Sofia nodded. “Of course.”
I shifted my attention to Ben, expecting to find the usual haughty and defiant expression on his face. Instead, he just seemed…exhausted and somewhat jaded by the time that had passed since he last stepped foot on this island.
I gestured toward a small wooden chair in one corner of the small room. “You may take a seat.”
He shook his head. “I prefer to stand, thank you.”
I leaned my back against one of the walls. From the corner of my eye, I could make out Sofia taking a seat on the edge of the cot. Xavier was leaning against one post of the open door. All attention was now on our unexpected visitor.
“I understand that you’re a hunter now?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.
Ben nodded. “Yes. That’s correct.”
“That makes you a threat to us. Do the hunters know about the location of The Shade?”
“No one knows I’m here.”
“And I should just believe you?”
“I don’t care what you believe or don’t believe, Novak. Prepare for a hunter attack for all I care, strengthen your defenses, put everyone on alert if you must. I’m telling you that it’s a waste of time. If the hunters knew about the island, then it would have been blown to pieces by now. They don’t care about all the humans you have here. They just want you dead.”
That they wouldn’t think twice about blowing up the island was something I could believe. It’s what I would’ve done if I were still a hunter. It was how the hunters operated. Collateral damage and the loss of human life were acceptable as long as they fulfilled the mission of wiping out every single vampire from the face of the earth.
“How did you make your way back to the island, Ben? How could you have known how to return here?”
“Your brother, Lucas, sent me,” Ben said flatly.
“Why on earth would Lucas Novak risk his own neck to contact a hunter and make him come here?” I narrowed my eyes, trying to understand what my older brother’s motivations could possibly be.
“He wants Sofia out of here. He was threatening to kill my family—my father, my mother and my little sister. Although that was a bluff. I’m sure he’s aware that the families of hunters are always closely monitored; he’d be a fool to come within a mile of our house. He got in touch with me through Natalie Borgia. He sent me here to coax Sofia out of the island.”
He said every word with such blunt honesty, it felt like a huge blow to my senses. “So all this time, my brother is still after Sofia.”
CHAPTER 39: BEN
“He doesn’t trust me,” I told Sofia as she laid a plate of stir-fried vegetables on top of the wooden table inside her quarters in The Catacombs.
“Of course he doesn’t.” Sofia shrugged nonchalantly. “Why on earth would Derek trust you? Nobody here trusts you, Ben. No one has any reason to trust you.”
“Not even you?” I asked, swallowing back my hurt, knowing how much truth rang in her words.
Loose strands of her auburn hair fell to her face as she sat across the table from me. “I want to trust you, but I have so many questions running through my mind. I just…am I really supposed to believe that you had a complete turnaround and are now willing to protect The Shade?”
“I have no desire to protect The Shade, Sofia,” I clarified. “I still want to have my vengeance on Claudia. I still want to see her die for what she did to me. The only reason I’m here is because I want to make sure you’re alright. I want to make sure that he’s treating you right. Lucas was the only way I could get to you. If I was going to betray The Shade, I already would’ve done that.”
“Well, now that you’re here and you’ve seen me, I guess you can see that I’m perfectly fine, that Derek has treated me well. Now what?”
I stared at her in wonderment. After Derek released me and allowed me to go to The Catacombs with Sofia—under close surveillance at all times—Sofia, Ashley and Rosa had updated me on what’d been happening at The Shade since Sofia’s arrival. I was saddened by the news of Paige’s murder, shocked by Ashley’s choice to get turned into a vampire and moved by the stories about the culling and how Derek stood up for Sofia at the town square. More than anything, however, I was stunned by what Sofia had been able to accomplish at The Shade.
“She’s practically the princess of The Shade now,” Ashley had said proudly, as she cast an affectionate gaze toward Sofia.
“She’s about to become the queen.” Rosa smiled as she fingered the ring on Sofia’s finger. Derek had given it to her shortly after he released me from the port.