Page 35 of Sophie's Ruin
Satisfied with his selection, Moreau stepped closer to me, the sickle blade in his hand and a deranged expression on his face. With a vicious growl, I lashed out, baring my fangs…only to be yanked back by the chains that now bound me.
Moreau laughed, the creepy sound echoing in the cavernous space.
“The chains came in handy, don’t you think?” he asked, angling his head.
They sure had. The clan leaders hadn’t even needed to install them. They had already been attached to one of the walls. Stern must have used them on his Ravagers, to restrain the feral vampires when he’d first turned them, so he could train them into submission just enough to make them do his bidding, never fully guiding them out of bloodlust.
The thick metal cuffs attached to the chains encircled my wrists and ankles, restricting my movements. I had woken up in them after losing consciousness in the tunnels after my failed escape attempt. I hated the fucking things, but I hated the collar around my neck the most. The clan leaders had disconnected that chain from the wall earlier so they could drag me to the border to taunt Sophie, but it had gone back into the wall when we’d returned.
“The collar is a nice touch, wouldn’t you agree?” Moreau asked, as if reading my thoughts. “It’s funny how mere nights ago you threatened to leash me, and now you are the one on a leash.”
Mere nights ago, I had thought that Sophie and I were about to start a new life together, but then I had been diminished to this—a prisoner, chained to a wall. Fury simmered in my blood, but I refused to engage with Moreau. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing that his words had gotten to me.
When I didn’t acknowledge what he’d said, he continued, “You know,” he drawled, turning the sickle blade in his hand as if studying it. “I truly thought that bitch would come for you.” His dark brown eyes met mine. “She was there, wasn’t she? In the Black Forest. Yet, she didn’t turn herself in. Even after seeing thecondition you were in. Does it make you wonder if she truly cares about you?”
“No, it doesn’t,” I said, my tone final. I hadn’t for a second doubted Sophie’s feelings for me. Moreau’s words were not getting to me, but this conversation was. He was just dragging this out, while I sat here and waited for the torture to begin. He was letting the dread build up, demonstrating that he was the one in control. There was only one way for me to gain back a sliver of it, so, as much as I hated it, I opened my mouth and said, “Get on with it.”
Moreau laughed again, and I loathed the sound with every fiber of my being. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
As he pulled his arm back to deliver the first blow, I let myself slip into a state of near unconsciousness where I was in my body but also separated from it. I let myself retreat inside my mind as my physical form took the beating. Drifting into the past, I thought about Sophie. Memories of her were the only way for me to get through this…
“The Candidates are here,” Isabelle said, angling her head to better hear what was happening on the side of the study door.
Excitement laced every word as she dragged her fangs over her lower lip. I scowled at her reaction. She had always embraced her blood-thirsty side more than I ever had mine, but such a display of depraved anticipation disturbed me. After Vincent’s death, she had been drifting closer to the darkness and farther away from the light, and I had no idea what I could do to stop it.
“Vincent would not have approved of you getting such enjoyment from the Selection,” I pointed out, my scowl intensifying.
Isabelle’s gaze fastened on me, her big brown eyes darker with hunger.
“Vincent is dead because he went to try and rescue Eloise from the Dark Witches. He sacrificed himself for a human. It’s only fair they sacrifice something in return.” Isabelle shrugged with cold indifference. “Besides, don’t tell me you haven’t been enjoying Eleanor. She is such an eager little vassal.” Her crimson-painted lips stretched into a smile, revealing the hints of her fangs.
“Too eager.” I blew a breath of frustration.
“So she tried to stake you.” Another shrug. “Makes things more exciting if you ask me.”
“That’s not the type of excitement I need in my life,” I grumbled. “Vassals are usually eager to leave the estate when their year is up. She wants to stay. ‘If I can’t have you, then no one else will,’ she told me when she tried to kill me.”
“You shouldn’t have let her get so close. She is infatuated with you, Henry,” Isabelle pointed out.
Gritting my teeth, I rubbed my chin, momentarily lost in thought.
“I never meant for Eleanor to become this attached to me,” I said, as if to myself. “I will need to be more careful next time.”
“Speaking of next time.” Isabelle rose to her feet. “Shall we?”
My jaw hurt from how hard I was clenching it, my fangs grinding on my bottom teeth. I hated the Selection, always had, but I was in no power to do anything about it. Vincent had kept the clans under control as much as he could, and I tried to do the same after I’d become the new leader of the Duval clan, but there was only so much I could do. I was their equal, not their superior. Vincent had held certain authority because he’d been the oldest vampire among the clans. I didn’t have that advantage and couldn’t exert the same influence.
“You can look at least a little bit excited about this,” Isabelle said, strolling to the door.
“There is nothing to be excited about, Isabelle. We don’t even need vassals. The humans already donate blood to keep our cellars well-stocked.”
I rose from the chair behind my desk and joined her by the door.
“True, but we both know it’s not the same. Oh, the thrill of biting into a human, of having fresh, warm blood spill into your mouth…” Isabelle moaned, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they were almost entirely black. “Tasting that essence, that vitality on your tongue… There is nothing like it. It’s what gives us life, Henry. You can’t change your nature, so you might as well enjoy it.”
I swallowed, shifting from foot to foot. She was right—I couldn’t change that I was a vampire—but enjoying that aspect of it just felt…wrong. Always had and always would. Still, I couldn’t fight my nature, as excitement invaded my veins at Isabelle’s words. Rolling my shoulders, I tamped it down as much as I could.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said grimly, reaching for the handle and opening the door.
