Prophecy: Child of Light (36 page)

“I’m... I’m here with... Kalinor and the...”

“Guards?” Valentine offered. As much as he liked Cornelius, he didn’t have time for his stumbling. His eyes scanned the room for a sign of his lord. Instead of finding him, he found someone else. A strong signature caught his senses. He stared at the black haired regal looking man stood at the other end of the room talking to Mia, his face not hidden beneath a mask. “What is Lord Hyperion doing in society? He has not been seen in a century.”

Cornelius moved closer to him. “It is said that Ineru has fled her place of exile. The... Law Keepers are looking for her. They believed she might be here.”

“Here? Why?”

“She is rumoured to be with a vampire hunter.”

Valentine looked down at him, his brow raised. “He?”

“No.” Cornelius shook his head at the reference to Caden, his sandy blond hair shifting with it and falling down over one half of his mask. He pushed it back again. “One with similar foresight and skill, but younger.”

Valentine just nodded distractedly when something else caught his attention. He realised that everyone was staring at the dancers and he wondered what they were looking at. He could feel power, immense power, and he was as drawn to it as they were.

He stepped forwards, pushing a man out of his way so he could get a better look at the dancers.

One stood out in amongst them.

She was beautiful, just as he’d thought she would be.

Her slim body was encased in a deep plum strapless bodice, the bell-shaped skirt of it ruffled at the back and parted at the front to reveal an even darker purple smooth material. Her slender arms were covered in matching plum satin gloves, and her shoulders were hidden beneath a veil of black that matched the slim sweeping black mask she wore. When she was swept past him, he caught sight of her lips. They were alluring, smeared in red as though she’d just fed. He smiled at the sight of his marks displayed prominently on her throat. Even though they weren’t her sire’s, it was a good thing that she had them so she wouldn’t raise suspicion. Everyone in the room but him seemed to be showing off their marks tonight.

He’d known he’d be able to recognise her no matter what she wore. There was something about her, something that drew everyone to her, including himself. If only they knew who they were looking at.

He frowned when he saw a flash of panic in her eyes and she was handed to another male.

“Valentine?” Cornelius’ voice broke into his thoughts. “Who is she?”

“Mine, she is mine,” he said dreamily, not thinking about what he was saying.

“What?”

“I need to reclaim something of mine.” He patted Cornelius’ shoulder and then pushed past the people that were blocking his access to the dance floor.

Prophecy felt dizzy, lost in a sea of faceless strangers and drowning in the music. She was tiring and her legs were beginning to hurt. She didn’t know how much longer she could continue at this pace. The music seemed to be never ending. She couldn’t fall and she definitely couldn’t panic. It was driving them on. They could all sense her fear and that was why they were doing this to her.

She pulled away from the Tenebrae that was holding her tightly when he tried to lick her neck and found herself in the arms of another man.

She managed to stop her eyes from widening when she looked up and found herself staring into a pair of vivid green eyes. He was a Caelestis. She struggled against her desire to escape him. Her instincts pushed against her sense, wanting to fight at the same time as she wanted to flee. The room spun, blurring around her as she was swept in tight circles and held close to the man who had her now. She’d lost count of how many men had danced with her. When the man smiled broadly at her, an image of Arkalus flashed in front of her eyes and she tried to push him off her. He held her tighter, increasing her panic and pushing her fear to the limit.

Her teeth itched to descend and her eyes struggled to change colour. She couldn’t reveal herself to him. She had to hold on.

Just when her eyes changed, she found herself staring into a pair of blue ones. They were vaguely familiar. She took in the intricately carved devils mask and the richly embroidered green and black jacket. She had known it was him.

He smiled at her. Her fear disappeared and relief followed in its wake. She melted into his strong arms, letting him hold her tightly and not resisting him. How did he make her feel so safe? How was it that he could make her feel this way when being in the arms of one of her own bloodline had petrified her?

