Prophecy: Caelestis & Aurorea (21 page)

He looked away from her. Prophecy smiled when his eyes came to rest on her. She stepped towards him, her eyes not leaving his, and slipped her hand into his.

He waited for her to speak, knowing that she had already decided what they would do. It was up to her whether they stayed or not. Mia was right. It would help heal the fissure between them if they stayed the night and drank with them, and it would give him time to spend alone with Prophecy in a safe place.

She gave a minute nod. He looked at Mia.

“Fine,” he said, his tone flat and emotionless.

Mia nodded in thanks and went back to Dmitri.

He glanced at his friend and then led Prophecy down the corridor to the balcony.

Prophecy looked across at Valentine. He was still frowning. She could see the anger in his eyes and was surprised that he hadn’t reacted more violently towards Dmitri. She followed him out onto the balcony and took a deep breath. Inside the bastion, it felt oppressive and miserable. Out here, she could forget about everything and focus on what was important.

Valentine.

She leaned against the wall that ran around the balcony and stared at the forest.

“You went easy on him,” she said when he turned around and rested against the wall with his back to the woods, his elbows propping him up.

He tilted his head back and stared up at the blanket of clouds above them. “I know.”

She sighed. “Have you already forgiven him?”

“No,” he said and looked down at her. “Never. What he did was wrong. I trusted him to look after you, and instead he turned you away. I will never forget that. But in time, I will find a way to see past it.”

She took hold of his hand and toyed with his fingers. It was strange to think that the last time they had both been here they were still fighting their feelings. There had been so much friction between them that the easiness they had now seemed even more special. She pressed a kiss to each of his fingers and smiled.

“What is it?” he said while she continued to smile at his hand.

“Just thinking about how things used to be.”

She caught the confusion that flitted across his face when she looked at it.

“It seems like years ago since we were here, since we were like that. Since you were like that,” she said and the frown stayed this time. She swung his hand a little. He arched a brow at her action and she gave him an awkward look and stopped. “Maybe I shouldn’t do that. I just meant that this is nice. I feel so much more relaxed around you now.”

His brow rose again and she pulled an unimpressed face.

“You know what I mean.”

He smiled at last. “Yes, I understand what you mean. Mia was right when she said that I had to learn the right reactions to my feelings. In my defence, you do act like a child sometimes.”

It was her turn to raise a brow. “That better have been a poor attempt at a joke. I think you should stick to being serious. I like you serious.”

His brows knit.

“Not that serious,” she said and raised her hands. She smoothed his eyebrows, lifted his chin a little, tousled his hair and then stepped back to admire her work. It was strange to be able to do this with him. She was surprised he was letting her. She smiled at the black look in his eyes. “There. Now you look like the man I met that night. Handsome and devilish.”

“Are you quite done?”

“You’re starting to sound like him again too.” She teased and ignored the sigh he gave. She was pushing her luck now. As affectionate as he could be, he was still the man she’d met that night. He was still proud, intelligent and a hunter at heart. His love for her wouldn’t make him act the way she did because of her love for him. She supposed he’d been in love before. To her, this feeling was new and exciting. Either that, or she’d really missed him and it was purely the thrill of seeing him again, safe and sound, that was making her like this.

She moved closer to him and he turned around so he was facing the same way as her. When he looked into her eyes, she couldn’t miss the passion in them. They were narrowed and dark, full of fire. She lowered her head a little and then found the courage to look up at him through her lashes. Her eyes dropped to his mouth and she remembered how tempting it had looked last night after they had killed the man. She’d felt so much desire for him that she’d barely been able to control herself. She’d wanted to bite him as he’d bitten her, but she’d had more important things to do, things like healing him.

When she came out of her thoughts, she found she was staring at his neck. Her eyes traced the marks she had placed on him and she ran her tongue over her lips, remembering the sharp, rich taste of his blood. She craved it so badly. From the moment she’d met him, she’d had a hunger for his blood.

