Vampires Realm Prophecy 01 - Child of Light

eyes and raven hair that reached far down her back. She was wearing a rich purple gown that pushed her breasts up and pulled her waist in until it looked impossibly tiny. Prophecy felt a stab of jealousy over how beautiful Elena was and then looked down at Valentine to see if he was looking at her in a way that would justify her feelings.
    He pressed his fingertips together, crossed his legs and leaned back into the chair.
    “Better.”
    He didn’t seem to care about how the witch looked. He’d seemed more fascinated when Elena had chosen the naked form of herself rather than her own real one.
    “What happened to your sense of fun?” Elena said with a pout.
    The idea that Valentine had once had a sense of fun stunned Prophecy. It seemed impossible to imagine him ever having fun. She moved a little closer to them where they sat near the fire and rested her hand against the back of Valentine’s chair. He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. She could see that he was trying to reassure her. She smiled to show him that she was all right.
    “So sweet.” Elena commented in a voice that lacked the sweetness she spoke of. “Like Lord Aurorea and Lady Caelestis, and we all know how that ended. But then, love never does end well, does it, Valentine?”
    Prophecy frowned, trying to understand what Elena was insinuating. Had the gondolier been wrong? Had Valentine been unlucky in love before? Maybe that was part of the reason he was so against the idea.
    “You would know best of all,” he said with a smirk.
    Elena’s expression darkened. “He’s a fool. I made this place for him and he left me, he still left. He went to her. But... he’ll—”
    “Come back?” Valentine interjected in a cold tone. “I do not think he will, Elena. He will always go to her. He will always seek her out. It is in his blood.”
    Prophecy felt she was missing something. Was Elena keeping the place like this because of someone she loved?
    “Speak no more of him.” Elena waved her hand and lowered her head in a way that Prophecy thought looked submissive. When the witch raised her head again, the hurt that had been in her eyes was gone, replaced by a seductive look. “There’s still a chance for you, Valentine.”
    Prophecy’s gaze darted to Valentine to see what his reaction would be. He shook his head, silently declining the witch’s offer. It hadn’t been made in jest and she got the feeling it hadn’t been the first time Elena had offered herself to him. Prophecy stared at her, trying to quell the fire that was racing through her veins as she thought about what the witch had just done. She had clearly wanted Valentine to choose between them, and she had wanted him to choose her. Why?
    She closed her eyes and power surged through her. She tried to keep control of it, not wanting Elena to sense it, but when she opened her eyes again, she could see it was too late. Elena was staring at her, smiling.
    “She really does have power. Strange for a vampire to have such abilities.”
    “That is not why we are here,” Valentine said. Prophecy was thankful to him for drawing Elena’s attention away from her and giving her time to regain command of her magic.
    “Why are you here?” Elena cocked her head to one side in curiosity and smiled at him.
    “We were to make contact with someone yesterday. When we arrived, our contact had been killed. The method points to werewolves.”
    “There are no werewolves in this city, Valentine. They have long forsaken it.”
    Prophecy’s attention was drawn to a door to her right. It was half open, but the other side was in darkness. She could hear growls that reminded her of the fight with the werewolves in Paris and sent a shudder up her spine. She could almost picture them on the other side, great hulking bodies and sharp teeth lurking in the darkness, waiting for the order to kill.
    Coming out of her reverie, she found Elena staring at her again. She swallowed hard, trying to act casual and picking at the back of the armchair. Relief coursed through her when Elena resumed talking to Valentine.
    “As I said. No werewolves, no demons that would be interested in killing a human. It is a shame that I cannot help you discover the perpetrator of the butchery, but... ” Elena trailed off, fixing her with another frown when Prophecy glanced at the door again. The witch’s eyes became hard for a split second before she gently patted her thigh.
    Prophecy shifted closer to Valentine as two