She waited for him to escort her off the dance floor and then frowned when the music’s tempo increased again and he began to dance with her. Her head spun, this time from giddiness rather than blind panic. His grip on her tightened and she kept her eyes locked on his, letting him guide her around the room. She didn’t feel as though she was dancing any more. She was floating, spinning and twirling on thin air as he and the music swept her along. The feeling of being in his arms was exhilarating when coupled with the danger that was present all around them. She felt thrilled by how hidden they were while still in plain sight.

The sight and sound of everything around her became nothing more than a blur. Her demon guise receded, revealing her dark eyes to him at the same time as he revealed his green ones to her. She stared into them, losing herself and forgetting where she was.

She pressed her hands into his shoulders when he stopped and bent her over backwards, leaning his body into hers and bringing his lips close to hers. The music faded. She blinked slowly and waited for the room to stop spinning. Her hands trailed up his shoulders to his neck and she held onto him.

His lips were so close to hers that when he spoke, she could feel the words in her mouth.

“We need to leave,” he whispered, looking to one side.

Her eyes moved there and a quiet thrill ran through her when she saw several uniformed vampires questioning some of the attendees.

Law Keepers.

She slipped her fingers into his when he grabbed hold of her hand. He pulled her off the dance floor, disappearing into the crowd with her.

She followed him through the throng of people. Her eyes widened when they came out of the crowd right next to the Law Keepers and she looked directly into the eyes of the one from her house. She stumbled, nearly falling, and bit her lip when he caught her arm, helping her stand.

She glanced at Valentine to find him staring at the man who was holding her arm.

The Law Keeper nodded and she smiled before hurrying towards Valentine. She moved closer to him when he placed his arm about her shoulders, guiding her out through the hallway to the garden beyond.

Looking back over her shoulder, she was relieved to see that the Law Keepers had gone back to questioning the attendees and then she looked at Valentine. She remembered the way the woman had touched his cheek and frowned.

He had some explaining to do.

T
he streets were relatively empty. They’d passed only a handful of people in their hurry away from the Venia’s palace. She hadn’t dared to speak. Valentine had been intent on getting them away safely and she didn’t want to stir anger in him by asking him the questions she could barely hold inside.

When she recognised the street they were walking along and saw that Valentine wasn’t looking so pensive, she found her voice.

“Were they looking for us?”

A frown narrowed his eyes before he shook his head. “No.”

“Then who?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“Did you sense power in the room? A strong vampire?” He stopped and looked at her.

He had pushed his mask up onto his forehead when they’d made it a good distance away from the palace. She hadn’t removed hers. She was too frightened to. His mask made him look as though he had two sets of eyes, one that stared blankly into space while the other gave her a concerned look that lit a spark of warmth inside her.

He still looked stunning in his long jacket with its high collar almost touching his jaw. He looked regal and proud. It suited him. The cut of it made him look slim, but she knew the muscles that were hidden underneath. Her fingers had traversed his chest and felt the strength in him.

She brought her focus away from him and tried to recall what he’d said while she had been staring.

“Yes. I felt power but I didn’t know where it was coming from.”

“Hyperion, lord of Validus,” he said and began walking again. “Apparently Ineru has escaped her exile and is with a vampire hunter.”

“Ineru,” she whispered. She seemed to hear that name so often but she still didn’t know who the woman was. “She’s a Validus then?”

“Hyperion’s birth and blood sister. He fought hard to get her exiled rather than executed when she was discovered to have fallen for and brought into her home a human male, an extremely powerful witch no less, and showed no desire to turn him.”

“A witch? She was in love with him? Is that why Elena said that you and her could’ve been another Ineru and River?” She frowned and didn’t wait for him to answer the question. “But why a vampire hunter?”

“Presumably, he is the reincarnation of River. Love that powerful finds a way to continue.”

