A Castle of Sand (A Shade of Vampire 3)

CHAPTER 41: LUCAS

I was staying at a hotel in Cancun, a place I detested. I hated how sunny and full of life it was, but it was one of the coasts closest to The Shade. It was also the same place where I’d found Sofia, so I figured it just might bring me some luck.

I couldn’t wait for evening to come, and when it did, I immediately prepared myself to go out on a hunt for some lovely young women I could feast on that night. I was about to leave the room when I heard a knock at my door.

I opened the door and smirked. Natalie.

“Seems you can’t get enough of me these days, Natalie…”

“Not my fault messages for you keep on coming.” She brushed right past me and went straight to the bar and poured herself a glass of wine. The lovely Italian vixen then retrieved an envelope from her purse. “From Claudia.”

I raised a brow. I wasn’t expecting any correspondence from Claudia. I ripped the seal off the envelope and took out a short note. An onslaught of curses flowed from my lips as I read the message: It looks like your boy, Ben, has now joined Derek and Sofia’s bandwagon. Your brother is now king of The Shade, and is about to make your pretty redhead his queen. He overthrew your father as king with a coup.

“You don’t look very happy,” Natalie commented. “News from home not that good?” She took another sip from her wine. “But wait a minute…where’s your home exactly, Lucas? Is it The Shade or is it The Oasis?”

I grimaced. I’ll have no home if I don’t get Sofia out of The Shade and into The Oasis. In fact, I won’t need a home, because Borys Maslen will have my head.

Things were definitely not going according to plan, but it was clear that I now had two allies at The Shade: Claudia and my father. I had been certain that Ben would side with me, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. I never should’ve underestimated Derek’s powers of persuasion, but then it probably wasn’t his charm that turned Ben. Sofia really is a cunning little minx.

“Do you have a message you want me to bring to Claudia?” Natalie asked, finishing off her wine. “This is awful,” she commented, wrinkling her nose. The Italian was known to have grown up in vast and lush vineyards. She definitely knew her wines.

I, on the other hand, still could not fend off the annoyance I felt toward her—especially when I found out about the fondness she had for my brother. Still, Natalie Borgia was necessary to my existence and I knew I couldn’t mess with her.

“Well?” she asked, tapping her foot on the carpeted floor impatiently.

“Give me a couple of minutes.” I took out a piece of paper and began scribbling a simple message on it. I folded the paper twice and handed it over to Natalie. “Make sure only Claudia and my father see this.”

Natalie stared at the piece of paper as if she were afraid it would morph into a viper. I knew that was exactly how she saw me: a snake. Still, it wasn’t her job to interfere or condemn. Her job was to bridge the gap between vampire covens. It was clear to see that she didn’t like the idea of helping me, but she really didn’t have a choice. Interfering would compromise her position as the rogue vampire whom everybody could trust.

I smirked as I watched Natalie take the paper, nod and leave. I was nervous about what was to come, but at the same time, I found myself full of anticipation. The thought of once again having Sofia Claremont in my grasp was all the encouragement I needed.

If everything goes according to plan, Sofia will be in Borys Maslen’s hands by the end of the week and once she’s at The Oasis, she’ll be within my reach and far from Derek’s.