Prophecy: Child of Light (37 page)

His hands moved of their own volition, claiming her waist as their prize and pulling her to him until her body was curved against his.

Prophecy took a deep breath, trying not to let her nerves show when his fingers splayed out against her back, holding her flush against him. She rested her hand on his shoulder. She couldn’t take her eyes away from his. Something about seeing him in the mask stirred a heady mix of feelings inside of her that felt as though they were going to carry her away. It felt dangerous and mysterious. She started when his hand caught hers, his fingers wrapping tightly around it and showing her that he wasn’t going to easily let her go.

She moved at the same time as he did, a slow waltz to the silent rhythm of the night. She realised that back at the palace it hadn’t been the music that had made her feel as though she was dancing on air. It had been him. Something about being in his arms made her feel as though she was floating. She smiled up at him and saw his eyes drop to her lips. Her gaze followed his example and she stared at his mouth, watching him wet his lips. Anticipation built inside of her as the tempo of their dance increased. He turned with her, making the whole world disappear until all she could hear was the sound of their boots on the road.

Her breathing stilled when he leaned towards her, his cheek brushing against hers and his hand pressing harder into her back, forcing her chest against his. She stared at the stars above as they spun. Her lips parted when he pressed a kiss to her neck and she didn’t notice that their dancing was slowing; everything seemed to be speeding up to a blur. Her hand left his shoulder and slipped over his neck. He moaned into her throat while he brushed his lips against her skin. Her eyes fell shut and the hand that was holding his was suddenly empty. She bit her lip when she felt his arm wrap around her, his hand coming to rest on her backside. She realised they’d stopped dancing and he was just kissing her neck now, his mouth moving in tantalising patterns against her soft flesh.

She wondered if he would be so bold without a mask to hide behind.

Trailing her hands down to his chest, she pushed him backwards and found eyes full of passion staring into hers. He was breathing heavily and she could feel his desire as he held her close to him. With trembling fingers, she pushed his mask up off his head. She held it for a moment before letting it clatter to the floor, and then tore her own mask off. She ran her fingers down his cheek, her eyes following them when she swept her thumb across his lower lip. He growled and his teeth extended, catching her thumb. She couldn’t stop herself from changing into her vampire guise when she saw the small bloom of blood seeping into her glove. Her whole body ached at the sight of it. She was about to bring it to her mouth when he caught her wrist and took her thumb into his mouth. Her stomach tightened when his tongue brushed against the cut, a moan escaping her lips.

She frantically pulled him against her and his arm tightened around her waist. He released her hand and began to dance with her again, his body moulding against hers and his movements fluid. Only, she wasn’t dancing any more. Her feet weren’t moving. He was holding her off the ground, spinning with her and making her giddiness become dizziness. Her head fell backwards and she stared at the black sky above them, her lips open in a silent laugh as she smiled at it.

She dug her fingers into his hair when he pressed a kiss to her bosom and worked his way back up to her neck. She growled and held him there, not wanting to let him go. She needed more from him. A giggle escaped her lips when he growled in response and it rumbled through her own chest. The feeling of his kisses was divine. His teeth caught her skin, making small points of pain punctuate the pleasure. She pressed her body into him, leaning further backwards so he had to get closer to her in order to reach her neck. He growled threateningly into her ear and pressed his hand into her back, forcing her to straighten up. His teeth scraped her neck and she let out a small cry.

He tenderly kissed her throat, his tongue lapping at the tiny wounds he’d created and sealing them. She swore she could hear music as they continued to turn, clinging to each other in a passionate embrace. The sounds of the night seemed to make a tune when combined with the echo of Valentine’s boots along the dark empty road. She could hear the fountains in the square, the distant cars and the insects and night creatures.

She closed her eyes and lost herself in it, her body going limp in his strong arms while she focused on the sounds and the feeling of Valentine’s persuasive kisses. She sighed when he lowered her so her feet were touching the floor again and pressed one final kiss to her neck.

She didn’t know what to say when she opened her eyes and stared into his.

“I...” He started but dropped his gaze to rest on the floor.

She smiled. She should’ve known that he wouldn’t know the right words either. She picked up her mask and then his, and stared at it. It was strange that it had taken hiding behind a mask for him to discover the courage to act on his desires. She wished that he’d taken it one step further and had found the strength to properly kiss her. In her vision, it had felt divine. In real life, she was sure it would feel even better.

She held the mask out to him but he didn’t take it. He just stared at it. She let both of the masks slip down her arm, dangling by the ribbons that were still tied from when they had been wearing them. She started to frown and then found herself being pulled up against him again. When he stared into her eyes, she could see the tempestuous mix of emotions in them. There was so much fire and passion, so much uncertainty and nerves. Her hands coursed up his arms, coming up over his shoulders to his neck and settling on either side of his face. She looked deep into his eyes, trying to show him that they both wanted what he was considering. She wanted to kiss him into oblivion.

She heard him swallow and saw that the fire in his eyes was fading. He was getting control of himself again. She silently cursed him when his hands left her sides and he sighed.

“You should go in. It is not safe out here.”

She frowned. Not safe out here? She looked around at the empty street. There was nothing out here but him. Did he think she wasn’t safe around him? Didn’t he trust himself?

“What’s wrong?”

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

“On the train, when you made me...” He pointed at her neck. “I thought something that I should not have. I thought many things I should not have.”

She was going to ask him to elaborate when she saw the look in his eyes. It told her everything she needed to know. It had been her vision that had driven him to want to do things to her, things that no man had done to her. Things that he was destined to do to her.

“Oh.” She stared wide-eyed at him.

His shoulders sagged the tiniest amount and she could almost visualise the pressure that was weighing down on him. She stroked his cheek and brought his head around so he was facing her again, but let him keep his eyes fixed on the floor.

