I held Sofia close to me as the grim walls of Annora’s castle disappeared.
Chapter 32: Sofia
I opened my eyes to see that we had arrived back at The Shade’s port. I clutched Derek’s shirt as he bent down to kiss me again, relief showing in his eyes now that the Novalics had returned us as promised.
My mind was still blown on seeing Kiev. His siblings’ claim that the Novaks and Novalics were related. His change of eye color.
I glanced at Kiev, now standing a few feet away from me. When he sensed my gaze on him and looked up, chills ran down my spine. That harsh jawline, dark hair… and now sharp green eyes. I recalled every moment I’d spent in his care in the Blood Keep while I was pregnant. I remembered how he had terrified me—an unpredictable monster who could snap at any moment. I remembered how in my most vulnerable hour, he had stolen away my newborn. If it weren’t for Anna, I likely never would have seen Ben again.
And now—assuming Helina had been telling the truth—not only had he returned Anna and her newborn to us, but we also owed him our own lives. I was half expecting to wake up from a long dream.
I recalled the last time I’d seen him in Aviary. The way he’d let me pass through the gate when he could have held me back. I remember thinking as I lowered myself into that abyss that I’d never unravel the mystery that was Kiev. And now that I saw him again, I felt only more mystified.
Although my mind was burning with anxiety to go seek out Anna and my children, I felt I couldn’t go a moment longer not understanding Kiev’s intentions. We needed answers.
Clearly feeling the same way, Derek pulled me over to where Kiev, the witch and his two siblings were standing. Derek—never one to beat around the bush—stopped about a foot away from Kiev and glared at him. “Why are you back here?”
Kiev scowled and inhaled deeply, as though trying to rein in his own temper. The two men could be so fierce and uncontrollable, it was like being in a room with two bombs, capable of setting off the other at any moment.
Kiev looked down at me, his eyes glimmering in the moonlight, as if Derek wasn’t there.
Derek exhaled sharply, clearly irritated by Kiev’s refusal to respond to him directly. I reached out and clasped Derek’s arm. This was the second time I’d noticed Kiev do this. It was as if Kiev felt obliged to answer but didn’t want to give Derek the satisfaction of answering him directly, so he would look at me instead.
“Let’s just say that I came to return something that is yours,” he said.
“What?” I asked.
“A woman and her baby.”
That shut both Derek and I up. We looked at each other. “Where is she?” Derek demanded.
“Ibrahim!” Behind me Corrine rushed out of the woods.
She raced across the lawn and leapt into her husband’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Holding his head in her hands, she kissed him like she was suffocating and his lips were her only means of resuscitation. It wasn’t often that Corrine showed emotions publicly, but now tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hair was disheveled and the dark circles beneath her eyes revealed that she likely hadn’t slept since we’d been gone. Ibrahim held her tightly against him and, between whispering words of comfort into her ear, he returned her passion in kind.
“I thought I’d lost you,” she gasped. She slid down his body, her feet touching the ground again. Still gripping his hand, she finally took a step away from him and looked around at the rest of us. On spotting Derek and I, she hurried over, pulling Ibrahim along with her. “Derek! Sofia!” She wrapped an arm around each of us and kissed our cheeks.
“Our children, Viv, Xavier and the others, did they all return?” I said anxiously.
“They’re safe,” she said, brushing hair away from her sweaty forehead. “Nobody else was missing from the island except you two, Ibrahim, Aiden and Zinnia. As for the twins, they’re still in the Catacombs with the other humans. We had to evacuate all the humans from their homes because we suspected Annora would attack… and she did. I haven’t had time to organize their resettlement yet. We wouldn’t have survived all this if it wasn’t for Mona.” She gestured toward the blonde witch standing next to Kiev.
Mona’s navy blue eyes settled on me. She stood now with her arm through Kiev’s.
