“Princess Rose!” he bellowed. “Hello!”
“Hi, Brett,” I yelled back.
He began swimming toward us until he was in shallow enough water to stand up. I gasped, thinking for one horrifying moment that he was wearing no clothes. His massive chest was bare, rolls of flab drooping around his stomach. Then to my relief, I noticed a loincloth on his waist as he stepped onto the sand.
“How are you?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders.
“How are you getting along with Bella?”
He shrugged again.
“Have you talked much since I introduced the two of you?”
“Not much,” Brett mumbled.
“Are you glad she’s here?” It felt like trying to draw blood out of a stone.
He looked down at his massive feet, shuffling from one to the other. “I don’t know…” I could have sworn I detected a slight blush in his muddy brown cheeks.
“I think she likes you,” I said.
Truth be told, I had no idea whether Bella liked Brett. I just wanted to see whether the blush I thought I’d detected was real.
There it was again. A slight warming to his cheeks.
“Is she mean like other girl ogres?” I asked.
He shrugged again. “I give her my food, so… that’s why she’s not mean.”
While I was amused by Brett’s take on Bella, I couldn’t help but be saddened too. I could only imagine what he’d been through at the hands of other ogres.
I frowned at the ogre in mock disdain. I shook my head. “You should consider the possibility that she might like you for more than just your cooking.”
He let out a deep sigh that rumbled through his chest and made the flab around his stomach shake. He shook his head, then turned his gaze toward the sea.
I didn’t want to make the ogre any more uncomfortable than I had already, so I looped my arm through Caleb’s and said, “Well, I will see you around, Brett.”
“Bye, Princess Rose,” Brett mumbled, still avoiding eye contact as he began trundling back toward the direction of his cave.
Caleb and I spent the rest of the hour exploring the parts of the island that had been most affected by the dragons’ flames. Like the Port, most other places had been restored. After we were done touring the island, we headed back to my parents’ apartment. We ascended in the elevator and, arriving on the veranda, I let us in through the front door. This time, my parents were both seated at the dining table in the kitchen. They both looked up as we entered.
“Rose!” My mother beckoned me over.
Caleb and I took seats around the dining table. “You two must have been tired,” I said. “We came by earlier.”
My father let out a yawn.
“I guess the dragons left already?” I asked.
“Oh, yes,” my father replied, rubbing his face in his hands. “They left some hours ago.”
“When will they return?” Caleb asked.
“They didn’t specify,” my father replied. “I don’t imagine they will be away long though. They are fetching their prince and about fifty other dragons.”
“And what about their accommodations?” I asked.
“The witches are working on them now. We are converting the storage chambers into apartments for the dragons. They said they like high ceilings and the rooms we had built for humans simply won’t do,” my mother said. “We’re holding a memorial ceremony for our fallen in an hour. I’m going to take a quick shower.” She stood up and headed out of the room.
I reached across the table and gripped my father’s forearm. “Thank you for saving Caleb.”
My father nodded, glancing briefly at Caleb.
The three of us didn’t exchange many more words until my mother reappeared from her shower dressed in a long black robe. I looked down at my own clothes, then at Caleb’s. We ought to change into something more subdued too. I took Caleb’s hand and walked with him toward my bedroom. I didn’t have any long black dresses like my mother’s, so instead I pulled out a smart black shirt and pants, followed by a long black cardigan. I slipped into them quickly before leaving the room again and entering Ben’s bedroom with Caleb. I searched through my brother’s closet until I found a black outfit for Caleb as well. He changed quickly and we returned to the living room. My father had also changed into black clothes.
We all left the apartment together and headed towards the Sanctuary. People—humans, vampires, witches and werewolves alike—were already gathering in the clearing outside of the witches’ temple. Since we had no bodies to bury, we held a similar ceremony to the one we’d tried to hold for my own grandfather and those we’d mistakenly thought we’d lost.
Corrine was standing in the center of the courtyard, arranging row upon row of burning candles. More and more people were arriving by the moment. We all took a candle and returned to our spots around the courtyard. Once the area was filled to capacity, Corrine floated the remaining candles higher in the sky until they were all hovering above our heads.
One by one, the relatives of our fallen stepped up by the fountain and spoke eulogies. My eyes glossed over as I stared into the flickering flame of my candle. I should have been grateful that we hadn’t lost more of our people. After all, every single one of us should have burnt to the ground last night. But all I felt was sadness and remorse.
However, as the ceremony neared a close, I dried my tears and a different emotion took hold of me. Hope. That from this day forward, The Shade would be a safer place.
Chapter 3: Aiden
I had been avoiding Adelle all throughout the ceremony, not that it was difficult. She had been avoiding me too. I didn’t catch her once looking my way. Perhaps she felt embarrassed.
The redheaded witch had been playing on my mind ever since she’d come to see me. I couldn’t deny that I was still deeply attracted to her. But the werewolf had gotten under my skin, touched me in ways that I hadn’t expected. She truly was a breath of fresh air. After Camilla, Kailyn’s frankness and straightforwardness were qualities I needed in a life partner. Kailyn was everything that Camilla wasn’t. And though physically she wasn’t my type, somehow I preferred that she wasn’t. Adelle’s beauty was almost too similar to Camilla’s for comfort. It felt like Kailyn was the clean break I needed in life. In love.
