Prophecy: Child of Light (31 page)

“I don’t know. I think Arkalus’ men left him unconscious in the square. He’ll be fine though, I’m sure of that.” Her eyes strayed to the dress. “I’m the one who needs to escape. He’ll be coming here and Arkalus has ordered his men to kill him. I have to get away, Serenity.”

“I’ve seen the security Arkalus has set up in the house and grounds. There’s no way you’ll be able to get out unseen, and even if you do, they’ll only hunt you down again.”

“It’s a chance I have to take. I have to save the world, Serenity. Everything they told you was a lie. I’m not going to destroy it. I have a choice, a role to play in this prophecy, but I believe that I’m not the destructor. I’m the saviour. I’ve had visions that have shown me my path.” She stared at the dress. “If Arkalus claims me, he’ll never let me go again. I won’t be able to escape him if he can sense me so keenly.”

“He’ll kill you if you try to get back to Valentine.”

“I know, but it’s where I belong. I’ve seen the lengths people are willing to go to in order to stop me. I’ve seen humans butchered by werewolves. I’ve met vampires intent on turning Valentine against me. None of it will stop me from fulfilling my destiny,” she said and moved her gaze to the windows. “I’ve been amazed by the lengths people are going to just to help me. They believe in me. I believe in me. Valentine has put himself in danger so many times, and I know it isn’t because of his sense of duty towards me. There are other feelings at work in both of us. This magic I have, I had it all along. I met witches in Paris that awoke it inside of me where it had been waiting. They were good people. I know that I’m not evil. I have a choice and I’m choosing to save the world and everything in it, but I can’t do that while I’m trapped here.”

She noticed that Serenity was staring at her hand. Her eyes dropped to it. The magic was weaving around her fingers, sparkling with threads of purest white and making patterns of light dance on her skin.

She looked at the light reflecting on Serenity’s hair and then at the dress.

She smiled at her friend.

“I need you to do something for me.”

P
rophecy covered her face with her hair. The darkness of it blocked her view like a veil but she couldn’t risk letting someone see her features. She kept her hands by her sides, resisting the temptation to wrap them around herself and headed towards the small stairwell at the end of the hall.

She kept close to the wall while several guards passed her, and caught snippets of their conversations. None of them were about her. She willed her stomach to settle and her magic to keep itself hidden.

The last thing she needed to do was draw attention to herself.

Reaching the stairwell seemed to take an eternity. Each step she took was achingly slow and she wondered if she would ever make it off the second floor, let alone escape the house.

She stepped onto the winding narrow staircase and let go of the breath she’d been holding. She glanced back at the hall and the guards that were still stood outside her door, completely oblivious to what had just happened. If this worked, she owed Serenity more than her life. She owed her everything.

She looked out at the landing of the first floor as she passed it by and then carried on downwards to the servant quarters. Her marks itched and burned. She tried to ignore them, but the feeling became so intense when she neared the kitchens that she had to stop.

Her eyes widened when Arkalus walked out of the wide doorway and up the hall, heading away from her. She pressed her hand to her chest and silently thanked the magic. If she hadn’t stopped, she would have walked straight into him.

It would have been game over.

He disappeared out of sight around the corner, heading towards the main area of the house. It wouldn’t be long before he went up to her room and discovered what had happened. She hoped Serenity would be all right. Her friend had suggested tying her up, but she knew if she did that then Arkalus would kill her on the grounds of incompetence. If her plan worked, he wouldn’t be able to kill Serenity.

She ducked down the narrow hall that led to the exit at the side of the house. She just had to make it past the guards patrolling the grounds and she’d be free again. Pushing the door open, she took a deep breath and sighed it out. She looked up at the clear night sky, giving herself a moment to prepare before heading around the house towards the gates.

She moved as quickly and quietly as possible. Her chest tightened when she saw the distant gates. Just a few more minutes and she’d be free.

“Halt!”

