A Shade of Doubt
Bella Forrest
A Shade of Vampire 12: A Shade of Doubt
Bella Forrest
Contents
Also by Bella Forrest
Copyright
1. Prologue: Corrine
2. Chapter 1: Rose
3. Chapter 2: Vivienne
4. Chapter 3: Derek
5. Chapter 4: Mona
6. Chapter 5: Csilla
7. Chapter 6: Csilla
8. Chapter 7: Rose
9. Chapter 8: Rose
10. Chapter 9: Rose
11. Chapter 10: Rose
12. Chapter 11: Rose
13. Chapter 12: Rose
14. Chapter 13: Annora
15. Chapter 14: Aiden
16. Chapter 15: Sofia
17. Chapter 16: Ben
18. Chapter 17: Derek
19. Chapter 18: Rose
20. Chapter 19: Annora
21. Chapter 20: Rose
22. Chapter 21: Aiden
23. Chapter 22: Sofia
24. Chapter 23: Sofia
25. Chapter 24: Rose
26. Chapter 25: Caleb
27. Chapter 26: Rose
28. Chapter 27: Mona
29. Chapter 28: Derek
30. Chapter 29: Mona
31. Chapter 30: Derek
32. Chapter 31: Ben
33. Chapter 32: Annora
34. Chapter 33: Rose
An Important Note About Kiev Novalic
Read More by Bella Forrest!
Also by Bella Forrest
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
For an updated list of my books, please visit my website: www.bellaforrest.net
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Copyright © 2015 by Bella Forrest
Cover design inspired by Sarah Hansen, Okay Creations LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Prologue: Corrine
Rose Novak was like my own daughter. Ibrahim and I had protected her during the first, most vulnerable weeks of her existence, and a bond had been forged between that child and me that nothing could ever break. Sofia and Derek knew that. That was why, when Rose and Micah had gone missing, they’d placed their faith in us to find them.
Despite their trust, Ibrahim and I left The Shade without any semblance of a plan. The first thing we did was hover around the island, scanning the waters closest to us, and then spiraling out further and further. About five miles out, we spotted an empty boat. Micah’s fishing boat. Ibrahim and I landed on the deck.
“Corrine,” Ibrahim called. He pointed to a splatter of dried blood at the bow. He bent closer and sniffed it. “Human blood.”
Panic gripped me as I clutched my husband’s shoulder. “Rose’s?”
Ibrahim looked up at me grimly and shrugged.
“What happened? Where could they be?”
“Let’s keep scanning the waters.”
We covered a radius of several dozen miles more in this way, to no avail.
Either Micah and Rose had drowned and were now beneath the waters somewhere, or Micah had found another boat and they’d set off on it. But in the time that we’d spent, we should have caught them if they’d been in the water somewhere.
We returned to Micah’s boat again. We looked around more carefully this time, looking for anything that could help us understand what had happened here.
I walked to the bow, eyeing the splatters of blood again, while Ibrahim looked around the stern.
“Corrine,” he said. I tore my eyes away from the blood and approached him.
“What?”
He turned to face me, a strand of black hair between his fingers. It was too short and curly to be Rose’s, and Micah had blond hair.
“Where did you find it?”
Ibrahim pointed to the edge of the roof covering the wheel. It was at least six feet high off the floor.
“Whoever that hair belongs to is tall,” I said.
“Of course, this boat belongs to The Shade. This hair could belong to some other resident.”
“Could Micah have had an accomplice?”
“Who?” Ibrahim said. “We did a thorough head count. Who else on the island has curly dark hair and could have done this to Rose?”
I tried to rack my brain to think of someone. Truth be told, I couldn’t think of a single vampire, human, wolf or witch with hair this dark, short and curly.
“Which means Micah could have been an imposter,” I said, following Ibrahim’s line of thought.
“I have a feeling that a black witch is behind this,” Ibrahim said.
I shuddered at the thought. But why only take Rose when he could have taken so much more? Why not take Anna? Why not use the opportunity to take over The Shade and overthrow Mona?
I couldn’t make sense of the idea, but we didn’t have time to stop and discuss theories. We just needed to find Rose.
“Where could they have taken her? Back to Caleb’s or Stellan’s island?”
“I doubt they would have taken her back there after the Novaks managed to break in before.”
I stared out at the ocean, a feeling of hopelessness swelling in the pit of my stomach.
“I wonder what happened to the real Micah,” I murmured, although I was sure I already knew the answer. I doubted he’d still be living if the black witches were indeed behind this.
Ibrahim sat down on the floor next to me, his back against the side of the boat as he continued staring at the hair, his brows furrowed.
We sat in silence for the next few minutes, both of us trying to think of what to do next but both failing.
Eventually the silence was getting on my nerves, so I stood up and reached down a hand for him to stand too. “Let’s just keep moving… anywhere. I can’t sit still like this. Let’s just keep scouring the waters if we have to.”
Ibrahim heaved a deep sigh, then stood up.
