Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising (38 page)

Tears of relief slid down his cheeks and he cursed himself for crying, and the fact he couldn’t wipe them away. He started a little when something brushed against his cheek and he found Prophecy watching him with a small smile as she wiped away the tears. He knew she could feel every emotion he was experiencing and he didn’t hold them back. He’d given up hope of her saving him. To be free and be with her again was too much to deal with.

He lowered his head and kissed her, silently thanking her a million times over for not giving up hope.

Taking her up the stairs that she weakly pointed out, he carried her to the room they’d occupied when last at the inn. When he opened the door, he saw Venturi lying motionless on the bed. Was this her doing?

He had been surprised when she’d come to Elena’s castle alone. He’d thought that she’d bring everyone with her and end the prophecy there and then. Then again, he’d also been convinced she was going to kill him.

“Put me down,” Prophecy mumbled.

He did as she’d asked, making sure that she was steady on her feet before releasing her. She looked pale and tired. He’d felt the pain caused by the spell she’d cast, and even after that, she’d still managed to find the strength to teleport them back here.

She needed rest but something told him that as soon as she was feeling better, she was going back out to finish Elena. He hazily remembered her telling Elena that it would end tonight. If that was the case, Prophecy needed to regain her strength, and fast.

He watched her sit down on the edge of the bed and lightly touch Venturi’s shoulder.

“Motion,” she whispered and the Tenebrae shot up into a sitting position.

Venturi turned with wide eyes that skipped over Prophecy and settled immediately on himself.

“Get back,” Venturi said to Prophecy as he went to round the bed.

She stood up and blocked his path, holding her arms out by her sides.

“It’s okay. He’s okay now.” Her voice shook and Valentine wished he could see her face to know what her expression was.

She felt relieved, happy.

Venturi looked angry.

“You…” He started, glaring at Prophecy.

“I did what I had to do, Venturi. I had to go alone.” She stepped backwards towards himself.

Valentine stepped forwards, feeling a little better now that his head was clearing. He looked into her eyes when she turned to face him. She wobbled slightly and he held her hips, steadying her.

“What did you do to me?” he said.

She brushed her fingers over the mark on his chest. “You didn’t honestly think I could kill you.”

He smiled, feeling a little foolish. “I thought you were going to.”

“It’s a bonding spell, similar to what Elena had cast on you. This is my mark. Only you and I can see it.” She hesitated for a moment and looked nervous. “I think Elena’s spell is gone now, but you’re not free … I don’t know how to do that yet … you’re under my command instead now, but I won’t command you. I’ll never invoke that side of the spell.”

He believed her. The way she was looking at him with honest eyes and an open heart said she was telling the truth. She’d never turn him into a mindless slave like Elena had. She loved him too much.

She wobbled again and he held her tighter.

“You are weak. You must feed before we head out.”

“The army is here,” she said distantly, staring at his chest.

He reached out with his senses and detected more signatures than he could count, all of them vampire or werewolf.

“All the more reason to feed. Come,” he said and held her hand, bringing her to him.

Venturi frowned when Prophecy stepped into Valentine’s arms. He didn’t want to watch as she wrapped her arms around the Aurorea and held him, sinking her teeth into his neck, but he couldn’t help himself.

He wished that she were in his arms, feeding from him. He could sense how hungry she was and could see her fingers tightly holding Valentine. He was older than the Aurorea. His blood was stronger, rich enough to sustain her in the upcoming battle.

He almost laughed at himself for thinking such things. Valentine would never allow Prophecy to feed from himself, especially not now they were bonded to each other.

The sight and sound of her feeding from Valentine turned his stomach, but he still couldn’t look away. He found Valentine staring at him when his gaze did move from Prophecy. He was surprised when the Aurorea pushed her away, forcing her to stop when she was evidently still hungry.

He could see it in her eyes when she looked at him, could feel it in her signature.

“I need my strength, but you need more blood to regain yours,” Valentine said to Prophecy with an air of regret.

Venturi stepped forwards. “I shall hunt. There is time.”

