Prophecy: Child of Light (49 page)

She looked back at Valentine to find him scouring the scene below them. He was definitely in command. As much as she liked to believe that they shared the role, she knew that he was better experienced as a leader and she had to bow to his superior knowledge in these kinds of situations. She would have gone straight to the castle rather than surveying it first.

A smile teased her lips at the sight of him. His long jacket was catching the breeze, slightly tattered looking now after all the fights, but still making him look impressive. He had one hand resting on his knee while the other gripped the edge of the flat rock they were on and his eyes were unmoving from the castle.

“How many do you think are down there?” she asked.

His lips compressed for a moment, his whole face darkening, and then he raised his brows.

“A thousand, maybe more.” He looked up at her.

“That’s my dance card full... who are you going to fight?” She smiled wide and he shook his head.

“Whatever you leave me with.”

Looking down at the castle, she gripped her axe a little tighter. A thousand vampires was more than she’d expected but with Dmitri’s army almost matching that number, she still felt confident that they would win the battle.

She could do this.

Her eyes came back to Valentine and she found that he was now standing, his eyes fixed intently on her.

The whole of her insides flipped and a different kind of nerves threatened to overwhelm her. She could see in his eyes what was coming. She’d forgotten her vision and what was destined to happen in this valley but now the images came flooding back and she didn’t know how to react to anything he might say or do.

She glanced at the castle, feeling an odd sense of fear loom up inside of her at the sight of it.

“Prophecy... I—”

She pressed her hand to his mouth, forcing him to stop. She couldn’t hear it. It must have taken a lot of courage and time for him to build up to telling her his feelings, but she was afraid to do the same, no matter how much she wanted to. She was frightened that by admitting her feelings she would sentence herself to a broken heart.

“Don’t say it. I don’t think I could bear to hear it.” She looked straight into his eyes and released his mouth, letting her hand drop to rest on his chest. “Just know that I know it. I know the reason why you agreed to remain and help me, and it was the same reason that I tried to make you stay. But there is so much uncertainty on the horizon, so much darkness. I don’t think I could bear to hear you say those words only for me to never hear them again.”

He looked stunned for a moment and then his expression softened, his eyes narrowing tenderly while his hand grasped hers where it was still pressed against his chest.

He smiled.

“But you do know it. Your heart tells you it is so?”

She nodded and moved closer to him, closing the small gap between them. “It does. It whispers it every time you look at me.”

Pressing her other hand against his chest, she let it glide upwards towards his face. She delighted in the way his eyes tried to follow it even when it ran over his neck. Cupping his cheek in her trembling palm, she stared deep into his eyes and swallowed hard.

His fingers grasped her waist, tugging her close to him, and she knew what was coming. What she wouldn’t let him say with words, he was going to show her in his actions.

He dipped his head but hesitated for a moment, pulling back enough to look into her eyes again.

“You do know it?” There was a note of anxiety in his voice that she couldn’t miss.

Her hand slipped from his cheek and she ran it around the back of his neck, bringing his mouth close to hers.

She whispered into it, “I always knew. I knew from the moment I met you.”

She closed her eyes when his lips brushed against hers in a tender kiss and she leaned into it, her own mouth exploring his. He released her other hand and she wrapped it around his neck, holding onto him while he encircled her waist with his arm and lifted her off the floor. She clung to him, her body moulded against his and their lips fused together in a kiss that began to turn passionate. Her whole body felt warm and the stars on her skin burned in response to the feelings of elation running through her. Tracing her tongue along his lower lip, a thrill ran down her spine when his met it. Her fingers buried themselves in his hair, holding him against her mouth so she could make the most of what was happening.

She didn’t want it to end, even when she knew it had to. Sighing into his mouth, she lifted her legs up and wrapped them around his waist, locking her feet behind him. She’d never let him go, not now, not ever. Once this war was over, they would have eternity to spend like this.

