Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising [A Vampires Realm Novel]

by F. E. Heaton

  "I wish it could be always like this,” she said and her fingers gripped his shoulder a little firmer. Her cheek pressed harder against his.

  "So do I,” he whispered and closed his eyes. He wondered if she felt as calm and peaceful as he did right now. It really did feel as though the war had disappeared and the weight of the prophecy had been lifted from his shoulders.

  "Valentine?” Her voice trembled and her soft breath tickled his neck.

  "Hmm?” He gathered her a little closer, smiling when his action lifted her off the floor so he was just moving with her again as though she was a perfect china doll in his embrace.

  "Don't ever stop. Dance away with me ... far from here ... far from all this. I want it all over with. I want it all to go away so we can be like this, feel like this."

  Drawing back, he smiled into her eyes, silently telling her that if he had the power, he'd do exactly as she'd asked him to. He'd end this war and take away all of the fear he could feel in her, the uncertainty. He wished he had the words to reassure her that nothing bad was going to happen, but he couldn't lie to her. Bad things were going to happen, it was going to get worse before it got better, but in the end, they would be free of the prophecy and safe at last.

  He combed her damp hair with his fingers, his eyes taking in her face and the sweet look of hope she was giving him, and then sighed.

  Someone coughed delicately, breaking the spell. He could feel the warmth of the quiet moment slip away, leaving behind only the cold reality of the world.

  Prophecy turned her head and he followed suit. Standing in the doorway was Serenity. If she were here, then his head guard would shortly join them and so would Tiberius and Venturi.

  "Now that looked like fun,” Serenity said while venturing further into the room. “I wish someone would dance with me like that."

  "Maybe they will someday.” Prophecy smiled at Serenity and then looked at him.

  Reluctantly letting go of her, he prepared himself for the impending discussion. She moved away from him, heading back to the table that she'd been pacing next to before she'd come to him. Serenity went to her, holding a low spoken conversation that he presumed was about their dancing. When Xavier entered, shortly followed by Tiberius, Valentine went to the table.

  Prophecy looked at him and her eyes betrayed what she'd said earlier. She didn't want to be here. She was tired and strained, and didn't know how to make things right between their families.

  She pressed her palms into the table, leaning over it while she spoke to Tiberius. Xavier stood to one side, almost aloof, until Valentine caught his eye and intimated with a single glance that he would do better not to stand so apart from the group. He watched the head guard walk towards the table and position himself next to Tiberius. Tiberius immediately straightened up, standing tall and acting as though he hadn't noticed Xavier's presence even when he so obviously had. Valentine looked at the two of them, both dressed in the fine uniform that their position bestowed upon them and both holding their head high. He wondered if Venturi and himself looked as ridiculously competitive to Prophecy. It had been a while since he'd let his jealousy of the Tenebrae get the better of him, but there were times when he almost slipped and resorted to acting childishly as he had in England.

  When Prophecy glanced across at him, he gave her his full attention.

  "We have no other choice but to fight together. It is the only way that will guarantee both of our families’ safety. We can't risk the two armies turning on each other, or refusing to fight ... or worse, siding with Elena."

  He could hear the tiniest hint of anxiety in her voice, too small for the others to detect, but enough that he noticed it. To them, she probably sounded confident and strong, in command. To him, she sounded scared and tired. He'd become so used to her ways, her nuances, that he could sense the faint change in her feelings as though they were bonded.

  Looking down at her hand and the amulet that encased it, he wasn't surprised to see a faint glow coming from the purple stone against her palm. Edging closer to her, he leaned on the table in a similar fashion to her and touched his hand against hers. She looked down at his hand where it was brushing hers and then smiled up into his eyes. Offering her a slight smile in return, he absorbed the warm tickling of the magic as it crept over his hand and then turned his attention to Serenity when she spoke.

  "There has to be a way. Surely not all of the Aurorea are against us?” Serenity turned to face Xavier as she spoke and Valentine looked at him.

  He waited to see how his head guard was going to react to such a question. His eyes locked on Xavier's face, watching for any sign that he was lying.

  "Not all, no. There are some willing to work with the Caelestis for the greater good of the family."

  "Of our species.” Prophecy corrected him.

  Xavier frowned and then lowered his head. “My apologies, my lady. I meant my family and our species of course."

  Prophecy's eyes followed his hand as he swept his dark hair from his face, pushing the long strands back into the ponytail that held the rest. She held his gaze when he finally found the courage to look directly at her. She swore his eyes flashed blue for a moment, but it might have been her imagination. She hadn't been sleeping well recently and everything was starting to seriously take its toll on her.

  She moved her hand closer to Valentine's, wanting more of the comforting feeling that his proximity was giving her. Glancing down at his hand, she smiled inside when she saw the red threads of magic weaving their way around both of their fingers.

  "It's the calm before the storm isn't it? She's making us wait on purpose,” she said to no one in particular.

  "It would seem that way,” Valentine answered her.

