by F. E. Heaton
Grabbing her hand, he sneered and fought against his desire to change into his demonic guise. He tugged her through the house, cursing the fact that her room was two flights up. It felt as though it was miles away and he had a burning need to touch her, to kiss her. He mounted the first set of steps and then smiled when he extended his senses and found no one in the vicinity. Pulling her around in front of him, he backed her up against the wall. She smiled, her soft lips taking on a seductive look that matched the one in her eyes.
"Vixen,” he whispered and she visibly shuddered. “You..."
He slammed his hands against the wall on either side of her head. Her startled look over his actions quickly faded back into one of allure. She leaned her head back into the wall and he frowned at her, wondering what she was up to.
He groaned when she lifted her leg and ran her foot up the inside of his. Looking down at it, his brows knit and his desire burned hotter than the sun when he saw the black pointed boots she was wearing.
He sneered and grabbed hold of her leg, keeping it raised while he pressed his body hard against hers.
She smiled, clearly satisfied by his reaction to her.
"You mess with fire,” he dropped his head so his lips were close to her ear. She released a quiet sigh when he kissed her earlobe, tracing the curve of it with his tongue and teasing her. “You might get burnt."
"I'm already burning, Valentine.” Her voice was quiet with need and he swallowed when she ran her hands up his chest and curled her fingers around the lapels of his coat.
"You are the Devil,” he said and swept her up into his arms. He carried her swiftly up the remaining steps, coming out on the landing of the second floor a few doors down from hers.
He glanced down at her and saw she was still smiling, amused by his accusation that she was indeed the Devil. She had to be. There was nothing on Earth with the power to tempt man like that of the Devil. A single look from her and he'd sell his soul, damning himself to eternal torment in the fiery pits of Hell. Well, he'd sell it if he had one.
The beauty of being a vampire. No mortal conscience to tie you down and control your actions. He was going to Hell regardless so he might as well make the most of his life.
"Child of Hell,” he whispered into her ear and kicked her door open.
The second he was inside, he dropped her to her feet and slammed the door shut. He advanced on her, taking great satisfaction from how she backed away, her eyes telling him that he'd have to catch her if he wanted to kiss her. She couldn't get far with the door locked or in the skirt she was wearing. It was a miracle she could move at all without tripping over the bottom of it. She'd be in his arms in less than a handful of seconds.
He was in no mood for games.
He lunged at her and she went to dodge his attack by slipping under his arm, but he lowered his hand and caught hold of her waist, pulling her flush against him. He crushed her lips under a bruising, passionate kiss, pouring out his need for her into it and letting her feel his hunger. She relaxed into him, her palms pressing against his chest while the kiss became one of tenderness.
Their mouths barely touched. The lightness of the kiss and the way her lips skimmed against his stirred such intense emotion in him, stronger than if he'd surrendered to his desire to smash his mouth against hers. The denial of his desire and the maintaining of a kiss so delicate tantalised him, making his whole body feel as light as the touch of their lips and as warm as it had been when he was human.
He kept his eyes closed as the deep feelings stirred his heart into life, flooding it with emotion. He'd never felt anything like this with anyone else. No one made him feel the way she did.
When he eventually relinquished her lips, he looked at her. Her eyes were closed at first but gradually opened to reveal her dark pupils. They were so large that they almost blotted out the colour of her brown irises. Her lips parted, her body brushing against his while she breathed heavily in his arms. She looked as awed by the feelings inspired in such a gentle act as he felt.
Her hands snaked up over his chest to his neck and she looped them around it, holding him while he kept hold of her. He was about to dip his head to kiss her again and recapture the now fading feelings when someone knocked at the door.
He could see in her eyes that she was going to ignore it and it made him smile to know that she didn't want this moment to end either. It felt so good to have her close to him again, to be able to feel her signature and smell her scent. He'd lost the smell of her on his clothes while he'd been away and it was then that he'd realised that he missed her.
The person knocked again.
She sighed and he knew their peaceful time together was about to disappear.
"What is it?” she hollered, annoyance visible in her eyes while she kept her voice sweet.
"There's a problem with the Aurorea guards,” Serenity's voice came loud and clear through the door.
Valentine released Prophecy and walked to the door, opening it and frowning at Serenity.
She dropped her gaze and hesitated for a moment before continuing. Clearly, she'd been expecting Prophecy to answer.
"Some of the Caelestis guards have—"
"That's it!” Prophecy cut her off and stormed past him and out into the hall. She looked back at him. “I overheard some of them talking earlier. I warned them."
He stripped his coat off and placed it over the chair beside the door. Following her down the hall, he fell into step beside her.
"It could be my men. None of them wanted to come here tonight. All of my family are refusing to work with yours,” he said and she frowned.
"It doesn't matter if it is your men. This is the house of Caelestis. Your family should always be welcome here regardless of what they say or do. I'm tired of all this bickering.” She started down the steps to the first floor.
