Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

miracle if they didn’t know that he’d assisted her escape.
    Her eyes met his and he could see the hurt swimming in them. She didn’t want him to go. She feared for his safety and believed that he would die if he returned to his family. He could see it all in the way she was looking at him, nothing hidden, everything on show for him to see.
    “I heard you... I’ll keep away if you stay,” she said.
    It took him a moment to realise what she was talking about. He remembered what he’d said to Mathias and the odd sensation he’d had that they were being watched. They had been watched, or at least listened to. He should’ve been more guarded with his words and the things he was speaking of. He shouldn’t have spoken about his feelings in the first place, but he’d needed to get things off his chest and needed the advice of his old friend.
    “I know you can’t stand me. I know it’s hard for you, Valentine. It’s hard for me too. I can’t hide any more. I have a choice, you said that, and I’m going to discover the true meaning of the prophecy no matter what it takes. I can’t live life in the dark any more.”
    He closed his eyes briefly and searched for the right words to say to reassure her that things weren’t as bad as they’d sounded. He didn’t want her to keep away; he just didn’t trust himself when she was near. She made everything so much more confusing. He didn’t know what he was supposed to feel about her. When the tiny trace of her blood had left his system, he had come to see that there was something else motivating his reaction to her and it was something that was dangerous to them both. It was forbidden. She was a Caelestis, his family’s enemy. He shouldn’t want to comfort her and help her. He shouldn’t want to protect her.
    Letting go of her wrists, he watched her rub at them, her slim fingers caressing them. There were red marks on her where he’d held her too tightly. He hadn’t meant to hurt her but she’d provoked him into it with her words against his family and him, with the fact that she was trying to make him leave.
    With the way that she was making him feel weak.
    He stood in silence, still unable to find his voice as his thoughts dived off in so many directions that his head felt as though it was spinning. It was all falling away from him, everything lost because of his decision to help her. He wished that he’d never met her, but at the same time, in the recesses of his heart, was glad that he had.
    He placed one foot up onto the step she was standing on and opened his mouth to speak.
    “Are you going somewhere, Valentine?” Mathias’ voice made his disappear and he turned to see the older vampire walking up the street towards them with a leather satchel over his shoulder.
    Valentine looked at Prophecy. She was smoothing her long hair back over her shoulder, giving him an expectant look. She was waiting for him to speak. She was waiting to see if he really was going to leave.
    He gave a brief look over his shoulder in the direction he would have gone in if Prophecy hadn’t caught him. She was right. There was no going back, not for her and not for him. To go back now was to face certain death. If he remained with her, he would be able to protect her and guide her through the world. She was going to have to visit places she’d never been to before, would have to meet with demons that wouldn’t think twice about killing her if she offended them by mistake and wouldn’t know how to keep herself safe from the nightly dangers of the human world.
    He closed his eyes, fighting against the voice inside of him that was telling him to go back to his family and continue as their loyal son, and the torn feeling he had whenever he thought about the choice he had to make.
    It was her or his family.
    But he did have a choice.
    Just like he’d told Prophecy not a few hours ago.
    He pictured how she’d looked as she’d sat beside him with her eyes closed imagining what a sunset looked like. She was so innocent, so young.
    He smiled to himself as he made his decision.
    “No,” he said and walked past her into the house, meeting her eyes for the briefest of moments. She smiled broadly back at him.
    He kept his eyes fixed on the end of the hall as she fell into step beside him and he led the way back to the study.
    “I have news,” Mathias said while he closed the doors and then followed them.
    Valentine sat down in the chair beside the fire and crossed his legs,