Masquerade (Vampires Realm Romance Series Book 10) (17 page)

Lord Valentine Aurorea lowered his mouth to Lady Prophecy’s neck and kissed it. Scars littered her pale skin and he licked a set that were fresh, barely a day old judging by the darkness of the puncture marks.

It was a brave move to act so brazenly about their relationship when there were several Law Keepers in attendance. She hadn’t expected the bonded couple to dance with each other, let alone dare to show affection in the most public and open place at the ball.

Her gaze sought the Law Keepers and she frowned when she noted that neither Caelestis nor Aurorea Law Keeper was present. Four of them stood at the side of the room near the orchestra, all of them unmasked. She recognised the Law Keepers for Nocens, a young looking woman, the large fair haired male who was a Vehemens, and the dark haired Tenebrae Law Keeper, and finally Marise, the Law Keeper of her own bloodline, the Venia.

She was beautiful and Sophis wished that she was wearing that black uniform with elegant silver detailing rather than her hideous dress. Two masked men were talking to her and Sophis instantly recognised one as Tynan, which meant the man beside him with the long black ponytail was his brother, Jascha. Tynan laughed about something and Marise followed suit, leaving Jascha looking very dour, his lilac eyes cold and menacing.

It wasn’t long ago that Jascha had been an elite guard at the Venia mansion, and one favoured by Lord Timur for his strength and skill. He had given it all up to be with Marise and to assist the Law Keepers. Sophis couldn’t imagine giving up her position. She had thought about it many times over the past ten years, never more frequently than she had in these past weeks, but wasn’t sure she could ever go through with it. The sense of hope she felt whenever she thought about pursuing her own happiness always gave way to a hollow ache in her chest when her heart said she would have to leave the guard to achieve it. It tore her in two, her heart flitting between leaving and staying to pursue her dream of becoming an elite guard.

She believed in her abilities and strength and knew she could achieve that dream if she only persevered. It was becoming so difficult to remain though. Little by little, Vivek was winning. She didn’t want to let him, didn’t want to leave the guard, but she couldn’t take it anymore. It hurt too much.

If Vivek could only see how she felt in her heart, she was sure that he would realise that she was a good guard and deserved her rank. She had worked hard. He knew that. He had trained her and witnessed her relentlessness. Why couldn’t he believe in her?

She was sure that if he did, if she could show him that she was strong and capable, could prove it to him, that he would find his faith in her again and then she would feel as strong as she once had.

Back when they had been close, when they had been friends and had spent so much time together, she had felt invincible.

Marise touched Jascha’s cheek and smiled at him, gaining a smile in return. He said something and she laughed, and it was Tynan’s turn to look annoyed. Sophis smiled to herself and remembered how things had been all those years ago with Vivek. He had often teased her or made fun of her, saying things that angered her one moment and made her laugh the next. She missed those days.

Sophis looked away when Jascha leaned in and kissed Marise.

It seemed everyone was in love tonight. She hated it.

A small part of her in the depths of her heart wished that someone would look at her like that, with deep desire and affection. Everyone was staring at her but not in the way that she wanted. She felt as though she was under scrutiny rather than drawing attention because of her beauty or allure. Sipping her blood, she tried to ignore how men glanced at her as they passed, their eyes raking over her dress and lingering on her cleavage. When one man broke away from his group of four males and stalked towards her, she ducked back into the crowd and did her best to disappear. She wasn’t here to dance or socialise, or to draw heated looks from the men, and it was high time she remembered that and not let the romance in the air sweep her along.

Sophis came out of the throng across the room, close to the stairs that led up to the balcony, and near to the gathering of lords and ladies.

Lord Hyperion of the Validus bloodline stood out amongst them, shorter than most of the males but dominating them with the power that laced his signature and drawing attention because he was unmasked. She hadn’t expected him to attend. He had lost interest in the balls in recent years and remained away. The last time he had attended the masquerade was when his sister had been in trouble for escaping her exile.

