A Castle of Sand(59)

“There will be no culling today or anytime soon,” was all Derek said.
Every single soul present stared at him in shock. None of us—myself included—could believe what he was saying.
Gregor stood his ground, fists clenched, staring his son down. “I am king of The Shade, Derek. You answer to me.”
“You became king of The Shade out of my respect for you, out of my desire to heed to Vivienne’s wishes and keep our family intact. This time, however, I realize that I can no longer serve you. If I’m to fulfill my destiny, then I must rule The Shade.” Derek took several steps forward, looking more imposing and authoritative than I’d ever seen him before. “I am commander-in-chief of The Shade’s army, father. Consider this our coup d’état. I doubt you’ll find many vampires brave enough to go against me in this.”
One look at Gregor’s face was enough to tell us that he knew what Derek was saying was true. I sincerely thought that it was the first time he realized that the only reason he ever held any real power at The Shade was because of the respect the kingdom had for Derek—not for him.
“You can’t do this.” He shook his head, still in denial.
I could see in Derek’s eyes that the situation was tearing him apart. Gregor, after all, was still his father, but he was doing what he thought ought to be done. My heart went out to him as Derek smiled bitterly. “I just did, Father. You’re no longer king of The Shade. I am.”
Awkward was the only word I could think of to describe what happened next. Gregor walked away and Felix’s small contingent of men followed after him. Derek informed everyone that there wasn’t going to be a culling and that everyone ought to head back to their normal daily activities. As the crowd dispersed, he reached his hand out to me and squeezed.
“Thank you,” I said.
He nodded, but I could see how torn he was. I could only imagine the weight that now fell on his shoulders. He instructed Cameron and Liana to gather up the Elite for a meeting at the dome. The couple nodded and went off to do as instructed.
Xavier lingered, waiting for instructions from their new king. Still clutching my hand, it seemed Derek was in a daze. I wasn’t sure if he even fully understood the immensity of what had just happened.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Novak?” Xavier asked, giving me a quick glance, as if he were wondering if I had anything to do with what had just occurred.
Derek shook his head. “I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing or what I ought to do, but I figured it’s time I did what was right—no matter the cost.”
At that, I had to gaze up at him in wonderment and admiration. In my eyes, he never stood taller than he did at that moment.
“I’ve never lied to you, Derek. Not once in the past five hundred years…” Xavier stood to his full height, the features of his handsomely chiseled face taking on a very serious expression.
Derek nodded at his statement, his hand tightening over mine to prepare himself for what his friend was about to say.
“Not everyone will stay loyal to you up to the very end. This will get worse before it gets better—especially if you are unable to secure a supply of human blood for the vampire population.”
“I know that, but what I really want to know is whether I’ll have your back to the very end—yours, Cameron and Liana’s, the Lazaroffs…”
Xavier was silent, weighing his words very carefully before finally nodding. “We started The Shade together. If we have to see it crash and burn, we’ll still do it supporting you.”
Derek smiled. “That’s all I needed to hear. Let’s get to that council meeting, shall we?”
“I’ll return to The Catacombs.” I volunteered, bowing my head and pulling my hand away from him.
He held on tight as he shook his head, pulling me back to his side. “No. As king of The Shade, I want you to become part of the Elite—you, Corrine, Gavin and the other rebel leaders. It’s time we brought the humans in when it comes to matters regarding how we’re going to run the island.”
Both Xavier and I stared at him in surprise. Things were changing fast. Though I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride over what was happening, I also couldn’t help but shudder at what was to come, because I knew without a shadow of a doubt that somewhere along the line, Derek was going to pay a very high price for the decisions he was making.
At that realization, I swore to myself that through it all, I would always be by his side.
Let the sandcastle collapse. In its place, I will build a fortress—one that the waves of nature and time could never destroy.