  She stared at his hand, her eyes tracing the veins in the back of it and the intricate white scars that marred his skin. She liked the way she felt when he was this close to her. She felt a lot calmer and relaxed. Being in his arms earlier had reminded her of being on the run with him. She really wished she still were. This wasn't what she wanted for her. She'd never wanted to lead her family. Now she was bogged down, forced to command a political position, and no safer than she had been when on the run. She still had a prophecy hanging over her head. People still wanted her dead. Only now they knew exactly where to find her.

  The door opened and she lifted her head a fraction, enough to see Venturi enter. A sense of discomfort filled her and she could only hold his gaze for a split second before something forced her to look away. She stared at Valentine's hand again, not willing to let go of it even though she knew that doing so would alleviate the strange sense of guilt inside her.

  Venturi stopped beside her and she still kept hold of Valentine, even when she looked at him.

  The Tenebrae placed the journal and the two scroll fragments down. She noticed that he avoided looking at her hand and at the man standing next to her. It was understandable. If their roles were reversed, she was sure she'd have a hard time with it too.

  Raising her head, she looked at Venturi for what felt like hours. Her mind raced to think of something to say but she choked on the heavy atmosphere between them. She wondered if the others could sense it as keenly as she could and then told herself it was just her imagination and too many unspoken things. It was to be expected after the incident in the training room. She really hadn't handled it well.

  "Why have I been called here?” Venturi said in such a light tone that his ease sounded forced to her, especially since his eyes had remained dark and cold.

  "Have you discovered anything new about the prophecy? It's been a long time since we've spoken of it.” She knew that Valentine could sense that something was wrong. His hand left hers the slightest amount but she didn't let it get far. She moved hers at the same time and then covered his with it, showing him that she wasn't about to let him go.

  "I am making progress.” Venturi opened the journal and picked it up. He flicked through the pages for a few minutes in which she took the ti
me to look at Valentine.

  Valentine's expression was darker than thunder and she really wished that they weren't having to take part in this meeting. When he frowned over her head, she turned and caught Venturi looking at her clothes. She stopped herself from looking away from him like she wanted to and instead managed a frown. Venturi should have known better than to look at her like that when Valentine was present. He should know better than to look at her like that even when Valentine wasn't present.

  "I have unveiled some of the scroll, but it is nothing that we do not already know,” Venturi said.

  Her heart sank. All this time and she still knew nothing new. The war was getting closer and she could almost see a clock hanging over her head, ticking away invisible seconds to the moment when she'd have to face Elena for the final time. How was she supposed to defeat the witch without knowing more about her own magic or the prophecy? She couldn't unlock one and Venturi couldn't unlock the other. It was hopeless. It couldn't possibly get worse than this.

  "Most of it is complete gibberish.” Venturi went on, his fingers toying with the spine of the journal while his eyes scanned the page it was open on. “There is a series of words placed at strange intervals within the core of the prophecy. So far, I have translated the following: A dark moon will herald the birth of a prophecy. Great powers will rise and grow. With the return of the long night, Hell will be unleashed."

  He gave her an apologetic look.

  "Thank you.” She nodded and smiled. “You'll keep working on the rest?"

  He nodded and determination filled his eyes. “Of course ... the prophecy will yield its secrets. I will never give up on it."

  She wondered if he was talking about her or the actual prophecy now. Was he telling her that he'd never give up on her, or on the text? Was the secret he spoke of the one that was hidden within the cuneiform, or her feelings for him? She barely kept the frown from her face. It seemed Venturi didn't need to muddle her any more. She was doing a good job of muddling herself. She had to stop reading into things.

  Dragging her eyes away from him, she gave her head a moment to clear and then hurriedly looked back.

  "I meant to ask you to contact your men. They may have heard something and you might feel more at home if you had some of them here. The house of Caelestis will welcome them."

  Venturi lowered his head and then smiled up at her. “I have contacted Piotr recently, but will send word again to ask him to come and bring a small number of my army with him. None of them have left Romania before. It will be interesting for them."

  She wanted to remind him that visiting Prague wasn't the reason they'd be coming and that there was a battle on the horizon, but she realised that these were Tenebrae. She'd noticed that Venturi's attitude towards war was one of calm unconcern, as though apocalyptic battles were something commonplace and unthreatening, something he almost looked forwards to. During the fight against Kalinor, she'd seen the intense pleasure Venturi took from killing, even when it was his own species he was butchering. The Tenebrae were darkness. They relished the chance of war and bloodshed. They gave no thought to their own deaths or the death of their friends. Or did they?

  Her eyes found his again and she searched them briefly, hoping to see the answer to her unspoken question. Would Venturi care if she died? On some hidden level, was he worried that she would get hurt in this war? Were the Tenebrae really as dark and heartless as they appeared?

  He looked away from her, lowering his head and shifting the papers of the journal around. She got her answer when he surreptitiously looked at her out of the corner of his eye and there was a weight of sadness filling them.

  "Mia and Dmitri have heard nothing,” Valentine said, drawing her attention away from Venturi.

  She was welcome of the distraction and, in her heart, she was sure that Venturi was too. She'd never seen him let his guard down like that in public before. He'd done it a few times when they'd been alone together, letting her see his feelings for her, but never when Valentine was close by.

