Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

to protect her with his life than he is to kill her.”
    “It all seems so sad. Why can’t people leave them alone? They’ve done nothing wrong. They didn’t choose to love each other, love chose them.” She stared at the road while she walked, feeling Valentine’s eyes on her the whole time. He moved closer to her and the back of his hand brushed against hers. A quiet thrill ran through her.
    When she looked up, she saw they had arrived at her hotel. She hesitated for a moment and then glanced at Valentine.
    Valentine smiled at her. It had been a nice ending to the night, but in a way, he was sad that it was over so soon. He had barely managed to dance with her at the ball. Everything had moved so swiftly once he’d caught hold of her and in the blink of an eye it was over.
    He looked up at the flickering neon sign above the hotel entrance and then down at her. He sighed. She looked beautiful standing there bathed in the dim light from the hotel. Her lips were smiling at him. Her eyes were still hidden behind her mask, giving her a mysterious look even though he knew who she was beneath it.
    “There is someone we must visit tomorrow,” he said, his eyes still fixed on her apparel. “Pack your things and wait for me in your room. I will come for you shortly after sunset.”
    He raised his eyes to meet hers. He could see by the way they were narrowed that she was frowning at him. It seemed so wrong to give her such a beautiful dress and only let her wear it for one dance, especially when most of that dance had been passed in the arms of other men. The memory of watching them touching her still made his blood boil. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from reacting. Seeing their hands on her had made him more than a little jealous.
    He’d been ready to tear their throats open.
    He’d wanted to massacre them all just for looking at her.
    He clenched his fists and reined in his anger, not wanting her to see the effect that she had on him. He glanced up at her through his eyelashes and found her looking at him with concern.
    “I wish... ” He took a deep breath and sighed it out as he straightened up, reminding himself who he was. “I am sorry that we had to leave. I could have danced all night with you. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I still could... even without the music. I shall see you tomorrow.”
    He turned to leave, but found her hand on his arm. She held him tightly, not letting him move.
    “You could still dance with me.” Her voice was trembling. He could feel her fingers shaking where they were gripping his jacket. He looked back over his shoulder and found her smiling at him, her eyes silently telling him how much courage it had taken for her to stop him from leaving.
    He looked around them at the street. “Here? People will think we are crazy.”
    “What people?” She smiled reassuringly and moved closer to him. He stared into her eyes while she reached up and pulled his mask down, covering the top half of his face. “Besides, no one will know who we are. Let them think we’re crazy.”
    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