Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

he saw the empty street and began down the steps.
    Mathias was out on the hunt, replenishing the stocks that Prophecy had been draining dry, so he would have to be careful when walking the streets. The last thing he needed was to get caught.
    He watched the clouds gathering overhead and stepped out into the street.
    “You’re leaving?”
    Her voice carried a weight of hurt that stopped him in his tracks and hit him deep in his chest. He could almost picture what her face would look like without having to turn to see it. There would be a look of disbelief on it, her brows raised and her eyes wide as they echoed all her feelings to him, from anger to sadness. She felt everything so keenly that she could never hide it from the world.
    He took a deep breath and stared at the kerb just in front of his feet. “I must.”
    “Must?” she said with an air of confusion, as though that word couldn’t possibly apply to what he was doing.
    “I cannot do this.” He turned to face her. He was leaving her, so he could at least do her that courtesy and prove to himself that he was strong enough to leave openly rather than skulking off in the dead of night. “I have already sentenced myself to death by aligning myself with you. I have to go now or all is lost.”
    She raised her chin, looking down on him as her eyes narrowed and her arms folded protectively across her chest.
    “Go then. Leave if you can. Go back to your life and your family.” All emotion in her eyes vanished and she regarded him as coldly as he’d regarded her the night they’d met. “I can do this on my own.”
    “Proph—”
    “Don’t speak my name! You have no right to speak it.” She cut him off with a fiery glare and he took a step towards her, his own anger rising inside him as he did so.
    “I brought you here to hide you... to protect you.” He frowned when she shook her head.
    “I’m tired of hiding. I’ll only be found. It’s better to meet my destiny head on rather than waiting for them to come for me.” Her expression became filled with solemnity and she heaved a sigh.
    “What are your plans?” He ventured another step closer to her and the sadness in her eyes disappeared.
    “My plans are no business of yours.” She towered over him, her face dark and her brows knit tightly. “A filthy dog of Aurorea is below my notice and not worthy of my acknowledgement.”
    He saw straight through her mask of anger, seeing the hurt in her eyes and hearing it in her voice as she spoke. It was his fault. He deserved it for attempting to leave without telling her. He had known she would react this way.
    “Go, get out of my sight. I don’t need your help. I’m better off without you. Go back to your wretched family. Go back to Prague and hide there. Leave me alone. Go, slink back in shame and pretend that you’ve not done anything wrong. I hope you can live with yourself. I hope that when I’m facing death, when I’m fulfilling my destiny, that you’re there and I can show you how strong the blood of Caelestis is compared to yours. Go! You’re no better than one of the weaklings. You should have killed me when you were told to, should have been a good little boy and murdered me while I slept!” She came down the steps and pushed him in the chest repeatedly, the force of her blows getting stronger until she had her fists curled into tight balls and was banging them down on him. “Go. Go! What are you waiting for? Go!”
    He grabbed her wrists tightly and restrained her, staring deep into her eyes. He tensed his jaw and didn’t relinquish his grip even when she began to struggle. She’d insulted him, degraded his family, and was now resorting to violence in an attempt to make him leave. Why was she so desperate for him to go?
    She stilled.
    “They’ll know,” she whispered and stared at his chest. Her brows were furrowed and her hair covered half of her face. It struck him that she didn’t want him to go after all. She wanted him to stay and that’s why she was pushing him away. It was all a reaction to what she was feeling inside, a defence mechanism. He could feel her trembling in his hands and the distant tone of her voice spoke of pain. “Someone will have seen us. To go back is insanity... is suicide.”
    They were true words. There was a high chance that someone would have seen them together in Prague or Paris, or even here. Word would be out by now that Prophecy was wanted for crimes against her species and it would be a