Prophecy: Caelestis and Aurorea [A Vampires Realm Novel]

by F. E. Heaton

  There were no stars.

  No moon.

  Just the bright white halo.

  The eclipse.

  She turned on the spot, taking in her surroundings and realising that she was in Prague. In front of her was the mansion. She backed away from it and bumped into someone. Turning, she expected to see Valentine but was greeted with Venturi.

  She shook her head and backed away from him when he tried to grasp hold of her.

  When she bumped into someone else, she froze. She looked over her shoulder and frowned at Hyperion.

  What was he doing here?

  He smiled at her and raised a long staff. She recognised it from her meeting with the Watchmen. It had been the weapon they'd used to block her path when she'd wanted to see him.

  Where was Valentine?

  Hyperion's mouth moved but she didn't hear the words he spoke. She furrowed her brows and closed her eyes, trying to make the scene change. When she opened her eyes, she was still in the same place. Something moved out of the corner of her eye and she looked there. It was Valentine.

  Rushing towards him, she was surprised when he turned and smiled at her. He brushed the hair from her face and ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek. There was something solemn about what he'd done and a terrible feeling loomed up inside her, a sense that they were going to be parted and she'd never see him again.

  She grabbed hold of his arm, clinging to him, and refused to let go when he looked at her. He shook his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes on feeling his lips against her skin and when she opened them again, he was gone.

  "Valentine!” she screamed and frantically looked around, desperate to find him again.

  A chill settled in her bones, making her stomach turn and her heart heavy.

  The magic on her hand faded from red to purple.

  He wasn't gone. He was here somewhere and she would find him. Running towards the house, she went straight past Hyperion and the Watchmen that had now appeared and didn't stop until she reached the doors. She pushed them open, and caught a glimpse of Valentine running along the hall ahead of her. She chased after him. It was like trying to catch a ghost. She lost sight of him and he appeared down a different hallway.

  She stopped when she ran into a room and found that it wasn't a room after all.

  She was standing in a field. The sound of thunder boomed out and she looked up. There were no clouds. The only thing that punctuated the darkness was the strange halo.

  She almost fell when people rushed past her and she realised it was the sound of their feet on the earth that she had heard. Someone grabbed her hand and she found Valentine smiling at her.

  "There you are,” she said.

  He frowned. “I have been here all along. Come, we must move."

  He held his hand out to her and she went to take it but stopped when she saw the ring on his finger. She knew that ring.

  She followed him when he ran down the slope towards the Tenebrae castle. She could see an army gathered in the distance. It must be the Tenebrae. She glanced across and saw Serenity running beside her, her hair now black again. Frowning, she went to say something, but was knocked to the floor. Looking up she saw the robed figure towering over her.

  It extended the sword it was holding and pointed it at her chest. She didn't move, her expression remaining emotionless, showing no sign of fear. A sword aimed at her chest couldn't kill her. She frowned when the robed person lifted something with the tip of the sword and she caught a glimpse of her family's pendant before the world went dark.

  When it came back, she recognised where she was. She was in the Tenebrae castle witnessing the same battle that she had been shown before. There were bodies everywhere and blood soaked the floor. She got to her feet, grabbing a sword just like she had done last time and throwing herself into the battle.

  She raised her head, knowing what she would see. Valentine was fighting the robed person.

  Her eyes moved to her right and she saw three Tenebrae, only this time it was Venturi wearing the lord of Tenebrae's battle armour. He nodded at her, saying her name, and she returned the gesture before dashing through the fighting warriors as quickly as possible.

  A scream of pain pierced the din of battle. Panic lanced through her and she fought harder, knowing what was coming next and fearing that this time she wouldn't be able to stop it.

  She couldn't breathe when she raised her eyes to see that Valentine was no longer fighting the robed person. He was fighting her. She was fighting him. Only it wasn't her. She felt as though she was on the outside looking in at herself. Her double slashed at Valentine with the sword she held.

  He cried out in pain when it connected with his back and Prophecy ran forwards.

  She came out into an open area amongst the warriors at the same moment that Valentine fell to his knees.

  She stopped dead, her breathing the only sound in her ears.

  The sword fell.

  "No!” she screamed and silence filled the room once more.

  She didn't need to look in order to know what she'd done. She raised her sword and could see that the magic circling her hands was dark as midnight again.

  It made a chill creep through her body and it gathered speed when she started running towards Valentine. The sword began to fall in slow motion and just as it was about to connect with his neck, the chill of the magic reached her head, fogging her brain and making the world swim in front of her eyes.

  She tried to continue, but she felt as though she was falling into darkness and her body refused to respond.

  Her eyes shot open and she stared at the canopy of the four poster bed for a few seconds, her breathing coming quick and ragged. Propping herself up, she tried to make sense of what she'd been shown. She turned her head quickly to see Valentine sound asleep next to her. Throwing herself against his chest, she curled up close to him and tried to stop the tidal wave of emotions that were sweeping through her.

