Kyle stood up and gestured us to take a seat on the long sofa. We acquiesced.
“How are you feeling?” my mother asked Anna.
“Much better,” Anna said. “The baby and I just woke from a nap.” My parents looked at her expectantly. Anna cleared her throat and looked at Kyle.
Kyle took the cue and said, “Ariana, Jason, let’s go down to the beach.”
Ariana looked at me. “I’d rather stay here with Rose,” she said.
Kyle let out a sigh. “No, Ariana. Come on.”
She scowled and looked at me apologetically. “I guess I’ll have to catch you some other time, Rose,” she said and followed her father out of the room with Jason.
Once the door had clicked shut, Anna cleared her throat again, adjusting the baby on her lap as she got into a more comfortable position, folding her legs on the sofa beneath her.
“I guess I’ll start at the beginning,” she said. She closed her eyes for a few moments as if steeling herself.
“Take your time, Anna,” my mother said.
“Yeah,” Anna said, taking a deep breath. “It’s fine. So, the day I was taken… I was resting here on the sofa. The back garden door was open to let in the breeze. I must have drifted off and when I woke, I found myself face to face with a vampire. I screamed. He placed a hand over my mouth and extended his claws, threatening to slit my throat if I didn’t do exactly as he said.” She paused, shifting in her seat. “How he found me so quickly, I don’t know. I guess, as you say, vampires find immune blood much more easily detectable than regular human blood.”
“So he just snatched you from here?”
She nodded. “He drew out a needle and injected it into my neck. I lost consciousness soon after that. I guess he must have transported me to a submarine… or perhaps a witch helped him manifest back to the island. Anyway, I found myself walking up in a cold dungeon with a few other humans around me. I had no idea where I was, and I never saw that red-haired vampire again—”
“Red-haired vampire?” I blurted out, staring at her.
Anna paused, her lips parted as she looked at me, frowning. “Yes, red-haired.”
“Continue, Anna,” my father urged.
Anna continued to recount her tale and although I was curious about it, I found myself unable to concentrate. Her voice was drowned out by a whirlwind of thoughts that started to flood my mind.
So Caleb didn’t actually steal Anna himself. It was Stellan who had been in the back of the submarine.
I also recalled how Caleb hadn’t even wanted to step onto the island. He’d just wanted me to climb out through the hatch. I had been the one to insist that he stay. Perhaps he had been afraid that Stellan might come to while he was gone.
But even if—as Anna seemed to be confirming—Stellan did all this, what did it actually mean?
Did Caleb intend Stellan to wake up from his coma? Was Caleb just here on the island as a distraction so that Stellan could wake and do his thing? Was his fight with Stellan all a big ruse? Maybe he didn’t even snap Stellan’s neck and just made it look like he did… But I’d heard the crack of bone. That was hard to fake.
I sat back in the sofa, my hands over my lap as I stared blankly at Anna. Her lips were moving but I still wasn’t absorbing a word.
Even though I was supposed to be forgetting him, the whole time I was sitting there opposite Anna, that brown-eyed vampire was the only thing on my mind.
Chapter 34: Rose
After our visit to Anna’s house, our parents went directly to the Great Dome to call a meeting with their closest advisors. They were to discuss Kiev, and what to do about protecting the island long-term from Annora.
Ben and I walked alone in the woods back toward our penthouse. We didn’t say much to each other as we went up the elevator. We both retreated to our rooms. I looked around my room for my mobile phone. Then I went directly to my parents’ chambers and took their phone too. Stuffing both into my coat pocket, I left the apartment again and hurried down to the forest ground.
Anna’s revelation had told me to hold onto what I believed deep down to be true: that there was more to Caleb’s story than anyone realized.
I felt too restless to stay in the penthouse now. Hell, even walking around the island wasn’t enough to soothe the storm that was now raging within me. I knew that only one thing would solve my unease once and for all.
There was only one person on this island who could help me this time. And it wasn’t Corrine.
It had begun to pour with rain. Mud splashed and soaked my ankles as I ran through the forest, the hem of my dress soaking up the wet soil. Brushing aside the damp hair from my face, my eyes fixed ahead, I blazed forward.
I rushed toward the guest houses north-east of the island where I’d overheard our guests were staying. By the time I’d arrived, the entire bottom of my dress was soaked, my hair dripping.
I looked around at a row of townhouses that had been built along the beach especially for when we had extra visitors. There were about twenty houses, all built in a row.
Which one do I knock on first?
I figured that the first door to my right would be as good as any, so I knocked. A tall vampire came to the door. He had stubble on his face, and kind brown eyes. Matteo Borgia. “Rose Novak?”
I nodded and shook his hand. “I’m sorry to trouble you,” I said. “But could you tell me where Kiev is staying?”
Matteo poked his head out of the door and looked to his right along the row of houses. “Just two doors down,” he said, indicating the correct house.
“Thanks,” I said, and backed out of the gate.
He looked at me curiously before he finally shut the door.
I stopped in front of Kiev’s door, breathing deeply, trying to steady my nerves. I knocked, my throat feeling parched.
