Soul of Shadows | Eternal Bonds: Book 2

Chapter Eight

AN: Alright welcome to Chapter Eight of Soul of Shadows! We'll be starting with Stefan this time and then switch gears. Hope you all enjoy and be sure to drop some comments as you read! Now onward and forward to Chapter Eight!

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*Stefan*

I woke up the next morning and felt broken again. Nadia wasn't around and, much to my dismay, neither was Emberly.

I found myself slipping further into despair.

Should I do it? Should I give in to my darkness? Become the King of Night? Become the feared vampire that I knew lurked deep down within me?

There would be no going back, but I wouldn't able to feel any more of this pain and despair.

And yet, was I that desperate?

Pain coursed through my veins. What would it be like, to not feel any pain, to just give in and be heartless, emotionless, numb, not caring about anything?

I was startled out of my thoughts by my phone ringing. I looked at the screen and saw Selena's name. I answered it and put it on speaker.

"Hello?" I asked in a broken voice.

"Stefan, oh my God, are you okay?!" she asked, "Sorry I missed your call earlier. I was in Court with the others."

"I feel awful," I admitted.

"Talk to me," Selena told me.

"Is anyone else with you right now?" I asked.

"Just Damien," she replied, "Is that a problem? I can go someplace else."

"No. No that's fine," I told her. Then I started to cry. "I just...I can't take any more of this, Selena," I admitted, "Lex is gone and for a while it seemed like I was drowning in my own emotions, crying and drinking half a bottle of whiskey each night. Wandering the streets aimlessly. But then I met this girl, Emberly Clark, and for the first time, I felt hope. She made me smile. I feel something whenever she's with me."

"So what happened?" Selena asked.

"Nadia," I replied, "She said some things and Em got hurt. Badly."

Selena sighed.

"Stefan," she sighed sadly, "You need to talk to Emberly. Fix this. If she's the one for you she'll understand." There was a pause and then Selena spoke again, "Damien wants to talk to you. Is that okay?" she asked.

"I suppose," I replied.

After a moment, I heard Damien's voice.

"Stefan," he greeted me.

"Damien, I...I'm so sorry," I choked out, "I...I shouldn't have left Blackfell. I should have said something."

"Hey, it's not your fault, frate," Damien soothed, "It's mine. I shouldn't have let you go through this alone. I know how close you and Lex were. I should have been there for you."

Then I broke down again and started to cry. Why was I being so vulnerable in front of them? I wasn't supposed to be like this. I was supposed to be dealing with this on my own, without getting any of them involved.