Both facing forward, we were about to vanish again when a loud thump sounded a few feet behind us. The boat shook.
We whirled around to see two blonde women—witches—standing before us.
“Brisalia?” Ibrahim gasped, staring at the older of the two.
I recognized them instantly. Brisalia and Csilla Adrius. Mother and daughter, belonging to the lineage of the Ageless.
Ibrahim and I backed up on the boat, exchanging nervous glances. These were witches we couldn’t afford to mess with. Their powers more than rivaled our own.
“What are you—” Ibrahim began to say, but before he could finish his question, the two witches sprang forward, both leaping for our midriffs. I felt myself falling backward and braced myself to hit the water. But before we ever touched the ocean’s surface, we vanished.
A ferocious wind engulfed me. I could barely catch a bre
ath before my feet met solid ground again and I found myself staring down into a hole in the ground. A starry abyss. A gate. Ibrahim stood next to me, the two witches either side of us. Thick trees surrounded us. We were in some kind of forest—where, I had no idea. As Ibrahim and I attempted to fight the hold they had on us, a force pushed us backward. We lost our footing and the abyss consumed us. As we were sucked downward, I caught a glimpse of the two witches leaping in after us.
I reached for Ibrahim’s hand, gripping it tight as we traveled at furious speed. I gasped as the end of the tunnel finally came into view. Sunshine blinded me as I hurtled out and landed on a grassy lawn. Ibrahim made contact with the ground a few feet away from me. Scrambling to his feet, Ibrahim gripped my arm and pulled me up. We raced back toward the gate as soon as the two witches shot out from it. But as we attempted to leap back through, our bodies froze midair, an invisible power keeping us from falling through, resisting the suction pulling us downward.
We were sent hovering back toward the area we had landed first and dropped onto the grass. I cast my eyes around. A river flowed a few feet away from us, and a waterfall thundered about five hundred meters away. The river glistened with precious gems, the banks lined with trees. I could have recognized this river in my sleep. It was the river that surrounded the main city of The Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary.
I could barely believe that I was back here. Brisalia stood up, Csilla close behind her as they approached us.
“I’m sorry to do this to you, Ibrahim,” she said, looking at my husband with genuine apology. “You were loyal to my sister for so many years, but we just can’t have you meddling with things.”
“What?” Ibrahim spat.
No matter how much Ibrahim and I tried to break out of the spell Brisalia had us under, we couldn’t. She was of the line of the Ageless, and against her and her daughter’s powers combined, we had no hope.
Once again our surroundings disappeared, and this time when my vision came back into focus, we were standing in a large bedroom. Its walls were made of stark white marble, as were the floors. It was oval, and there was a beautifully carved four-poster bed in the center. Light satin curtains covering the open balcony doors blew in the breeze. There was a scent of flowers.
“I’m sure you will find this place comfortable enough. It used to be yours, after all.”
The two witches vanished before we could utter another word.
I stared at Ibrahim. He still looked in a state of shock as he looked around the room. We both hurried over to the open balcony and attempted to vanish ourselves once again. But as we tried to leave the balcony, we hit an invisible wall. We rushed back into the room and out through the main entrance, down a set of wide marble stairs and tried to exit out the door. While the front door opened, we couldn’t walk further than the end of the porch.
Ibrahim and I assaulted the shield with curse after curse, but nothing we could do damaged it in the slightest.
Sweat forming on my brow, I wiped it with the back of my sleeve.
Ibrahim grabbed my hand and led me back into the house. As we stood in the center of the hall, we both looked at each other, panting.
“What the hell is this?” I blurted out. It had all happened so fast, I had hardly caught up with the fact that it was real.
We were no longer on earth. We were back in The Sanctuary. The realm of the witches. My home. And Ibrahim’s.
The last time I’d spent a brief spell here had been to escape The Shade when Kiev had burnt it down with the help of the other children of the Elders.
I swallowed hard as I looked around the entrance hall. It was uncanny. I still remembered living here with Ibrahim. When we first became lovers, all those years ago.
Ibrahim caught my hand and we made our way back upstairs toward the bedroom. We walked out onto the balcony. This house was perched on one of the tallest hills in the area and afforded a magnificent view of the heavenly city sprawling out beneath us.
This balcony… it brought back so many memories. It was the spot where I’d shared my first kiss with Ibrahim.
We were old flames, Ibrahim and I. We shared a history that went far back. Much further than the short period we’d spent together looking after baby Rose.
We’d been lovers before I first came to Earth from The Sanctuary.
He’d been the reason I left. I’d fallen in love with him. Hard. And I’d thought he’d shared the same feelings for me. But his parents had forbidden him from seeing me once they’d found out.
Ibrahim came from a family closely connected to the Ageless’ line, the Adriuses themselves. Even my being a descendent of the great witch Cora wasn’t enough for them.
Ibrahim’s unwillingness to break free from his family’s hold had sent me into a spiral of depression. My mother, who at the time had been the witch of The Shade, suggested I come to Earth. I’d wanted nothing to do with my own kind for a while. I’d integrated myself into human civilization and enrolled in a college to study psychology.
