We also had another addition to The Shade. Yelena, Benedict’s childhood friend, had visited us every summer since her return from Nevertide, right up until she was sixteen. She had stopped coming then, sending Benedict a letter telling him that she had a boyfriend now, and would be moving to New York to finish her final years of school. Benedict had told everyone that he didn’t mind—that he was glad she wouldn’t be coming to ‘bother’ him every summer. That had lasted for two years while his mother and I waited patiently for him to see sense. Two years later, just after his eighteenth birthday, Benedict had started to grow restless. He packed his bags, left his mom a note that he’d gone in search of her, and disappeared from The Shade.
He was back a month later. He wouldn’t speak a word to us about what had happened, and refused to even talk to Hazel or Rose about whether or not he’d found her. It was two months after his return that Yelena called Corrine’s phone and arrived at Benedict’s door, bags in hand. The couple hadn’t parted since, and were now both vampires—and married, with a twelve-year-old daughter. I never found out what happened when he went looking for Yelena, and perhaps I’d never know… but as long as they remained happy together, I was thrilled.
The Hawk boys had also seen change, or the absence of it. At around twenty years old (it was difficult to determine their exact age), their half-blood vampire genes had kicked in. They had stopped visibly aging and appeared frozen like regular vampires, which came as a surprise to all of us. We’d thought they would continue to age like regular humans, but years had passed now, and Field and his brothers had remained unchanged. Field and Maura had had a lot of ups and downs in their relationship in the time that had gone by—a lot of breaking up and getting back together again, and they still weren’t married. At this point, I wasn’t sure what the eventual outcome would be—I just hoped that soon enough they’d figure out what they both wanted for themselves, and settle down… with or without each other.
Maura’s brother Orlando, on the other hand, had married seventeen years ago. He tied the knot with his love Regan, the half-human, half-dragon twenty-year-old daughter of Azaiah. It had taken Azaiah a long time to come to terms with Orlando and Regan’s coupling (and a lot of heated discussions), since he’d always hoped she would marry a fire dragon. Regan was one of the few dragon hybrids on the island who was able to shift into a beastly form, in spite of her mixed blood, and would have been invaluable to the fire dragon race as a whole in helping to populate The Hearthlands. Azaiah had no choice but to give his blessing in the end, considering his daughter’s happiness was on the line, and now Orlando and Regan had two beautiful daughters—seventeen-year-old Saskia, and sixteen-year-old Opal.
Jeramiah Novak and his wife Pippa Hendry-Novak, also had a daughter—eighteen-year-old Scarlett. There was a period after she was born when Derek had found no end of fun in calling Lucas “Gramps” every time they saw each other around the island. I supposed my husband had been waiting a long time to get his own back, since Lucas hadn’t exactly been sparing with the term when our first grandchild, Grace, was born. There were times when you could tell from the dazed look on Lucas’s face that he couldn’t quite believe the situation he’d ended up in, a family man—a family that would only keep expanding—but I had to admit, my brother-in-law had stepped up to the role admirably well… He was almost behaving like an adult. His adopted daughter Avril was also grown up now, which made him a fatherly figure to two young women.
On the whole, we had experienced an incredible amount of peace over the past eighteen years. The last big supernatural warfare was Nevertide, and since then only a few, minor incidents had occurred. The most memorable was the strange swamp monsters in the Bayou which we had eventually managed to remove. Taking them back to The Shade had not been an option, but eventually we’d found them a home in a nature reserve, where they spent their days munching on litter. According to the local Parks and Recreation team, their services were invaluable. We’d also had to deal with a newly formed clan of rogue vampires causing trouble in Kansas, but a GASP team, headed by Derek, Ben and Tejus, had managed to deal with that problem quickly and effectively.
Each day of peace made me more and more proud of what we’d managed to accomplish with GASP—we were now living in a time where supernaturals and humans could co-exist almost in harmony.
I started to make my way back toward the training ground. Derek would be finished there soon, and we could wander home together. These times of peace were blissful, not just because it meant that GASP’s ambitions were being fulfilled, but also because it meant that my husband and I could actually spend more time together—a calm, tranquil existence that we’d always dreamed of. A true sanctuary.
In two days’ time, we’d be making a trip to the In-Between. Queen Nuriya and Sherus had given birth to a baby boy, or more correctly, a baby fae-jinn—the first of its kind, as far as I knew. We would be traveling to the fire faes’ abode for a child ‘welcoming’ ritual, popular with the fae. Everyone from The Shade who wanted to come had been invited, and the children and young adults had talked of little else in the past few weeks.
The jinni queen and the fae king had been wed for a while now. After Nevertide the two of them had spent more and more time together—Sherus had determinedly set out to woo Nuriya with his sister’s help. I laughed to myself. To onlookers, the queen had appeared impervious to his charms, but he had eventually worn her down, and not a soul now doubted that the jinni queen was just as much in love with her husband as he was with her. As I walked along, I wondered what a child of two such powerful species would be like—it would be gifted with so many abilities, so much inherent potential…
“Sofia?” Derek called my name, and I turned to see him jogging up the path to meet me, his dark hair scattered over his forehead. I waited for him to arrive, grinning as he took my hand in his and clasped it firmly at his side.
