Prophecy: Child of Light (Vampires Realm Series Book 1) (Reading Sample) - Felicity Heaton (novels to read for beginners .TXT) 📗

“Prophecy?” Valentine called after but she continued to walk away, her head bent as she pushed her way through the crowds lining the street.

He sighed. He’d regretted his words the moment they’d left his lips. She really believed in the love that Lord Aurorea and Lady Caelestis had shared and how it had united their families. He could see no future in it, no comfort. He didn’t want to go down in history as a star-crossed lover. He didn’t want to be history at all.

When she gave no sign of stopping to wait for him, or even slowing down, he went after her, following her at a distance while she roamed the city. It wasn’t safe for her to be alone right now, no matter how much she needed the solitude. He couldn’t let her be alone. He knew that when he caught up with her, he wouldn’t be able to find the words that would make her believe that he hadn’t really meant what he’d said. He had answered without thinking but nothing he could say would heal the hurt he’d seen in her eyes brief seconds before they’d become dark with anger.

Was she in love with him? She’d barely known him a few days and there was so much bad blood between their families that it seemed impossible to him. But she was young, perhaps young enough to get caught up in the fantasy and not see the reality. No, he had seen in her eyes before that she knew the consequences of what she’d spoken of, and she knew that this was no time for falling in love.

There was never a good time to fall in love.

He knew that from bitter experience.

He couldn’t let her love him, not because he could never return those feelings, but because he would never be certain that it was true love, as she put it, on her part. She had never been in a situation so fraught with danger before and his heart kept telling him that it was the only reason she believed she had feelings for him. He was the only one with her. She was bound to feel a bond to him and want to stay close to him at all times. He was the only person she had in the world, the only one standing between her and death.

He found her staring at the wooden bridge that crossed the Grand Canal.

She was frowning but he knew it wasn’t because of what he’d said.

“Something wrong?” he said quietly not wanting to disturb her if it was going to upset her further.

She shook her head as if rousing herself from a daydream and blinked.

“Just…I think I’ve seen this before,” she said, looking at him.

“In your vision?”

She nodded, her gaze returning to the bridge. He knew what was on the other side. He knew exactly where her vision had shown her. He’d thought nothing of it until they’d found the curator butchered and then it had dawned on him. They had been destined to have to turn to the contact he knew in Venice. It still didn’t mean that Prophecy was going to like it and he got the feeling that he needed to tell her soon.

When she went to step onto the bridge, he caught her wrist. “Come this way.”

She would cross that bridge soon enough but he wanted to keep her hidden for as long as possible.

She gave him an expectant look as she walked beside him, down from the bridge and into the maze of alleyways again. He could see she wanted an apology or at least an explanation for the things he’d said back at the square, but he didn’t have the words. He couldn’t believe how difficult everything was when it came to her. She didn’t have to do anything and he was tied up in knots inside, a shadow of his former confident self. He’d dealt with the girls of Aurorea on a daily basis, had amused countesses with his idle talk and was so socially groomed to perfection that at the last Creator Day masquerade he’d attended, someone had believed him to be a prince, but whenever he tried to speak to Prophecy, he became nothing more than a youngling.

Even Mathias had said he was acting like one.

Around her, he lost every ability and skill he had gained in his three centuries and he knew she was beginning to notice it. He’d tried to get the better of himself and maintain the professional distance he’d sworn he would, but it was growing impossible. She drew him in completely. She had enthralled him the moment he’d laid eyes on her.

The gondolier’s words haunted him and he turned his head away, as though he could physically avoid them.

She wasn’t in love, and neither was he.

It was a childish infatuation on her part, and on his, he didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t love.

He looked down at the marks on her neck, wanting to blame it on her blood but knowing that wasn’t the problem any more and it never really had been. He laughed internally at himself. This wasn’t like him. He hadn’t been like this since Lucya, and he’d sworn he’d never be like it again.

“Valentine?” Her voice reached out to him, luring him out of his thoughts.

He found himself staring at the floor, his fists clenched and his jaw set tightly as he stood rooted to the spot. People were walking past him in both directions along the narrow street. They brushed against him, making him want to growl and take everything he felt inside, all the frustration and confusion, out on them.