  "I hate this,” she said. “I hate this waiting around."

  "I know,” Valentine said.

  "We're vulnerable. If the two families can't work together then Elena will easily pick us off. We have to be a unified army, or at least willing to fight as one even if we can't work together any other way.” She paused and looked at Tiberius and Xavier. “How? How the hell are we supposed to defeat Elena when the two families can't even stand being within a mile of each other?"

  There was silence.

  She could almost hear the clock ticking again, telling her that time was fast running out. Elena would make a move soon and they were sitting here twiddling their thumbs and dealing with something as trivial as a feud.

  "I see no option but to go the route of Lord Aurorea and Lady Caelestis.” Valentine's commanding voice broke the silence and everyone including herself looked at him.

  The silence seemed heavier this time and more foreboding. A glance at the two guards was all she needed to see that they were both shocked by what Valentine had said. She knew what he was saying and why they looked so concerned.

  Lord Aurorea hadn't killed half his family straight away. First he'd sent them a message by making an example of someone. That someone had been the head guard.

  Lady Caelestis had followed suit.

  She swallowed hard, telling herself that this was a scare tactic and Valentine didn't really mean to kill his head guard and he certainly didn't expect her to kill Tiberius. It was just something that the two guards needed to hear so they could then tell the other guards what was said. From there, it would filter down the ranks that Valentine and herself intended to massacre half of their bloodlines in order to achieve command of them.

  Her stomach twisted and turned over.

  She silently hoped that they didn't have to go through with it.

  "Maybe we should get the families together ... informally ... or formally.” Serenity looked as nervous as she sounded.

  Prophecy gave her a look that was meant to convey that she wasn't about to kill anyone. Her friend relaxed a little, giving her a hesitant smile.

  The hairs on the back of Prophecy's neck prickled and she turned to see Valentine staring at her clothes.

  "What?” she said.

  His frown intensified. “Formally."

  "Huh?” It was her turn to frown.

  He caught hold of her shoulders and turned her to face him. His eyes raked down the length of her body, scrutinising her.

  "A ball,” he announced.

  Her jaw dropped. “A ball?"

  "Why not?” Serenity said, coming forwards. “There's no better way to get the two houses together and it's happened in the past."

  Prophecy considered it for a moment. It hardly seemed the right time for one but the more she thought about it, the more it sounded like the only alternative to Valentine's other plan of massacre.

  Besides, dancing with Valentine tonight had taken her mind off things, and she'd welcome another chance of that happening.

  "Okay ... the house of Caelestis will host a ball in honour of the house of Aurorea.” She looked at Xavier and Tiberius. “We will require all of the guards to work together on this. Do you think that is possible? If we don't have complete cooperation we'll be extremely vulnerable ... both houses will be."

  Xavier bowed stiffly. “You have my word that my men will work with the Caelestis guards."

  Tiberius nodded. “It will not be a problem, my lady."

  "Will you invite Mia and Dmitri?” she said to Valentine and studied his face while he thought about her question.

  He looked straight at her, his green eyes reflecting his tiredness and telling her the real reason he'd come here tonight. He hadn't come to talk politics. He enjoyed this as much as she did. He'd come here to see her. The mark over her chest pulsed and her hand automatically came up to touch it. She really did wish they were on the run again, not tied down in Prague. She wanted to go back to how things
had been when Mathias had still been alive, when they were still on good terms with Mia and Dmitri, and before she'd foolishly killed the old lord of Tenebrae.

  When she raised her head, Valentine was still looking at her.

  "I will invite them. We need them on our side,” he said in a gruff voice that betrayed the fact he still hadn't wholly forgiven Dmitri for refusing to assist her.

  "Then it's settled,” she said and looked at the other occupants of the room. “The ball will be held in two days. All that can are welcome to attend."

  Chapter 6

  Valentine strode back into the room, relieved to see that Prophecy was still alone. The others had gone back to their business, Serenity leading Xavier back to his men, Tiberius heading out to patrol and Venturi slinking off to his room to apparently be alone. He was thankful for all of it, but mostly for Venturi's departure.

  Prophecy turned while he approached. A smile flitted across her lips but quickly faltered when she looked into his eyes. It was as though she could see what was coming and hated it almost as much as he did.

  "Mia has promised that they will try to attend,” he said in a light tone, trying to alleviate the hurt he could see gathering in her dark eyes.

  "That's good,” she said in a sullen voice and then frowned. “You have to go, don't you?"

  He sighed and ran his fingers over his hair, hesitating and not quite knowing what to do. She wrapped her arms about him and he held her close, his fingers toying with the tips of her now dry hair.

  "Call if you need me,” he whispered.

  She drew back and nodded.

  "I know you don't want to leave,” she said and took hold of his hand. He watched the magic joining them, its red ribbon-like threads slipping between their fingers. “I can feel it."

  His gaze moved from their hands to the mark over her chest. The tips of his fingers grazed it, disturbing the magic that was running around it. The red streaks followed him and disappeared into his hand.

  "I need my family to see that I am the one in control."