“I don’t need thanks,” Sylvain scowled. “I seldom do what I don’t want to, Sophie.” Yet, she continued to gaze at him as though he was some type of hero. The only hero-worship he wanted from her was from the satisfaction she got once he'd bedded her. The thought escaped unwittingly and Sylvain’s scowl deepened. Here she was, looking like any grown man’s wet dream and looking at him like that. He knew then, that he could take advantage of the situation, but he wouldn’t.
Mistaking his scowl for humility, Sophie continued, “It means a lot to me to be able to say ‘thank you’ after all this time. You gave me a second chance, took me to the only place you knew I’d be safe—the Ursuline convent.”
“I didn’t do such a great job if you’re a vampire now,” he said gravely.
That admission stung and Sophie blanched. Seeing that, he shook his head, “No. I don’t mean that I have anything against vampires, but vampires are rarely born out of anything, but tragedy. That tells me that you weren’t safe for long.” He raked his eyes over her. “You became a vampire when you were, what? Twenty-four?” At her nod, he explained further, “That means that the path I led you onto only kept you safe for eight years. That’s barely a blink of an eye for one such as I.”
“But, it is a long time for a human, Sylvain,” Sophie stated firmly. “Given what I had been through, believe me, eight years was bliss. I had a good life in those eight years. They weren’t perfect and without pain, but I had a life, food to eat, friends I made and though the end was tragic, my life since becoming a vampire has been filled with unparalleled love. I have my sisters and Miss Suzette and through all of that, I have friends like you, Niul, and Conall.”
“Are you really happy as a vampire?” Sylvain asked. “Happy with the life you have?”
Sophie tipped her head to the side, contemplating, then looked back at him, and smiled, “Yes.”
“Well then, I believe that I did okay,” he smiled back. “And I’m glad to have met you again. I've never met any of the others, I helped Conall rescue back then. So, this is a novel experience for me.”
“Others?” Sophie inquired. “Come to think of it, why did you rescue me?”
“Ah,” Sylvain smiled, “my wild warrior days. That, ma petite chérie is a long tale, and it is still dark, enough time for you to perhaps get some sleep. Tomorrow you begin your empath training and I imagine that Arianna would have my hide if I kept you up all night. Being her monarch does not pardon me in her eyes.”
“No,” Sophie stopped him from getting up with a hand on his arm. Sylvain winced at her grip. “Sorry,” Sophie smiled sheepishly at him, “I sometimes forget that I’m stronger.”
“That’s okay,” Sylvain smiled at her. “I like it rough and a rough vamp is such a turn on.”
Sophie rolled her eyes, knowing that his jerkish behavior was a cover-up. He’d risked his life when he'd helped the Coffin Girls and Conall save the young witches. It was apparent that he’d made a habit of rescuing damsels in distress. No man that did that was as superficial as Sylvain liked to paint himself, and she refused to play into it. “Whatever,” she said, nonchalantly. “I won’t be able to sleep anyway after all of this, so how about you tell me that story?”
“If the lady insists on a bedtime story, then I must insist that we be comfortable.” Sylvain sported his usual, roguish grin. He lay down on her bed as though he belonged there, pulling her close, and tucking her into his side.
“You’re going to milk this savior thing for all it’s worth, aren’t you?”
“Me?” He looked at her in mock bafflement. “Never.”
“You’re incorrigible,” she retorted. Another eye-roll, and then she prodded him so that he could begin filling in the gaps.
“Conall and I were friends as we are now, and although we had no mission to perform for the Goddess, we had our own thoughts of chivalry. With the witch hunts spreading throughout Europe, Conall was always away trying to stop them. You’ll remember that many of those the church damned were simply unfortunate humans.” Sophie nodded, her eyes on him, but her mind back in time, re-living the tale as her own.
