"Sookie?"

One second she was vamped out and hunched over the human corpse on the floor, mouth covered in blood, the next she had jumped up to attack him. Eric was faster and stronger, throwing her aside would have required no effort on his part, but he remained in place, letting her claw at him.

It's not like he was in shock. No, that was a human condition and far too ridiculous a notion for him to even consider. It's just that he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or Sookie really was in front of him. But this was real. It had to be. Because he felt something stir deep inside him, an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, and suddenly he was desperate to look at her, to hold her, and his fingers curled around the back of her head. With vamp speed, he trapped her against the wall to study her closely.

Her eyes were still the same shade of brown, yet also strange, wild and uninhibited in a way they never were before. For one quick second he noticed something else in her gaze, a kind of anger only he was capable of, but it disappeared so quickly he must have imagined it. None of that mattered, however, because the truth finally sunk in. This was Sookie. His Sookie. And she was really here, with him.

No longer a faerie, not even a human, but a vampire - the very thing she never wanted to be.

Their last conversation flashed into his mind, and he remembered how adamantly she had rejected his offer to turn her. She had cherished the human part of her, had clung to it even after discovering she had faerie blood running through her veins. And here she was now, a vampire, snarling at him. He was grateful not to have a working, beating heart in his chest because it surely would have broken for the woman he loved.

His fingers traced the scar on her cheek, and a searing rage swept through him. Russell had done this to her, taken her, hurt her, killed her, changed her into something she never wanted to be, and Eric was going to make him pay for it. For all of it.

All of a sudden she stilled and, at long last, there was a spark of recognition in her gaze. Her eyes filled with blood tears as she latched onto him, clinging to him desperately, almost as if there was no longer any fight left in her. Although he tried his best to comfort her, he felt helpless and simply hugged her as tightly as he could. When her knees eventually gave way and she slid down his body, he followed suit until they were both huddled on the floor together. "Sookie," he whispered again, grazing his lips across her temple as he rubbed her back. She remained sobbing in his embrace, the sound of her soft cries the only noise in the room. He needed to get her out of here but he didn't feel like moving, a small part of him still frantic that if he loosened his grip she would disappear again.

"Eric..."

He never thought he'd hear her say his name again, feel her touch on his skin, or the taste of her lips against his. He should have been gentler with her, a lot more controlled, yet he returned her kiss with far more ferocity than he intended. Soon his face and hands were covered in her bloody tears, and the emptiness that had taken hold of him since she disappeared finally started to subside.

The air was thick with a comfortable silence for a long time. When he spoke again, he rested his forehead against hers as he gently swiped the tears from her face. "It'll be dawn soon. We need to leave."

She trembled, frightened. "I haven't been outside in... I don't even remember."

Rage flooded through him again, remembering what Russell had done to her, yet a tender kiss from her was enough to calm the storm within him. "I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

And she looked up at him with nothing but trust in her eyes.

888

Wrapped in a robe, Sookie sat on the bed and scrutinised Eric closely. They were in his suite, at a vampire-friendly hotel she had apparently visited before but didn't remember. Although busy mixing her a drink of fresh blood - delivered via room service by the breather herself - and cognac, he was also watching her intently.

Eric was beautiful, far more exquisite in reality than in her dreams, but only because he hadn't exposed the underbelly of his true self yet. She knew underneath that compassionate facade and gentle touch was a manipulative monster, one who had ripped her apart and destroyed her in every way imaginable. He may have been on his best behaviour now, pretending to love and care for her, but it was only a matter of time before he revealed his inner cruelty. This time, however, she would be ready for him.

Russell had been right when he'd advised her to play the innocent victim, one who had no memory of all the horrible things Eric had done to her. She may not have had the physical prowess to kill Eric, after all he was over a thousand years old, but she possessed something infinitely more dangerous. All she had to do was be patient, remain focused, and not let anything weaken her resolve.

Eric swaggered over to her, standing directly in front as he handed her the drink. His other hand gently caressed the very same wound he had scarred her with, his eyes brimming with something that looked suspiciously like anger, making her wonder if he was reliving the moment in his head, perhaps even enjoying it. Well, two could play this game. Leaning into him, she gave him her most vulnerable expression. "Will you stay with me? I'm scared of being alone."

He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "You'll never be alone again."

Oh, he was good at this. Great, even.

But she would no longer be his victim. She would make him pay for everything he did to her, and to her maker, and hers would be the last face he would see before meeting his true death.

To be continued...

A/N - Let the games begin :) Please feed the muse with comments. When she's starving, she refuses to work! Thanks for reading!