  Valentine woke immediately on feeling something hit him. He blinked repeatedly, trying to clear the sleepy haze from his mind and finding it hard to figure out what was happening. When his mind cleared, he found Prophecy was lying with her head on his chest, her arms wrapped so tight around him that if he'd been mortal she would have broken some of his ribs. He wrapped his arms about her, holding her as tightly as she was holding him and frowning at her. Her hair covered her face but he could feel the wet of her tears against his skin.

  "Prophecy? You are trembling ... what's wrong?” he said and stroked her hair, hoping it would soothe her and calm her enough that she could speak to him.

  "Nothing...” she said, turning to face him.

  He cleared the hair from her face and looked into her eyes. It didn't look like nothing. Something had shaken her up and he wanted to know what it was.

  "A vision?” He watched her closely for a sign that it was what he suspected.

  She moved her head a fraction, almost nodding, and her eyes filled with tears.

  "Shh,” he whispered and held her head against his chest, his fingers gently stroking her forehead and hair. “Whatever you saw, it isn't guaranteed to be like that. You have changed one of your visions already."

  "I did, and now my vision has changed. Instead of seeing a robed person killing you, I see myself.” She crawled further up him and buried her face into his neck.

  He placed his hand against her back, holding her and closing his eyes. “There will be a reason for what your vision showed you but I am certain it will be different when it finally comes to pass."

  He didn't know what else to say. Had she really seen herself killing him or was she presuming that it happened? Had her vision gone that far? The last time she had seen this vision, she had promised him that she would never let it get that far, that she would never let it happen.

  She sighed in his arms and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

  "Did you...?” He ventured.

  She shook her head against
him. “No, I would never ... it just ... it always seems so real and everything before it was so confusing."

  "Was it different to before?” He looked at her when she rolled onto her front, her hair falling down and covering half of her face. He swept it behind her ear and then wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  She nodded. “I saw a house I didn't recognise, but one that felt so familiar at the same time. You kept disappearing on me. I saw Venturi, and Hyperion was there with his Watchmen. I followed you into my family's mansion and ended up at the Tenebrae castle. This time we had a vast army with us. I saw Serenity. When I encountered the robed person, I had the symbol of Caelestis around my neck, the symbol that Arkalus currently wears."

  "What do you think it means?” He knew what he thought it meant. She was destined to lead her family into war. She had to kill Arkalus.

  She hesitated and he wondered what she was going to say. Nothing he could think of prepared him for the words that left her lips.

  "Is the symbol of Aurorea in a ring?"

  His stomach dropped and fear settled in it. He swallowed hard and kept his eyes locked with hers. Was she about to say what he thought she was going to say?

  "Yes,” he said and waited for her to speak.

  "Then I know what we have to do,” she said and pushed herself up so she was kneeling on the bed beside him. She looked down at him, her expression deadly serious. “We have to kill Arkalus and Kalinor and take control of our bloodlines."

  He resisted the temptation to close his eyes on hearing those words. He would have to kill Kalinor in order to take control of his family and even if he succeeded, there was no guarantee that his house would fight under his command. He was an outcast in the eyes of the elders and they had never liked him. They would turn his bloodline against him. How many would he be forced to kill before the rest followed him? Did he want his family to follow him only because they feared him? It was no way to lead a bloodline.

  Would the vampires of Caelestis react the same way to Prophecy when she took control of her family? She wouldn't be prepared for the true extent of people's malice when they were under a command they didn't respect. She wouldn't expect it from her kin.

  It would hurt her.

  She would be weakened by it at a time when it was vital for her to be strong.

  He stared into her eyes, knowing that his silence was making her worry and was probably raising a million questions in her head that she was going to need answers to.

  His eyes dropped to her body and took in the fact that she was naked. When he raised them back up to her face, she was self-consciously looking down at her bare body.

  He grinned when she gave him a shy smile.

  "You can't fight to win your house dressed like that,” he said and caught hold of her wrist, pulling her back to him.

  She settled against him on her front, her breasts pressed against him. She looked up at him, her eyes wide and questioning. “Does that mean we're going to St. Petersburg?"

  He reached his arm out and grabbed the phone from the bedside table. “No, that means we are going to telephone Mia."

  His eyes roamed down to her breasts again while he listened to the phone ringing at the other end. He stared at the mark on her chest, watching the occasional pulse of magic that traced the pattern, illuminating it. It was red. He smiled at the fact that he was affecting her again.

  "Da?” A deep male voice sounded down the phone.

  "Dmitri,” he said and paused for a moment before continuing. “Kalinor has ... he killed Mathias. He may come after you, old friend. You may not be safe."

  "We are safe.” Dmitri's voice came back. “Our guards have seen them leave."

  "Both of them? When?"

  "Da. Last night. All have gone back to their homeland. We have word that the Aurorea mansion was destroyed. Your little woman?"

  He smiled at her. “My little woman. Never cross the female of the species."

  Dmitri laughed. “So I have learnt."

  "You are certain that they have left Russia? What have your men at the borders said?"