Keeping an eye on her, he continued. “He didn’t just rescue witches, he rescued as many human women and girls as he possibly could. The enemy was easy to defeat back then. They were Bible-sprouting hypocrites that used religion for their own gain. Do you know that the motivation for many of the witch-hunts, even the famous Salem massacres, was monetary?”
“Yes,” Sophie agreed. “I’ve read a book on the Salem massacres that indicated as such. It would make sense that money would be the motivator, even then. Men, and women, seemed to have evolved little over the centuries.”
Sophie nodded, “I always found it interesting that the executors got wealthier with each capital punishment and no one in the towns and villages said or did anything about it. I’m sure some were afraid and others had their hands in the coffers, too, but those who greased their palms were a minority. If the masses had dug up the courage to stand against it, they could have won.”
“Indeed,” nodded Sylvain. “Now back to the tale. I was intrigued by what Conall was doing and grudgingly admired it. I was also bored. Living millennia can be tedious. So, I decided to help him out. The witch-hunts were expansive and while Conall’s army was large, he could not span the expanse of an entire continent. I didn’t remember you, not because you’re forgettable, but because I’d lost count of how many women, I saved back then. Also, I’m not a pedophile and you were a young girl. If you’d been then, as you are now, I might not have dropped you off at the convent.”
The gaze he raked over Sophie’s body seared her through her clothing. Her breath caught as desire hit her hot and hard. She looked up into his face and found herself drawn in, held by the intensity of his gaze. Sophie leaned in to kiss him.
Sylvain stopped her. “Why now? I’ve teased you before and I’ve made no secret of my desire for you.”
When Sophie’s gaze dropped, he nodded gravely. “I thought so. I won’t get into this with you now, Sophie. Not because I find you undesirable.” He raked his hands through his hair, “I find you too desirable for our own good. What I want is for you and I to carry on as friends and should we become lovers, and I really want that, I don’t want you to do so because you have a misguided feeling of obligation. I want you to make love to me because you want me back as much as I want you. If I want a fuck, I can get one. That’s not what I’m looking for with you.”
Sophie reeled back, struck speechless, and watched an angry Sylvain leave her room, the banging door barely registering. What was that? So much had happened in the last few hours that she barely understood it all. What she did know was that she'd fucked up - big time. Groaning, she turned her head into the pillow, and berated herself.
Chapter 6
“Now that you have the shield in place,” Arianna instructed Sophie, “visualize it as a force field, a type of blanket you can wrap around your body.”
“I can’t feel a thing,” Sophie announced in wonder. Despite her most excellent company and tutor, Arianna, and the warm eccentricity of the sorceress’s home, it felt oddly solitary. Sophie looked around in wonder at the objects in the room. She picked up both the good and the bad from objects, people, animals, plants, and well, anything. When she’d first walked in the room where Arianna practiced her craft, she’d detected desire coming from a large, earthen bowl. When she’d questioned her tutor about it, Arianna had mumbled something about a love potion. Now, there was nothing. Sophie concentrated and focused on Arianna, noting her twinkling platinum-colored eyes, her elegant fingers twining around the curls at the end of her raven locks. She saw bemusement on Arianna’s face, but could pick up no definite mood. Feeling uncomfortable, Sophie made to shake the shield off.
“No,” Arianna stopped her. “Look inside you. What do you feel?”
“I don’t understand,” responded Sophie.
Arianna’s laughter trilled like musical bells on Christmas Eve,
“I’m not surprised, Sophie. You’ve been using your gift intuitively for too long. You need to take the energy you are feeling now to detect my emotions and use it on yourself. In other wards, take what you’d use on others and focus it inward. Picture it as a ball of light like you do when you perform witch’s magick and redirect it to where you want it to go.”
Sophie did as requested and reeled back. “Mon Dieu!”
“Exactly,” replied Arianna with a knowing grin. “That’s your own feelings. They are raw and unmarred by that of those around you. Staggering isn’t it?”