Raising her hand, she traced her fingers over the marks on his throat and closed her eyes briefly when he did the same to hers. His caress was gentle, comforting. She focused on the feeling of his fingers against her skin, memorising his touch and the fire it ignited inside of her. Stepping closer to him, she placed a chaste kiss against his throat and listened to his sharp intake of breath. It made her stomach tighten and desire fluttered there. She ventured another kiss, this time parting her lips enough for her tongue to brush against his skin. He tasted like she remembered.

He placed his arms about her, sliding them down over her backside and lifting her feet off the floor. She wrapped her arms about his shoulders, holding onto him while he held onto her. She coursed her lips over his neck, exploring every inch of it while he breathed heavily against hers. On some level, it was wrong of her to do this to him. She could feel his desire for her as clearly as she could feel her own. Her body moulded against his and she felt so powerless in his strong arms. She let him do what he wanted with her while she kissed along his collarbone, pushing away from him enough to reach the other side of his neck. She licked the marks there, tasting that they were hers, and smiled to herself.

“Prophecy,” he whispered in a lust-filled voice.

A quiet thrill ran through her on hearing the effect she had on him. She bit back a squeal when he turned and pushed her against the balcony wall, sitting her down on it.

Her teeth teased her lower lip when he drew back and looked at her, his eyes heavy with need. He brushed trembling fingers across her cheek and she held his gaze. She knew what she was making him want to do because it was what she wanted. A vision was meant to be fulfilled and she was running out of patience waiting for it to come to pass.

Running her hands around his waist, she parted her legs and drew him towards her. He looked down at her hands, frowning while she guided him closer to her until his hips were nestled against hers.

He growled.

She smiled.

In one swift movement, he’d pulled her flush against him and was kissing her. She tried to match the fervour of his kisses but he didn’t give her the chance. He kissed down her jaw to her neck and she tilted her head back. Opening her eyes, she stared at the gathering storm clouds and willed them to rain. Tingles raced along every nerve. Her fingers threaded into his hair, holding his mouth against her neck. She frowned when he kissed down her chest and barely registered her marks burning against her skin.

She laughed when lightning split the sky above her, the clouds swirling around faster and faster as though they were being sucked into a vortex. Rain poured down, drenching them both in a matter of seconds and she raised her hand to the sky. She continued to laugh at the sight of the magic spinning and twirling around her hand.

Her laughter disappeared when Valentine drew back and looked at her and then the sky.

“Prophecy?”

“I swear … I just wanted a little rain to add to the moment.” She couldn’t believe what she’d done. The rain didn’t look as though it was going to stop anytime soon, but the clouds were drifting along again, no longer swirling like a vortex above them. She blinked when the rain bounced off her face and caught hold of Valentine’s jacket, luring him back to her.

He frowned still.

She showed him her hand. “I didn’t realise I could do such a thing. Like I said, I can’t open my mother’s book.”

He took hold of her hand, threading his fingers into hers and pressing his palm against the stone in the amulet. The magic immediately turned red and left the stone. It crept around their fingers, snaking through them and intertwining them. The rain seemed to ease while she looked into his eyes.

A small smile curved his lips and she saw the amusement in his eyes when they moved to rest on their joined hands. She had no explanation for why the magic responded to him in such a way, other than her feelings for him. He was in her heart, and it was that which controlled the magic.

She looked up and saw the clouds breaking apart. Stars shone through the gaps and she caught a glimpse of the toenail moon.

“It seems you are not the only one who can control the weather,” he said with a wider smile.

“You?” She gave him an incredulous look and then glanced up at the sky again. “You did this?”

“It was your power that did it, but my command. It is strange that it responds to me.” He let go of her hand and swept the hair out of her face.

She looked at the strand while he let it slip through his fingers. Her hair was turning red again now. The black dye she had used in order to escape her family’s mansion undetected was fading.

“It’s my heart,” she said and ran her fingers over the mark on her chest. “The magic responds to it, and it in turn responds to you. It hears the commands yours whispers to it and it obeys. The magic obeys it.”