He raised his eyes to meet Prophecy’s. He wanted to take it all out on her. He wanted to slake his thirst and desire for her, wanted to get it out of his system in the hope that it would allow him to go back to how he’d been before she’d wandered into his life. He narrowed his eyes hungrily on her and hers widened, her hand coming up to press against her chest as her lips parted.

It would be so easy. She wouldn’t resist. Hell, she wanted it as badly as he did. The voice at the back of his mind pushed him, cajoling him into taking everything she was offering so openly. He could have her blood, her body, and her heart. He could take it all.

No.

He closed his eyes, forced those thoughts back down and turned his head away from her. He wouldn’t cross that line. It would destroy her and he didn’t want that. Even if it would rid him of his feelings towards her, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her.

“Valentine?”

He breathed in deeply. She was close and he felt her hand on his shoulder.

“I am sorry.” He opened his eyes, staring unseeingly at the pavement.

“Don’t worry about it.” Her voice was light and he could hear a smile in it. It was probably mostly for show, but it alleviated some of the tension he felt.

He cleared his throat and managed to look at her. She was smiling. Her soft lips were curved into it and her eyes were bright. He gave her a small smile in return before heading roughly in the direction of the hotel. They had been out long enough now to satisfy her and he needed some time to pace and think.

They turned down a narrow street and followed it to where another street intersected it. He paused and inhaled, raising his head as he tried to catch another whiff of the familiar scent.

“What is it?” Prophecy frowned at him.

The sound of her voice broke his reverie and he cast his eyes around them.

“It is probably nothing. My mind must be playing tricks on me, echoing something from my past.” He felt as though he was trying to reassure himself as much as her. He could’ve sworn that he’d smelt something.

She gave him a look that spoke volumes and this time he could understand it. She knew he’d sensed something and she’d seen that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

“There is someone that I think we should see. They may be able to offer us some answers about what happened to our contact.” He neglected to mention that the person in question might have answers about her powers too.

He doubled his pace through the tiny streets, using his senses and knowledge of the city to guide him back to the hotel. A quick glance in her direction showed him that she’d noticed his increased speed.

“Some answers would be nice.” Her tone was pointed but it didn’t draw him into responding.

They turned down another street and he looked back up the alley as they left it behind. He frowned again, searching the darkness for a sign, something that would tell him that his mind hadn’t been playing tricks on him.

She couldn’t be here.

Could she?

Chapter 19

Prophecy raised her hand to protect her eyes from the sun, which was sinking slowly towards the horizon, turning the sloping field of wheat and poppies around her into a golden sea that swayed gently in the warm breeze. It looked exactly as Valentine had described it, the sky burning with vivid bands of orange, pink and green as the blue ceiling above her began to darken. Her hand fell slowly to her side and she took a deep breath and sighed. It was beautiful. Her eyes followed the path of the sun as it continued to creep downwards until it touched the rich purple mountains in the distance, drawing her attention to the dark grey castle that was half hidden by the dense forest in the valley.

She smiled when she saw Valentine standing a short distance from her in the field. He held his hand out and she began towards him, picking up speed until she was running. She came to a halt just short of him. He surprised her by catching her hand, his fingers easing into hers and locking tightly with them as he pulled her towards him. As their bodies pressed against each other, she couldn’t stop herself from reacting. Her hand brushed over his chest and came to rest around the back of his neck. He didn’t resist when she lured his mouth down to hers. The warmth she felt from their lips barely touching made her close her eyes. She savoured the tenderness he was showing her and how real it felt.

Her eyes shot open when his hands snaked around her waist to pull her possessively against him. She pressed her hands into his chest and her eyes closed again as his mouth claimed hers, crushing her lips in a demanding kiss.

She tilted her head back as he kissed along her jaw and down her neck. She frowned when she saw the sky was rapidly darkening and everything seemed to be speeding up. Before she could blink, the moon had risen and set, risen and set, and risen again. It slowed as it arced across the sky towards the horizon and she frowned.

There had been no sunrise, no daylight.

She pulled away from Valentine only to see him change into Arkalus, then into a robed person whose face she couldn’t see. She stumbled