The One Night Stand Turns Out To Be My Professor

98

98

Sophia’s POV

I stepped through the portal with Ian at my side, the strange, electric hum of vampire magic fading behind us as we entered the human realm again. Everything was just as it had been before, but I wasn’t. The air felt different, like it wasn’t quite enough for my lungs anymore, but I breathed it in anyway, letting the familiar scent of the forest wrap around me. It was weird that we entered the realm through a stone, and we were stepping out of it through a blanket. It was good to be back, even if the weight of everything that had happened in the vampire realm still clung to me like a shadow I couldn’t shake.

Ian glanced at me, his eyes softening. “You okay?”

I nodded, but the truth was, I wasn’t sure how to feel. There was too much going on in my mind. I remembered Freya’s death all over again, the council’s eyes always watching and judging, the fact that someone had gotten into my room and had successfully tried to kill me.

“Yeah,” I murmured, giving him a tight smile. “I’m just… glad to be home.”

Ian pressed a kiss to my temple. “You don’t have to pretend with me, Sophia. I know it’s a lot. Take your time.”

I leaned into him, sighing and forcing myself to relax. But despite everything we had been through – that I had been through—I just wanted something familiar, something normal. And right now, that meant one person: Jenny.

“I think I’m going to call Jenny,” I said, pulling out my phone. “I’ve missed her.”

Ian nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll be here when you’re ready.”

I smiled, and stepped away to make the call. The phone rang twice before Jenny’s excited voice came through the line.

“Finally! I thought you’d fallen off the face of the Earth or something! Where have you been?”

I laughed, the sound feeling foreign after everything that had happened. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

“Well, you better tell me. Coffee? At home? Now?”

“Absolutely.”

The apartment was my safe haven. It was easy for me to pretend as if I hadn’t just gone through some terrible shit when I was here with her. She hugged me the second I walked through the door, squeezing so tight I thought I might actually need to catch my breath—if I needed breath like a human anymore.

“God, I missed you!” she said, pulling back to look me over. “You look… well, you look different. Like, glowing.”

“Uh, vampire thing, I guess.” I gave her a half-smile as we settled on the couch. “It’s been… a lot.”

Jenny handed me a steaming mug of coffee, and I took it gratefully, feeling the warmth spread through my hands. It should be burning, but it wasn’t. “Tell me everything,” she demanded, leaning forward, her eyes wide with curiosity.

I hesitated for a second, wondering where to even start. But I couldn’t exactly tell her about the political power struggles of the vampire realm, the council who hated me, or how I’d killed a vampire in my sleep. She’d flip out. I didn’t even know where to start. It was too much.

“Things in the vampire realm are intense,” I said slowly, deciding to start small before I moved on to the bigger issues. “I learned a lot about Ian’s responsibilities as king, and I met the council.”

Jenny’s eyes widened. “The council? Like… the vampire bigwigs? Were they scary?”

I laughed, though there was no humor in it. “You could say that. They’re not exactly my biggest fans. In fact, I think they might want me dead.”