She froze when she heard the male voice. Clawing her hair over her face more and desperately trying to stifle her nerves so he couldn’t sense them, she watched him approach. She recognised him. He had always stood out in amongst the other guards because he was taller than all of them. His broad build made him so imposing that she could never forget him.

“I was just—”

“Oh, it’s you, Serenity,” he interjected and she saw his eyes scan over her in the dim light. “Go on with you.”

She felt relieved and walked past him in the direction of the gates. When he smacked her backside, she barely stopped herself from looking around and frowning at him. She growled under her breath instead.

The gates opened as she approached and she gave a small nod of thanks to the gatekeeper.

When her foot hit the other side, a weight lifted off her and she glanced back at the house. She could see her window. It was dimly lit by candlelight and Serenity was standing in it. She held her hand up and felt a little sad when Serenity did the same. She hadn’t made her friend go through with the plan, Serenity had offered her services, but it didn’t stop her from feeling terrible for asking her to do such a thing in the first place.

The moment she was out of sight of the gatekeepers, she ran. She wished she could see Arkalus’ face when he found out what they’d done.

She had almost reached the end of the avenue that ran along the perimeter wall of the mansion when she bumped into something.

Her claws automatically extended when she sensed it was a vampire and she was immediately on it. She threw a series of fast punches and redoubled her effort when the vampire blocked most of them. When her opponent stumbled backwards, she dipped her upper body and brought her leg around, catching them hard across the face. Her foot landed on the ground and she brought her other leg around, letting it arc gracefully in a lotus kick.

The vampire snarled and grabbed her roughly, throwing her against the wall. She landed heavily on her knees and frowned. Her head snapped up, her eyes narrowing on the vampire as it waited in the shadows. It was too dark for her to make the vampire out, she could just see a shadowy figure standing stock still, as though it was waiting for her to make her next move. She pushed herself up and ran at it, drawing her fist back in the process. When her assailant went to block her move, she ducked under its arm and landed her punch in its stomach. She smiled when they growled at her.

She barely had time to react when the vampire launched an attack, lashing out at her with a barrage of perfectly executed punches, every single one of which met their mark. She tried to place some distance between her and the attacker, but they caught her arm and slammed her into the wall again, knocking her breath from her.

She landed on her feet and paused for a moment to catch her breath and give her body time to shut down the pain that was flooding through her. She sprang at the vampire, her teeth extending. Her attacker punched her solidly across the jaw and she dropped to the floor again.

She was about to sweep its legs out when she found herself being hauled to her feet.

She started to growl.

It fled her lips the instant she recognised him.

Valentine frowned when he found that his assailant was actually the girl he’d come to rescue. He tried to set her back down on her feet but she flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He winced when she pressed her hands into all the places she’d just hit him.

“Valentine.” She breathed the word into his ear with so much relief that he found himself wrapping his arms about her and holding her as she buried her face into his neck. “You’re safe. I knew you were safe.”

He smiled. A small jolt of pleasure ran through him on hearing those words. She’d been worried about him and had clearly missed him judging by the bear grip she now had him in.

“It was dangerous of you to come here. You shouldn’t have come,” she whispered into his ear.

“I was not about to let you get yourself killed.”

He looked at her hair and let it slip through his fingers. It was no wonder he hadn’t recognised her at first. It was black as midnight. Peeling her off him, he set her down.

“What happened?” he said.

She looked sheepish and ran her fingers through her hair. “You like?”

He managed a restrained nod.

He did like it. He’d thought she was pretty when she’d had red hair, but something about the darkness of her new colour drew his attention to her face and he found himself wondering if she’d always been this beautiful. Maybe she had been. Maybe he’d been blinded by the fact she was a Caelestis. Maybe he’d missed her as much as she’d missed him and it made her seem even more attractive.

Or maybe during their time apart he’d finally let go of his reserve towards her.

His gaze dropped to her mouth.

