Prophecy: Child of Light (11 page)

“Are you saying that I’m—”

“No... I am saying that it might be that he is hindering your memories rather than helping you. I know someone who might be able to help you unlock them.”

“Why would he do that? Why would he tamper with my memories, Valentine? What is it that I’m not supposed to remember?”

“I do not know. I am sorry.” He started to reach out to her but then placed his hand down on the back of the bench instead. “I shall contact the person I know and see if I can get them to see you.”

She nodded, silently thanking him for his offer. Had Arkalus really repressed her memories? Everything was getting more confusing by the minute and she wished that it would stop, or at least slow down, because she felt as though she was starting to suffocate under the weight of it all. She couldn’t deal with things when they were happening so fast. She needed time to think. She needed to take her mind off it all for a while.

“Valentine?” she said and he brought his eyes down from the stars to rest on hers. He still had that look of concern that he’d been wearing since she left the room. She sighed. “Tell me about sunsets.”

He smiled briefly and looked up at the moon again. “Sunsets? Let’s see.”

She shuffled into a more comfortable position, turning to face him so she could see his profile in the near darkness as he thought about what to tell her.

He closed his eyes.

“I remember the last sunset I ever saw.” The smile teased his lips again and she wondered if he could still see it now. “The sky was blue at first. London was bustling as people went about their business. I was resting against the wall beside the Thames, looking up river. The lamps were being lit in preparation for the evening. The air smelt of damp straw and the unique scent of the water.”

She closed her eyes too, wanting to see what he was seeing. “Tell me more.”

“I watched the sky as it gradually changed, going from pale blue above me, down through subtle shades of green and yellow, and finally orange as it met the horizon. The colours intensified as the sun began to sink, becoming a glowing fireball as it edged towards the buildings, sending them into silhouette. The small streaks of clouds drifting overhead caught the dying rays, becoming threaded with gold at first and then pink as the sky began to glow a pale crimson.”

She smiled, almost able to see it in her mind. “Was it warm?”

“It had been a fine summer day. The warmth hovered in the air, wrapping everyone up like a comforting blanket and promising a mild evening. I could still feel the heat of the sun even after it disappeared. It was beautiful to behold.”

“It does sound beautiful, Valentine.”

She opened her eyes and found him looking at her. He was silent, looking deep into her eyes. She blinked slowly.

“You should have killed me.” Her tone was empty and resigned.

He shook his head. “You have a choice. You always have a choice. Mathias will help you learn more about the prophecy. You shall learn more about yourself. It has been millennia since it was interpreted. There are vampires who believe you will be the one to save us. Maybe they are right and the others are wrong.”

She sighed. “I hope so.”

He stood slowly and looked down at her.

“I have disturbed your solitude for too long. I shall leave you in peace now. No matter what happens, remember that you always have a choice, Prophecy.”

She smiled and he bowed slightly before walking back into the building. Her eyes roamed up the height of the building in front of her and stopped on the moon where it was creeping across the sky.

She felt a sense of peace inside her and wondered if Valentine knew the affect that his words had on her.

No matter what trials she faced in the future, she would stand up to them and do the best she could to overcome them.

She had a choice.

And she chose to save the world.

T
he house was in darkness as Valentine walked through it. The only places that were lit were the study and the kitchen. He moved quickly, keeping his footsteps as light as possible so no one heard him.

When he reached the door, he realised that he’d been holding his breath. Was he that scared of someone hearing him? His species had good hearing, and it was a good enough reason to still everything that he could in the hope that he could leave without being caught by Prophecy.

He reasoned with himself that this wasn’t the answer. Running away never solved anything, but what else could he do? There was a chance, albeit a minute one, that his family wouldn’t have heard of what he’d done yet and if he went back now, they never needed to know.

He could ease back into his old life, leaving behind the chaos of the past few days, but he had to leave now or all was lost.

He opened the door enough to slip through and then shut it behind him. Turning, a sense of relief washed over him when he saw the empty street and began down the steps.

Mathias was out on the hunt, replenishing the stocks that Prophecy had been draining dry, so he would have to be careful when walking the streets. The last thing he needed was to get caught.

He watched the clouds gathering overhead and stepped out into the street.

“You’re leaving?”

Her voice carried a weight of hurt that stopped him in his tracks and hit him deep in his chest. He could almost picture what her face would look like without having to turn to see it. There would be a look of disbelief on it, her brows raised and her eyes wide as they echoed all her feelings to him, from anger to sadness. She felt everything so keenly that she could never hide it from the world.

He took a deep breath and stared at the kerb just in front of his feet. “I must.”

“Must?” she said with an air of confusion, as though that word couldn’t possibly apply to what he was doing.

“I cannot do this.” He turned to face her. He was leaving her, so he could at least do her that courtesy and prove to himself that he was strong enough to leave openly rather than skulking off in the dead of night. “I have already sentenced myself to death by aligning myself with you. I have to go now or all is lost.”

She raised her chin, looking down on him as her eyes narrowed and her arms folded protectively across her chest.

“Go then. Leave if you can. Go back to your life and your family.” All emotion in her eyes vanished and she regarded him as coldly as he’d regarded her the night they’d met. “I can do this on my own.”

“Proph—”

“Don’t speak my name! You have no right to speak it.” She cut him off with a fiery glare and he took a step towards her, his own anger rising inside him as he did so.

“I brought you here to hide you... to protect you.” He frowned when she shook her head.

“I’m tired of hiding. I’ll only be found. It’s better to meet my destiny head on rather than waiting for them to come for me.” Her expression became filled with solemnity and she heaved a sigh.

“What are your plans?” He ventured another step closer to her and the sadness in her eyes disappeared.