So this is Mona…
“Mona has secured the island,” Corrine continued. “I’ve never seen a witch as powerful as her. My skills pale in comparison.” She nodded in reverence in Mona’s direction.
“Annora?” Derek said. “Where is she now?”
“She left a while ago,” Corrine said, a small grin curling her lips. “I must say that it was terrifying at first watching her trying to assault the island… but it turned into quite a treat. Watching that bitch flailing around trying to get in was just the dose of entertainment I needed after all this stress.”
“And the Novalics speak the truth that they brought back Anna?” I asked, eyeing Kiev. He returned my gaze steadily, accepting my challenge to his integrity.
Corrine smiled again and squeezed my hand. “She’s back. With her baby. She’s with Kyle in the Catacombs.”
Her baby… I dreaded to think how traumatic that must have been without her family there to help her through it.
Derek and I were stunned silent that Kiev had indeed helped Anna. But the truth was, no matter what outside confirmation we got, we still found it impossible to trust Kiev. We were still looking for excuses why we shouldn’t trust him.
I thought back again to the Kiev I’d spent time with almost two decades ago. He had surprised me by letting me go back in Aviary. I also remembered Kiev had struggled with himself sometimes while I was his captive in The Blood Keep. But unlike Derek, he’d always given into his darker tendencies. He’d seemed to take pleasure in his darkness. And that was the main difference between that red-eyed monster and the monster I’d ended up marrying.
But now that he stood before me, green-eyed, having saved us from the dungeon as well as returned our dearest Anna to us… I just didn’t know what to make of the situation any more.
I wondered whether maybe after all these years, Kiev really had changed.
I was dying to hear his whole story. I hoped that it would make it easier for me to accept his behavior now with gratitude rather than with suspicion. I wanted to know everything that had happened to him since he left Aviary, how on earth he’d come upon Anna, and why he had returned her to us. But I guessed that this would be a story far too long to hear now.
Until now Kiev and Mona had displayed no sign of being anything but allies. I decided to put thoughts of Kiev aside for the moment, since I was burning to find Anna and my children.
Shooting one last glance Kiev’s way, I grabbed Derek’s hand and pulled him away. He followed me reluctantly, looking back over his shoulder at Kiev and his siblings. Looking around the clearing, I spotted my father a few feet away. I led Derek toward my father and we all got up and ran into the woods. We didn’t slow until we reached the entrance to the Catacombs. I could barely contain my excitement as we hurried from chamber to chamber greeting all the humans who cheered as we entered. It wasn’t until we reached the fifth storage chamber that I saw the faces I was looking for.
“Ben! Rose!” I exclaimed as we made our way through the room. They leapt up as soon as they saw us, smiles splitting their faces. Derek and I took turns hugging each of them. I kissed their heads, breathing in the smell of their hair.
I turned to face Griffin, still holding Rose’s hand tightly in mine. “Griff,” I said, placing a hand on the redhead’s shoulder. “Your mother has returned. Go home and see her.”
Relief washed over his face. “Thanks, Sofia,” he said and rushed out of the chamber.
Derek turned to face the other humans. “It’s safe to go back to your homes now,” he said, his baritone voice echoing off the stone walls. “The storm has passed… for now.”
We walked from chamber to chamber informing the rest of the humans, and
as everyone began leaving the Catacombs, we followed.
“Where’s Anna?” I asked, failing to spot her among the crowds.
“There,” Ben said, pointing toward the crowds nearing the entrance. I spotted her in time to see her head disappear out of the entrance along with Kyle.
I rushed ahead with Derek, the twins following closely behind. “Anna!” I shouted.
She turned around, beaming as she spotted me. I gushed to see her cradling her sleeping newborn. Kyle’s warmth had returned to his face as had Ariana’s and Jason’s. I bent down to kiss her baby boy’s soft head.
“He’s beautiful,” I whispered. Anna looked terribly thin for a mother who’d just given birth, although her baby appeared to be a healthy weight. “What happened?” I asked, unsure whether she’d want to start talking about her ordeal now, but unable to keep in the question any longer.
