Page 58 of Sophie's Ruin
How did he find me again?Suddenly, I felt the weight of the hex bag in my left pants pocket. My mind flashed back to the last time I’d seen Celeste. The witch had lunged for me before I’d glimmered out. She must have dropped the hex bag in my pocket. How had I not felt its weight until now?
You wanted him to find you,a tiny voice whispered in my head, but the darkness quickly silenced it.
“Stop?!” I threw over my shoulder at Henry. “Why would you ask me to stop? How can you not want to inflict the same pain and suffering they inflicted on you?” The words came out rough and guttural. I could have sworn it was the darkness forcing them out of me.
“Believe me, I do,” he rasped, stepping closer to me. “And I am honored that you want to fight for me so fiercely. But if we give in to this urge to do to them as they did to us, what makes us better than them?”
“Maybe we’re not,” I said, and Henry’s face fell, shock splashing across his features. “We’re vampires, Henry. We’re monsters, just like the rest of them. We just hide it better.”
“How can you say that? Are you even hearing yourself?” he asked low, his voice hoarse. “This…” His deep-blue gaze flicked over me. “This is not you.”
Those words again. I hated them.
“Is it not? Because I feel more myself now than I ever had before. Perhaps this has been me all along. It’s time I stopped fighting my true nature.”
“This is not your true nature, and if you will not fight for who you truly are, then I will.”
“I will not let you stand in my way,” I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Then, you will have to fight me, but I will fight for you. I will not lose you.”
“Lose me?” I angled my head, my brows drawing together.
“To the darkness. It’s consuming you. Can’t you feel it? I will not let you succumb to it. The light inside you…it’s still there. I can see it. Even if you can’t see it for yourself.”
My upper lip curled as I said, my voice dripping with disdain, “That light was extinguished when the clans captured you. And to be honest, I don’t mind. It would be a hindrance to what I need to do. I don’t need the light. I only need the darkness. Perhaps you’re right, and it’s trying to consume me, but I won’t let it. I’m in control.”
Henry’s taut features softened just a fraction as a mix of horror and pity washed over his face. “But darling, you are not in control. Not anymore.”
Yvonne made a choking noise in front of me, snapping my attention back to her. Henry was wrong—I felt in control as I held her worthless life in my hand.
“Let her go,” Henry ordered, coming to stand by my side.
Reluctantly, I dragged my gaze to him.
“Or what? You’re going to make me?” I smirked.
He wouldn’t hurt me, I knew that without a doubt. I still expected him to try to take me down, though. I was prepared for that. I wasn’t prepared for what he did next. His touch was like a brand on my cold skin when he reached up and cupped my cheek.
“I love you,” he said softly but with resolve.
The quiet words rolled through the courtyard like thunder, loud and clear.
The darkness inside me shuddered…before it lashed out.
I threw a punch with my right arm, but Henry blocked it. I wasn’t worried about losing my grip on Yvonne—my shadows still encircled her throat, much like the collar they’d put on Henry when they’d held him captive. Pulling my arm back, I went to kick out, but Henry darted out of my reach. We began a dance, moving like smoke and shadows through the courtyard—two supernatural creatures colliding, stirring the cool night air. Henry was holding back, and it infuriated me, as I fought with everything I had, slashing my claws and snapping my fangs.
Frustration spiked. As a vampire, Henry was older and stronger than me, and it showed. He kept caging me in, hauling me to his powerful body, or pinning me down to the ground, all in an attempt to get in my face and talk to me, to make me hear reason. He was doing so right now, his face mere inches from mine. I was pinned to the ground, and he was kneeling beside me, his broad hand on my neck to hold me in place as gently as he could. His blue-black gaze flicked over me, taking in all the nicks and bruises from us exchanging blows. His expressionturned pained before his gaze returned to my face. It was clear he hated hurting me. I hated being so weak that hecouldhurt me. I needed my magic. I hadn’t used it until now because it was still preoccupied with Yvonne, holding her in its tight grip.
You also didn’t want to hurt him,the tiny voice was back inside my head.
I snarled, thrashing under Henry’s hold.
“Sophie, please,” he bit out, anguish in his voice. “You have to stop. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” I snarled. “I’m going to hurt you!”
I summoned my shadows. Like whips, they snapped from Yvonne and began hurling toward me. As soon as they let go, Yvonne crumpled to the ground, fighting for breath, blood dripping from the wounds she’d inflicted on herself.
