Prophecy: Child of Light (43 page)

She shuffled across the bed, almost throwing herself into the comfort of his embrace and sighing out her breath when his arms wrapped around her. She wasn’t going to question him. If she did that, he would leave and that was the last thing on earth that she wanted to happen. She pressed her cheek into his chest, feeling the hardness of it through his shirt. His thumb gently stroked her upper arm where he was holding onto her.

“Are you all right?” he whispered.

She closed her eyes, savouring the feeling of being in his arms, and then looked down the length of his body to his feet. He was still wearing his boots. The sight of them ignited a spark of panic inside of her. She placed her arm across his chest and held him, not wanting him to leave. She wanted him to stay all day with her.

“Your mother had a reason for what she did. In time, we shall discover it.” His words soothed her. It wasn’t the fact that he was telling her they would find out why her mother had sacrificed herself. She already knew that. It was because he had said they would be discovering it together.

“She did it for me,” she said, craning her neck so she could see his face. He was smiling and it made warmth dance through her.

“I know. Mia told me that your mother died in order to give you the power you have. Elena said that it was borrowed.”

“Elena also said that it was familiar. You think she knew my mother?”

He nodded. “She must have done. The Three of Paris knew her also. Whoever your mother was, she was very powerful. She was powerful enough to ensure you survived her transformation into a vampire.”

“She did it on purpose. The magic tells me so. She intentionally got herself turned.” She let her head rest against his chest again and stared at the heavy curtains. She could feel the sun rising. She’d never seen the sun rise. She’d never seen cities and countryside basked in sunshine. She never would see it. The only time she’d been alive was when she was still in her mother’s womb before she was turned.

“Do you think she knew about the prophecy?” Valentine said.

It was her turn to nod. She knew that her mother had intended for her to be born as a vampire and that meant she had known about the prophecy. Everyone told her that her mother was a good person and a powerful witch. Her heart told her that her mother wouldn’t have gone through what she had unless she believed that her daughter would save the world.

She smiled and closed her eyes. Everything was falling into place in her head now and it was beginning to clear. She felt more powerful than ever and not as different as she’d thought she would feel. Now that she had her memories back, she felt she was whole again. The questions that had been plaguing her all of her life could finally be answered.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed it out and wriggled into a more comfortable position in Valentine’s arms. Her head felt heavy and sleep beckoned her as the sun began to rise. She blinked sleepily and closed her eyes.

Sleep would bring her the answers.

She would be safe in Valentine’s arms.

Valentine looked down at Prophecy’s face after she had been silent a few minutes and realised that she’d fallen asleep. He ran his fingers lightly over her hair, still adjusting to how dark it was now. Watching her sleep, he thought about what he’d said to Mia shortly before Prophecy had awoken.

He’d wanted to turn her.

The words had left his mouth before he’d even really considered them. Something deep inside of him had panicked at the thought that Prophecy might not be as strong as she had first appeared, and that she was aging. He’d said out loud the first solution that had hit him.

Thinking about it now, he realised how selfish he had felt in that moment. All he had thought about was the fact that he could one day be without her because of her human side. The voice at the back of his mind had demanded that he turn her in order to ensure he would never be apart from her. He hadn’t even paused to consider the consequences of turning her and the affect it could have on the prophecy.

He had just wanted to make sure she would always be with him.

The silken strands of her hair slipped through his fingers and he sighed when he realised something.

He was in love with her.

P
rophecy watched Valentine talking to Dmitri. He’d been keeping his distance all evening but she wasn’t worried. He’d looked at her enough times with a weight of concern in his eyes that she knew his feelings for her hadn’t changed. She still wasn’t sure just what they were, but she could see they were still there. He wasn’t distancing himself emotionally from her; he was just trying to give her some space. If she beckoned him, he would come to her without hesitation. There had been moments throughout the evening where he’d clearly wanted to come and sit with her, but he’d resisted. She was thankful for the space and time to think. Right now, she needed to get her thoughts into order.