“My plans are no business of yours.” She towered over him, her face dark and her brows knit tightly. “A filthy dog of Aurorea is below my notice and not worthy of my acknowledgement.”

He saw straight through her mask of anger, seeing the hurt in her eyes and hearing it in her voice as she spoke. It was his fault. He deserved it for attempting to leave without telling her. He had known she would react this way.

“Go, get out of my sight. I don’t need your help. I’m better off without you. Go back to your wretched family. Go back to Prague and hide there. Leave me alone. Go, slink back in shame and pretend that you’ve not done anything wrong. I hope you can live with yourself. I hope that when I’m facing death, when I’m fulfilling my destiny, that you’re there and I can show you how strong the blood of Caelestis is compared to yours. Go! You’re no better than one of the weaklings. You should have killed me when you were told to, should have been a good little boy and murdered me while I slept!” She came down the steps and pushed him in the chest repeatedly, the force of her blows getting stronger until she had her fists curled into tight balls and was banging them down on him. “Go. Go! What are you waiting for? Go!”

He grabbed her wrists tightly and restrained her, staring deep into her eyes. He tensed his jaw and didn’t relinquish his grip even when she began to struggle. She’d insulted him, degraded his family, and was now resorting to violence in an attempt to make him leave. Why was she so desperate for him to go?

She stilled.

“They’ll know,” she whispered and stared at his chest. Her brows were furrowed and her hair covered half of her face. It struck him that she didn’t want him to go after all. She wanted him to stay and that’s why she was pushing him away. It was all a reaction to what she was feeling inside, a defence mechanism. He could feel her trembling in his hands and the distant tone of her voice spoke of pain. “Someone will have seen us. To go back is insanity... is suicide.”

They were true words. There was a high chance that someone would have seen them together in Prague or Paris, or even here. Word would be out by now that Prophecy was wanted for crimes against her species and it would be a miracle if they didn’t know that he’d assisted her escape.

Her eyes met his and he could see the hurt swimming in them. She didn’t want him to go. She feared for his safety and believed that he would die if he returned to his family. He could see it all in the way she was looking at him, nothing hidden, everything on show for him to see.

“I heard you... I’ll keep away if you stay,” she said.

It took him a moment to realise what she was talking about. He remembered what he’d said to Mathias and the odd sensation he’d had that they were being watched. They had been watched, or at least listened to. He should’ve been more guarded with his words and the things he was speaking of. He shouldn’t have spoken about his feelings in the first place, but he’d needed to get things off his chest and needed the advice of his old friend.

“I know you can’t stand me. I know it’s hard for you, Valentine. It’s hard for me too. I can’t hide any more. I have a choice, you said that, and I’m going to discover the true meaning of the prophecy no matter what it takes. I can’t live life in the dark any more.”

He closed his eyes briefly and searched for the right words to say to reassure her that things weren’t as bad as they’d sounded. He didn’t want her to keep away; he just didn’t trust himself when she was near. She made everything so much more confusing. He didn’t know what he was supposed to feel about her. When the tiny trace of her blood had left his system, he had come to see that there was something else motivating his reaction to her and it was something that was dangerous to them both. It was forbidden. She was a Caelestis, his family’s enemy. He shouldn’t want to comfort her and help her. He shouldn’t want to protect her.

Letting go of her wrists, he watched her rub at them, her slim fingers caressing them. There were red marks on her where he’d held her too tightly. He hadn’t meant to hurt her but she’d provoked him into it with her words against his family and him, with the fact that she was trying to make him leave.

With the way that she was making him feel weak.

He stood in silence, still unable to find his voice as his thoughts dived off in so many directions that his head felt as though it was spinning. It was all falling away from him, everything lost because of his decision to help her. He wished that he’d never met her, but at the same time, in the recesses of his heart, was glad that he had.

He placed one foot up onto the step she was standing on and opened his mouth to speak.

“Are you going somewhere, Valentine?” Mathias’ voice made his disappear and he turned to see the older vampire walking up the street towards them with a leather satchel over his shoulder.

Valentine looked at Prophecy. She was smoothing her long hair back over her shoulder, giving him an expectant look. She was waiting for him to speak. She was waiting to see if he really was going to leave.

He gave a brief look over his shoulder in the direction he would have gone in if Prophecy hadn’t caught him. She was right. There was no going back, not for her and not for him. To go back now was to face certain death. If he remained with her, he would be able to protect her and guide her through the world. She was going to have to visit places she’d never been to before, would have to meet with demons that wouldn’t think twice about killing her if she offended them by mistake and wouldn’t know how to keep herself safe from the nightly dangers of the human world.

He closed his eyes, fighting against the voice inside of him that was telling him to go back to his family and continue as their loyal son, and the torn feeling he had whenever he thought about the choice he had to make.

It was her or his family.

But he did have a choice.

Just like he’d told Prophecy not a few hours ago.

He pictured how she’d looked as she’d sat beside him with her eyes closed imagining what a sunset looked like. She was so innocent, so young.

He smiled to himself as he made his decision.

“No,” he said and walked past her into the house, meeting her eyes for the briefest of moments. She smiled broadly back at him.

He kept his eyes fixed on the end of the hall as she fell into step beside him and he led the way back to the study.

“I have news,” Mathias said while he closed the doors and then followed them.

Valentine sat down in the chair beside the fire and crossed his legs, waiting for his old friend to speak. Prophecy sat in the chair opposite him. He raised a brow as Mathias removed several canisters from his satchel and opened one of them. The scribe filled three glasses with blood and carried two of them with him as he walked over to where he and Prophecy were sitting. Prophecy almost snatched hers. Valentine smiled when she looked sheepish and then he noticed that Mathias was holding the other glass out to him.

His stomach growled.

“It’s still warm,” Mathias said, as though he needed any enticing to make him drink what he was being offered.