“How was your day?” I asked, brushing hair away from his brilliant blue eyes.
“Much improved now.” He smiled boyishly down at me. I didn’t know how his gaze could still set me on fire the way it did. After so many years, one would have thought that my all-consuming love of Derek would have died a little, but if anything, it was the opposite—it just grew deeper, stronger, and so filled with respect and honesty that it felt like he had become the other half of my physical being, that I just wouldn’t make sense without him. “Yours?” he asked.
“Filled with memories… I went to pay my respects to Anna and Kyle.”
“Ah.” He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. He let go of my hand, and I felt his chest tighten as he drew me closer in an embrace.
We stood like that for a while, holding each other, our eyes closed, relishing the bewitching tranquility of our island: the chirping of the birds above us, the occasional burst of laughter or shout of someone’s name in the distance, the crashing of the waves against the shore.
Then, without saying a word, Derek and I drew apart and walked in the direction of the lighthouse.
When we arrived on the beach where the structure stood tall and proud, after so many centuries of struggle and battles, the sight of it stirred up so many memories in me. I glanced over at Derek’s noble profile in the light of the moon. With all the changes that The Shade had undergone—the lives progressing, the ups and downs of day-to-day existence—it struck me that through all of it, the love between Derek and me had been the one constant… In a way, it was what The Shade had been founded on.
“I love you,” I whispered, as we neared the rocks.
Derek stopped walking, his electric-blue eyes filling with emotion as they settled on me. He cupped my face before leaning in to gently kiss my lips. His voice was husky as he replied, “And I love you, Sofia.”
Aida
[Victoria and Bastien’s daughter]
I flew through the air, landing on the hard, dusty ground of the training area with a thump. Man, my butt hurt. Phoenix stood a couple of feet away, smir
king.
“Nice,” I retorted grumpily as I clambered to my feet and rubbed my behind.
“You told me not to hold back,” he reminded me.
I regret that.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled, pulling myself together, ready to aim my own blow. With a grunt, I launched myself at him. My left leg swerved behind him as my arm shot out to palm-hit him in the chest. He stumbled, but was too quick—he jumped back over my leg rather than falling, and took up his attack stance again.
“Dammit,” I exhaled, breathing hard.
“What’s with you today?” he asked, laughing.
“Feeling a little low on energy,” I replied, eyeing him suspiciously. “Know why that might be?”
Phoenix shook his head, his lips molding into a smirk. “If you think I’m cheating, guess again—you’re just off your game.”
I raised a questioning brow, not quite trusting that the sentry wasn’t using his syphoning powers to drain me. That was the problem with fighting with Phoenix. He always swore he wasn’t cheating, but sometimes I wasn’t sure.
“Whatever…” I grinned suddenly, giving him the benefit of the doubt. Phoenix’s syphoning abilities weren’t subtle – I was sure I would have been able to tell if he had. This time he launched forward, but I managed to swerve out of the way. My shoulder was knocked sideways, but I kept my ground.
“Better,” he intoned, spinning into a back kick. It landed on my already painful backside, sending me flying forward. My glutes seized up, and I swore under my breath.
“How are you so damn perky this morning anyway?” I asked, more angrily than I intended. I would have some serious bruising tonight. “Serena told me you got back at the crack of dawn this morning…another trip to Hawaii?”
Phoenix’s brow furrowed and it was my turn to smirk.
“My sister should learn discretion,” he growled, flying at me again. We fought hand to hand, punches hitting their marks with hollow thuds, till Phoenix landed a well-aimed punch to my right side and I staggered backward.
“Who was the girl this time?” I replied, laughing at his annoyance. I loved winding Phoenix up—sometimes it was just too easy, especially when I had the inside scoop from his younger sister.
This time though, Phoenix just laughed.
“None of your business,” he replied, sending another kick my way. He was fast this morning—yesterday’s date had obviously gone well. I’d forgotten that Phoenix seemed to thrive on his trips outside The Shade, no doubt syphoning at will and sweeping another poor, unsuspecting damsel off her feet.
“Oh, Phoenix,” I cooed, “you’re so handsome—I wish my hair was as nice as yours.” I fluttered my lashes dramatically, playing the part of the love-sick crushes I imagined he picked up in the human world.
He boomed with laughter, grabbing me around the waist to try to knock me down on the floor. I was too quick for him this time, slithering out of his grasp and shoving him backward. He didn’t fall, but was still bent over laughing.
My amusement dried up quickly as I saw Field standing at the edge of the clearing, watching us. His arms were folded across his chest, a white t-shirt showing off his toned biceps and highlighting his dark features. I blushed under his speculative gaze.
I’d totally forgotten about Phoenix, so when his attack came, I was completely defenseless. Once again, I went flying across the training yard from the force of Phoenix’s full body-slam, my back smacking into the ground and skidding to a halt.
I lay still, looking up at the dark sky and trying to catch my breath.
Humiliating.
“Watch yourself, cub.” Field’s voice drifted over, and then his head appeared over mine, blocking out the sky. His lips were turned up in a small smile, a dimple appearing on his right cheek.
