Page 2 of Sophie's Ruin
The awakening was happening now as I lay here, restless energy filling my veins. My muscles twitched almost imperceptibly with the need to move, to seize the night. When I lifted my head from Henry’s chest, I found him watching me from beneath his thick, dark lashes. The bedroom was pitch-black, but I could see his face clearly because of my vampire eyesight.
“You feel it, don’t you?” he asked, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “The night is calling you.”
“Yes,” I admitted, bracing my hand on the mattress to sit up. “Should I fear it?” I asked as the gray satin sheet covering us slid down to pool around my hips.
Henry’s gaze dropped to my exposed breasts but didn’t linger there. His eyes were dark with hunger when he lifted them back to mine, but he didn’t pursue the lustful thoughts, focusing on our conversation instead of my naked form.
“Fear it?” he asked, his eyebrows knitting.
“The darkness,” I explained.
“The night is not the same as the darkness. There is freedom in it,” he said calmly, his features smoothing out again.
“There is freedom in the darkness,” I countered, barely above a whisper, as if I were speaking of something forbidden.
“That’s what the darkness wants you to believe.” Henry’s voice was still calm, but tension pinched his features.
“It whispers things…” I continued in a hushed tone.
“All lies,” he said vehemently, gently clasping the back of my neck. He was also sitting up now, so our faces were inches apart. “You know the truth.” He reached up with his other hand and placed it over my heart, close to where the Tear and the locket holding the portrait of my mother rested. “And if you ever forget, you will always find it in here, in who you are.”
“My mother used to say there was a light inside me,” I said, remembering my dream.
“She was right. I can see it,” Henry replied, one side of his mouth turning up.
Wonder and awe settled into his striking features as he stared at me. He appeared fascinated by me, and being on the receiving end of that look was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. No one had ever looked at me like that before, and I was overcome with emotion as I stared back. I couldn’t help butwonder how I’d lived without that look for so long, and a part of me knew that if Henry ever stopped looking at me like that, I’d be devastated.
“You can see it? Truly?” I whispered, in awe of him being in awe of me.
He nodded as his smile grew. “Yes. And if you ever lose sight of it, ask me. I will always be by your side, to help you find it again.”
He unclasped the back of my neck and slid his other hand up from where it had been resting over my heart. Gently, he wrapped both hands around my face, cupping my cheeks. The tender way in which he touched me nearly brought tears to my eyes. Henry was a vampire, powerful and deadly. Yet, with me, never-ending tenderness poured out of him. Like a salve, it soothed my skin and filled the cracks in my heart the darkness had created. He would always help me find my light. I didn’t doubt it, just like I didn’t doubt him.
But what if he’s not always by my side?The thought was there one moment and gone the next, like a whisper in the wind. But I heard it, nonetheless.
The feeling of foreboding I’d felt earlier returned, and I shuddered as it washed over me like an icy splash, chilling me to the bone. The dark place inside me stirred again, bleeding into my subconscious like black ink until it oozed out of my pores, dripping on the bed, and staining the sheets. It slithered off the mattress to the stone floor, where it pooled before dashing to the corner of the room. There, it solidified, becoming a tangible and lingering presence. The shadows in that part of the room seemed deeper than the rest, molding into a dark silhouette that just stood there, watching. Waiting. What it was waiting for, I had no idea. Perhaps for Henry to leave my side so it could lash out and choke my light in its black, oily fingers, extinguishing it forever.
“Sophie, are you okay?” Henry’s deep voice penetrated the haze of my mind.
Blinking, I realized that I’d lowered his hands from my face. My fingers were still wrapped around his wrists as I peered into the dark corner of the room. When I refocused on Henry, I found him watching me with a concerned look on his face.
“I’m okay,” I told him, letting go of his wrists and reaching for the lamp on the bedside table. When I turned it on, a soft yellow glow cast over the room, banishing most of the shadows. Some still crawled behind Henry’s eyes, though, as they roamed over my face.
“I’m okay,” I told him again before I clasped his cheeks and kissed him.
I wasn’t sure I believed my own words, but feeling Henry’s lips on mine helped douse some of my anxiety. An entirely different feeling invaded my blood as he deepened the kiss, fisting his hand in my hair. I wanted to lose myself in him again, to delay the inevitable return to reality we soon would have to face, so I slid my hands over his broad shoulders before dragging my fingertips down his chest to his stomach and lower still until…he stopped me. I whimpered against his mouth as he grabbed my hands to prevent them from diving under the covers. We were both breathless when he broke the kiss and rested his forehead on mine.
“We need to get ready. The clan leaders will be here soon,” he said low, his hands pressing mine.
A tiny selfish part of me almost suggested postponing the meeting, but I knew better than to voice that thought aloud. We needed to meet with the clan leaders as soon as possible to try and convince them to slink back into the shadows where they belonged.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen tonight,” I said quietly, my voice dropping almost to a whisper, as if uttering the words would set something into motion. Something terrible.
Still holding my hands, Henry stared at me for a moment. Tension bracketed his mouth and pinched the corners of his eyes, letting me know he felt as uneasy about the upcoming meeting as I did.
“Whatever happens, we will face it together,” he finally said, before softly kissing my forehead.
The sweet gesture made my heart squeeze in my chest.