Although I’d known Adelle for much longer, I couldn’t be sure that her attachment to me was as true as Kailyn’s. Granted, I had certainly taken my time in asking her out, but if she had truly had a crush on me all those years, what had been stopping her from expressing her feelings? I wondered whether it was more the breakdown in our friendship since she’d started going out with Eli than actual love for me that had caused her to react the way she had.
But whatever was going on in that witch’s head, I was Kailyn’s now.
After the ceremony, Kailyn and I made our way back to our mountain cabin. Although we could have opted to live in the trees, I’d realized that it would be much more practical to stay in the cabin when Kailyn transformed into a wolf. We walked hand in hand up the cabin steps, in through the front door and dropped down on the sofa in the living room. She wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned her head against my chest. I stroked her wavy blonde hair, resting my lips against her head.
“Sometimes I wish I could turn you into a werewolf,” she said with a smile.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Werewolves just have more fun.”
I chuckled. “You’re probably right.”
“Though,” she said, “it’s true that vampires have one advantage over us. They live forever.”
I hadn’t thought until now about the longevity of werewolves. “How long do werewolves live?” I asked.
“A long time. But not forever.”
I held her hand and kissed it. “Well, a very long time will have to be good enough for me. Unless we can turn you into a vampire.”
She smiled. “I’m not even sure that wolves can turn into vampires.
Perhaps it’s something that could be done with the assistance of the black witches… But honestly, I’m not sure I could handle being so cold all the time.”
“You get used to it,” I said grimly.
“Hey, Aiden!” a familiar voice called from outside the cabin.
I walked over to the door and opened it. Claudia stood on my doorstep, hands on her hips.
I raised a brow. “What brings you here, Mrs. Lazaroff?”
She cast a fleeting glance over my shoulder into the cabin and waved at Kailyn. “Hi, Kailyn,” she said.
The wolf appeared at my side. She gave Claudia a smile. “Hello.”
Claudia looked back at me. “Well, as you know, Yuri and I have some… business to do.”
She paused.
“And?” I prompted.
“And it means that not only will he and I turn back into humans, we’re going to leave this island for a while. Like Xavier and Vivienne, Yuri and I didn’t ever have a proper honeymoon. We were stuck on this island as vampires.”
“When will you turn?”
“Tomorrow morning. We’ll take the cure and leave right afterward—assuming we recover quickly. So… I wanted to invite you round now, to catch up on a few things and to say goodbye.”
“Oh, I see.” I looked down at Kailyn. “Would you like to come?”
Claudia cleared her throat. “Yuri wanted to have a bit of private time with you. You know, man to man.”
Kailyn was quick to pick up on the hint. “You go, Aiden. I’ll stay here, or I might even go to my sister’s cabin to see how she’s settling in with Micah.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you back here in a while.”
I gave her a hug before setting off with Claudia down the mountainside. I cast her a curious glance. “Man to man?”
“Well, I’ll be in on the conversation too but…” Her voice trailed off. “Kailyn,” she mouthed silently. I had no idea why the couple would want to talk to me about Kailyn. But now wasn’t the time to press. We had to reach the treehouse, where we would be far enough from Kailyn for there to be too many other noises for her to distinguish our voices.
We reached the couple’s treehouse in a matter of minutes. Entering through the doorway, Claudia called out, “Baby.”
Yuri strolled into the entryway. He gave me a smile before leading us into the living room and sitting down on the couch, gesturing that I do the same. I sat down in an armchair opposite him while Claudia sat next to him.
“Glad you could make it,” Yuri said.
“Claudia tells me you’re leaving the island tomorrow.”
“That’s the plan.” Yuri placed an arm around Claudia’s shoulder.
“Where will you go?”
Claudia’s face lit up. She placed a tender kiss on Yuri’s cheek. “We didn’t want to be copycats and go to Greece like Xavier and Vivienne. So I convinced Yuri to take me to Paris.”
“Paris?”
“Uh-huh.” Claudia nodded, a huge grin on her face. “My father was a Frenchman. And Yuri has French roots too, on his mother’s side.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. I could just imagine Claudia prancing along a Parisian boulevard, bags of shopping dangling from her arms as she dragged Yuri along behind her.
I gave Yuri a broad smile. “Make sure you bring enough cash.”
“Yeah,” he muttered.
“Anyway,” Claudia said, “I didn’t just call you here to say goodbye. I wanted to talk to you about Adelle.”
I groaned internally. “What about Adelle?”
Claudia exchanged glances with Yuri. “She’s broken up with Eli.”
“What?”
Yuri nodded.
“Why?” My mouth hung open.
“From what I managed to get out of Eli,” Claudia said, “she didn’t give a reason. She just said she felt that they needed a break… But I have a theory. I think she broke up with Eli because of you.”
I narrowed my eyes on Claudia. “What makes you say that?”
She shrugged. “Just intuition, I guess…”
I let out a groan. The last thing I wanted was for Adelle to break up with Eli. I’d been devastated when they’d first gotten together, but since I’d met Kailyn, I’d grown to feel pleased for the couple. Eli deserved happiness just as much as I did.
