Chapter 1: Sofia
Twelve years later…
"Summer camp at seventeen. Are you serious, Mom?"
I stared at my daughter. Her long dark hair was tied up in a ponytail, her beautiful green eyes fixed on me.
My Rose. Princess of The Shade.
“Ben!” she called.
The door swung open and her brother came storming into the dining room.
“You’re not going to believe this,” she said, rolling her eyes in my direction. “Mom wants us to go to summer camp again this year.”
“What?”
Ben, my prince. He looked so much like his father it was uncanny. He towered above us, looking from me to Rose. As soon as he laid eyes on his sister, his expression mimicked hers. He turned on me.
“Seriously, Mom? Last year, okay, but this year? We’re way too old.”
I couldn’t help but giggle at their outrage. “Oh, I’m sorry, old man,” I said, patting his shoulder. “Are your knees playing up again?”
“Dad!” Ben called. When Derek didn’t answer, Ben went storming back out of the room in search of him.
“Hey, Mom. Can I have an early birthday present?” Rose asked, looking up at me innocently through her long dark lashes.
“What?”
“Don’t send me to summer camp,” she deadpanned.
“You two!” I said. “It’s not the same one you went to last time. It’s not even called a summer camp. It’s a survival training course. It’ll be heaps of fun. It’s on a little island off the coast of Scotland. Look, here’s the brochure. As you can see on the first page, this is for ages seventeen to twenty-five, so you’ll be the youngest ones there. Granddad’s already booked it and—”
“Oh, so it’s old enough for both of my parents to go. That’s great,” Rose said, eyeing the brochure. “How about you two go instead of us?”
“Watch it,” Derek said, as he entered the room with Ben. He was still dressed in his pajamas and was carrying a book under his arm. “The two of you aren’t going to make it to seventeen if you’re not careful.” Derek bared his fangs at Rose. “You’ll forever be almost-seventeen-year-old vampires.” He caught hold of Ben and nuzzled him.
Ben ducked out of Derek’s grip and walked over to his sister, standing at the opposite side of the table from us. “Did you agree to this?” Ben stared at his father accusingly.
“Oh, yes,” Derek said. “In fact, I was the one who suggested it.”
They both groaned.
“Why do you want us to go so much?” Rose asked.
“We’ve been through this before, sweetheart.” I sighed. “This is going to be your last year of having the opportunity to go outside and be normal. You keep saying you want to turn into vampires. Well, this is the price we’re making you pay, because you’ll thank us for it five hundred years from now. You’ll think back on this time fondly.”
“Five hundred years stuck with you two,” Ben muttered under his breath. “Maybe I’ll stay a human.”
“You’ve been begging us to turn you since you were eight years old,” I reminded him.
He fell silent.
“Now,” I said. “You’re leaving the day after your birthday. That’s in three days’ time. So I suggest you start packing now. Look at this list of stuff to take and let me know if there’s anything we don’t have.”
With that, I caught Derek’s hand and we left the room.
“They complain every year,” I said to him. “But when they come back they’ve had the time of their lives. Teenagers. They have to find something to complain about or their day isn’t complete.” I kissed Derek’s cheek and said, “I’m going to see Corrine.”
“All right, baby,” he said, retreating into his study.
I left the penthouse and made my way toward the Sanctuary. I knocked on the door. Ibrahim answered, holding a mug of some type of exotic-smelling spiced tea in his hand.
“Hi, Ibrahim.”
“Hello, Sofia. How can I help?”
“I’m here for Corrine. Is she in?”
“No, she’s at the school.”
I thanked him and walked back through the woods until I reached The Shade’s bustling town center—the Vale. The school was in a large white building in the middle of the main square. I entered and walked through the corridors, scanning each classroom as I went. I stopped suddenly as I caught sight of my father—now a vampire—leaning against a desk in one of the classrooms. He was talking to Adelle, the headmistress of the school. She was a tall, striking auburn-haired witch who looked as though she was in her mid-thirties.
She’d arrived on the island seventeen years ago, along with Ibrahim and a group of other witches who’d abandoned The Sanctuary in favor of living with us. We were indebted to these witches in so many ways. We could not have rebuilt The Shade into what it was today without them. Before they arrived, thanks to The Elders and their children, our island had been a complete wreck. Now, the island was better and more beautiful than ever before.
“Oh, hi, Sofia,” Aiden said, noticing me by the door.
It was still bizarre to see him as a vampire. He had finally caved in about a year after Derek and I had become vampires. He’d detested himself at first, but over the years he’d grown used to it. Recently I’d noticed him having some particularly long conversations with Adelle. I hadn’t dared ask him about their friendship yet, but I couldn’t miss the attraction that sparked in his eyes every time he laid eyes on her. It warmed my heart that he might finally be opening up to another woman. And this time, to a woman who deserved him.
“Hi, Dad,” I said. “Don’t mind me.”
I smiled to myself as I left them in privacy. I continued walking along the corridors in hopes of spotting Corrine. That was when I saw Abby. She was sitting behind a desk in a small office, shuffling papers and making notes.
She looked up as soon as I entered. Abigail Hudson was now a beautiful young woman, her long blonde hair wrapped in a neat bun above her head, her light blue eyes gazing at me. Her resemblance to her brother was so striking I often found myself needing to take a few moments aside after speaking to her, as tears threatened to spill down my cheeks.
