A Day in the Life: Valentine F E Heaton
Copyright © 2010 Felicity Heaton All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. The right of Felicity Heaton to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First printed May 2010 First Edition Layout and design by Felicity Heaton All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Cover by Felicity Heaton
The following short story is based on:
Prophecy: Child of Light A girl unlike any other girl, a vampire unlike any other vampire, Prophecy lives life in the dark until the night she breaks the rules. Leaving the family mansion to hunt for the first time, she encounters Valentine, a vampire from her family's enemy and a man who will change her life forever. Suddenly at the centre of a prophecy, she is kidnapped by Valentine, the man who should have been her executioner, and forced to run with him in order to save herself. Required to work together, the tension between them builds as a dark evil threatens to destroy the world, their families and the Law Keepers attempt hunt them down, and Prophecy discovers that her feelings for Valentine control her new found power. When the truth about her is revealed, will Prophecy be strong enough? Will they discover a way to save the world from Hell? And will they finally see past the hatred bred into them by their families and surrender to their love? The first of the Vampires Realm novels being written by five star author Felicity Heaton, Prophecy: Child of Light, is part one in an epic tale of love and war that is sure to capture your heart and leave you craving more. Read an excerpt or buy here: http://bit.ly/9tsTVD SAVE 25% on this story by entering this code during checkout:
VALENTINE
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
A Day in the Life: Valentine It was too quiet. The expansive mansion was silent and there had been no guards at the gate or patrolling the grounds. Valentine looked around him at the empty entrance hall, its grandeur lost on him as he tried to figure out what had happened whilst he was out hunting. Where was everyone? There was no sign of a fight. No blood or broken furniture. The only other vampire family in the area were the Caelestis, his mate’s bloodline. Prophecy’s kin wouldn’t have attacked the Aurorea, his own bloodline. They had been enjoying a long period of peace for the first time since successfully joining the two houses. The vampire hunters couldn’t have rid his entire house of his kin. There would have been evidence. Valentine walked forwards, the heels of his polished black knee-high boots clicking on the stone floor. The silence unnerved him. The house felt desolate and cold. When he reached the grand staircase that led to the upper floors, he searched the mansion ahead of him with his senses. One signature came back to him. And it was familiar. He followed her scent and her signature through the maze of painting adorned halls to the back of the building. The double wooden doors of the ballroom 1
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
ahead were closed and he strode towards them, his senses fixed on the person inside. Valentine opened the doors. Darkness greeted him and then the lights burst into life in the chandeliers above, blinding him enough that he raised an arm to protect his sensitive eyes. “Happy Death Day!” Prophecy’s voice rang out around the room. Valentine lowered his arm and looked at her in abject confusion. It wasn’t only the fact that he had expected her to have somehow shielded the presence of the rest of his family with his magic and had instead found her standing alone in the middle of the large ballroom that had him frowning. “It is not my death day,” he said and stepped forwards into the room, looking around in case he had missed something and the rest of his bloodline were really hidden and waiting to leap out at him. There was no one. “It took a while to get the exact day out of Cornelius,” Prophecy said and moved towards him, stealing his attention again. She was smiling, her dark eyes shining with it, bright and round. She was happy for some reason. He could sense her feelings through the bond their mating had created between them. It had been a while since he had felt her so relaxed and peaceful. Her smile widened. “I know that look. You’re wondering where everyone else is. Well, I’ve sent them out for a few hours.”