Her stomach flipped when his hands lowered, supporting her backside. Her tongue duelled with his and she couldn’t resist letting her canines extend and nipping his lower lip. The sharp scent of blood filled her senses and she smiled against his mouth when he moaned into hers. Kissing him more deeply, she relished the taste of his blood and then groaned when he ran an incisor over her lip, cutting it enough to release a small droplet of her own blood.

He growled and she couldn’t stop herself from following suit. Her insides spun and her chest ached, the mark over it heating her through and pulsing with magic.

Losing herself in his kiss, she focused on the intense feelings that were filling her and her desperate need to put this kiss to memory. She furrowed her brows and tried to shut out the thoughts that were beginning to loom inside of her.

This wouldn’t be their last kiss.

Sorrow pushed at the corners of her heart, filling her with dread about the upcoming battle, but she ignored it and clung to Valentine as tightly as he was holding onto her. He kissed her slowly, as though he was trying to make it last so they would always remember this moment.

When he finally broke the kiss, he pressed his cheek against hers, his breathing soft in her ear. “We shall make it through this, Prophecy... together. I will not let anything happen to you... I promise.”

There was so much emotion and determination in his voice that tears rose into her eyes. She dashed them away and rested her cheek against his before pressing a kiss to his neck and the marks she’d placed on him. She didn’t know how to respond to what he’d said.

She closed her eyes and held onto him, not wanting to let him go but knowing she had to.

Tomorrow, when all was said and done, she would tell him that she loved him.

She knew in her heart that they would make it through this.

Together.

C
learing the edge of the forest, Valentine dashed silently across the ten-metre gap and pressed his back flush against the thick stone wall. He looked towards the corner of the building, watching for a sign of the vampires that were patrolling the front of the castle, and then looked back over at Prophecy. Waving his hand, he intimated for her to join him.

She hurried across to him. He waited a moment and then began edging towards the small side door. Holding his breath, he tried the door handle and was surprised when it swung open.

“I guess with this many Tenebrae about you don’t have to worry about security,” she said from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at her and then went into the building.

The cold stone corridor was inky black but he could just about make out a set of steps leading upwards. Reaching a hand out, he felt along the rough damp wall and found his way back to the door. He was about to close it when Prophecy beat him to it. Sliding into vampire guise in order to see a little better, he found she had done the same. A brief flash of light from the corridor up ahead made her eyes shine mother of pearl. He’d always been fascinated with the way vampire eyes did that. It was a protection mechanism, like the eyelids of a blue shark. Light could easily damage a vampires eyes so whenever it shone on their irises’, they changed into an opaque silver colour to protect the delicate cornea and retina. He knew whenever it happened to him. The world would dim a little and then come back again when the danger had passed.

Turning away from her, he led the way up the stairs in the corridor towards where the light had come from. His senses sharpened to a pinpoint, allowing him to hear everything that was happening around him. He had to keep focused on the enemy so Prophecy and himself could get as far as possible into the castle without being detected. Coming to the end of the steps, he could sense the vampires in the rooms on the other side of the wall. He wondered if Prophecy could too. A quick glance over his shoulder at her face told him that she could. Her brows were tightly knit and she was holding her axe with so much force that her knuckles were even whiter than usual.

He didn’t dare risk talking to her. He hadn’t seen any females outside and he hadn’t heard any since entering, so he couldn’t be sure if there were any here. If the Tenebrae heard a woman’s voice, it may alert them to their presence.

Tightening his grip on his axe, he stalked through the darkness, shutting out Prophecy’s signature so he could keep his attention on the other vampires that were present. They were rapidly approaching the lit area of the corridor and he could see another hallway intersecting the one they were in. The corridors ahead were all lit and from here on in, it would be easier for another vampire to spot them.

He tensed, the anticipation in his stomach causing his body to ready itself for the fight. He knew what was coming, and judging by the way Prophecy had closed the gap between them and was now walking beside him, she knew it too.

The fight was about to begin.

In a few short minutes, they would run out of places to hide and would have to face their enemy.