"Remember that they have had this hatred bred into them. It will take time for them to come to terms with what we have asked them to do. We did not work well together at first.” He moved quickly down the steps and blocked her path, stopping her in her tracks. “This has to be handled diplomatically. We can punish them all we want but it will not solve the base problem. In fact, I am certain that it would only make it worse. We need to bring the houses together in a way that makes them feel equal and unthreatened."
"You mean they have to believe it's their decision?” She searched his eyes for his answer.
He nodded.
"I can do that ... after I've punished them,” she said and slipped past him.
He grabbed her wrist and held her firm. “Prophecy, that is not the way to deal with them."
"I have to, Valentine. I warned those three guards and if I don't go through with the punishment I said would come to them, the whole house will doubt my ability to be a leader."
He considered what she'd said and then released her. She was right. If she had warned these men that they would receive a punishment for disobeying her command then she had to go through with it. He knew Prophecy well enough to know that whatever she had threatened them with, it wouldn't be as severe as that he'd threatened his family with. She could rule hers so easily. He had to promise death in order to control his.
Following her into the main area of the house, he walked beside her through the reception room and into the entrance hall. She seemed to know exactly who she was looking for and all he could do was stand and watch when she walked straight up to them.
She stopped dead in front of them, looked them all in the eye and then held her hand up.
"I warned you,” she said and he waited to see if any of them were going to deny the hidden accusation she'd thrown at their feet.
None of them spoke, but all looked guilty as sin.
"Tiberius,” she said, signalling him with a wave of her hand. He came at once, the gathered crowd parting to allow him through. “Take these three to the cells."
"How long shall I hold them?” Tiberius said.
"Indefinitely.” The wo
rd dropped like a stone into a pond, causing ripples of low-spoken comments to echo through the room. Prophecy turned and looked around at her family and Valentine did the same, only stopping briefly to scowl at the three guards as they were led from the room. “Let this be a warning. I will not tolerate the abuse of any Aurorea. I am sure that the lord of Aurorea will vouch that he will not tolerate the abuse of any Caelestis in return."
He nodded and looked at his guards. All four of them dropped their gaze to the floor, their expressions becoming as guilty as those of the Caelestis guards who had been punished.
He walked over to them and waited for them to raise their eyes and look at him. They did one by one, each struggling to hold his gaze when he frowned at them. He didn't need to say anything for them to get the message. His punishment for such insubordination would not be as nice as Prophecy's was for her guards.
He looked at Prophecy and could see by the look in her eyes that she was thinking the same thing as him—they had to sort this problem out now and find a way to get their two houses working with each other. It was no use ignoring it for any longer. It was only going to get worse if they did that.
"Xavier,” he said and the high guard stepped forwards. “I believe I have a meeting to attend. The Caelestis will see to it that your men are taken good care of. You will come with me."
Xavier nodded in acceptance of his command and waved to his men. Prophecy beckoned Serenity over to her and Valentine wondered what she was saying when they spoke to each other. Serenity gave a little curtsey and then turned to the guards.
"If you would follow me.” She held her arm out, intimating the main reception room.
He watched his guards go, leaving him alone with Xavier in room full of Caelestis. He smiled when Prophecy glared at all of her family, showing them that she'd noticed the fact that they were still lining the walls, staring at them.
"Come,” she said and held her hand out to him.
He took hold of it and walked with her into the main reception room. She paused for a moment and looked at Serenity.
"Have Tiberius and Venturi join us in the study. You'll find Venturi in the training room. When the comfort of the Aurorea guards has been seen to, join us yourself."
He smiled at the way she tried hard to sound as though she was in control. It was probably strange for her to be giving an order to a friend. Commanding Cornelius was nothing new to him, but he got the feeling that Prophecy would take some time to get used to giving people orders.
Serenity curtseyed again and he could see in her eyes when she looked at him that she was barely holding the smile inside. He smiled and nodded, silently thanking her for attending to his men and keeping up a good pretence in front of them. If his men believed that Prophecy's family all obeyed her, maybe he'd have less trouble getting them to do what he commanded.
Walking with Prophecy to the study, he thought about the meeting. They would talk about Elena, whether there had been any news on her movements, and the translation of the scroll, but bringing the two families together would be the main reason for their talk. It had to be. They couldn't continue like this. If they weren't working together, there was a chance that when the final battle came they would use it as an excuse to fight each other. Something like that could cost them their lives.
He wondered if there really was a way of getting the two houses to cooperate other than resorting to the initial violence that Lady Caelestis and Lord Aurorea had used. Prophecy could never rule her family like that.
He could, but she'd probably never talk to him again. Lord Aurorea had massacred half of his family, sacrificing them to make the others obey. He could do that.
He shook his head to clear it of the idea.
There had to be another way, something peaceful and deathless that would suit Prophecy.
He was sure she'd find it.