“Wow,” was Sophie’s inarticulate response. “I had no idea that I felt so much. I mean, I know I feel a lot, and often but..."
Arianna smiled knowingly, and yet kindly, at Sophie’s confusion. “But,” she finished for Sophie, “you’re used to feeling what others do. Now you’re faced with your own emotions.”
Overwhelmed, Sophie nodded. There was too much going on inside of her. Every emotion you could possibly think of came to the forefront. Sophie was surprised at what was revealed and insecure about how to handle it. She dug deeper and found love for her friends and kinship. Slipping slyly through the cracks though was lust and longing. Longing for that husband and family she’d promised her mother she would find and lust for a certain fae prince who’d captured her interest and earned her gratitude. She also felt guilty, because she’d upset him the previous evening and yet relieved that he hadn't taken her up on the offer. She wasn’t sure she was ready for a lust-filled romp with Sylvain. Twitching with discomfort, she looked up at Arianna, determined to focus on the lesson. “It feels like too much, and all at once,” she confessed.
“Again, not surprising,” stated Arianna matter-of-factly. “You’ve been taking in everything around you like a sponge until you could no longer distinguish between you and the rest. Now you’ve had a peak into how you, as Sophie feels, not Sophie the empath. You’ll need to spend time each day, doing exactly what you just did. Focus on your own emotions and allow them to make themselves known. Think of them as neglected children who are finally getting their mother’s attention. They need that attention and attending to. You’ll need to deal with it bit by bit, every day, until you know how to deal with it.”
Arianna looked at Sophie squirming in discomfort. “In fact, I think we need to begin each lesson like this - with you accessing your emotions. I also suggest you meditate, and I can show you how. It will help you clear your mind and heart first and eventually aid you in finding that balance you desire.”
It was a statement that also served as a question, Sophie realized. “Yes, please,” she replied. “I’ll take any help offered.” Now that she was faced with so much, her confidence in her own ability to deal with her empath gift and serve as a Coffin Girls was wavering.
As if reading her thoughts, Arianna advised, “You have to do this for you though. I know there are responsibilities you have to your fellow vampires, and the witches. Perhaps even to our Prince. But, you need to do this for you first and trust that the rest will follow.”
“I don’t know how to do that,” Sophie responded softly.
“I know,” acknowledged Arianna. “Being an empath is not an easy path to walk. It is natural to put others first. Again, the mother analogy: if a mother does not take care of herself, she’ll be unable to care for her children. The paradigm shift you’ll be required to make is perhaps the hardest of all the lessons you’ll need to learn here and it is something you will need to work on even after we complete your training.” Arianna shrugged. “As I said, it is natural for empaths to feel as though they need to take on the weight of the worlds, but in doing so they harm themselves, and those around them, eventually.”
Seeing that Sophie had had all introspection she could take, Arianna changed the direction of their lesson, “Now, for another essential skill. I’ll teach you how to let in the emotions of others and objects around you bit-by-bit. Again, I’ll introduce you to the skill and during our future lessons. I will revisit this skill with you until you’ve mastered it. Ready?”
At Sophie’s nod, Arianna continued. “Still picturing the force field around you, comforting, and shielding you like a heavy winter’s blanket, give it the mental instruction to become lighter, thinner.”
“I can feel the emotions around me, but just,” Sophie responded. “You’re feeling satisfaction at the progress of our lessons…”
“You can feel my emotions?” Arianna asked.
“Yes,” confirmed Sophie. Arianna looked perplexed. “Why do you ask?” inquired Sophie.
“You shouldn’t be able to,” explained Arianna, shaking her head. “I’ve been masking what I feel since you entered the room. I didn’t want my emotional presence to interrupt the lesson. This lesson is about you, what you feel and how to filter slowly.”
“I don’t understand,” Sophie shook her head. Arianna was a powerful fae sorceress and if she meant something to be, it should have happened. "So what does this mean? How can I sense what you feel if you’re shielding?” Sophie inquired.
