Page 76 of Sophie's Ruin
“You shouldn’t hide it anymore.”
He placed the picture in the bag he was packing and carefully unwrapped my arms from around him.
“I dreaded telling you about them,” he said low when he turned around to face me. “I was scared of losing you.”
I put my hands on his arms and squeezed lightly.
“There is nothing you could ever say or do to lose me,” I assured him. “You don’t need to hide that part of your past. We need to honor them. You’re not a monster, and nothing could ever convince me otherwise.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
“Funny, because I think I don’t deserve you.”
He chuckled low, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me to his hard chest. I rested my cheek against the steady rhythm of his heart.
“Where are we going to live?” I asked, knowing the answer didn’t truly matter to me as long as I was with Henry.
“I don’t know. Where would you like to go?”
“Maybe we can find a place by the Starling Sea… I love being by the water,” I mused aloud.
“Wherever we go, I’ll like it anywhere as long as I’m with you.”
His words stirred a memory, and I lifted my head from his chest and looked into his eyes.
“You’ve said that to me before,” I said. “In one of the dreams I had while you were…gone.”
“Oh?” Henry’s brows climbed his forehead. “A premonition, perhaps? You are a White Witch, after all.”
“Maybe…” I trailed off, thinking about that dream in which Henry and I had been lounging in the meadow drenched in sunlight.
Silence stretched as Henry became lost in his own thoughts, his gaze sweeping over the room.
“I don’t think I’m going to miss this place. It had always felt empty and cold. Until you moved in.” A smile tugged at his lips.
A small laugh bubbled up. “I’m sure at first you cursed the day I showed up in your life.”
Henry’s gaze returned to me, and it was full of mild amusement. “I didn’t expect a wooden dagger strapped to your thigh. But then again, I didn’t expect many things. Like finding the love of my life.”
My breath caught as my heart swelled with so much emotion, I thought it might burst.
“I love you,” I breathed, my gaze dropping to the smirk on his perfect face.
His lips parted, and he leaned in for a kiss, his breath coasting over my mouth. My heart danced in my chest as if I hadn’t kissed him countless times before.
A fist pounding on the mansion’s front door snapped my attention from Henry’s lips. He lifted his head and stilled, listening. Another knock sounded louder than the one before.
“Are we expecting someone?” My brows lifted.
“Not that I know of…unless?—”
“My father is back!” I exclaimed, sprinting from the room.
36
Henry followed close behind, and by the time we’d arrived in the foyer, it was already teeming with people. Wren must have left them in. My father was here, with Waylon and Amelie. Madam St. Clair and Ezra were here as well, along with a few other humans who’d used to serve the Duvals.
“Father!” I exclaimed, crashing into him and enveloping him in a tight embrace. With a startled laugh, he hugged me back. I had to remind myself not to squeeze too hard as I held on for a few minutes. “You’re back,” I rasped, pulling away to look at him. His weathered features blurred as tears gathered in my eyes.