A young raven haired woman cut through the group of lords and ladies without reserve and went straight up to Hyperion, her curls springing with each leaping step she took. She twirled around Lord Hyperion and then halted in front of him. He smiled at her, his purple eyes bright with amusement and affection that had Sophis wondering if perhaps the woman was his lover. He touched the woman’s pale cheek, adjusted her slender black mask, and said something to her. She nodded and smiled, her eyes shining with tenderness.

A fair haired man from another group presented himself to her and led her away from Lord Hyperion, whisking her on to the dance floor. Sophis’s gaze followed her. She looked troubled as she danced, twirling in circles in time with the waltz, and kept glancing back towards Lord Hyperion.

Another man cut across the dance floor, interrupting the flow of the dancers, heading straight for the woman. He swept the woman out of her partner’s arms and bore his fangs at him, leaving him bereft in the middle of the parquet and glaring after them. Sophis raised an eyebrow. It was unusual for a new dancer to enter in the middle of a waltz and considered extremely rude and poor taste to do such a thing. The woman didn’t seem to care that another man had claimed her. She was smiling up at the brown haired male who had his arms wrapped possessively around her, his eyes stormy and aura that of anger. Perhaps Hyperion wasn’t her lover after all. Sophis glanced back at him. Lord Hyperion didn’t seem to mind that the woman now had a new partner. Was the new man the woman’s lover? If it was, then why would Lord Hyperion be so familiar with her and why had he shown her such affection?

Unless it was his sister.

Which was impossible.

Ineru had returned to her place of exile to continue her sentence.

The couple swept past Sophis and her stomach tightened as a sense of power pressed down on her. One of them was incredibly strong, which meant they were very old. Sophis’s eyes tracked the couple as they turned, smiling at each other now, and there was affection in the man’s purple eyes. He was a Validus. Was it possible that she was Ineru?

It seemed many vampires were taking great risks tonight.

The waltz ended and Sophis finished the remains of her blood and moved back into the crowd, heading for the tables again. She set her glass down and walked on, doing another circuit of the room. Her senses picked out several powerful vampires who weren’t part of the group socialising with Lord Hyperion. Some of them were Watchmen, blatantly obvious with their black attire and dragon-like masks, and their purple eyes studying the other attendees. She could feel strength in a lot of the room but could sense younger vampires too. They were easy to spot as they grouped together in small clusters near the corners of the room and on the balcony, away from the older stronger vampires.

Sophis recalled how she had felt when she had come to the ballroom as a youngling. The power in the room had overwhelmed her then, pressing down on her and proving unbearable. It still pressed down on her now. Everyone cramped into the rectangular room felt older than she was and so much more powerful, especially Lord Hyperion, Lady Prophecy and the raven haired woman she suspected was Hyperion’s blood sister, Ineru.

Lady Prophecy was younger than Sophis by almost sixty years but her magic made her incredibly powerful. She wished that she had more power as she scouted the room. Maybe then Vivek would leave her alone and would accept her as a guard.

Her gaze roamed the faces of the gathered vampires and she had scanned half of the attendees before she realised that she was singling out the men, searching for Vivek.

She was better off looking on the dance floor. He was bound to be there, dancing and flirting with someone, anything but working.

Her feet carried her back to Lord Hyperion’s group and she found him speaking to a man with deep blue eyes and with long black hair tied at the nape of his neck. A dragon-like elaborate black mask covered his nose and obscured the area around his eyes, and three horns rose from either side of it, the lowest hiding the tops of his ears and the highest and largest standing out above the top of his head, giving him a demonic appearance. He was serious as he spoke to Lord Hyperion, standing close to his elbow, apart from the rest of the group.

Another Watchman. He both looked and behaved like a guard, remaining very near to Lord Hyperion and occasionally pausing to study the vampires around them whilst resting one hand on the grip of his sword. This one was stronger than the others she had seen around the ballroom. A Watchman of rank?

Lord Timur beckoned her and she moved on instinct, only afterwards realising that he had recognised her. Had Tynan and Timur ensured that both her and Vivek’s attire was sufficiently different that they would be able to recognise them or had she done something to give herself away?

