Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

utmost concentration and he couldn’t risk Prophecy’s mind by disturbing Mia as she probed it. He glanced back at the drawn curtains, listening closely for a sign of anything happening in the room. It was silent. The night creatures in the woods and the air around him made the only sounds.
    Drumming his fingers against the weather-beaten stone, he tried to think of something to keep his mind occupied but it kept drifting back to Prophecy. It was odd that the split-second before she’d screamed, the whole world seemed to have grown silent. Did she have other powers, ones that she was yet to discover?
    She was learning new things about herself every day and her control over the magic she commanded was growing.
    A glance at the moon told him that time was passing. It had moved across the heavens and was beginning a slow descent towards the horizon. Mia had been working on Prophecy for over an hour while he’d been lost in his thoughts and watching the night pass him by. Surely, she must have made progress by now?
    He walked over to the door and peered in through the gap in the curtain. He felt as though he was a child again and was sneaking a look at his Christmas presents or one of the exclusive dinners his human family used to host. He shook his head, trying to shift the unwanted memory of his past, and looked at Prophecy. She was still now, her eyes closed in sleep while Mia’s hands hovered either side of her head.
    Drawing the curtain aside, he risked Mia’s anger by entering and began towards them. He was surprised when Mia rose and walked towards him. He noticed that she intentionally avoided looking at him when she passed by and he turned and watched her walk out onto the balcony.
    He glanced at Prophecy and then followed Mia. He found her staring up at the moon, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
    “You look troubled,” he said, coming to stand next to her. He searched her eyes when she turned to face him. She didn’t need to answer his question in order for him to see his observation had been correct. He’d never seen her looking so worried before.
    “Her history is a strange one.” Her voice was barely audible, but he caught every word and the meaning they carried.
    “What is wrong with her?” He couldn’t stop the note of panic from entering his voice when he saw that Mia was trembling. Her eyes were wide and darted about, looking everywhere but back into the room, as though something there had disturbed her. He looked at the open doors and past the billowing pale curtains to where Prophecy was still sleeping. Maybe her memories had been tampered with for a reason. Maybe there were things she was better off not remembering. Could they both have made some terrible mistake in unlocking her mind?
    It was too late now. She would wake soon and she would remember it all whether she liked it or not.
    “She has been fed lies, Valentine. They have buried them deep and they were strong and hard to break. They have given her images and memories that are set in what appears to be a loop so she believes.” Mia’s voice shook and she averted her eyes when he brought his around to meet them.
    A chill dashed up his spine on hearing her words and his stomach turned over as dread filled him.
    “Believes in what?”
    Mia stared into the distance. He looked down at her hands and saw they were shaking badly. She didn’t want to say what she had seen, but she had to. He had to know. He reached out and caught hold of her upper arms, forcing her to face him. Bending down, he stared up into her eyes, not letting her avoid looking at him any longer. Fear glittered in her eyes, showing him how scared she was, and she was beginning to make him feel that way, too.
    “Believes in what, Mia?” he said again.
    “That she has always looked this way. That she was always this age,” she whispered, her eyes wide with fright.
    “What do you mean, Mia?” He shook her slightly, trying to rouse her from her fear and keep her focused. “You are not making any sense.”
    “She is as old as she looks, Valentine.” She hesitated and then looked back at the room. “There is a reason she cannot remember her human life.”
    He steeled himself against whatever her answer was going to be. Instinct was telling him that whatever it was, it wasn’t going to be easy to stomach, not for him and definitely not for Prophecy.
    “Why?” He pushed the word out and it felt heavy as it hung in the air between them. He was on the