Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

see the Charles Bridge in the distance. Its lights were reflected in the water far below it. High above it was the old town and the Cathedral. It was still lit up. The hour was growing late, but not late enough that the city had shut down. There were bars still open and plenty of places to hide if they ran into trouble, but the streets would be relatively empty. The night was cold, driving everyone indoors.
    “Are we going to St. Petersburg?”
    Her voice roused him from his perusal of the city.
    “No, not yet. I have somewhere I need to go first,” he said and caught sight of the questions in her eyes. She still had questions for everything. He could describe the Charles Bridge in infinite detail, including its history and the battles that their families had fought on it, and she’d still have a million questions about it. “We need weapons. I have a place in Prague, somewhere that only I know.”
    She looked sceptical. “It might not be safe. Arkalus knows that you’re working with me and he’s working with your lord to find me. What’s to say they don’t know about your place? They could have werewolves watching it.”
    “Nothing. There is a chance they know of the apartment I keep, but it is a risk that I’m willing to take if it means we are better armed.” He walked in the direction of the bridge.
    When she caught up with him, he looked across at her. She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She looked so different in her black bodice and jacket. He was thankful that it didn’t reveal anything, partly because it would have distracted him and partly because it would have exposed her marks to the world. He wondered if Arkalus knew of them. His fists clenched at the thought of the vampire touching her.
    “You seem tenser than usual,” she said with a smile.
    He flexed his fingers, trying to rid his body of the tension she’d picked up on. He glanced at her neck, relieved to see there were still only his marks on her.
    “Does Kalinor know you are here?” he said.
    She shook her head in negation. “I don’t think Arkalus told him. I get the feeling that he just wanted to find me. He never wanted to kill me.”
    He frowned at the pavement. “Kalinor will realise that he has been double crossed. He will not take it lightly. He demands loyalty.”
    He tried to keep the stab of hurt those words made him feel out of his eyes but he knew she’d seen it when she furrowed her brows and gave him a small smile. There was something else in her eyes as she sighed. Guilt and sadness. Was he responsible for her feeling guilty? Did she feel like it because she knew what he’d sacrificed and how hard it was for him? Or was it being back in Prague that was making her feel that way? They were close to both of their homes and she had seen her family again. Had they treated her differently, as though she was going to kill them all? She hadn’t mentioned her mother. She had only spoken of Arkalus.
    He thought about asking her, but then decided against it. The sadness in her eyes told him something had happened. He didn’t need to make her talk about it. In time, she would tell him if she wanted to.
    She stopped under a streetlight and her brows furrowed in concern, her expression becoming gentle. He was about to tell her that he was fine when she reached out and brushed her thumb across his lower lip. It was such a delicate move on her part. His eyes closed, his lip still tingling with her touch even after she’d withdrawn her hand. Opening them again, he saw a streak of blood on the pad of her thumb and he licked his lips, tasting the metallic tang of it. She must have hit him harder than he’d thought.
    He cocked his head to one side when she brought her thumb up to her mouth, closed her eyes and licked his blood off it so slowly that it looked as though she was savouring it.
    She gave him a sheepish smile when she opened her eyes.
    “I didn’t think I’d hit you that hard,” she said.
    He smiled at the sight of her bruised cheek when she turned slightly and the light shone down on her. He ran the backs of his fingers over it. Her eyes closed, her head dropping as she turned it away from him in a self-conscious way. He wondered if she would always be this shy whenever he showed her the slightest amount of affection. She answered his thoughts by leaning into his touch when he opened his hand and cupped her cheek.
    “I didn’t think I’d hit you that hard.” He repeated her words.
    “I think