“That’s why you didn’t want Kailyn here,” I muttered.
Claudia nodded.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m not sure why you’re telling me this. Adelle doesn’t concern me anymore. You know I’m with Kailyn.”
“I just thought you ought to know,” Claudia said.
I stood up from the armchair and walked over to the window. I stared out at the tree branches. “I loved Adelle for years,” I said softly. “There was nothing stopping her from approaching me if she’d felt the same.”
“Well, witches are different than wolves,” Claudia said. “They’re more traditional.”
I exhaled sharply. “I’m with Kailyn now.” I realized that I was repeating myself. I was saying this more to myself than to anyone else.
I’m with Kailyn. She’s right for me.
I turned around again to look at the couple. “So was that all you wanted to tell me?”
Claudia nodded, looking at me with a pained expression on her face.
Yuri stood up and, walking over to me, gripped my shoulder. “Personally, I think Kailyn’s the right choice.”
I nodded curtly. “Well, I hope the cure goes smoothly. And if you are leaving tomorrow, let me know. I’d like to see you off at the Port.”
I walked toward the door.
“Bye, honey,” Claudia said.
“Bye.”
As I left that treehouse and descended back down to the forest floor, Yuri’s words replayed in my mind.
Kailyn’s the right choice.
Kailyn’s the right choice.
Chapter 4: Mona
I returned with Kiev to our new residence—a grand treehouse not too far away from Derek and Sofia’s. This was the first time we’d even laid eyes on it since the witches had erected it. We walked slowly from room to room, starting with the beautifully furnished living room, moving on to the kitchen, the dining room, and then the three bedrooms. Ibrahim and Corrine could have made it larger for us, but I’d requested that they keep it small. Neither Kiev nor I liked huge homes. We were much happier in more contained spaces. It wasn’t like we were expecting to have many guests stay over anyway.
As we entered the master bedroom, I sat down on the edge of the king-sized bed. Kiev walked over to the window and looked out before turning around to face me.
“What do you think?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Looks good enough.”
I nodded. My eyes fell to his prosthetic arm. Although having a missing arm didn’t seem to bother Kiev, it still pained me every time I looked at it. It reminded me what he’d sacrificed for me. For us. I rolled the engagement ring on my finger.
“What’s wrong?” Kiev frowned. “Don’t you like this place?”
“I love it.” I gave him a watery smile. I reached for his right arm and pulled him down on the bed to sit next to me. Cupping his face with my hands, I brushed my thumbs against his rough cheeks. I closed my eyes. “I love you, Kiev,” I whispered, biting my lip.
He reached for my chin and pressed his lips against mine in a firm yet tender kiss. Then, holding me by the waist with his left arm, he raised my hand and kissed the ring. His voice husky, he looked me deep in the eyes. “Let’s get married, Mona,” he said. “Before things get crazy again, I want to make you my bride.”
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Although I wanted nothing more than to accept Kiev’s suggestion, I couldn’t help but feel it was too soon, too close to the funeral ceremony. Too close to the destruction we’d just been through. “Do you really think now is the right time for a wedding?”
He wet his lower lip, his expression concerned. “We don’t know when we’ll get another chance
. If there’s one thing I’ve learned while staying on this island, it’s that if there’s anything you want to do, you need to do it at the first opportunity. Anything can happen at any time in The Shade.”
He lifted himself off the bed, pulling me up into a standing position next to him. Sliding both hands around my waist, he pulled me flush against his body, bending me back gently and trailing kisses down my throat.
“Let’s get married, Mona,” he said again.
“Okay,” I breathed. “Let’s get married.”
Barely had I said the words before he scooped me up in his arms and began racing toward the exit of the apartment. Running out onto the balcony, he leapt up onto the railing and with one giant leap almost gave me a heart attack as we hurtled down to the ground. I was winded as we landed, practically strangling him with my grip.
“Wh-Where are you taking me?”
“We ought to let the Novaks know first.”
After recovering from the drop, I couldn’t help but laugh at the speed at which he was running. The wind blew so violently against me I could barely keep my eyes open. “You know, I could just magic us there.”
Kiev smiled but didn’t take me up on my suggestion.
“I have no idea how to organize a wedding.” I’d spent too many years of my life believing that I might never even have a wedding. “I’m sure Corrine can help us though.”
As we reached Derek and Sofia’s treehouse, Kiev didn’t bother knocking. The door had been left unlocked and he was able to push it wide open.
Sofia came hurrying into the living room at the noise.
“Kiev? Mona? What are you doing here?”
“We want to get married,” Kiev stated calmly.
Sofia looked only mildly surprised. “Oh… When?”
“Tomorrow,” Kiev replied.
“Kiev,” I said, “do you have any idea how much work goes into a wedding?”
He cocked his head to one side and looked down at me. “Do you?”
Sofia chuckled. “We’ll manage it, I’m sure. The way things have been going on this island recently, I don’t blame you for wanting to get it done as soon as possible. Corrine is the best at weddings around here, as you may already know. I suggest going to see her and starting the arrangements.”