Reaching the end of the corridor, he peered around it in both directions. When he was satisfied that it was clear, he moved across it to the other side, hiding himself in what little shadow there was. Prophecy gave him a little smile when she joined him and he could see the nerves in her eyes. Raising his hand, he placed it first on her shoulder and then against her cheek, trying to reassure her that everything was going to be all right.

Prophecy took a deep breath and nodded, telling Valentine that she was ready. She moved forwards, towards an archway, and poked her head around it. She frowned as she took in the scene. It was a wide stone hallway, exactly like the one she’d seen in her vision. They were up on the balcony looking down on the room and she didn’t like what she could see. Moving out onto the balcony, she listened to Valentine locking the door behind them as she stared at the room below.

There were hundreds of vampires, all jostling for position while they waited for their master to appear. They were all armed, their bodies encased in armour similar to what the men outside had been wearing, but nothing as ornate as the two guards she had seen in her vision. Her stomach twisted and turned, her nerves threatening to consume her. There was no turning back now. She had to fight, but she hadn’t expected there to be so many. She scanned the room and noticed that there was only one door serving as both entrance and exit now that the door they had just come out of had been taken care of.

She sighed out her tension when Valentine stepped up behind her and placed his arm about her waist, holding her back flush against his body.

The crowd of vampires below them murmured and growled, their signatures filling her senses but at the same time being drowned out by Valentine’s. His proximity was comforting, soothing the apprehension that had been building inside of her.

A distant howl caused the whole room to fall silent.

She was about to step away from Valentine and say something when he answered the question without her having to put voice to it.

“Dmitri,” he whispered into her ear.

“It’s time then,” she said.

Below them, a dozen vampires broke away from the group and started up the stairs to the balcony. Something told her that they’d been spotted.

Valentine pressed a brief kiss to her throat and released her.

“If anything happens down there, if it all becomes too much, come back up here. It will be easier to fight them in a confined space,” he said and she nodded. “I will try to remain close to you. We will make it through this, do not fear.”

She gripped her axe and wondered whether it would be better if she did fear. She could already feel the magic feeding off the anxiety that burned in her heart. Maybe it was best that she was scared of losing Valentine, then when she needed it, the magic would come quick and strong.

Taking a deep breath, she sighed it out slowly, letting her tension go with it and focusing on the group of vampires that were now approaching them.

She glanced at Valentine, taking in his face and telling herself that it wouldn’t be the last time she would see it. They could do this, just like he’d said. Reaching her hand out, she brushed her fingers against his and gave him a smile when he looked at her for a split second and then returned his concentration to the vampires.

Looking down at her right hand, she saw the amulet’s stone glowing and could sense the power rising within her. Her marks pulsed quietly, almost like a heartbeat as they reverberated through her.

The vampires were barely ten metres away now. They were still moving slowly, as though they weren’t going to attack. She wondered what they were up to and then realised that it was probably all a trick. Her mother had told her that treachery and deceit surrounded her. They were probably waiting until they were close before attacking. Either she made a move, or she waited for them to make one.

There was no way she was about to let them have the first blow.

Wheeling the axe in a circle by her side, she rushed headlong into the group of vampires.

She swung her axe as hard as she could when she hit the front of the group. Slicing through the first vampire, she spun with the force of her swing and caught another two, cutting their heads clean off.

A quick glance at Valentine showed he had changed into his vampire guise. He grinned as he relieved a vampire of his head and then kicked another in the kneecap before breaking its neck with his free hand. She watched him out of the corner of her eye while she kicked and slashed at the vampires who were attempting to grasp hold of her. She knew she should’ve been concentrating on them and not him, but there was something in his look that drew her to him. He grinned maliciously when he sliced deep into the side of one vampire and then chopped the arm off another, causing it to scream in agony. The sound of it seemed to make his grin grow wider. There was something in his obvious enjoyment of the fight that made her realise why he’d been chosen to be a hunter. He seemed to feed off the challenge, whether it was a battle of this proportion or a one on one fight with a skilled vampire hunter.