Page 70 of Sophie's Ruin
“He’s not?” I asked, confused.
“No.” Celeste shook her head. “Xanthus can’t enter this realm. The one who has been tempting you with dark magic is one of the minions who serve Xanthus. A demon.”
“A demon?” I tried the foreign word on my tongue. “And you can take him on by yourself?”
The witch nodded. “I have a plan.”
A feeling of foreboding crept into my chest.
“Are you sure you don’t need help? I learned the hard way that fighting the darkness alone is not a good idea.”
“I’m sure. I have seen my fair share of darkness through the years. It hasn’t prevailed over me yet. Besides, don’t you have a wedding to plan?”
I couldn’t fight another smile as it lit up my face. Of course she would know about Henry’s proposal through the threads.
“I do, but we’re not in a rush to get married,” I told her. A thought occurred to me then, and I shifted in my seat, nervous but also excited. “Speaking of which...You said you would help me with my magic. Do you mind if we start soon? I have an idea for something, but it involves using my powers.” Celeste gave me a skeptical look. “Using them for good,” I assured her. “To create something beautiful.”
33
“It’s healed,” I murmured, running my fingertips over Henry’s smooth chest. “I was afraid it would scar.”
Catching my hand in his, he brought it to his lips and kissed the pads of my fingers. He was still inside me, our chests rising and falling shallowly after what we’d just shared. My knees on either side of his hips, I was straddling him, and he was sitting upright, his back propped against the headboard.
“Of course, it’s healed,” he said low, turning my hand to brush his lips over my knuckles.
I couldn’t take my gaze away from his chest, where I swore I could still see the wound I’d inflicted.
“Don’t do that,” Henry said quietly, gently guiding my chin up with his thumb and index finger. I knew my eyes were glistening when my gaze met his. “Don’t think about that. It’s in the past.”
A ragged exhale left me, and I buried my face under his chin, trying to fend off the tears. His fingers threaded through my hair, and he held me there as our breathing and our heartbeats slowed. I managed not to cry this time, which was an improvement. During the last few days, I’d broken down many times, with Henry always there to help put me back together.
“We need to get ready,” he said after a few minutes, untangling his fingers from my hair. He glided them down my bare back, massaging it in the process. “The clan leaders will be here soon.”
His words instantly flung me to the past, as if I’d glimmered myself to the last time we’d met with the clans. Horrible memories of that night invaded my mind.
With a sigh, I lifted my head from Henry’s chest and met his stormy blue gaze.
“Tonight feels a lot like that night weeks ago when everything went very, very wrong,” I said in a hushed tone.
Henry’s perfect features tautened. A muscle flexed along his jaw before he said, “I know, but we have to do this. We have to try. My hope is that tonight will go differently.”
“It has to,” I told him. “I can’t go through that again.”
His understanding gaze flicked over my features. “Come here.”
He pushed on my lower back, and I gasped when his rigid length shifted inside me. He was ready to go again, but I knew we wouldn’t when the kiss he gave me was tender and sweet, not hungry and demanding.
“I feel like we are so close to our new life,” he whispered against my lips. “That’s all I want. A new life. With you.”
My heart squeezed in my chest.
“It’s all I want as well.”
“Then, let’s go and make it happen. Together.” He rested his forehead against mine. We shared a breath before I pulled away and eased off him.
We quickly showered and got dressed, debating whether or not to wear our armor.
“I don’t want to send the wrong message,” Henry said, clutching his leathers in his hand. “If the clan leaders get hereand see us in our fighting gear, they will immediately go on the defensive.”