Chapter 5
Valentine's gaze tracked Prophecy as she paced the room. He could feel her tension in the air around him as though it was a tangible thing. From the moment the door had closed, she'd not said a word and had barely looked at him.
He leaned back against the table and lowered his eyes to the floor. Studying the grain of the polished wooden floorboards, he listened to the sound of her footsteps. They were a light clicking sound. Extending his senses a fraction, he continued to follow her movements, letting the steady back and forth motion of her ease his thoughts. Focusing on something as simple as the pace of her steps cleared his head, allowing his mind a moment to get everything that was crowding it into order. He supposed that was why he paced while thinking. Sometimes focusing on something simple made the more complex things become easier to deal with.
"Are you okay?” Her voice sounded out to him and he raised his head. “Is something wrong? Does it hurt?"
"Hurt?” he said and her eyes dropped. He looked down at his chest and saw his hand against it, touching the spot above his heart. He flinched with the memory of Arkalus and the stake, and his fingers curled against his shirt, dragging the material with them. “I had not realised ... I..."
She was standing in front of him before he could say anything else. Her hand appeared in view, her fingers wrapping around his and holding them.
Bringing his eyes up, he looked into hers and saw all of the concern in their dark depths. He smiled as best he could, hoping to stop her from worrying about him when they had more pressing matters to attend to.
"Have you had any nightmares?” she said while the tips of her fingers brushed against his palm.
He lowered his hand. “It is over."
"Over?"
"They only last so long."
"I don't understand. You sound like you're speaking from past experience here.” Her eyes were wide with something he couldn't quite make out. It wasn't just confusion. Another emotion filled them. Horror. Horror at what she thought he meant by what he'd said. He wished he could pretend what she was thinking wasn't true, for her sake, but it was and he'd sworn never to lie to her.
"I am,” he said and her hand fell away from his. She seemed stunned into silence so he decided to clarify things for her. “I hold secrets about my bloodline, things that people would willingly torture me to discover. As part of my initiation into the role of hunter, I was trained to withstand torture."
"So your family tortured you,” she stated in a tone that spoke of anger and resentment.
"I—"
"Don't defend them, Valentine.” Her hand was in his again, holding it tightly and making him raise his eyes to look into hers.
He hadn't even realised he'd dropped them to the floor. Why? Was he ashamed of what his family had done to him in order to teach him the ways of coping with pain?
At the time, it had seemed necessary. He had known that he would heal and nothing would be done to him that his body couldn't repair. He had willingly subjected himself to the captivity, conditions and intense pain associated with torture. It had been for the sake of his family.
It hadn't been for nothing either. A Vehemens had once caught him. She'd held him for three days before he'd had his chance to kill her. He'd told her nothing. Just like he'd told Kalinor nothing.
The only person who had managed to get him speak while captive had been Arkalus.
"Valentine?” Prophecy said and he blinked himself back to the world. She was still holding his hand where it rested limp at his side.
"What is it?” he said, as though he didn't know what troubled her.
"I...” She sighed and stared off into the distance. “I wish it was just us again. I don't think I can cope with all of this. I'm not strong enough. All this waiting, and struggling to control our families. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take leadership of them. It just feels like we're sitting ducks, waiting for Elena to choose her moment to attack. We haven't got an army out of it; we've got a death sentence."
She tried to walk away from him but he held onto her hand, stopping her. She looked down at their joined hands. He held hers a little
tighter, hoping to show her that everything would be all right.
"It was different then, Prophecy. We did not have such responsibilities."
She laughed and he frowned to hear it.
"Such responsibilities?” A smile teased her lips. “Are you saying it was simpler when we just had to save the world together?"
He nodded, his expression deadly serious. “Of course. This added burden is affecting both of us. Neither of us want to lead our family. Both of us would rather we were alone."
He swallowed when she stepped closer to him, her dark eyes searching his for the meaning behind his words. It wasn't just her current apparel making him want to be alone with her; it was everything.
It was their families.
It was Venturi.
It was the possibility that the issues that hung between them all would get everyone killed, and he didn't want that.
He didn't want to lose her.
By taking her from her family that night and setting her on this path, he had given himself the duty of protecting her, and he would see that she survived this. It was his responsibility to make sure of that.
"Don't you wish we could just leave? I mean ... the Law Keepers will be coming, won't they? The houses won't work with each other no matter what we do. They're always going to secretly despise the other.” She paused for a moment, her face sombre. “We're doomed."
"We are not doomed,” he said and pulled her towards him, gathering her into his arms. “But I do wish it was just us again."
Taking hold of her hand, he wrapped his other arm about her waist and turned on the spot with her. A smile crept onto her lips, gracefully curving them and showing in her eyes. He turned with her again, leading her into the more open area away from the table he'd been leaning against. Dancing across the room with her, he was amazed at how it affected her. She was suddenly full of smiles, staring deep into his eyes and looking as though there was nothing but a tranquil eternity ahead of them.
He took a deep breath and lowered his head until his cheek touched hers.