“It means that you’re an exceptionally powerful empath, Sophie. The good in that is that with training, you’re likely to astound us, but the bad is that this training, learning how to take care of yourself and what you feel, what you let in, is more critical than we assumed.”
“Critical?” Sophie lifted a brow. “Isn’t that a bit dramatic?”
“Yes, it is dramatic,” replied Arianna. “But, accurately so. I am the most powerful empath I know of and have been for a thousand years. So, you should not be able to feel beyond my shield. Before that there was another - a fae sorceress with empathic abilities - much like me.”
“Who was she? Your mother?”
“No,” Arianna shook her head. “It is sufficient to say that the consequences for an untrained, powerful empath are dramatic because her ability led to her death.”
“I sense your questions, but the tale isn’t mine to tell,” Arianna said, standing up and taking Sophie’s hands, bringing her up from the mat, too. “Suffice to say that a powerful empath such as you needs training. I need to think on how to teach you. Let’s call it a day and reconvene here tomorrow."
Dismissed from her training, Sophie made her way through the quiet suburban streets to the bustling main street of the hollow. Although the hollow was expansive, the village’s business district was easily accessible from any point as it was centered. It looked like a quaint, picturesque hub of a small town. The exception was that in this hub, the inhabitants were beautiful and magickal. Unlike human business districts, there were no buildings selling goods and services. In fact, no selling occurred at all. The fae had no need for money, and thus did not engage in commerce. Magick unashamedly provided them with all they required. Instead, the hub held buildings designed in and denoting the purposes of the various fae. Sophie waved to fae in front of a huge grass mound, colorful flowers pushing up around it. This building housed the meetings for the fae responsible for growth and earthly magick. Next to it was a tower, a tube really, that linked to the nearby river. The building was a long tube of transparent glass filled with water. The inhabitants of the tower all had gills or could breathe underwater. This was the house of the water fae. Sophie realized that as monarch, Sylvain could probably enter the tower of water and converse inside it easily. He was, despite his mischievous nature, unassuming, given the sheer amount of power he held.
At her thoughts of Sylvain, she glanced towards the top end of the magickal hub towards his castle, a sentinel of power and magick. The castle’s location was not only a strategic one to prevent the rare enemy that gained entry from infiltrating the fae hollow’s stronghold, but it was there to both add to, accept from, and ground the magick visibly swirling around the business district. Sophie wondered where he was and what he was doing. She wondered if he was still angry or at the very least, irritated at her. Shaking her head at her own thoughts, she continued towards the path that led through the hollow towards the meado
w on the outskirts of the hollow’s village.
She could still feel the residual effects from her self-exploration exercise in Arianna’s home. Having seen what the beautiful sorceress was capable of in just one empath lesson, she thought she’d give the meditation a try and visit one of her favorite places in the hollow. The meadow was beautiful. Seas of green grass interspersed with wild flowers in a variety of colors calmed and soothed as it swayed in the slight breeze. The sun, a ball of yellow, gleamed in a sky as blue as Sylvain’s roguish eyes. Horses, wild yet tame, trotted in the lea and completed the picture of pastoral tranquility.
Sophie sat under one of the trees punctuating the expansive green pasture and allowed herself to just breathe. She had never tried meditation in the formal sense of the art, but had explained to Arianna that to her, the ultimate relaxation was to commune with nature and just be, even if it meant literally sitting under a tree. Arianna had stated that to do so could be seen as a form of meditation as long as solace and calm was sought. Empaths, according to her, had always sought out the balancing effects of enveloping themselves in the natural world. Sophie could relate to that as she’d instinctively sought out gardens and places of natural beauty whenever she had been in a state of agitation. Since her mother’s death, she’d found solace under many different trees - first at the Ursuline convent in France and then later at Pierre, her late husband’s, plantation.
Supernatural Seduction (Book 2 of the Coffin Girls Series) Page 7