Sleep had given her mind time to complete its battle and it seemed her real memories had won. She had awoken to find Valentine pacing the room. He’d had his head bent, his brows knit and his thumb playing against his lower lip. She realised that he paced a lot when he was thinking. It brought him the clarity he needed in the same way that sleep helped her.

A feeling of warmth had spread through her when she’d noticed his boots next to hers. The sight of them had made her smile and her heart had read into the meaning of it. He was finally comfortable with her. The barriers around his heart were at last falling away. The way he’d gently held her all day was testament to that. She’d been aware of him even in sleep and she knew he’d watched over her. He looked tired now and it wasn’t just his emotions draining him of energy.

She’d memorised and savoured the feeling of comfort and safety that he’d given her by holding her close to him. She’d never felt anything like it in her life. He’d offered her so much comfort and had wanted nothing in return.

She glanced at him again.

Her heart told her that his feelings for her ran deep, as deep as hers for him.

She gave him a small smile when he looked at her. She could see what he wanted to know. The question was burning in his eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” she said and his mouth curved into a slight smile.

She felt better than she had done when she’d first discovered what her family had done to her and what she was, but questions still clouded her mind. They were questions that she couldn’t ignore, not even in sleep.

Dmitri frowned at Valentine and then looked over at her, giving her a broad grin. She wondered if Mia had told him what she’d discovered about her. He didn’t seem bothered by the knowledge of what she was, not like Mia was. Prophecy hadn’t seen her tonight. According to Dmitri, she had gone out hunting to get some fresh blood for them. Her stomach growled. The events of yesterday had left her with an intense hunger and she hoped that Mia could bring them back something to sate it. The taste of fresh warm blood would make her feel a lot better.

Her eyes fell to rest on the fireplace. The fire was lit tonight. It was probably for Dmitri’s benefit. She didn’t know much about werewolves, but she knew they were still warm blooded and had heartbeats, even though they were immortal like herself.

She was immortal.

She frowned when the questions flooded her mind again and she stared unseeingly at the flickering flames. The questions about her past had now become questions about herself. Valentine had told her that she was just like him and she wanted to believe him. She was a vampire. Wasn’t she?

The sound of a door opening made her look up and she saw Dmitri leaving the room. She looked at Valentine and he frowned briefly before coming over to her. She was glad of his company. There were so many things running through her mind and she needed to get them straight. Maybe Valentine could help her. When they had been in Oxford, she’d found that talking to him had helped clear her head and helped her deal with things.

He sat down on her right on the velvet-covered couch and gave her a concerned look. She smiled again, hoping to reassure him and wishing that she could alleviate some of the worry that seemed to have permanently settled in his eyes recently.

She let her hand slip until it rested next to his on the patch of couch between them. She smiled inside when his fingers first brushed against hers and then interlocked with them. Glancing down, she saw his fingers hooked around hers and raised her brows when the stone in her amulet glowed.

“Valentine?” she said in a hesitant voice. His fingers tightened against hers as though he’d heard the underlying emotions of confusion and fear in her voice and was trying to comfort her. She raised her eyes and met his.

“Are you certain you are all right?” he said.

She nodded and then sighed, her gaze returning to the fire.

“You said I’m a vampire. I am aren’t I?” She hated how uncertain she sounded and didn’t give him a chance to respond to her question. “I mean. I’m immortal. I must be or I wouldn’t have been able to jump off the Eiffel Tower without hurting myself and the hunter’s drug would have killed me. I just don’t know how the human side effects me... it’s placed so many questions in my head.”

“You have no heartbeat. You are strong, fast, and have the healing powers our species are blessed with. You are a vampire, Prophecy. Never doubt that. I have seen you, the real you.” He shifted on the couch so he was facing her and she did the same. She wanted to see the affection in his eyes and know it was for her. She needed to see that he was telling the truth.

“I know. I need blood and I have all the abilities, but I can control magic.”