Without saying a word, I scrambled to my feet, inwardly begging myself to cool my blushes. I dusted off my training uniform without looking up.
“Hey, Field,” I muttered.
Phoenix’s footsteps crunched on the gravel as he came over to join us. He was trying his best not to laugh.
“Are you all right?” he asked me, his concern somehow making it worse.
“I’m fine,” I replied quickly, “glad to be put through my paces.”
“Liar,” he replied, slinging his arm around my shoulders in a half-hearted apology while turning his attention to Field. “Want to have a go? I’m warning you, I’m feeling pretty spry.” Phoenix cracked his neck from side to side, grinning with all the cockiness of someone who had just landed his opponent on the ground.
“It’s so tempting,” Field replied. “Someone’s got to knock you down, but it can’t be me today—I’m on my way to see Maura. Tomorrow?”
Phoenix nodded. “Challenge accepted.”
At the mention of Maura, I started to back away, leaving them to discuss their training session. My boots scraped at the ground in frustration.
What is wrong with me?
I mentally kicked myself for not appearing more composed in front of Field. It just wasn’t okay to behave that way—partly because it made me look like a total idiot, and partly because he was with Maura. I needed to get over my stupid crush and get that into my head. I couldn’t compete with his girlfriend, and I didn’t even want to try: I really, really didn’t want to be that kind of girl, swooning after someone else’s boyfriend.
Maybe I’d be a bit more satisfied if I had Maura’s composure, her normal human looks…and her lack of hair. I wasn’t bad now, but growing up… Ugh. Thanks to my father’s wolf genes, my hair had been out of control. It had just grown everywhere, like an unstoppable curse that chipped away at my self-esteem from early puberty till I was about fifteen. That was when I’d begged Corrine to intervene. After a short episode of pleading, the witch had saved the day. She’d created a potion—not the nicest-tasting stuff, but who cared?—and after taking it every day for six months, my hair problem had disappeared, leaving it only in the places it should be. Things were so much better now, though I still sometimes acted like I was covered in hair. Like if I ever stood in direct sunlight—luckily not such a huge problem when we were in The Shade—I worried that everyone could see nonexistent fuzz on my face.
It was all right for my older brother, Jovi. He was hairy, but it just looked cool on him, mainly making him appear older and more dark and brooding than he actually was.
Field and Phoenix looked like they were finishing off their conversation, and I prepared myself for another ass-kicking. I watched the two men as they said goodbye—they were kind of similar in many ways, both dark-haired and muscular, with dark stubble covering their jaws, but Phoenix always appeared more arrogant and proud because he’d inherited Tejus’s distinct features. Though Field’s face was just as chiseled and stark, there was something gentler about his appearance. I supposed he was more traditionally handsome than Phoenix, and the dimple that appeared on his cheek when he smiled… that drove me to distraction.
Field waved in my direction before heading off, and I returned it, smiling as brightly as I could. He leapt into the sky, those dark dagger wings of his expanding so that he looked like some deadly avenging angel, before he shot up into the air and disappeared from sight.
“Oh, Field,” cooed Phoenix, “you’re so handsome—fly away with me?”
“Shut up,” I hissed, “he’ll hear you!”
“He’s gone.” Phoenix shrugged. “But your face could still fry a pancake. If you’re so into him, why don’t you just talk to him?”
“I’m not into him,” I replied, biting my bottom lip in annoyance.
“Sure,” Phoenix drawled. “Totally immune to the charms of Field. Got it.”
Enough talking.
I flew at Phoenix, pre-empting his flying kick by grabbing onto his boot and spinning him over. The moment he tried to land, I knocked his back leg from under him and sent him sprawling across the training ground.
Finally.
“Still feeling spry?” I asked with a grin
.
Serena
[Hazel and Tejus’s daughter]
I flicked through the campus website tabs on my laptop. There were so many to choose from, but browsing was more of an indulgence than an actual exercise in choice. I already knew that I wanted to study English at Brown, but as Corrine repeatedly reminded me, it wouldn’t do any harm to broaden my search. Today I wanted to check the tour schedules. If I was going to get Mom and Dad to take this seriously, I would need facts and dates—not just vague concepts that I’d hedged around before.
I knew Mom would be all for it, but that Dad would be harder to work around. He didn’t like the idea of me leaving The Shade, and with college being a year away, if I was going to get into any of them, I needed to start planning seriously. Education in The Shade wasn’t strictly curricular, but I knew that universities tried to get a diverse range of students in, and you didn’t get much more diverse than me…I didn’t imagine that they’d have any applicants with the extra-curricular activities I had on their résumé.
I jotted down some of the tour dates, making sure that the Brown ones were at the top of the list. Even if I couldn’t win Dad’s approval, there wasn’t much he could say about me visiting a campus for a day—especially not if Corrine and Mom went with me.
My parents were laughing in the kitchen. I’d specifically chosen a moment when my older brother, Phoenix, would be out of the house. I’d begged Aida to keep him busy for as long as possible, and so far, it looked like my plan was working.
A Gift of Three Page 3
