6

Vivienne, on the other hand, threw her arms around my neck, whispering how glad she was that I was finally awake.

I couldn’t keep myself from telling her exactly what I felt. “That makes one of us.”

And then it happened. I could feel my gut clench in an excruciating twist. The smell was overwhelming – practically intoxicating. When I saw them, I couldn’t help but wonder whose idea it was to bring about this sort of cruelty upon my wake.

As my sister stepped aside to allow me full view, I remembered everything. I remembered why it was so important for me to stay asleep.

Five beautiful young women – innocents – no older than I was when I became a vampire, stood before me. I could sense their fear and the predator in me was desperate for release. I hated myself for it, but I wanted nothing more than to suck every last drop of blood out of every single one of them.

My eyes were glued to the young man Vivienne was embracing only moments ago. There was no question in my mind that it was him.

He was the one Vivienne told Lucas that I was here for. He was the one the guards and servants were whispering about. He was Derek Novak.

Soon after Vivienne left me inside the dungeon, guards arrived to bring me to another area of the place they called the Blood Shade.

I and several other women around my age were brought out of a network of underground caves they called The Cells. I assumed it was the Shade’s prison system of sorts. My first instinct was to try to figure out where we were.

All I saw were the tallest trees I ever laid my eyes on – I assumed they were giant redwoods that I’d read about in books.

They surrounded us on all sides except for one – our side – which from what I saw, consisted of a huge mountain range, whose ragged cliffs spelled danger.

It was in the intricate cave system of this mountain range that they managed to carve out dungeons that they kept us all in.

I was impressed by how they were able to pull it off, but I couldn’t help but wonder if human blood was shed in turning the Cells into a reality.

From the Cells, we were guided through a well-traveled pathway across a dark, murky wood, before we arrived at a very large clearing at the center of what seemed like a massive forest. Whispers from the guards who were escorting us to our destination informed me that we were at “The Vale”. I assumed that it was the Shade’s center of civilization. I guess I could say that it was the Blood Shade’s main town, built up of several structures, whose architectural styles were the likes I’ve never seen before – almost like a mix of modern and Victorian architectural design with certain elements that looked like they just popped out of fantasy or sci-fi movies. I was still marveling at the places we were passing by when they ushered us to a place that reminded me of a spa Ben often dragged me to for massages.

It was at “the spa” that we were pampered, perfumed, and exquisitely dressed in gowns made of fine silk - the kind which I could only dream of ever affording.

We asked several times why we were being treated so, and received no answers at first, until one of the women styling our hair got tired of the questions and replied.

“Rumors are that you girls are to be part of the prince’s harem. All of the Blood Shade’s Elite have harems of their own. You girls are lucky enough to be chosen to serve the legendary Derek Novak himself. That’s all I’m going to say, so you best shut your pretty little mouths up.”

I had so many questions after that. Being a part of anyone’s “harem” sounded terrifying to me, but I knew that prying for more answers would most likely lead someone into trouble. So, I satisfied myself with keeping my ears open to the hushed whispers being exchanged around me. All I gathered was that the prince had been asleep for hundreds of years and that “the vampires” see him as some sort of “savior”.

I also realized that the women dolling us up were all humans. I wondered if they too were kidnapped like I was.

Once we were ready, the guards who had escorted us to “the spa” came for us. I’ll never forget the look on the face of one of the guards when he saw us.

“The prince is one lucky bastard,” he muttered beneath his breath, before instructing us to stand up and follow them.

We were marched along the Vale’s breath-taking structures on to a cobblestone pathway that led to another area of the dark forest surrounding the Vale.

We eventually reached a clearing that led to a structure that reminded me of pictures that I saw of the Taj Mahal – only this one, I assumed, was a lot smaller.

“Welcome to the Sanctuary, ladies,” one of the guards said, a smirk on his face as he openly ogled us with his amber gold eyes.

They made us enter the front door. It was in the well-lit corridor in front of us that we saw Lucas and Vivienne. I could feel Lucas’ eyes on me, making my insides squirm.

Vivienne instructed us to follow them and we did. We soon turned a corner and walked into a large candlelit chamber.

Standing there, I found myself unable to pry my gaze away from Derek Novak, wondering about all the fuss surrounding him. He was what every teenage girl would most likely describe as hot, which was rather ironic considering how pale and cold he looked.

He had the same features as his brother, but there was something more refined about him, with a hint of boyishness in his features. I could instantly tell that he was younger than Lucas.

I entertained the thought that perhaps I was indeed better off under his mercy than Lucas’. However, the words Vivienne spoke to me before she left still haunted me.

“Your best chance at survival and proving your significance is to win Derek’s affection… I’m not sure that’s even possible.”

“What is the meaning of this? Why would you bring them to me?” Derek spoke up. His voice was deep and powerful. He was breathing heavily as he said each word.

“Take them away from me.”

“We can’t do that.” Vivienne shook her head. “You’ll need to learn to control yourself with them. We will give you blood to feed on soon enough, but right now, you need to keep yourself in check when around them.”

“If you don’t want them to die, why bring them to me now?!” His voice rumbled through the cavernous hall.

Everything about his demeanor – the way his chest heaved, the way his fists clenched – made it clear that he was doing everything in his power to keep himself from attacking any one of us – perhaps even all of us.

I shuddered at the display of temper from this young man, whose immediate command we were going to be subjected to.

Vivienne didn’t seem fazed at all. In a calm, collected voice, she responded to her brother.

“Because you and I both know that if you are to face what lies ahead of you, you need to be able to control your impulse to satisfy your hunger. These women were handpicked to become part of your harem. They’re the loveliest among a recent hunt we made.”

Despite my predicament, my ears perked up at that last statement. Lovely was not something I’d ever been described as before.