A Shade of Kiev 3(36)

I had no idea where they’d gone, but wherever it was, clearly it had done something to Mona. The way she’d looked at me from across the flames, it was as though I was a complete stranger.

I’d thought this was just her way of distancing herself from me. But her eyes also appeared darker, or perhaps that was just the firelight playing tricks on my eyes.

A part of me wished that Mona hadn’t returned. Anna had taken my mind off of her recently. But now the discomfort I felt seeing her again returned full force. That ritual couldn’t have ended soon enough. As soon as it had, I’d shot right out of the cave.

I knew now that Anna had to spend as much time as possible behind that cupboard.

I still had no semblance of a long-term plan, and given that Anna was so close to childbirth, I was just taking things one day at a time.

I was fighting a losing battle. But it was a battle I was committed to fighting until the bitter end.

At least Anna had stopped vomiting and was able to stomach the simple meals I was concocting. Her fever was gone too, and she was much more lucid. Although there were still times when she appeared to drift off, she appeared to be recovering.

I’d done my best to make the cupboard soundproof by adding extra cushions and blankets. Though of course, there was only so much air we could block off or she’d suffocate.

As I lay in bed listening to her breathing, a thought that had been at the back of my mind ever since I’d first swept her out of that dungeon circled in my mind.

Why am I doing all this?

Why would I risk my life and the lives of my siblings for some woman I barely even know?

I shut my eyes and lay there for hours as I searched the deepest parts of me. I sat up only once I’d found my answer. Or at least what I believed to be the answer—for my own mind could be a confusing and treacherous place sometimes.

Memories of a pregnant Sofia flashed before my mind. The beautiful redhead kneeling before me, tears welling in her eyes as she begged me to allow her husband to be by her side during her pregnancy. Begging me to have mercy on her unborn children. The sadness in her eyes as I’d punished her for even mentioning Derek Novak’s name in my presence. The screams of her newborn as I’d snatched him minutes after his birth.

Somewhere deep within my black soul, I knew I was grasping at what had eluded me for centuries: Redemption.





Chapter 29: Mona





I got up early the next morning before Rhys had woken up. Untangling myself from him, I pulled on my cloak and left the room. I wanted a few hours to myself before I returned and gave him my answer.

I wandered aimlessly down the corridors, recalling the look on Rhys’ face as he asked me the question I was sure he’d wanted to ask for years now. He’d looked happier and more nervous than I’d ever seen him before. I imagined how he’d react once I finally said yes.

I stopped walking, realizing that I had arrived on Kiev Novalic’s floor. I absentmindedly placed my ear against his door as I passed it.

Silence.

Backing up against the wall, I slid down it and sat on the floor, staring at the wall opposite me.

I might as well do something useful.

Although I’d searched Kiev’s room and found nothing, something about him still left me suspicious.

“Mona?”

I found myself staring up at Efren.

“What are you doing up here so early?”

He eyed Kiev’s front door, frowning. He was still wearing his night clothes.

I stood up quickly, straightening my dress, and, remembering that he wasn’t to know anything about our suspicions yet, said, “It’s nothing, Efren. I was just taking a walk and decided to rest my legs.”

He looked at me disbelievingly.

“You know,” Efren said, placing a hand on my back and leading me away down the steps, “I’ve noticed Kiev behaving rather strangely recently. I caught him bringing up a tray to his bedroom. A tray that smelled suspiciously like normal food. I think he may be swiping humans from the dungeon and having more than his fair share of blood.”

He raised his eyebrows, then continued walking on his way, leaving me staring after him.

So there’s definitely something going on with this vampire.

Normal food. There was only one place regular food was prepared and that was the main kitchen on the ground floor.

I decided to head down to the kitchen and wait. I wanted to see for myself what this vampire was getting up to.

I returned to Rhys’ room first to find him still sleeping. I walked over to the desk and scribbled down a note.

“I’ve got cause for new suspicions about the Novalics. I’ll be gone a few hours investigating. I’ll return as soon as I can.”

I placed the note on my pillow, knowing that it would be the first thing he looked at when he woke.