Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

smile.
    “Wear whatever you want.”
    She grinned and he could see the excitement in her eyes. He watched her go into the hotel and waited for her to disappear from sight before starting towards his own. It felt nice to give her something that made her smile so much. She’d taken it better than he’d thought she would. He remembered his first ball and how exciting it had been. He’d attended it with Lucya and Kalinor. He’d barely begun his training as a hunter at the time and he’d never been around so many dignitaries from different bloodlines. Everyone used the ball as an excuse to dress in the most extravagant and expensive clothes.
    He jammed his hands into his pockets and tried to imagine what she was going to wear.
    It had been a while since he’d been to the Creator Day masquerade. He wasn’t sure who would be attending or if it really was a good idea to go, but he was certain of one thing.
    Prophecy would be the most beautiful woman there.

Chapter 26
    The lights along the path seemed to guide Prophecy towards the entrance of the house. She kept as far away as possible from the small group in front of her as they entered. They were laughing and the sound of their merriment merged into that of the ball as she followed them into the house. She took the steps slowly, wrapped her arms about herself, and then dropped them to her sides, not wanting to look as though she was frightened. She kept them stuck there for a few steps and then realised that she was probably drawing attention to herself. She couldn’t relax no matter how much she tried.
    She swallowed hard when she caught sight of the guards that were standing on either side of the door to the ballroom in front of her. Her eyes scanned the interior of the hall. The palace was massive, with an entrance hall that was bigger than the main reception room of her family’s house. It was brightly lit, with candles burning high above her in an elaborate chandelier. An impressive mahogany staircase curved its way up to the first floor above her. To her right and left were closed doors. Everywhere was decorated with red flowers, marking a stark contrast against the pale yellow of the walls.
    She hurried forwards when she realised that the party she had entered with had gone past the guards, leaving her alone in the hall with a neatly attired man who was standing behind a small table.
    Adjusting her shawl with trembling fingers, she gave a panicked look to her chest and breathed a quiet sigh of relief that the make-up was still in place. It had taken a lot to hide the marks. The woman in the dress shop had babbled on and on about something that she couldn’t understand and had then appeared with a tub of cream. She’d been confused at first, but when the woman had pointed to her marks and uttered the word ‘tattoo’ she’d realised what she was talking about. She’d thanked her a million times over.
    She held the invitation out to the man and smiled shakily when he looked her over. She pressed her gloved fingers against her mask, quietly reassuring herself that it was still there and that no one would recognise her.
    He raised a brow at her and then looked over her shoulder at the people who had walked in behind her.
    She looked at them too. They were all finely dressed in black. Everyone seemed to be dressed in black. She was starting to wonder if Valentine had been lying when he’d told her that she could wear anything she wanted to.
    “My lady?”
    She turned to face the man again. He was holding his hand out to one side and she realised that she was supposed to have gone through. She gave an uneasy look to each guard. They were far taller than her and their broad shoulders made the open door in the gap between them seem impossibly small. She jumped when one of them shifted from foot to foot and her eyes fell to the long swords at their sides.
    This was madness.
    Someone was going to recognise her and then it would be over.
    No, no one would recognise her. They would recognise Valentine. She knew that he must have been to the Creator Day ball before. He had probably been to many in his lifetime. She gave a thought to the fact that Iona and Arkalus had often attended the ball themselves. If she had been allowed to go, she might have met Valentine sooner.
    Scurrying past the guards, she swallowed hard when she made it into the ballroom and felt the full grandeur of it hit her. It was beautiful. The hall was so intricately decorated, with a painted