She averted her eyes to the ground, then closed them. “Sofia,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I really don’t want to talk about it just yet. It’s such a long story. I promise, I’ll tell you everything later, but I just need to be with my family. I need to recover, and I don’t want to think about that right now.”
“Of course,” I said, squeezing her hand. I looked at her baby again whom Kyle had now taken in his arms. “What’s his name?”
Anna paused a moment, shooting a sideways glance at Kyle, who rolled his eyes even as a small smile crossed his lips. “Kiev,” she muttered, averting her eyes to the grass.
“What?” Derek blurted out, his voice rising to soprano.
I was speechless.
“Why would you damn your baby with a name like that?” Derek looked at Kyle this time, as if hoping he would listen to reason even if his wife wouldn’t.
Anna chuckled and looked up at us, grinning. “You can bet it wasn’t easy for me to convince Kyle either.” She shot Kyle another teasing glance. Then her face became serious, her lip trembling. Her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “But you don’t know what we went through, this baby and I… You don’t know how close the two of us came to death’s door.”
She paused and shut her eyes tight. I was now dying even more to hear her story. “Let’s just say,” she said, clearing her throat and trying to steady her voice, “that I owe Kiev—and his girlfriend—more than any of my family can repay.”
My throat had dried out.
Who is this Kiev Novalic? It was as if he’d had a personality transplant. Maybe he has a twin brother of the same name and this is all some gross misunderstanding.
“O-okay,” I said, fighting to compose myself. It was obvious that Anna just wanted to return to her home and be with her family now. I wasn’t about to restrain her any longer.
I let go of her and stood next to Derek, whose jaw was still on the floor.
“All of you should come round later tonight,” Anna said. “We’ll talk then. I just need a few hours.”
“We will, Anna,” I said. “Thank you.”
She smiled and walked off with her family back toward the humans’ residential area.
Derek and I both stood rooted to the spot, watching Anna and her family until they’d disappeared beneath the trees.
“Well,” I said, looking up at Derek and then at the twins, who looked just as surprised as us, “I say we take a few hours’ break too.”
Derek looked down at me, rubbing his forehead. “I won’t be able to relax until I figure out exactly what that bastard is doing on this island and why everyone seems to trust him. Corrine, Anna… it’s as if he’s cast a spell on everyone—”
I held a finger to Derek’s lips. “Derek,” I said softly. “It’s been seventeen years. Maybe everyone seems to trust him because he can be trusted now.”
I knew Derek didn’t want to believe it. He wanted to continue hating Kiev for what he’d done, because Derek had never gotten release. He’d never gotten a chance to mete out vengeance on Kiev for all he’d done. We were both too blinded by our prejudices to see the situation for what it was.
Derek scoffed and looked away, worry written on his face as he brushed a hand through his hair.
“He and Mona returned Anna to us,” I said. “They saved us from Annora, they helped protect the island during Annora’s attack. What else could he do to prove he’s had a change of heart? Oh, and he didn’t want to fight you when you attacked him in the dungeon. I saw it in his eyes… his eye color is no longer that demon red. Maybe he’s telling the truth that he really is family… and maybe, just maybe he really has changed and wants to make amends now. We don’t know what’s happened to him in seventeen years. People change. You did.”
Derek still refused to look at me. I reached my arms around his neck and forced him to face me, kissing his jawline.
“I’m not saying that he has changed,” I assured my stubborn husband, “I just think that it’s something we should at least consider. Right now it feels like we’re living in denial.”
Finally he looked reluctantly into my eyes.
“I suggest we all have a few hours downtime,” I said. “I’m so exhausted, I can hardly think straight any more.”