She stopped and looked into his eyes when he turned to face her with a frown. The streetlight above them cast a sickly yellow glow, but it did nothing to dull the intensity of his eyes. Did he believe what he’d just said? He’d mocked her when she’d spoken about the love that Lady Caelestis and Lord Aurorea had shared. Had he done it purely to cover his feelings?

“Three centuries ago Ineru left her family to be with River,” he said. “When they came to execute him, it is said that he promised her that he would return to her. They have found each other again. It is the kind of story you would love, just like Aurorea and Caelestis.”

He held his hand out to her and she stared at it. It was a silent way of telling her to keep moving, but at the same time, it seemed more than that. She wondered when he’d stopped fighting against his feelings and had accepted what was happening. Back in Oxford, he had hated her touching him, but now he welcomed it.

She slipped her gloved hand into his and continued walking with him.

“So this vampire has fled her prison to be with her lover?” she said the words slowly so he didn’t make her repeat them. Her stomach squirmed and flipped when he glanced at her, catching the hidden meaning behind her words. Letting go of his hand, she waited for his answer.

“She has indeed. Hyperion will look for her. The Law Keepers believed she would be at the ball in an attempt to make contact with him, so Hyperion went there as instructed.”

“Would he turn her in if she was there?” She felt a little sorry for the woman. All she wanted to do was be with her love and people were chasing her down. In a way, she was thankful for the distraction it gave the Law Keepers, but at the same time, she wished that they would leave them both alone. All they wanted to do was fulfil their destinies.

He shook his head.

“Hyperion lobbied for her sentence to be reduced. He would never turn her over to the Law Keepers. Besides his guards, she is his only kin. He is more likely to protect her with his life than he is to kill her.”

“It all seems so sad. Why can’t people leave them alone? They’ve done nothing wrong. They didn’t choose to love each other, love chose them.” She stared at the road while she walked, feeling Valentine’s eyes on her the whole time. He moved closer to her and the back of his hand brushed against hers. A quiet thrill ran through her.

When she looked up, she saw they had arrived at her hotel. She hesitated for a moment and then glanced at Valentine.

Valentine smiled at her. It had been a nice ending to the night, but in a way, he was sad that it was over so soon. He had barely managed to dance with her at the ball. Everything had moved so swiftly once he’d caught hold of her and in the blink of an eye it was over.

He looked up at the flickering neon sign above the hotel entrance and then down at her. He sighed. She looked beautiful standing there bathed in the dim light from the hotel. Her lips were smiling at him. Her eyes were still hidden behind her mask, giving her a mysterious look even though he knew who she was beneath it.

“There is someone we must visit tomorrow,” he said, his eyes still fixed on her apparel. “Pack your things and wait for me in your room. I will come for you shortly after sunset.”

He raised his eyes to meet hers. He could see by the way they were narrowed that she was frowning at him. It seemed so wrong to give her such a beautiful dress and only let her wear it for one dance, especially when most of that dance had been passed in the arms of other men. The memory of watching them touching her still made his blood boil. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from reacting. Seeing their hands on her had made him more than a little jealous.

He’d been ready to tear their throats open.

He’d wanted to massacre them all just for looking at her.

He clenched his fists and reined in his anger, not wanting her to see the effect that she had on him. He glanced up at her through his eyelashes and found her looking at him with concern.

“I wish...” He took a deep breath and sighed it out as he straightened up, reminding himself who he was. “I am sorry that we had to leave. I could have danced all night with you. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I still could... even without the music. I shall see you tomorrow.”

He turned to leave, but found her hand on his arm. She held him tightly, not letting him move.

“You could still dance with me.” Her voice was trembling. He could feel her fingers shaking where they were gripping his jacket. He looked back over his shoulder and found her smiling at him, her eyes silently telling him how much courage it had taken for her to stop him from leaving.

He looked around them at the street. “Here? People will think we are crazy.”

“What people?” She smiled reassuringly and moved closer to him. He stared into her eyes while she reached up and pulled his mask down, covering the top half of his face. “Besides, no one will know who we are. Let them think we’re crazy.”