108

108

Sophia’s POV

The first time it happened, I thought it was just a fluke. Maybe I was tired, or maybe this was what being a vampire was like—unpredictable, erratic, overwhelming. But as I sat on my bed, staring at the shattered mirror across the room, I knew this wasn’t normal. I didn’t throw anything at it. I hadn’t even moved. One moment I was brushing my hair, and the next, the glass exploded, cracks spreading from the center like a spiderweb.

My hands were trembling as I lowered the hairbrush. This wasn’t some weird vampire thing, was it? I hadn’t read about it in any of the ancient texts Ian had shown me, and I was pretty sure this wasn’t what he meant when he talked about the enhanced strength or speed that came with the transition. This was different. This was something else.

I didn’t tell him. Not right away. What was I supposed to say? “Hey, I think I just shattered a mirror with my mind.” No, that would sound insane. I didn’t even know how to explain it to myself, let alone to him. He had enough to worry about—what with the Council breathing down his neck about me, and the vampire hunters still lurking in the shadows, waiting for their chance to strike again. I couldn’t add to his burden, not when I wasn’t even sure what the hell was happening to me.

But it didn’t stop there.

A few days later, Jenny and I were at a coffee shop near campus, and things got… weird. We were sitting outside, just catching up, and I was trying to act as normal as possible—like I hadn’t been turned into a blood-sucking creature of the night, like I wasn’t hiding massive secrets from her. It was going fine until I noticed something strange. The air around me felt heavy, like it was charged with static, and my head began to pound. I rubbed my temples, thinking it was just a headache from lack of sleep.

Then, Jenny leaned over to grab her coffee, and the cup suddenly slid across the table, tipping over as if it had been pushed. Coffee spilled everywhere. Jenny yelped, jumping back, and I just sat there, frozen, my heart racing.

“Soph, are you okay?” Jenny’s voice broke through the fog in my head, but I could only nod.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just… clumsy, I guess.”

Clumsy. That was the best I could come up with. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t me being clumsy. It was something else—something inside me.

I should’ve told Ian then. I should’ve said something. But fear kept my mouth shut. What if he didn’t know what was happening either? What if this was something dangerous? The last thing I wanted was to cause more problems, especially since I could feel the tension growing between Ian and the Council every day. They already hated me enough. Adding “uncontrollable, freakish powers” to the list wouldn’t exactly help my case.

But it was the encounter with the vampire hunters that changed everything.

It happened when Jenny, Jacob, Ian, and I were out for dinner yesterday. We were supposed to be taking a break, having some fun after everything that had happened. I was actually enjoying myself for once, laughing with Jenny while Ian and Jacob argued about something stupid. It almost felt like things were normal—like I wasn’t a vampire with a target on my back.

But, of course, normalcy doesn’t last long in my life.

We were walking back to the car when I felt it. That familiar, tingling sensation, like the air was thick with energy. I stopped, glancing around, my instincts screaming at me that something wasn’t right. Ian must’ve sensed it too because he immediately stepped in front of me, his posture rigid.

Before I could react, they were on us. Vampire hunters. Five, maybe six of them, armed with weapons that gleamed in the light. I saw Jenny’s face pale with fear as Jacob grabbed her, pulling her behind him. Ian moved faster than I could track, taking out two hunters in the blink of an eye. But there were too many of them, and they were closing in.

I backed away, my heart pounding in my chest. I was still getting used to my strength, my speed. I wasn’t ready for this. Panic clawed at my throat as a hunter lunged toward me, and I stumbled backward, barely avoiding the blade aimed at my chest. I could hear Jenny screaming, Jacob shouting something, but all I could focus on was the hunter in front of me—his cold, calculating eyes, the way he smiled as he raised his weapon again.

Then, it happened.

The air around me shifted, like it had in the coffee shop, like it had in my room with the mirror. But this time, it was different. More intense. More powerful. I felt it building inside me, a surge of energy that I couldn’t contain, couldn’t control. My vision blurred, and then—everything exploded.

I don’t know how to describe it. One moment, the hunter was coming at me, and the next, he was flying through the air, slammed into the wall with a force that cracked the concrete. The others were thrown back as well, like they’d been hit by an invisible wave. I stood there, frozen, my chest heaving, as the dust settled around us.

“What the hell…?” Jenny’s voice was a whisper, but I could hear the terror in it.

I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t know what I’d done. I didn’t know how I’d done it. All I knew was that I was scared—terrified—of whatever was inside me.

Ian was at my side in an instant, his hands gripping my shoulders as he looked me over, his eyes wide with shock and concern. “Sophia, are you okay?”

I nodded, but I wasn’t sure if I was. My heart was racing, and my body felt like it was buzzing with leftover energy, like I was a live wire that had just short-circuited.

Jacob helped Jenny to her feet, his eyes darting between me and the hunters, who were now unconscious on the ground. “What the hell was that?”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I had no idea.

We left the scene quickly after that, getting back to Ian’s place in record time. Jenny was silent the entire ride, her face pale and her hands shaking. I wanted to say something, to explain, but what could I say? I didn’t even understand it myself.

Once we were inside, Ian pulled me aside, his face serious. “Sophia, we need to talk.”

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of his words. “About what?”

“About what just happened. And about what Lyanna told me.”

I froze. “What do you mean?” I frowned, my eyes searching his. “What did Lyanna tell you?” I asked, because I hadn’t seen her in a few weeks and she had told him something he had been keeping from me.

Ian sighed, running a hand through his hair. “There’s something you need to know. Something I should’ve told you earlier, but I wasn’t sure… Lyanna suspects that you’re not just an ordinary vampire. She thinks you might be tied to an ancient vampire lineage.”

I stared at him, my heart sinking. “What? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I didn’t even know if it was true. But after what I just saw… Sophia, you’re showing abilities that no normal vampire has. That force you unleashed back there—that was something else. Something powerful.”

I took a step back, my mind spinning. Ancient lineage? Abilities? This was too much. I’m supposed to be a normal vampire, like them. “But I don’t understand. I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t want to be a vampire in the first place!”

“I know.” Ian’s voice softened, and he reached out, pulling me into his arms. “But we need to figure this out. We need to understand what’s happening to you, before things get worse.”

I rested my head against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath my cheek. I wanted to cry, to scream, to do something—but I was too tired. Too confused. Everything was running through my mind and giving me a fucking headache.

I was not a normal vampire like I am supposed to be. And this only meant more danger for me, for us.

“What if I hurt someone?” I whispered.

“We won’t let that happen,” Ian murmured, his arms tightening around me. “We’ll figure this out, together.”

As I stood there, wrapped in his embrace, I couldn’t shake the fear gnawing at me. What if this power—whatever it was—was something I couldn’t control? What if it was something dangerous, something that would consume me?

I didn’t know. And that terrified me.