A Castle of Sand(69)

“Yes…Sofia…”
I was conscious enough to know that the woman in my bed wasn’t her, but it all still felt like a dream. I wanted to snap out of it, but it was almost like I was trapped in that state, unable to get out. When the lips pressing against mine pulled away, I forced my eyes open.
Blinking several times until my vision cleared, seeing who was lying on my bed was like a blow in the gut. Claudia.
She smiled and before I could even react, she stabbed a large syringe right into my veins. “I’m sorry, Derek, but you made a big mistake the day you treated me like your whore.”
The last thing I could remember was the crazed and manic look on Claudia’s face as I drifted off into unconsciousness. Just before I completely faded away, I could hear Sofia’s voice croak out the same way she did in the dream, “I’m scared, Derek.”
And by instinct, I knew that when I woke up from the sleep that Claudia had put me in, Sofia would be gone.  

CHAPTER 44: SOFIA
 At the sight of me, Gregor stood up and slightly bowed his head. He had a smile on his face—calm and unnerving. All I wanted to do was get as far away from him as possible.
“Derek’s not here,” I told him. “I haven’t seen him since I woke up.”
Gregor looked at Ben, who was standing right behind me. “Is he aware that you’re with your lover boy over here?”
“What do you want, Gregor?”
He smirked. “I want you out of this island, Sofia. What else would I want?”
“Well, I’m here to stay.”
“No, darling. You’re not,” a feminine voice from behind me spoke up. I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Claudia.
Before I could even react, Gregor lunged for Ben, and Claudia had already tackled me to the ground, her hands around my neck.
“Derek!” I screamed.
“Your king is back to sleep for the moment, Sofia.” Claudia grinned before stabbing me in the neck with a syringe. Panic took over as I watched Gregor do the same thing to Ben. A sob escaped my lips as complete dread took over every fiber of my being. I tried to struggle against Claudia, but I knew that there was nothing I could do. I just drifted off into unconsciousness, dreading the thought of Derek waking up to find me gone.
When I came to, it was clear to see that I was no longer at The Shade. I was lying in the middle of a king-sized bed with soft white linen sheets. I looked around the torch-lit room and was relieved to find it empty.
Where am I? I sat up on the bed, my head feeling rather hollow. I cringed when I realized what I was wearing—a one-shoulder white dress that went down to my knees. The fabric was so thin, it was practically sheer. The intricate beading it had, however, spoke of the richness of the material. I trembled to think of where I was and what my purpose was for being there.
It seemed I was about to get answers to the questions filling my mind, because the door swung open and Lucas stepped in.
“You’re awake!” he exclaimed delightfully.
“Where am I? What have you done to me? What are you going to do to me?” I spluttered.
“Always so many questions, huh, Sofia?”
I glared at him in response.
He rolled his eyes. “You’re at The Oasis. If you don’t know what that is, it’s the home of the Maslens. We’re in the middle of the desert now, Sofia.”
The Maslens… Tears began to brim my eyes. The thought was horrifying.
“What have I done to you?” He smirked. “Well, the question I think should be what do I want to do with you, but I’ll spare you those details? Sadly, as much as I wanted to have my way with you, I had to bring you to Borys Maslen unscathed. He wanted you to remain a virgin until the night of your wedding to him. Now, for you final question, I’m about to take you to your betrothed, Sofia.”
I was finding it hard to take in the information that I’d just been given. My mind was whirling. “Why would you do this?” was all I could manage to ask.
“You ruined my life, Sofia. I’m about to ruin yours.” He lunged forward, pushing me down on the bed, and letting his weight fall on top of me. He then whispered right into my ear, “Make no mistake about it, Sofia…after your wedding night, I will have my way with you. I still remember how sweet your blood is. I would’ve taken a bite during the journey back here, but there was no way I could have hidden the scars from Borys.”
I trembled beneath him as I began to get a better picture of the life I was about to lead should things go the way they planned. “Derek’s going to come for me.”
He laughed. “Oh baby, that’s exactly what we’re counting on.”