“Sofia,” he said, heaving a sigh. “You can go home and rest, but I can’t just switch off now. Even leaving aside Kiev’s motivations for helping us, our security on this island is hanging in the balance. Corrine and Ibrahim are powerless against Annora. We still don’t know how we’re going to secure this island. She’s not going to stop until she’s broken down our defenses. I need to call an urgent—”
“Mona is here right now,” I said, hushing him. “And she will be for at least a few days. Corrine said so. She’s given them rooms in the guest houses in the north-east of the island. While Mona is here, the island is protected.”
Ben let out a yawn behind us.
“We’ll both be able to think more clearly and make better decisions once we’ve had some rest.” Not allowing Derek to protest further, I caught his hand and we walked with the twins back toward our penthouse.
As we walked, Ben began telling us all that had happened since we’d been gone. I was both shocked and horrified as he recounted everything.
I couldn’t believe that both of them had ended up disobeying us again so soon after their Hawaii fiasco. Though this time, at least with Ben, there wasn’t much I could chastise him about because if he hadn’t taken his initiative, then Kiev and Mona never would have been able to save us and return Anna.
It also dawned on me while talking to my son that perhaps Mona’s entrance into this realm through the gate had caused Annora’s powers to falter temporarily, allowing us to escape the dungeon. From what Ben was telling me, it had happened around the same time as his and Abby’s trip to Mikau Cave. If just Mona’s appearance caused Annora to falter, then Mona must be more powerful than any of us imagined. I voiced my speculation to Derek. He agreed that it was the only explanation we had for the strange occurrence right now.
Ben asked what had happened to us. I was loath to tell him the details of the torture the witch had put us through, so I omitted that part. I just explained that, other than our failed attempt to rescue Anna through the gate we’d found, we’d been kept prisoners in a dungeon the whole time.
We reached the penthouse and gathered in the living room. I looked at Rose as we sat on the living room couch. She’d barely uttered a word since we returned. Her face was pale, her eyes distant.
“Are you all right, Rose?” I asked, reaching for her hand and squeezing it.
She exhaled and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Whatever she was, she clearly wasn’t fine. But I decided not to press, figuring that perhaps she was just shocked after all that had happened and needed rest just as Derek and I did.
Although at the back of my mind I feared that her mood might have something to do with Caleb, I hoped that his behavior had severed any attachment she might have had to him.
Chapter 33: Rose
After we finished talking, we retired to our bedrooms.
I lay down on my bed. But I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I stared up at the ceiling, recalling everything that had happened during the last few days.
Feeling restless, I left my room and went into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and sat down at the table, swirling the water around in the glass, watching as it formed a whirlpool.
I tried to distract myself around the apartment for the next few hours and ended up in the music room. I lost myself in a piece that I’d been trying to master before we left for Hawaii. I played key after key, stopping each time I made a mistake and going back to the beginning, as my father had taught me. That way I was always much more cautious about making mistakes.
After a couple of hours, just as I felt I’d finally mastered the tune, there was a knock. My mother pushed the door open, smiling at me as she took a seat next to me on the bench. She smelled of bath foam and was wearing fresh clothes.
“What were you playing?” she asked, reaching for my music sheet.
“Liszt,” I muttered.
“Dad will be pleased.”
“Yeah,” I said, breathing out.
A silence fell between us. Her eyes roamed my face as I averted my own to my hands folded on my lap. I thought she was going to ask me if I was feeling all right again, but was grateful that she didn’t.
“We’re going to Anna’s now,” she said. “You coming?”
I nodded and stood up, following her out of the room. I was glad to have Anna to distract my mind with.
Ben accompanied us too. We made our way through the woods until we reached Anna’s homely townhouse in the Vale’s town center.
A beaming Ariana opened the door to us. We walked through the hallway and entered the dining area. Anna was nursing her baby on the sofa while Kyle sat opposite her with Jason.
It warmed my heart beyond measure to see Kyle smiling again. I remembered how deathly pale and how much older he had looked. Anna had breathed life back into him.
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