“There is not time.” Valentine shook his head. “Besides, animal blood would be useless. She needs strong blood.”

Venturi frowned, not quite understanding what Valentine was trying to say. He watched as the Aurorea caught Prophecy around her shoulders, turning her completely so she was facing him. She looked as confused as he felt.

She glanced over her shoulder at Valentine. The air seemed to grow heavy with anticipation and he waited, wanting to see what was going to happen and not daring to believe the one conclusion he’d drawn.

Valentine pushed her forwards a little, and it seemed to Venturi that he was encouraging Prophecy to go to him. She still looked uneasy.

“Just this once,” Valentine said and then met his gaze. “This is about her, and only her. She needs her strength. Understand?”

The cold tone of his voice made Venturi nod. He understood completely. This wasn’t about feelings. If he showed the slightest hint that he was making it that way, Valentine would probably kill him.

Feeling suddenly nervous and not quite sure how to proceed, or if any of this was really happening, he stared at Prophecy.

She looked more apprehensive than him, if that was possible.

He hesitated a moment when she moved towards him, and then drew a claw down his throat, cutting it. It was probably the wisest move he’d ever made. She wouldn’t have to bite him to drink and Valentine couldn’t kill him out of jealousy.

Venturi was too nervous to look at her when she finally reached him. He kept his eyes fixed on Valentine’s, feeling the intensity of the Aurorea’s gaze and the tremendous pressure this was placing on himself. How could he not take pleasure from this moment? He’d dreamt of it for so long and had never thought it would happen. Now that it was, it seemed impossible not to react to her.

He told himself that he had to maintain his distance and think of this as only sharing blood. There were no feelings involved. None on his side, and definitely none on hers.

He couldn’t stop his eyes from closing when her tongue swept along the length of the cut on his throat. He swallowed hard, his body buzzing with anticipation and burning with hunger.

His teeth itched to descend and he struggled to keep himself from holding her.

She placed her hands against his shoulders and his skin tingled where she touched, making his desire for her worsen.

His body jerked involuntarily when she sunk her fangs into him. It was the last thing he’d been expecting and it drove all self-control out of the window. He clenched his fists in an attempt to stop himself from touching her and kept his eyes closed when she took the first, slow pull on his blood.

He could feel Valentine watching them.

Elation swept through him like an inferno when she began to drink, her nails digging into his shoulders and a quiet moan humming in her throat as she gulped down his blood. His body stirred, desire flooding him and making everything disappear as his focus finally settled on Prophecy.

Her touch was electric and the feel of her teeth in him, her tongue laving the puncture marks, was divine. He silently begged her not to stop, pleaded her to bite him harder. He wanted to feel the pain, wanted to feel her strength and how hungry she was for him. As though she’d heard him, she bit down harder, plunging her lower teeth into his neck and gripping him tighter.

He winced and stiffened, gritting his teeth to cope with the exquisite pain and the overwhelming pleasure. His fangs sunk into his lip, the heady taste of his blood only adding to the delight of the moment. He felt delirious, a split second away from grabbing hold of her and returning her bite, when she pulled away, licking the wound and bringing him back to Earth.

Prophecy stepped back, away from Venturi. She kept eye contact with him while she cleaned her mouth, tasting both his blood and Valentine’s on her lips. Venturi looked at her with black eyes, the twin spots of blood on his lower lip telling her without words how much he’d enjoyed their moment. She swallowed hard and backed towards Valentine, trying to shake the feeling inside of her and the vision she’d seen in Venturi’s blood.

Her imagination was playing tricks on her. It was just that. It hadn’t been a vision. She wasn’t going to kiss him in the future. His eyes faded back to blue and she still couldn’t tear hers away. She could see in them that he knew something was wrong. He was searching hers, trying to see down into the depths of her heart. She frowned, trying to make sense of what she’d seen and trying to convince herself that it wasn’t going to happen, but she couldn’t shake the vision of kissing him.