Years ago, we’d turned her back into a human so she could grow up. She’d remained as one until she reached eighteen, and then she’d wanted to turn back into a vampire. I’d turned her myself. Now she worked here alongside the witches as a school teacher, and she clearly adored every moment of it.
“Hi, Sofia,” she said, grinning. “How can I help?”
“Do you know where Corrine is?” I asked. “Ibrahim said she was here in the school somewhere.”
“She’s with Anna in the dining hall.”
“Thanks, Abby.”
I turned and left the room. Arriving in the dining hall—a large high-ceilinged room with long wooden tables running the length of it—I saw Corrine sitting with Anna in the far corner.
They appeared deep in conversation, so I waited by the door, but my acute sense of hearing couldn’t help but pick up on their conversation.
“I think we’ll only need one more round of blood,” Corrine said. “After that, I’m sure we have enough to recreate more samples from what you’ve given us over the years. We’ve stored it all carefully.”
Of course. Corrine had mentioned to me that she’d be having this conversation with Anna. Since Anna was now the only immune that we had on this island, her blood was immensely valuable.
She’d given us generous amounts of her blood so that we could store it and use it for any vampires who wanted to turn back into humans. Over the years, the witches had managed to develop a way to duplicate her blood and mix it with animal blood that would have the same effect when consumed by a vampire. Had they not done this, too much of Anna’s blood would have been needed to ensure that we would never run out. The witches stored the samples securely in three separate parts of the island—that way even if disaster happened, it was unlikely that we’d lose everything. Vampires would continue to have the option to turn back into humans, even after Anna died.
Anna’s straight black hair flowed down her shoulders, her eyes on Corrine. When she wasn’t giving blood or spending time with her family, she assisted in the island’s pre-school. She was well into her thirties now, and a large bump protruded from her stomach. This would be her third child with Kyle.
It was strange to think that I would be her age now had I not asked Derek to turn me. My heart ached as I looked at her. I owed her more than I could ever repay. Yet I felt powerless to hold on to her.
Since Anna was immune to the vampire curse, there was no way she could ever become one of us. Immortal. The only way we knew to cure an immune of their immunity was to take them to Cruor—as I had been kidnapped there. That was a fate worse than death, and it wasn’t even possible, since the gates to that realm had been closed for almost two decades.
We all had to accept the fact that she would pass away. It was for that reason that Kyle hadn’t changed himself back into a vampire. He couldn’t stand the idea of living on without her, so he’d decided that he would pass away naturally with her when nature took them both.
“It’s not a problem, Corrine.” Anna smiled gently. “I’ve always told you that I don’t mind giving blood. I’m glad that it’s so useful.”
“Yes.” Corrine squeezed her hand. “And this island owes you too much already, Anna. We don’t want to take anything more from you than we absolutely need.”
“It’s fine, Corrine,” Anna said, waving a hand in the air. “You’re all my family.”
Corrine sighed and stood up. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer, dear,” she said, eyeing Anna’s huge stomach. “You take it easy, all right?”
Anna nodded and walked over to the exit at the other side of the room, while Corrine made her way toward me. “Ah, Sofia. I’ve been expecting you.” She looped an arm through mine and we left the dining hall. “Let’s go back to my place.”
“So you definitely won’t need to take any more of Anna’s blood after this?” I asked.
“That’s correct. We have enough to recreate more doses, so long as we guard our supply carefully.”
I sighed heavily.
Corrine looked up at me. “Anna’s at peace with her life,” she said. “You fret more about her than she does for herself. You do realize that?”
I nodded. “I just can’t stand the thought of losing her one day. It will be like losing a sister.”
“I know,” Corrine replied, clenching her jaw. “There’s not a person on this island who won’t grieve her loss. That one’s special. Kyle’s a very lucky man.”
We walked in silence for the rest of the walk to the Sanctuary. Once we were sitting in Corrine’s lounge, I tried to tear my mind away from Anna. From her fate that I had no power over.
“So,” I said, clearing my throat. “About the twins’ birthday…”
Corrine’s eyes lit up with excitement as she began explaining to me the ideas she had for their party this year.
I held up a hand.
“Corrine, this is what I’m here to talk to you about. They don’t want us to throw them a big party this year.”
Her face fell in disappointment.
“Why ever not? We always have so much fun.”
“They’re… maturing. They don’t like the idea of their parents still organizing parties for them. I’m already making them go on that adventure course. They won’t want a big party as well. We can just arrange for a picnic for all the children and teenagers on this island.”
Corrine swallowed back her disappointment and nodded.
“Well… all right then.”
I squeezed her shoulder. The witch—still holding out on having children of her own with Ibrahim, since, being a witch, she still had lots of youthful years ahead of her—lavished all her attention on the twins and enjoyed every moment of it. I knew how much my twins meant to her—especially Rose—and I saw the pain in her eyes as it dawned on her that they no longer were the young children who lapped up all her attention eagerly.
I stayed for about half an hour longer with her discussing the picnic, and then I returned to the penthouse.
Once the twins are gone, we’ll all have much more important things to discuss than birthday parties.