Page 47 of Sophie’s Ruin (Crimson and Shadows #2)

I fixed my eyes on Yvonne standing in front of me, letting my gaze bore into her until she had no choice but to meet it. With a snarl, she moved to the table and added a drop of her blood.

After the remaining clan leaders had begrudgingly done the same, a sigh of relief almost left me.

It appeared we’d won, but I knew I would never truly rest easy while other vampires were still in the world.

I would always be on high alert, waiting for something to happen.

In a way, it would be easier to kill them all, only leaving Henry, me, and Isabelle, but that would make me a monster, and I refused to be one.

“It’s your turn,” Celeste said, looking at me.

With a nod, I pricked my thumb and ran it across the parchment, smearing the six drops of blood.

“What are you doing?” Adelaide asked, scrunching her face up in concern.

“Binding your will to mine,” I replied. “You will never be able to run or hide. I will always be able to track and summon you.”

Shock splashed across the clan leaders’ faces just as Celeste held out her hands above the parchment and uttered an incantation.

Potent magic filled the study, making it difficult to breathe.

The others seemed impervious to it, but as a White Witch, I was experiencing the full effect of Celeste’s powers.

It clogged my throat and constricted my chest, suffocating me.

When Henry noticed something was wrong, he placed a hand on my lower back for support.

I gritted my teeth through the discomfort, as Celeste’s chanting grew louder until it abruptly stopped.

The oppressive waves of magic ceased at the same time, and I inhaled deeply just as the parchment under Celeste’s hands flickered.

The edges of the document burst into blue flames that rapidly spread, eating up the paper until they met in the middle, dissipating in a puff of white smoke.

Even after it had burned, the parchment appeared perfectly intact, shimmering slightly.

“It is done,” Celeste declared.

No one moved. Everyone barely breathed as the witch rolled up the parchment and handed it to Wren, who paled as he received it.

“There is one more matter we need to discuss,” Henry said next to me. His deep voice jolted everyone out of their stupor, and all the eyes in the room fixed on him. “Are there any Ravagers left that we don’t know about?”

My gaze slid to Yvonne, and her amber eyes widened in fear.

“The Ravagers you sicced on me at your estate. Where did they come from?” I asked her.

Yvonne squared her shoulders, standing tall as she met my gaze. She was terrified of me—I could smell her fear. Yet, she didn’t cower before me. A part of me still admired that about her.

“I made them,” she said loudly, but her voice trembled, betraying her terror. “I made them, hoping they would take you down when you came for me.”

Henry tensed next to me. I knew how he felt about Ravagers. They were feral killers, but through no fault of their own. As new vampires, they needed guidance, but their makers refused to provide any, leaving them to the darkness and at the mercy of the sinister hunger that warped their minds.

“Are there still any left?” Henry asked quietly, his tone deadly.

“Yes,” Yvonne replied, her voice catching. At least she had more sense than to lie about something we would eventually find out.

Her eyes filled with tears, and her forehead was slick with sweat. I was willing to bet she thought that with that one word, she’d just signed her death sentence.

“Anyone else?” Henry’s deep-blue gaze swept over the faces in the room.

The other clan leaders shook their heads in denial.

Henry refocused on Yvonne, and she seemed to grow small under his scathing glare.

“How many?” he asked low. I knew the quiet tone was not a true representation of the storm raging inside him.

Yvonne knew it, too, and her gaze was begging when it shot to me before returning to Henry. “Four,” she said in a soft whisper.

A muscle flexed along Henry’s jaw, and his hand tightened on my lower back as if he were barely containing his rage.

“I can kill them if you wish…” Yvonne said.

“No,” Henry cut her off. “You will take them with you wherever you decide to go, and they will become a part of your clan. You will work with them and guide them out of the frenzy of bloodlust. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” Yvonne breathed, staring at him in shock. I wasn’t sure if she was shocked because Henry was sparing her life, or because of what he’d just asked her to do.

“We will help you,” Henry told her. When he glanced at me, I nodded in agreement.

“Now, this meeting is adjourned,” I declared.

The clan leaders swept from the room, with Yvonne lingering behind for a moment as if she couldn’t believe she was leaving the study alive.

After she was gone, a rough exhale of relief left me, and I sagged against the desk.

His hand still on my back, Henry leaned in, resting his forehead against my temple.

A strange quiet settled over the study, interrupted only by the crinkling of parchment in Wren’s trembling hand. Isabelle broke it first by saying, “Did that truly happen? Did we pull that off?”

Henry lifted his head from mine and looked at his sister.

“I think we did,” he said with a hesitant smile.

A smile pulled at my lips as well, but it quickly faded as I turned to Celeste.

“We still need to do something about Damien,” I said.

“I know,” the witch replied. “I haven’t been able to locate him. He is somewhere in the Black Forest. I can sense his malevolent presence, but anytime I try to ambush him, he’s gone.”

“Is it possible there is more than one of those…demons?” Henry asked, looking at the witch.

Celeste shook her head.

“Believe it or not, even gods have rules to obey. Dispatching too many demons into this realm would upset the delicate balance, so Xanthus only sends one of his minions at a time. That’s why he can’t send an entire army to take over this dimension.

If he wants an army, his demon must build one here, on this plain, recruiting those susceptible to his dark influence. ”

An involuntary shudder rolled through me at her words. I had been one of those susceptible to the darkness.

Even though the thought of dealing with Damien again terrified me, I forced myself to say, “Let me know if you need my help with finding and fighting him.”

Henry tensed next to me when I made the offer, but added, “If you need our help.”

Celeste’s knowing gaze drifted to his face before returning to me.

“I don’t need your help. I told you I have a plan,” she said. “Enjoy this moment of peace. Who knows how fleeting it will be.”

With that, the witch turned and left the study.

Her parting words lingered long after the door had closed behind her.

Would our life always be like this? A desperate attempt to cherish transient moments of calm before the next storm?

When I looked at Henry, I found him watching me, making me wonder if he was thinking the same thing I was.

Even if our life would always be like this, I didn’t care, I decided, as long as he was by my side.