  "Gone. Crossed it before dawn."

  "Then they will be close to Prague by now.” He frowned at Prophecy when she mouthed the word ‘what?’ at him. “Still, be careful old friend. Kalinor is out for my blood, and until I can stop him, he will do everything in his power to torture me."

  "He killed the scribe because of this vendetta?” Dmitri said with a note of concern.

  "Yes, and besides Prophecy, you two are the only others I could think of him attacking in order to hurt me."

  "Then we shall lock down the castle.” Dmitri went quiet for a few seconds and then added, “Show him no mercy. Make him pay for what he has done, as I would. If you need—"

  "We can handle this,” he said, cutting him off. “But my thanks for offering."

  "Be careful. My men await your command should you need them. We are at your service."

  "If I still live, I shall call you when the deed is done. We will need your assistance when the final battle comes. Be careful, old friend,” he said and put the phone down.

  He looked at Prophecy.

  "We must go to Prague. The destruction of the Aurorea mansion in Russia has led to Kalinor returning home to our city. Arkalus is with him."

  "Then we fight on familiar ground,” she said and visibly swallowed. “It will be an advantage to us. We will be able to confront our families as soon as we have killed the leader of our houses."

  He wished he felt as confident about this as she sounded. He knew that her words were all show. She hadn't stopped trembling against him yet. If anything, she was shaking more now. He wrapped his arms about her and held her to him.

  "I will not lie and say this will be easy, Prophecy, but it is not impossible and no matter how hard the fight will be, I am certain that we shall win."

  She smiled but the corners of her lips shook and betrayed her again.

  "As soon as evening falls, we shall make the travel arrangements. We will be in Prague before tomorrow morning."

  She nodded. “I know in my heart this is what has to be done. You're right. It isn't going to be easy, but we can do this."

  She leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to his lips. He brushed his against hers, tasting the sweetness of them. When she moved away from him, she smiled and then rested her head against his chest.

  "Get some sleep,” he said while his fingers played against her back. The feeling of her body moulded against his side was soothing. When they were like this, the world felt so far away that none of it mattered. It was so easy to forget the troubles that lay ahead of them and the things they had been through when they were in each other's arms.

  Holding her, he watched her face, waiting for a sign that she had fallen asleep again and was calm. When her body became heavier against his, he knew she was asleep. He waited for a few minutes before sighing out his breath.

  He'd meant what he'd said.

  Defeating Kalinor and Arkalus wasn't going to be easy, but it wasn't impossible.

  Impossible was leading their families to war as one army.

  It was going to take a miracle for that to happen.

  Chapter 23

  "Where are we going?” Venturi said while they walked from the station out into the centre of the city.

  "To my family's mansion,” Prophecy said and continued walking when Valentine stopped dead.

  "It isn't safe.” Valentine's voice was stern and she turned to face him, her eyes pleading with him not to start this again. All throughout the journey to Prague, he'd been telling her the same thing. He didn't want to go straight to her family's home. He wanted to bide their time and go to his apartment or a hotel so they could scout the city and see what the situation was.

  "I have to.” Her brows furrowed into a look that expressed all of her feelings. She couldn't leave her family under the command of Arkalus for any longer than was necessary. She'd made a silent promise to save them from his tyranny, and sh
e intended to keep it.

  She had to see if her friend was all right. Even though Arkalus couldn't kill Serenity because of the claim, he could still hurt her. She didn't want to think about the danger that Serenity had placed herself in by agreeing to switch with her so she could escape that night.

  Hopefully everything would be all right, but she wasn't holding her breath. Since claiming Serenity, Arkalus had spent most of the time in Russia and now that he was back, Prophecy wasn't going to make her friend endure his company for any longer than was necessary. Regardless of Serenity's feelings for him, Prophecy had to free her family of his rule.

  She looked from Valentine to Venturi. He looked as though he was staying well out of her argument with Valentine and she couldn't blame him. She hated being dragged into their arguments and it was unfair of her to expect him to put himself into the path of Valentine's anger again. He'd already done that by agreeing to go with them to Prague. When he'd repeated that he'd vowed to protect her and would go with her because of the promise he'd made, Valentine had given him a look that could kill.

  The two men hadn't really spoken to each other during the journey and when they had, their comments had been derisive to say the least.

  "Valentine?” she said when she brought her eyes back to rest on him.

  He frowned for a moment, his expression unwavering, before sighing. He didn't need to say anything more for her to know that she had won.

  "I just want to check it out.” She held his gaze and hoped that he could understand what she was telling him. She'd mentioned Serenity a few times during their trip, and Valentine knew who she was and what she meant to her.

  "I understand,” he said and held his hand out to her.

  She slipped her fingers into his, holding his hand while they walked through the centre of the city. A glance to her right found Venturi. He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were scanning the old buildings that surrounded them and the tourists that were moving between the bars and restaurants, or just taking pictures of the beautiful clock tower and church. She wondered if he'd been to Prague before. He looked as though he hadn't, or if he had it had been a long time ago.