Footsteps approached and then the door opened slowly.
And there I was, standing in front of the dark legend that was Kiev Novalic. It was the first time I’d been in his presence all alone.
“Kiev,” I said, feeling uneasy as he looked down at me. I held out my hand, hoping it would break the ice. It only made things even more awkward when he didn’t take it. I lowered my hand and cleared my throat. “May I come inside?”
He frowned, then stepped back wordlessly and swung the door open for me to enter.
The inside was much like Anna’s house—and all the other humans’ townhouses. I walked through to the living room, still feeling his gaze on me. I walked to the edge of the room, leaving as much space between the two of us as possible, and looked at him.
Now that I was alone with him in this small room, the insanity of what I was doing rolled over me in waves. But I didn’t budge an inch. I knew I had to do this if I ever wanted to get my peace back.
I had to close what had been opened.
I couldn’t go on living in limbo like this, with so many doubts floating around in my head about the young man I feared still held pieces of my heart and mind.
“What do you want?” Kiev’s tone was harsh, piercing through the silence like the crack of a whip.
Running my hands along the back of an armchair, I leaned against it for support.
“I need the help of your, uh, girlfriend.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“It won’t take more than a few hours,” I said quickly. “But I need her to help me retrieve… something from one of Annora’s islands.”
He crossed the room, closing the distance between us like a panther.
“You have guts,” he said. “Like your mother.” He paused, his eyes drilling into me. “But why would I ask Mona to help you with this?”
I held his gaze, refusing to flinch. “You want to make amends with my parents,” I said.
His jaw twitched. “What is it you want to retrieve? Something of your parents?”
“Uh, well, it’s not actually a thing. It’s a… a vampire. I just need to speak to him for a short while.”
“People on that island are your parents’ enemies. If it really was my intention to make amends with your… parents—as you assume—this would be the opposite way to achieve it.”
He had me there. I’d talked myself into a corner.
I bit my lower lip and there was an awkward silence. “Well,” I muttered. “You could do it to make amends with me. You stole my twin, you know.”
He folded his arms across his chest as he continued staring at me. I thought he was going to ask me to leave, but instead, I could have sworn that his expression softened a little.
“Mona,” he called out. “You have a visitor.”
Floorboards creaked overhead and Mona appeared in the room a minute later. She wore a dressing gown, her blonde hair bunched up above her head in a messy bun.
I wondered if Kiev would have given in to this request had it come from my brother. Somehow, I doubted it. It was no secret that he’d had a crush on my mother—perhaps he still did—and I reminded him of her. While all Ben did was remind Kiev of my father.
Kiev looked me over once more before stalking out of the room. Mona sat down on the sofa opposite me.
“Rose Novak… Yes?”
“Yes.”
“Well? What do you want?” she asked.
“I would like to ask a favor of you,” I began. “I need you to fetch someone for me. A vampire. Caleb Achilles is his name. He’s the leader of the same island you rescued my parents from. I need to talk to him.”
“He’s an enemy of this island. Why would you want to meet him?”
“Mona, it’s… complicated. I just ask this small favor of you. I only need to talk to him for a few minutes.”
She frowned at me. “But if I stole him away from the island, where would you meet him? Here, in The Shade?”
“Oh, no,” I said quickly, shaking my head. “There’s no way I could bring him here. There’s a rock formation a few miles out to sea, outside the boundary of our spell. You could find him and then drop him off there. Then come for me.” I described to her exactly where Caleb’s quarters were located in the castle to the best of my memory. “I also ask that neither of you mention this to my parents.”
“But is he safe?” she asked, eyeing me. “You want to be alone with him on the rocks?”
I paused, considering her question.
“You don’t need to be there,” I said, with conviction I didn’t understand. “I have two of the phones that Corrine has programmed to be able to communicate with The Shade.” I reached into my pocket and handed her one.
She stared at the phone as if it was some kind of alien object. “I’m sorry,” she said, running a finger over the screen. “I’m not used to all this human technology yet. This is the first time I’ve entered the human realm.”
“Well, it’s really not difficult.” I showed her how to select my number in case she needed to call me, and made her practice answering a phone call from me. It didn’t take more than a few minutes for her to feel comfortable using it.
“So I’ll phone you when I need you to come for me,” I said.
“All right,” she replied. “But we’d better be finished before the meeting I have with Corrine later. I’m due to meet her in a couple of hours.”
I nodded. “We’ll definitely be done.”
“Let’s do this now then,” she muttered.
Still wearing her dressing gown, she stood up and vanished.
The thought of being perhaps minutes away from seeing Caleb again released a swarm of butterflies in my stomach. I kept looking at the clock. My palms felt sweaty as I listened to it ticking.
Almost ten minutes later, Mona reappeared. Her hair looked more disheveled than when she’d left, but otherwise she looked unscathed. Furrowing her brows, she looked at me and nodded. “He’s waiting.”
“Okay,” I croaked.