Her lips were smiling at him. He’d thought about them so much. He’d thought about her so much. She’d been on his mind from the second he’d awoken in St. Mark’s Square to find her gone. He hadn’t been able to rest until he had discovered where she’d been taken and was on the train to Prague.

He raised his eyes to meet hers and held her gaze. Slipping his hand into his pocket, he withdrew her amulet and held it up for her to see.

“I believe you lost something,” he said, his smile broadening when her eyes filled with happiness.

She held her hand out and he realised that she wanted him to put it on her. He carefully placed each ring on her fingers and then drew the bracelet around her wrist. He fastened it and ran his fingertips over the metal, letting them brush against her skin at the same time.

She shuddered beneath his touch.

He let his hand linger against hers, the tips of his fingers still resting on her wrist. Looking deep into her eyes, he could see the fire in their depths, could feel it in the way her hand was trembling in his.

He dropped his eyes to her mouth again.

He knew what she wanted, what he wanted.

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and drew her towards him.

A shout broke the still air and his head shot up, his senses sharpening to assist his search for the perpetrator. Another shout was followed by another, but this one was by a different person. He frowned when Prophecy grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the town.

“We must leave,” she said. There was panic in her voice and her eyes.

“What is happening?” He walked with her.

She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it and carried on walking. He frowned. There was something that she wasn’t telling him and he wanted to know what it was. She had to have a reason for keeping it from him. When she finally spoke, he understood why she had been so reluctant.

“Arkalus wanted to claim me.” Her voice quivered and betrayed her nerves. He frowned, a dark feeling of anger and jealousy rising up inside of him as he pictured Arkalus with her. “My maid, Serenity, has always wanted to be his. We’re of similar stature. She helped me. We dyed our hair, swapped clothing, and doused her in so much of my perfume that Arkalus wouldn’t have been able to sense it was her. She was to wait by the window for Arkalus to go to her. In the dim light, he wouldn’t have been able to tell it wasn’t me. She wouldn’t stop him from claiming her. He would think her silence the perfect opportunity to claim her. I mean, claim me. He would think it was me being silent and obedient for once.”

She glanced back at the mansion and he got the feeling she was avoiding looking at him. He’d thought she’d want to gloat at how she’d managed to make him jealous, but she seemed to hate it as much as he did.

“I think it worked. I hope it worked. If he claimed her then he can’t kill her. That’s right, isn’t it?”

Valentine had to think for a moment. It had been a long time since he’d read anything about claiming and mating. A claim was a bond of love, something he’d never experienced, and it meant that you wanted to be with your mate until the end of your days.

He nodded. “You cannot kill your mate, no matter what the feelings are between you really. You have declared your intention to remain with them for eternity. The ancient rite makes it impossible to raise a hand to murder the person you have claimed as your love.”

She gave him a thankful smile and he saw that she was relieved to hear his words. They walked together towards the centre of the city, stopping by the river. He could see the Charles Bridge in the distance. Its lights were reflected in the water far below it. High above it was the old town and the Cathedral. It was still lit up. The hour was growing late, but not late enough that the city had shut down. There were bars still open and plenty of places to hide if they ran into trouble, but the streets would be relatively empty. The night was cold, driving everyone indoors.

“Are we going to St. Petersburg?”

Her voice roused him from his perusal of the city.

“No, not yet. I have somewhere I need to go first,” he said and caught sight of the questions in her eyes. She still had questions for everything. He could describe the Charles Bridge in infinite detail, including its history and the battles that their families had fought on it, and she’d still have a million questions about it. “We need weapons. I have a place in Prague, somewhere that only I know.”

She looked sceptical. “It might not be safe. Arkalus knows that you’re working with me and he’s working with your lord to find me. What’s to say they don’t know about your place? They could have werewolves watching it.”

“Nothing. There is a chance they know of the apartment I keep, but it is a risk that I’m willing to take if it means we are better armed.” He walked in the direction of the bridge.