“I... I should thank you for the dress... and the dance... it was...” She didn’t know how to put into words what she wanted to tell him. All she had to say was that she wouldn’t have stopped him, but the words hung unspoken in the air between them. She hated the awkwardness it created and cursed her weakness.

“You should go in.” He turned away from her, leaving her outstretched hand empty.

“Valentine?” She hurried towards him, placing her hand on his shoulder. He felt tense underneath her fingers. She wanted to tell him not to think the things she had seen in his eyes. There was nothing to regret. He’d done nothing wrong by wanting to make love to her and he’d done nothing wrong by dancing with her tonight. “I don’t want to go in.”

“You cannot stay out here.” He moved to face her and gave her a small smile. “The sun will come up. You will have to go inside at some point.”

She smiled at his attempt to lighten the atmosphere. It seemed to work for a split second but then it pressed down on her again. Her hand lingered on his shoulder. The light from the hotel sign was playing on his features and she noticed the blood on his lips. He couldn’t have taken more than a sip from her when he was kissing her neck. She wanted to kiss him, wanted to taste the blood and know it was hers. She was inside him just as he was inside her, but it hadn’t been their blood working its will tonight. He had wanted to kiss her, had wanted to have her in his arms and from the look in his eyes he’d wanted to do much more besides.

She wanted it all.

She glanced at the hotel and decided to take a chance. She wasn’t expecting anything from him if he agreed. She just didn’t want to leave his side. He could only say no and she’d have the whole night and day to brood about it if he did.

“I don’t want to go in,” she repeated.

“What do you want?” He cocked his head to one side.

She placed the mask into his hand and looked deep into his eyes.

“At the dance, when you rescued me, you saved me from the arms of a Caelestis. It frightened me.” She rubbed her arm with her free hand, trying to build up the courage to say what she really wanted to. She could see that he was waiting and he wasn’t convinced that mentioning the Caelestis was all she had to say. She looked up at him, not raising her head but looking past her furrowed brows. “I want to stay with you.”

His look softened and he was silent for a few seconds before answering.

“Gather your belongings and we shall go to my hotel.”

T
he night was still. The moon had crept higher into the sky, telling Valentine that time was drawing on. They had been walking for almost three hours now and Prophecy was yet to utter one question. She’d been exceptionally quiet tonight, too quiet.

He glanced at her. She was staring at the floor, a tiny frown creasing her brows. She was back in her black trousers and bodice with her jacket drawn tightly around her as she hugged herself. He wondered what was playing on her mind.

Last night she’d caught him off guard by asking to stay with him and had then followed it by doing completely the opposite of what he’d expected when they’d arrived at his hotel room. Instead of making a move on him, she’d lain down on his bed and fallen asleep. He’d watched her the whole day, memorising the subtle curves of her body beneath the dress and the way her hair slowly worked its way out of the pins that had been holding it in place. She had such wonderful facial expressions when she was dreaming. He’d found himself wondering what it was she was seeing and whether it was another vision.

He still couldn’t get over the one she’d revealed to him on the train. He’d realised in that moment that resisting his desire for her was futile. His future was mapped out for him already and he was destined to be with her. What she had shown him had felt so real, as though he was there in the moment rather than sitting on a train feeding from her.

Averting his eyes when hers came up to meet them, he stared at the forest that hugged the distant hill. The moon was barely illuminating it. The stiff breeze made it look like swaying black seaweed rather than the tall pines he knew it was made from. He’d been here countless times before, but had never travelled with company.

She was staring at him. He could almost picture how pensive her expression would be. By now, she was probably bursting with questions. If she’d only open her mouth, he’d answer every one of them as always.

He’d never get tired of answering her questions. They seemed to give him a new view of the world, as though he was seeing it through her eyes and for the first time again.

He turned down a narrow country lane and then vaulted a gate. She frowned, but didn’t say anything when she climbed over the gate and landed in the field on the other side.

Walking towards the forest, he knew that she wouldn’t be able to resist questioning him now. Her new surroundings seemed to have her whole attention and judging by the fact that he had felt her sharpen her senses, she didn’t like them.

Prophecy felt a chill sweep over her when they entered the outskirts of the forest. The trees were sparse, but she could see that they grew denser where the gentle slope up into the hills began. She had been lost in thought throughout most of their journey, replaying last night’s moonlit dance outside the hotel, but now she could no longer ignore the questions that were plaguing her. Just who were they going to see?

Her senses sharpened when she smelt something familiar but unfamiliar at the same time. She shot a quick look around her at the closing trees. They were dark and ominous. The air was thick with the smell of damp pines and earth, and something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She told herself that it was just her surroundings making her nervous. There was nothing to fear in the forest.

Pale light filtered down through the trees. Their dense branches cut it into fine shafts of silvery mist. She looked up to see where the light was coming from and was met by the bright moon appearing from behind a wisp of cloud. It was so brilliant that the night sky around it looked pallid enough that it almost could have been day.

She shot her head around and tensed when the loud noise of birds flying their roosts punctuated the silence. Not willing to move until everything was calm again, she scanned her surroundings, searching for a sign of anything else moving in the darkness. She didn’t like this place. She didn’t like it at all. There was something about the woods that was setting her nerves alight. She couldn’t get herself to settle. Her mind kept conjuring images of the terrible things that could be lurking in the darkness.

She hunched and turned with wide eyes when a howl sliced through the night.

Her eyes shot to Valentine. His face was clouded but he seemed relaxed.

“They have seen us,” he said without taking his eyes off the path ahead.

She turned on a pinpoint when a noise came from behind her—a quiet rustling of branches and leaf litter. She growled when she saw movement in the trees, the shafts of moonlight shifting when a streak of dark fur cut through them.