I stood up. The floor felt like it moved beneath my feet as I approached her. I reached out and gripped her shoulder. As soon as our bodies touched, we vanished together.
My heart raced, not from the wind howling around me or my body being flung miles through the air at the speed of light, but the prospect of Caleb standing there once I reached the other side.
Chapter 35: Rose
When I opened my eyes, I was standing on top of a sharp rock. This bare island was perhaps only a few thousand square feet. The moon and stars were the only source of light. A dark figure stood near the edge, his back facing me.
Mona was gone. I reached into my pocket and squeezed my phone.
As I made my way toward him, he whirled around. His eyes widened in shock. “Rose?” His voice was hoarse.
Cautiously, I closed the distance between us until I was standing just a few feet away from him. Now I could see him better.
My eyes fell on his bare torso. The only clothes he had on were pants. I wondered what Caleb had been doing when Mona had stolen him away.
I was having trouble speaking. My throat felt painful.
“What are you doing here?” He still seemed too shocked to see me to suspect I could be behind it.
“I asked the witch to bring you here,” I said, steeling myself for his response.
But he barely reacted. He just stood staring at me in confusion.
“You lied to me about stealing Anna. Why?”
He leapt the remaining distance between us and gripped my shoulders. “Tell the witch to take me back, now,” he growled.
Not until I find closure.
He gripped my jaw, his other hand reaching for the back of my neck. “You’re in no position to be making demands of me, girl,” he said.
He was so close, I felt his cool breath against my skin. I reached for his hands and pulled against them. “Oh, I think I am,” I said softly. “You’re stuck on this island until I call for the witch.”
He breathed out sharply and released me. He turned his back on me and ran to the edge of the water. “What does it even matter?” he snapped.
Now it was my turn to snap. “As much as this may have all been a game to you, it wasn’t for me.” My cheeks burned with embarrassment for having admitted this in front of him.
He paced up and down, staring out at the ocean.
“Stellan stole Anna,” I continued. “So why did you say that you stole her? Caleb, please. I promise I won’t keep you long if you’ll just tell me the truth.”
“Yes, Stellan stole her,” he said. “But as far as the world is concerned, I did. I wouldn’t be here now if I’d said that it wasn’t my idea all along.”
“So you didn’t come to our island intending to steal Anna?”
“Of course not.” He scowled. “You saw me snap Stellan’s neck. And I never would have set foot on the island had it not been for your stubbornness.” He paused and heaved a sigh. He stopped pacing and turned his back on me again. “I never should have kissed you,” he muttered.
Holding my breath, I walked up behind him cautiously until I was standing next to him at the edge of the rock. The sea roared all around us, its rough waves spraying our skin.
I swallowed hard.
I’d thought I’d find relief and closure in knowing for sure what had happened. That it would help me move on and stop thinking about him like a loser. But now my stomach just felt even more knotted, knowing that he was innocent. Knowing that all along he had indeed been protecting me.
Before all this had happened, I’d harbored some hope in the back of my mind that maybe one day—if he managed to escape Annora—he’d come to stay with us in The Shade. Now, that could never be the case.
Even if Mona was able to cut his bonds to Annora, even I wasn’t naive enough to think that I could persuade my father that he was innocent. Not after all my father had witnessed with his own eyes. He wouldn’t believe me before, and he certainly wouldn’t now. Caleb had already sealed his own fate in the eyes of my parents and the rest of The Shade.
“I repeat my question,” he said, breaking through the silence. “What difference does it ma
ke?”
I stared down at the dark waters licking the edge of the rocks. I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.
He was right, of course. But my actions, it seemed, weren’t based on what made sense anymore. Rather, they were based on the restlessness eating me away inside. I’d left my brain in The Shade. I knew that already.
“You’re right,” I murmured, “It doesn’t make a difference. I just suppose, even if the whole world believes your lie, at least I know…” My voice trailed off.
A gust of wind showered us with spray. I looked out once again at the churning black monster surrounding us. We seemed so insignificant on this tiny cluster of rocks. The vastness could swallow us up, and very little would change in the world.
My eyes fixed on two clumps of sea flora, colliding with each other in the waves before being torn apart just as suddenly.
“I want to return,” Caleb said.
“Of course,” I whispered.
I stood up and reached into my pocket for the phone. My hand trembling, I flipped it open and dialed Mona’s number.
The witch picked up after a few rings.
“We’re done,” I said.
Even now, Caleb avoided eye contact.
I wanted to reach out to him. I wanted him to hold me in his arms just one last time. Feel his hand in my hair, his palm touching the side of my face. I wanted to kiss his cold cheek. But I held myself back. I knew that it would just make things more painful in the long term, just as his kiss had.
Caleb was right. We never should have shared that kiss.
Mona appeared on a rock a few feet away from us.
I looked at her, biting back the pain.
“Please take Caleb back first,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I’ll wait here for you.”
Mona walked briskly over to Caleb and placed a hand on his shoulder.
It killed me that even during those final seconds, he was still looking anywhere but at me.
And then he was gone.
Chapter 36: Aiden