“And the sky is clear,” he said, raising his face to it. He was right. There wasn’t a cloud above them now. “When Mia was regressing you, there was a moment when you screamed. A split second before it happened, the whole world fell silent.”

A chill ran up her spine at what he’d said. “And you believe it was my power that made that happen?”

He nodded. “There is so much power inside of you and so much we do not know about it. You have mentioned your mother’s book many times now. Do you believe there will be answers in it?”

“I do,” she said and leaned back, splaying her hands out behind her so she didn’t fall over the edge of the balcony. She smiled inside when Valentine caught hold of her waist. Something told her that he was scared that she would fall. Shuffling forwards to allay his fears, she sat up again and stared at the distant mountains. “I wish I knew a way in. I hope I’ll find one soon. There’s so much to do.”

Her eyes widened when she remembered something and she looked at Valentine.

“I know where the second half of the scroll is. Hyperion told me. It’s in a museum in London. He said that I would know it when I saw it.”

“You seemed to have got along well with Lord Hyperion,” he said.

She smiled at the darkness in his eyes. It made her want to tease him more with comments on Hyperion’s appearance and seductive air, but she knew it would only irritate him and she didn’t want to ruin the easiness between them.

“He was helpful, but that was all. He was more concerned with his sister than with me. When I told Mathias…” She frowned and then jumped down off the wall. “Mathias!”

“What about him?”

“When I called him to tell him about going to see Hyperion and about knowing where you were, he told me to call him before three nights were up or he’d be coming after me.” She took hold of Valentine’s hand and led him back into the house. Her clothes stuck to her skin and she frowned at them when she tried to peel them off her. Maybe the rain hadn’t been such a great idea after all.

Walking down the corridor, she followed her senses, using them to pinpoint Mia’s location within the building. She pushed the door open and walked into the lounge. Mia paused halfway through sitting down when they entered, her fine brows knitting for a moment when her eyes ran over them.

“Is it raining?” Mia said and sat in the seat beside the unlit fire. “I can have this lit if it would please you both.”

Prophecy looked down at her wet clothes and then across at Valentine. He ran his fingers over his hair, slicking it back, and shook his head in the negative.

“It was merely a shower,” he said.

She was a little surprised that he hadn’t mentioned that it was her who had caused the rain. Was he hiding things from Mia now? Looking around, she smiled at the absence of Dmitri.

“Can I use your phone?” she said and gave Mia a grateful smile when she nodded and pointed in the direction of the telephone.

Leaving Valentine’s side, Prophecy walked across the room to it. She had expected him to remain with Mia, but he followed her instead. She smiled when he leaned against the table the phone was on and folded his arms across his chest. He sighed down at his jacket and she knew he wasn’t pleased about being soaked through.

She offered him a sheepish smile and dialled Mathias’ number. It seemed to take forever to connect and then it started to ring at the other end. She tapped her foot impatiently and held the receiver with both hands. The line was terrible. It crackled, giving the ring a distorted sound.

“Hello?” Mathias’ voice came down the line.

“Mathias, it’s Prophecy,” she said and sighed when she looked at Valentine. “He’s safe. I have him with me now.”

“I never doubted you,” Mathias said. “We have been able to translate some of the scroll, but we need the second half if we’re to understand what it is trying to tell us. The scroll has been split down the middle, so we only have half of each sentence.”

“So it makes no sense? Hyperion has told me where to find the second part. We’re coming—” She cut herself off when she heard a crashing noise in the background at Mathias’ end. “Mathias?”

There was a garbled noise and the sound of glass smashing. She heard things falling over and she clutched the phone a little tighter, causing the plastic to creak under the pressure of her fingers.

“Mathias?” Panic raced through her when there was the sound of unfamiliar voices and a cry of pain. Her eyes widened when the phone went dead. Slamming the receiver down, she picked it up again and hastily dialled the number.