“Maybe your human side is purely your ability to use magic.”

She could see that he was doing his best to reassure her, but doubt still lingered in the back of her mind.

“You are not alive,” he said and she frowned. “We are the undead, Prophecy. You can function without breathing, feel the call of the night as keenly as myself, and cannot survive without feeding on blood.”

He was right. She was a vampire, but there was still a part of her that was human and she wondered if she’d ever know exactly what that meant and what it was. Was it really just her ability to use magic? Her real memories told her that she had been aging. She could remember being a child in the Caelestis house. She could remember Serenity looking after her and Iona tending to her.

“Will I grow old?” She gave Valentine a fearful look. “If I do... will I die?”

He sighed. “I am afraid I do not have the answers to those questions. I am sorry. I wish that I did.”

Closing her eyes, she swallowed her nerves and let her head come to rest on his shoulder. She inhaled deeply and smiled at the familiar scent of Valentine. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arm about her. She moved closer to him and placed her free hand against his chest.

“Valentine?”

“Yes, Prophecy?”

She stifled the tears that were trying to force their way to the surface. Curling her fingers around, she grabbed hold of his jacket and clung to him.

“Don’t ever let me get old. Don’t let me die.”

“I won’t. I promise you, I won’t. You will always be this way. You will never grow old. Not on my watch.”

She sighed when he pressed a soft kiss to her hair and wrapped his other arm about her, holding her tightly against him. Burying her face in his neck, she held onto him, silently telling herself that she knew he wouldn’t let her grow old or die. He wanted her just as she was now. She wondered if turning her would stop her from aging and whether Valentine had already considered it. The mark over her chest burned and she looked down at it. She knew what it was trying to tell her. She couldn’t let him turn her, no matter how much she wanted him to. If she became wholly vampire, her ability to use magic would die and the prophecy would be affected. If she didn’t have the power in her blood any more, she wouldn’t be able to fulfil her destiny. The prophecy spoke of magic. That’s what Mathias had said. She had to retain it, had to remain partly human, at least until everything was said and done.

Pulling back, she looked deep into Valentine’s eyes. There was still so much concern in them.

“I’m okay,” she said with a genuine smile and tapped the side of her head. “Everything in here is getting into order now. I’m okay. I’ve realised that they changed my memories, not who I was or who I’m destined to be. They can never change that. It was mapped out before my birth.”

He nodded.

“What time is it?” She glanced at the drawn curtains and then back at him.

“Sunset was five hours ago.”

She frowned when she remembered that Dmitri had said he would hear back from his outpost in Romania tonight. She already knew what the answer would be and what she would have to do. Elena had told her what was happening and she’d witnessed it all in a vision. Today’s sleep had brought another with it.

“Is there any word from Dmitri’s men?” she said and was met with a shake of his head. “I had another vision.”

“What did you see?” he said, his brow creased with worry.

She stared at the fire. “I saw the castle again but no robed person this time. The vampire was there. He’s the lord of Tenebrae. I saw many vampires, a vast army of them. They were amassed in a room, the same room I had seen the battle in.”

“Was it during the eclipse as before?”

She couldn’t remember seeing any windows. The vision had been short, just a snippet. It had barely been enough for her to recognise her surroundings. She couldn’t even remember seeing Valentine there with her. She had seen another vampire though. It had been one of the guards of the lord of Tenebrae. He had removed his helmet, revealing his jaw length fair hair and intense blue eyes to her. He’d said something, but there had been no sound.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “I don’t remember much of it, but I’m certain it happens before the battle.”

“If Dmitri’s men report back that the army is there—”

“We’re going to fight them,” she interjected, not letting him say what she could see in his eyes. She knew he didn’t think it was the right thing to do. He wanted to take the scroll to Mathias. “I saw a program on the television when I was imprisoned in my room. It was all about an unusual eclipse that is coming. I know it’s the dark day that the prophecy speaks of.”