“Derek,” she gasped, as I finally let go of her. “What on earth is going on? What are you doing out of bed so early?”
I stared at her. My mind felt so muddled, I was unsure of how to even begin articulating my thoughts.
“I just saw you standing right here at the end of this jetty, kissing Kiev.”
“What?”
“As I approached, you jumped down into a submarine and it submerged beneath the waves.”
“Baby.” She looked at me with concern in her eyes as she held my head in her hands. “What’s happened to you? What’s the last thing you remember before stepping outside?”
“I’d gotten out of bed to get a glass of blood and check on Ben. When I returned, you were no longer in bed. There was a note on the door, saying you’d gone for a walk. And then I reached the Port and saw you two…”
She reached up and placed a palm over my forehead, looking more worried than ever. “I felt you get up to check on Ben. And I was still in bed when you came back. I even spoke to you. You looked right through me as though I wasn’t even there. Then you left the room and a minute later, I heard the front door opening and closing.”
Before I even had a chance to process Sofia’s words, someone called out to us.
“Derek. Sofia.”
We turned to see Kiev jogging along the jetty toward us, still in his pajamas.
“Have you seen Mona?”
I was about to answer yes. But then I wondered if the vision of Mona had also been an illusion.
“I… I thought I saw her here, a few minutes ago.”
Kiev frowned. “What do you mean, you thought you saw her?”
I exhaled in frustration. “Well, I also thought I just saw you making out with my wife.”
Now it was Kiev’s turn to look flummoxed. “What?” His eyes traveled from Sofia to me, then back to Sofia. “Has your husband been drinking?”
Sofia shook her head, though even she didn’t seem so sure as she still looked at me worriedly.
“I haven’t been drinking,” I said impatiently. My head in my hands, I closed my eyes, leaning against the railing, trying to make sense of my thoughts.
What the hell just happened?
“We need to talk to Eli,” Sofia said suddenly. “Just recently, he thought he saw Adelle cheating on him with my father.”
She didn’t wait for my response before rushing off, leaving me standing alone with Kiev.
His presence still gave me shudders. Even though I was aware that what I’d witnessed was an illusion, it didn’t stop the urge to rip out his throat, or at least maim him a little. Despite the fact that I’d made up with him, my temper still tended to be much shorter with him than others on this island because of the past we shared. And I wasn’t sure that much could ever be done about that.
“You really thought I’d do that?” he asked, staring at me.
I shot him a glance. I didn’t believe that my Sofia would do that. But as for Kiev? The truth was, I didn’t know. He’d made no secret of the fact that he’d held a strong attraction for her years ago. I’d even feared that he’d have his way with her while she was under his care in The Blood Keep. I didn’t know how strong his attraction for her still was. Although he’d changed, he still had a dark side… like the rest of us.
An awkward silence fell between us as I chose not to answer. It didn’t last long though, as Sofia came racing back through the forest, with both Aiden and a bleary-eyed Eli trailing along behind her. I was glad to see that Eli seemed to have recovered from his neck injury.
Aiden was the first to speak. “Yuri and Claudia. Landis and Ashley. Zinnia and Gavin. Do you know why they were all absent from the funeral?”
I stared at him. “Why?”
“All had arguments. I believe all about the same thing—one of them thought the other was cheating.”
Aiden didn’t need to say another word for my suspicions to begin to finally align and make sense.
I slammed my fist against a wooden post, cursing beneath my breath. “I knew we shouldn’t have let those witches onto the island.”
“Derek, but how—?” Sofia stammered.
I shook my head. I didn’t know how. But now, in a rush of thoughts, I was beginning to guess why.
“We need to find Mona,” I said.
I began lurching forward toward the direction of their home along the beach while the others followed me. That was the logical place to start. Perhaps the vision I’d had of her was indeed real, and she’d magicked herself back to the house, narrowly missing Kiev, who’d come out looking for her.
As we neared the stretch of beach where the vampires were housed, my heartbeat quickened. Dozens of vampires and werewolves stood out on the beach, all staring and pointing at a billowing vortex of smoke rising up from the top of Kiev’s building.
“What the—” Kiev swore and, before any of us could hold him back, he hurtled into the burning building.
“He’s mad!” Aiden gasped.
I couldn’t argue with my father-in-law.
We waited with bated breath for Kiev to emerge. His siblings, Erik and Helina, rushed over to us. Their eyes were wide with panic.
“What happened?” Helina cried.
I shook my head, my eyes still fixed on the fiery building’s entrance.
We all breathed a sigh of relief when Kiev finally emerged from it. But our relief didn’t last long as he staggered toward us empty-handed. His clothes were singed, he had burns all over his body and ash smeared his face.