A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire 3)

CHAPTER 16: LUCAS

When the gorgeous Italian vampire walked into my chambers, I wanted to jump up and hug her, but this was Natalie Borgia. She was a rogue vampire perfectly capable of ripping my heart out should she decide to. I wasn’t about to take my chances, but it was too hard to fight the urge to flirt with her.

It didn’t make sense to me how they expected me to organize a way to get to The Shade and retrieve Sofia while I was still being kept a prisoner at The Oasis, but this was how the Maslens worked, so I had to deal with the situation.

“You’re looking like a total babe, Natalie…” I crooned. It sure wasn’t my best line, but it was all I could come up with in such short notice. “I never thought I’d be stuck in the same bedroom with you…”

“Shut it, Novak…” She rolled her eyes. She had never responded well to my attempts to hook up with her. She looked around my room. “There have been worse dungeons.” Her eyes then fell on me. “I never thought I’d live to see the day when I would find a Novak within the tombs of The Oasis.”

“If I remember correctly, you delivered the message that brought me here.”

“That’s because I never thought you’d bite, you idiot.” She then bit her lip as if regretting what she had just said. She was about to open her mouth to say something else, but she quickly shut her lips again.

I was surprised by what she had said. It was completely unlike her to voice out her own opinions. She was usually the one who had that infuriating poker face that made everybody wonder what exactly was going through that pretty little head of hers.

“I’ve never heard you voice a personal opinion about any vampire’s decisions before, Nat…”

“Don’t call me that.” She gave me a long and meaningful gaze. I searched her eyes for judgment or condemnation. There was none. In its place were questions that would never be asked.

Natalie was the ultimate diplomat. She was the one vampire who had the trust of all the covens all over the world. If one coven wanted to deliver a message to another coven, she was the rogue to go to. There weren’t many rogues like her—vampires who didn’t belong to any covens—but the few that existed were invaluable to all vampires. If anybody messed with a rogue, they messed with at least three—if not more—covens at the same time.

Natalie made herself comfortable on one of the Egyptian couches. “Do tell, Novak. Why have you summoned me here?”

“I want you to get a message through to Claudia at The Shade.”

A dark brow lifted. “Claudia? Okay…the message?”

“Ask her if there’s any way we can get Sofia Claremont out of the island.” I took out an envelope from my pocket. “I also want you to hand this over to my father. Make sure he gets it and make sure no one else sees the message it contains.”

Natalie stared at me long and hard—almost as if she couldn’t comprehend what I was trying to tell her. She eventually nodded her head—slowly and thoughtfully. She took the envelope from my hand and nodded. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Lucas.”

“Is that you caring about me?”

She shook her head. “It’s me caring about Derek.”

For the first time since I met her, I found myself fighting the urge to rip Natalie Borgia’s heart out.