Page 31 of Sophie's Ruin
“I need to push myself so I can learn my limits,” I bit out.
“Glimmering is not the best way to learn what those limits are.”
“Why not? What can go wrong?”
Damien stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
“You can launch yourself into a different realm or get stranded in the void.”
My heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach.
“So, things can go very, very wrong,” I said shakily before I cleared my throat and infused my voice with resolve. “Still, I’m willing to take the risk.” Being able to glimmer would provide yet another advantage when I went after Henry, and it would be yet another weapon in my arsenal if I wanted to become the biggest and the baddest.
“You’re a vampire, Sophie. You already can move with supernatural speed,” Damien pointed out. If he were trying to talk me out of it, his attempt was half-hearted, as if he knew I couldn’t be swayed.
“Being able to disappear from somewhere and reappear somewhere else entirely in a heartbeat is not the same as my vampire ability to run fast. It’s on a whole different level.”
“Yes, the level that might still be too advanced for you,” Damien said in a measured tone. “For now,” he added hastily when I scowled.
“There is only one way to find out,” I drawled, my lips stretching into a daring smile.
Damien scanned me from head to toe as if taking a second look at me.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you don’t back down from a challenge. You did defeat the Dark Witches, after all.”
“I did. And soon, I will defeat the clans.”
“Defeat the clans? I thought the goal was to save your lover?” His white brows lifted in question.
“I will save him, and then I will make them pay,” I growled.
Damien’s eyes shone with approval, and his lips twitched as if he were fighting a smile.
“Very well… To glimmer, you need to visualize in your mind the place you want to go. Then, you gather up your magic until it’s concentrated in your center.” He touched the center of his chest. “When ready, you send your magic first, like a beam of light piercing through the void and emerging on the other side, in the place where you’re trying to go. Imagine your power like a bridge connecting where you are to where you want to be. To use that bridge, you need to enter the beam of light, which is your magic, and exit it when you arrive.”
“It sounds…complicated,” I admitted, as anxiety spiked. I wouldn’t let it take over. I needed a clear head if I hoped to pull this off.
Releasing a long exhale, I closed my eyes and let my mind go quiet. I needed to begin with something simple. Perhaps I could glimmer from where I stood to the tree line where Damien hademerged from. It wasn’t that far. I could do it. I pulled the magic from my limbs, willing it to travel from my fingertips, toes, and even the ends of my hair, to the center of my chest.
As Damien had instructed, I imagined my power like a beam of light and then flung it across the clearing, connecting the patch of land where I stood to the dark and twisted trunks of the tree line. Now came the tricky part. I stepped into the beam of light, imagining myself growing smaller until I was no bigger than a gnat. I waited for the light to suck me in and spit me out by the tree line, but nothing happened. After a few minutes, when I didn’t feel any different, I cracked open one eye and confirmed what I already knew—I was still in the same spot, with Damien watching me intently.
Opening my eyes fully, I let out a growl of frustration. Damien sighed softly—a mix of relief and disappointment. He was relieved I hadn’t proved him wrong, but also disappointed, all for the same reason.
“I told you it takes years,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.
“Then I will find a way to turn years into days,” I responded with determination.
17
When I closed my eyes at the break of dawn, I didn’t dream about Henry. Instead, I was in the dark place again, with shadows whispering things to me. Strangely enough, I was no longer afraid of them. My breathing and heartbeat were even as I sat down cross-legged in the pool of darkness, closing my eyes and resting my hands on my knees. Somehow, I knew I was dreaming, so I just sat there quietly, waiting to wake up. The darkness lapped at my skin and tugged on my hair, and I let it, barely noticing the icy-hot touch. At one point, I opened my eyes and ran my hand through the wispy black tendrils that surrounded me. They wrapped around my fingers, tickling my skin, and a faint smile graced my lips.
“You’re not scary at all,” I said, my voice echoing in the large, open space. “Perhaps you’re just misunderstood…”
As if in response, the smoke slithered up my arm, perching on my shoulder. It caressed my cheek, and I turned my face into its gentle touch, closing my eyes with a soft exhale. My mind became empty as I sat there, wrapped in the darkness’s embrace. I didn’t think about Henry, my mother, or the fate of the world. I simply existed, unburdened and free. I wasn’t sure how muchtime had passed as I floated in the nothingness, but the next thing I knew I felt myself beginning to wake up.
“I have to go,” I told the darkness, opening my eyes again. “I have to keep working on my magic so I can rescue Henry.”
As soon as I’d uttered the words, the thoughts of him rushed back in, pushing me to my feet.