She turned away, stepping into Valentine’s waiting arms and resting her head against his chest, giving her body time to digest what she’d drank from him and Venturi. The combination of their rich blood made her feel a little giddy, but she felt strong again.

She felt strong enough to face Elena.

Breaking free of Valentine’s embrace, she walked to the door and then stopped and looked back at him and Venturi. Both men were watching her with dark, hungry eyes. She placed her hand on her sword.

“It’s time to go.”

The sky was red, making the halo shine like a ring dropped in a pool of blood. The sight of it set Prophecy’s nerves alight and brought her power to the surface. It was constantly weaving around her fingers, dipping in and out of the amulet as she stood staring at the eclipse. The torchlight obscured her vision, but not enough to hide the strange halo.

Dragging her eyes away, she brought them first to Venturi and his commanders. A few more Tenebrae had surfaced. They had probably run when Elena’s zombies had attacked. The female commander, Venturi’s child, was glaring at his neck. Prophecy looked there too, seeing the prominent marks on his throat where she’d bitten him. Bringing her gaze up, she found he was staring straight at her. The flickering torch Piotr was holding threw warm light on Venturi’s face, making his eyes look black. They were dark, but full of affection. She averted her gaze, a little unnerved by the vision she’d seen in his blood and still unsure about how to act around him.

Her attention shifted to Valentine. He was standing close to her and she could feel his emotions without having to look into his eyes for confirmation. He was thinking about her, and judging by his feelings, they were tender thoughts, but ones laced with concern.

She smiled, trying to alleviate the worry she could see in his eyes now that she was looking into them. They’d make it through this.

His gaze moved away from her and she turned, looking over her shoulder at Hyperion. She nodded and Hyperion returned the gesture before looking back at Valentine. It had taken her almost ten minutes to get Valentine to believe that Hyperion was helping them. Thankfully, the lord of Validus had arrived at that point and proven that he was on their side. After that, Hyperion had had a long conversation with Valentine while she was talking tactics with Tiberius, Piotr, Dmitri and Xavier. She wondered what they’d spoken about.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mia move closer to Dmitri. She gave the Venia a warm, reassuring look and walked over to her.

“Stay close to Hyperion and his men. They will protect you,” she said to Mia, placing a hand on her shoulder, and then turned to face the group.

Walking back to Valentine, she surveyed the army she would lead into war. It was bigger than she’d expected. The additional Watchmen would tip the balance in her favour. She could feel the strength coming off them. Most of them felt as old as Venturi, if not older. She’d tried to thank Hyperion for placing the future of his family at risk for her, but she hadn’t been able to find adequate words. She knew that the men standing before her were most of his bloodline. A simple ‘thank you’ couldn’t possibly convey the depth of what she was feeling. She was awed and honoured by the sacrifice he was willing to make in order to aid her.

Maybe he didn’t see this as a sacrifice. Was he that confident that all of his men would survive and she would succeed?

She realised that everyone was waiting and took a deep breath.

“Our army will be split into three parties. The Aurorea and Caelestis guards will lead the way. We will be focused on breaking through Elena’s army as swiftly as possible. Our target will be Elena. Our concern will not be disposing of the zombies and any other demons she has employed. That task will fall to the werewolves, the Tenebrae and the Validus.”

She looked at Dmitri, Venturi and Hyperion in turn. They all nodded in understanding.

“Any demons or zombies that are not caught by this group will be dealt with by the remaining Aurorea and Caelestis. This party will be led by Xavier and Tiberius.”

Stepping forwards, she straightened up and tried to look as confident as she could.

“Many of us will not return from this fight, but those who fall will not be forgotten and their lives will not be given in vain. I will defeat this witch. I will stop her from unleashing Hell. Know that by your death, you give others life.” She hesitated, wondering if she should say anything else. They all stared at her, waiting.

“Prepare yourself. We move out before the hour has passed!” Valentine said, stepping up beside her.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, thankful that he’d helped her out. She hadn’t known what else to say. The group disbanded and she went with Valentine back into the inn. She stopped when Tiberius called her and turned to see him carrying her armour.