have for keeping one alive?”

Ashley shrugged. “To get information out of her. I’d imagine that Vivienne would be a pretty huge catch, considering that she’s princess of this island… They’d probably be torturing her by now.”

“How can we find her?”

A sad smile formed on her face. “You’re asking about the location of the hunters’ headquarters…”

“Yes.”

“I’d tell you, Sofia, but I don’t know. Look… I belong to a family who’s had generation upon generation of hunters. I couldn’t even track down how far back our family had belonged to the order. Our parents tried to raise us to hate vampires, and it worked with my brother, but it never worked with me. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of hating creatures who harmed some great ancestor of mine and now several generations after, I’m still supposed to harbor hatred against them?” Ashley heaved a deep sigh before proceeding, memories of the past haunting her eyes. “I didn’t want to live the life they were living, so when they sent my brother and I to the hunters for training, I begged him to not tell mom and dad that I didn’t go. I got a tattoo of the hawk just so I could show it to them when they asked about the training, but I never once set foot at the hunters’ headquarters, so I don’t know where it is or how things are run there.”

“How then were you going to get there in the first place?”

“We were sent to a runway where we were to be picked up by a hunter via a private plane. That’s all the information we were given.”

I nodded. “Okay. That’s all I have to ask now, Ash. I believe Derek will have one of the other vampires ask you further questions. I’m hoping he’ll release you soon.” I grabbed her hand and squeezed, relieved that she didn’t pull away.

“Thanks, Sofia.”

I shook my head. “I’m just glad to have you back.”

When I left her cell, I felt pretty good about myself and what was accomplished. Even though Ashley didn’t have any helpful information, she had been willing to tell me what she knew – that had to be enough for Derek.

But something else was grating at me. I found myself looking back to the conversation I had with Derek earlier. He pulled rank on me. He was prince of The Shade and he had every right to do what he wished to do. Still, just because he had the right to do it, it didn’t mean he was right. Ashley was only one human being who suffered abuse under Derek’s hands. As my feet led me to the Catacombs, I shuddered at the kind of atrocities I was about to find.

Derek revealed to me back at the lighthouse what The Shade was and how it came to be. I’m about to find out what The Shade is and what it could become.

CHAPTER 42: BEN

Reuben’s office had a distinct masculine feel to it, the air smelled of mint with hints of rum and tobacco. The carpeted floor and the white-washed walls, with a few select paintings adorning them, provided for a minimalistic feel to the large office interior. At the center of it was a large glass desk – one Reuben, Zinnia and I surrounded as they once again pushed me for any information I could provide them regarding The Shade.

“That’s it? That’s all you know?” To say that Reuben looked displeased was a huge understatement. “There’s got to be more you can tell us.”

“I told you everything I know.” I shrugged. Apparently, I don’t know all that much. Most of my time spent at The Shade was inside Claudia’s home – in her bedroom or in one of her dungeons. The only time I went out was to be brought to Derek’s house. I knew the way to the port but how to get out of the island and how to go back there was beyond me. Reuben was livid.

“Basically, you don’t know anything of use to me. I don’t really care what’s in the island or how it remains invisible and protected. What I care about is how to get there…”

During the few days that I’d known him, it was easy to gather that Reuben Lincoln was not a patient man – especially regarding matters concerning his daughter.

“Well, what about Vivienne? Didn’t you get any information from her?” I gave Zinnia a pointed look as if to ask her for help.

Since I arrived, she’d been with me every day, making sure that I was properly briefed and subjected to the right levels of training. Given my background in martial arts and my time spent at The Shade, I was already several levels ahead of recruits who came before me.

Zinnia shook her head. “She won’t talk.”

“She’s a Novak. She won’t break easily. Her twin brother is the stuff of legends,” Reuben spoke as if he were thinking out loud. “Derek Novak was a force to be reckoned with while he was one of us. He is even more of a threat now that he’s a vampire – a five-hundred-year-old vampire. If we think the Maslens are a threat, he is even more so now.”