When she reached the group, steeling herself against the overwhelming presence of Lord Hyperion, she bowed her head in greeting to her lord.

“Bring us blood.”

Sophis blinked in response to that. She was close to mentioning that her role here wasn’t one of a servant but Deshal gave her a look that broadcasted desire and she fled without looking back. If getting her lord a glass of blood would keep her away from Deshal’s lecherous stare for a few seconds and steal any chance he had of asking her to dance then she would lower herself to the task. The young vampire male serving the glasses of blood gave her a strange look when she picked up one of the fine silver trays, placed several flutes onto it and lifted it, holding it balanced on one hand. She smiled, considered making up a reasonable excuse, and then just left without a word, heading back through the crowd. A waiter with an empty tray met her as she neared the group and took hers from her.

She looked around to see that everyone in the group had full flutes again and that her trip had been pointless, and swiped a glass from the tray before the waiter could make off with them. Still, at least she had escaped Deshal. He was gone now, and so was the guard who had been speaking with Lord Hyperion.

“I am afraid my man had a prior engagement that he was eager to keep.” Lord Hyperion grinned at her, revealing slightly extended canines. Amusement shimmered in his striking purple eyes. “I cannot keep young Commander Winter away from his work these days.”

Sophis had the feeling that there was supposed to be a joke somewhere in that statement but she didn’t understand it, and none of the other lords and ladies seemed to either.

“Are you staying this time?” Lord Hyperion said with a wicked edge to the smile curving his lips.

“Yes, my lord.” Sophis bowed and halfway through turned it into a curtsey. She had been close to pressing her hand to her chest as a guard would and that would have been disastrous. She held her glass of blood in her right hand and probably would have tipped it down herself in her haste to respond correctly to the fact that Lord Hyperion, the most powerful vampire in existence, was talking to her as though they were equals.

She swallowed at that and tingles raced along her nerves, settling in her fingers and chest. Panic. She drew a deep breath and held it together. Only Timur knew that she was a guard. Everyone else here probably thought she was a young high-ranked vampire of the Venia bloodline.

The dancers changed again and Lady Prophecy and Lord Venturi Tenebrae left the group to join them. Sophis couldn’t fail to feel the trace of anger that laced the air around Lord Valentine and tried not to look at him, afraid that he might unleash it on her if she did. Whatever people said about them, it seemed the lord of Aurorea wasn’t as comfortable as everyone thought he was about his mate’s feelings for another male.

Lord Timur droned on about politics and the business with werewolves to Lady Rosea of the Nocens bloodline, and Lord Valentine continued to glare at the dancers.

“He is always like this. He is bound and powerless against the beauty and charm of his love,” Lord Hyperion said in a casual tone, the smile on his face remaining even when Lord Valentine growled threateningly. “If it bothers you, Valentine, I suggest you do something about it. Perhaps our dear child of darkness would do better to dance in another man’s arms. Mine, for instance. How would that suit you?”

Valentine growled again and his irises melted from green to lapis lazuli, the colour of the Aurorea bloodline. Sophis flinched away from him, fearing he would go through with the threat. She didn’t want to have to intervene in a scuffle between two powerful lords.

“She is returning. School your expression, my young apprentice, or she will see that you are madder than hell with your rival rather than just sense it.” Hyperion flashed a playful wink her way. Did he enjoy taunting men to the edge of despair?

The moment Lady Prophecy neared them with Lord Venturi tailing her, Lord Valentine stalked forwards. The intense anger Lord Valentine broadcasted silenced the room, sending the orchestra screeching to a halt. A gap instantly opened around the three of them as he closed in on Lady Prophecy, the crowd moving backwards to a safer distance. Sophis joined them, her instincts driving her and senses blaring in alarm.

Lord Valentine snarled and snatched Lady Prophecy’s wrist, gripping it tightly and turning his glare on her. Fear shone in the young redhead’s eyes but she didn’t look away from her mate. She was either very brave or very foolish to hold his gaze and not relent. He growled, his vivid blue eyes darkening as he exposed his sharp canines. She lowered her eyes then, dipping her head at the same time.