And then, when it was my turn to take my place as The Shade’s witch, I’d tried to forget Ibrahim. I even performed several spells on myself to help block him from my memory.
I’d thought I’d done a good job. But when I’d seen him again, when the Ageless had taken my powers away and put him in charge of me, all those broken feelings had returned.
That period I’d spent with Ibrahim on Earth—when it was just the two of us looking after baby Rose—had been possibly the happiest weeks of my life.
He’d told me he’d regretted letting me go since the day I left, all those years ago. But I was afraid to get close to him. As much as my heart felt that it might burst with joy, I didn’t want to have it broken again. I still hadn’t been sure if what we had was temporary and whether he would return with the Ageless as soon as their business on Earth was done.
But then he’d refused to return with her. And the day of Vivienne’s wedding, he’d asked me to be his, forever.
I snapped out of my bout of nostalgia as Ibrahim’s thumb brushed against my cheek. I realized that he was brushing away a tear. From the hooded look in his eyes, I could tell that he too was remembering our story, standing on this balcony, where it all began.
I closed my eyes as his lips pressed against mine. When he lifted his head again, he was smiling slightly.
“I don’t know what just happened, or why we’re here, or what will become of us, or Rose, or The Shade… but I love you, Corrine. And I never stopped loving you since the night we first kissed on this balcony.”
More tears leaked down my cheeks. I knew that these emotions were the last thing I should be feeling right now. I hadn’t returned to The Sanctuary for so long that all the memories it brought back of Ibrahim, the first and last love of my life, sent my head reeling. I sank down on the bed, trying to steady my breathing.
After a few moments, I managed it, clutching Ibrahim’s arm. It was time we started figuring out some answers.
“I wonder where that gate was that we just came through. Whether it was near The Shade.”
Ibrahim shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s possible it wasn’t even marked on Mona’s map.”
“Ibrahim. Corrine,” a silky voice spoke from behind us.
A blonde woman had just entered the room. I shot to my feet.
“Thalia,” Ibrahim and I said together.
She was Odelia’s sister.
“Take me to Odelia,” Ibrahim said, walking up to Thalia, his fists clenched.
A sadness filled Thalia’s crystal-blue eyes. “Odelia is no more. Being the next oldest sister of the Adrius line, I am now the Ageless of the Sanctuary. In light of the many years you served my sister, I thought it was only right that I make a personal visit to answer any questions you might have, so you don’t feel like prisoners.”
My jaw dropped. “She’s dead?” I gasped.
“She was murdered in her sleep.”
Ibrahim’s breath hitched. “By whom?”
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“To this day we don’t know for sure. But we suspect that it was a black witch. It seems they are becoming powerful enough to penetrate our realm.”
As much as we were shocked by the news, it was clear that neither of us were truly that sorry. Odelia had caused The Shade much trouble during her time, and to this day I hadn’t forgiven her for taking my powers away from me—and for what she’d done to Sofia, leaving Rose and Ben motherless during the first weeks of their lives.
“Why have you brought us here? And why are you restraining us like this?” Ibrahim demanded, glowering at her.
Thalia sighed. Drawing up a chair, she sat down and, gesturing to the bed, indicated that we do the same.
“I’m sorry if Brisalia didn’t give you a satisfactory explanation. But she and Csilla had to hurry back to The Shade. They have some… preparatory work to do there.”
“What?”
“Please, sit.”
I was in no mood to sit down and I could see Ibrahim wasn’t either, but we gave in to her request.
“The black witches must be stopped,” she began. “If they are allowed to continue gaining strength, both the human realm and the realm of the witches—indeed, every realm—will feel their threat. They will not stop until they have made every species subordinate to them. Until they have reclaimed the so-called true glory of our Ancients. A glory that comes at the expense of all species other than themselves.”
“What does any of this have to do with imprisoning us? We need to leave. Sofia and Derek are depending on us to—”
“Don’t worry about the Novak girl,” Thalia said calmly. “Hermia, my own sister, has gone after her. She’s already located their trail and will bring them back here safely. So fear not.”
It felt like every clarification only ended up confusing us further. “What? Why would—”
“The Novak twins—well, mainly the girl. It has occurred to the black witches that she will be of much use to them, far more than they initially thought.”
“Why?”
Thalia folded her hands over her lap. “There is an Ancient still remaining. Lilith, her name is. She is one of the reasons they are gaining power so quickly. She guides and directs them. But she is ailing. One of the reasons they need so much human blood is for the rituals they carry out on her behalf, to keep her alive. She is hanging on to her decaying life by a thread. To deny death in such a way requires a constant effort, an immense amount of life force, the most potent of which comes from human blood. Since they know of the twins’ unique blood, they want to see if it will help to prolong Lilith’s life, if it will be more potent than regular human blood. Basically, they want to add Rose to their ingredients shelf. And also experiment with other ways she could be of value other than giving blood.”
