Careful not to creak any of the floorboards, I walked silently toward one of the windows and peered inside. I found myself looking into a spacious living room. A dark-haired woman with blue-violet eyes sat in an armchair, a mug of steaming liquid clasped in one hand. I could tell in an instant that she was a human, and as my eyes lowered from her pretty face to her stomach, I realized that she was pregnant.
A human inhabiting The Residences? Strange.
It seems that much has changed in recent times.
Watching the woman for a few moments longer as she continued sipping from her drink, I left and moved toward the next penthouse along. I had to be more careful here not to be noticed. A couple sat around a small table on the veranda. Both of these were vampires. The man had red hair and a rounded, freckled face, while the woman had short black hair with an odd blue streak. As I listened in to their conversation, I gathered that the man’s name was Gavin. I didn’t care to stay longer to find out the woman’s name.
Moving on to the next penthouse, I peered through the windows of each of the rooms until I spotted a spectacled man—also a vampire—bent over a pile of books. He was in a study of sorts, and in one corner of the room was a massive black dog, apparently asleep.
I passed by several more penthouses before returning to the ground and arriving at the tree where I had left Amaya.
Sensing her proximity, I reached out and closed my hand around her arm.
“Let’s continue,” I said.
As we passed through the woods, our next stop was the Vale. Again, I found myself amazed at what they had managed to build here. Right in the center of this supernatural island was a bustling town filled with humans going about their lives. The Vale appeared to have almost been designed to feel sheltered from the rest of The Shade. The buildings were very differently constructed, and in general the architecture made it feel almost disjointed from the rest of the island. I wasn’t sure if that had been done intentionally, or it was just how it turned out. It seemed in any case that these humans felt very much at home.
My mouth salivated as I caught sight of a group of pretty young women chatting by a fountain. I tore my eyes away from them, and Amaya and I continued forward.
Once I felt I had gained a good enough understanding of the town, we returned to the forest path and continued in the direction of the mountains.
Walking on in silence, I recalled Nuriya’s warning to me before I left. She’d said that I wasn’t to harm Benjamin or River. I smiled to myself.
What interest would I have in harming them anyway?
They weren’t even alive the day my father was murdered.
But there were plenty of other people on this island who had been alive that day… It was a simple question of observing long enough to discover who was who.
As we reached a clearing at the foot of a mountain, voices echoed toward me from one of the forest paths. I stopped Amaya in her tracks. I stood deadly still, not wanting even the slightest crunch of leaves to interfere with hearing what they were saying.
A redheaded man and a blonde curly-haired woman stepped out into the clearing. I barely breathed as I listened to the conversation.
“I’m not sure that Ben would appreciate more visitors now,” the man said. “Not after what just happened. As much as I’m dying to see him, I’ll wait a bit longer.”
“I think it’s probably a good idea,” the woman replied. “I can’t imagine how devastated he must be feeling right now.”
The man’s face turned ashen. “Neither can I. I’m just not sure what on earth the next step can be. Even him leaving the island again, which Sofia suspects he will do… I mean, where would he go? And what would he do? Just hanging around outside The Shade isn’t going to solve anything.”
By now they had reached the foot of the mountain. They began making their way up a jagged staircase that was etched into the side of the rocks. They were silent for a while as they headed toward a wooden cabin, but just as they reached the steps leading up to it, the woman stopped. Reaching her arms around the man’s neck, she planted a kiss on his cheek
“I know we will find a solution, Aiden,” she whispered. “I just know it.”
Aiden.
The name rang a bell.
A very loud bell.
Could that be Aiden… Claremont?
His next words confirmed my suspicion beyond all doubt. “It’s just… so hard to see my grandson suffer so much.”
“I know, my love,” the woman replied gently. “I know.”
As they climbed to the top of the steps and entered what appeared to be their home, the man’s words played in my mind.
Aiden Claremont.
Grandfather of Benjamin Novak.
Father-in-law of Derek Novak…
Murderer of Lucas Novak.