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A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
“Out?” Valentine said, still frowning, and glanced around again. His senses said that she wasn’t lying. They really were alone in the house. He looked back at her. “I do not think that wise.” “I wanted to be alone with you so we could celebrate.” The hint of wickedness that laced her feelings made his frown disappear and lessened his concern about the entire bloodline being away from the mansion. He looked at her properly now, seeing the elaborate way she had twirled her blood-red hair up and pinned it at the back of her head. The contrast between the red strands that had fallen down to graze her moon-white skin was divine and stirred hunger in him. It drew his attention to her throat and the marks there. His marks. His mate. He raised a single black eyebrow and lowered his green gaze further, to the plum-coloured corseted dress that she wore. It was the same as the one she had chosen to wear in St. Petersburg at the Creator’s Day masquerade. She had looked beautiful that night and he had realised his feelings for her. Now, he felt as though he was back there, seeing the truth of his emotions for the first time. He loved her. He loved her deeper than anyone had loved before him. It surged through him stronger than a spring tide and swept him away. “What did you have in mind?” he said and moved closer to her, intent on touching her and slaking his thirst for her blood and her love. They had only seen each other last night, had slept in each other’s arms all day, but he was still burning for her. Prophecy smiled, her beautiful red lips teasing him. He wanted to see them red with blood not lipstick. His blood. He wanted her to feed from him. It had been 3
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
weeks since she had taken his blood. He thrilled at the thought, heat skittering over his cool skin. His eyes roamed over her neck, the marks tugging another smile from him, and then fell to her chest. The star over her heart was dark against her skin and he wanted to reach out and touch it, to see the magic react to him the way it always did, winding itself around his fingers in red ribbons that tickled. The dress gave her a modest cleavage and her snowy skin bore his marks there too. It felt as though there wasn’t a place he hadn’t bitten her these days. He would have to start from the top again. He was glad that she had sent everyone away now, especially when his mind rushed forwards to imagine the possibilities. He was doubly thankful that Venturi was hundreds of miles away on business. He had her all to himself. His love. His mate. His Prophecy. “You look beautiful tonight,” he husked and she lowered her gaze, her teeth sinking into her lower lip and teasing both it and him. Valentine loved the reaction, the way he could make her blush without blushing. It wasn’t possible for her to colour like a human, but she could react just the same. He reached out and swept the backs of his fingers down her cheek, and then under her jaw. She followed his command and raised her head, her brown eyes slowly coming back to meet his. “So?” he whispered and she blinked slowly, holding his gaze.
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A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
She reached up and placed her hand against his cheek. The contact was divine but not enough. He needed to feel her hands on his body, her nails scoring his flesh, and her fangs in his throat. “Close your eyes,” she said in a low voice and Valentine did as she asked, always willing to obey her. “It didn’t work last time but you were asleep.” “Asleep?” “Shh.” He realised that she was using her magic. She had been practicing hard to perfect her skills with it recently and she had made great progress in unlocking the secrets of her mother’s book and her magic. Not wanting to break her concentration, he remained quiet. A strange weariness flowed through him, sapping his strength and leaving him tired. He could almost feel his energy leaving him, seeping out of him at the point at which her fingers rested against his cheek. What was she doing? He was about to ask when he smelt water, and felt a warm breeze dancing over his face, and then he could smell candles and oil lamps, and could hear a sound like distant people. “Open your eyes.” Valentine did. He opened them and stared at his surroundings. The candlelight played on the gilt mosaics of biblical scenes on the domes above him. The light warmed the beautiful stone pillars, making them almost as golden as the ceiling. He couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked around the low lit interior of the church. He remembered being outside in the square with her years 5
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
ago, looking at the basilica of San Marco and telling her that one day he would take her to see the inside. Only she had brought him here instead. Something wasn’t quite right though. He had the strangest feeling of déjà vu. The sounds outside and the scents in the air. None of it was modern. Valentine looked at Prophecy. The warm light of the candles that were spread around the room on tall golden candelabras touched her face, adding to her beauty and stealing what little breath he had away. How could he ever have fought his feelings for her? She was everything to him now, the love of his eternal life, and the only one he wanted to be with forever. “What is this?” he said. She twisted her fingers together and then looked around her, her large dark eyes taking everything in. “When you told me about the building, it was the moment I realised that you weren’t going to run away when everything was over. You said you would bring me here after we had won. You described it so beautifully that I wanted to share it with you. I wanted to see it only because I knew I would be with you when it happened.” Valentine followed her as she took a few steps forwards so she was directly under the golden domes. She tilted her head back and looked at the mosaics. He kept his gaze on her, taking in her beauty. He had forgotten just how good she had looked in the dress.
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A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
“Unfortunately I can’t seem to take us places where I haven’t been,” she said and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “But our bond allows me to go deep inside you and use your memories. I didn’t realise until just now that it would also take us back to when that memory had been formed.” Her gaze slid lower and he looked down. He was wearing clothing of the period. As Prophecy shifted and stepped in his direction, extending her hand towards him, his clothing changed into what he had worn at the masquerade. The tall-collared long black jacket fit his frame snugly, emphasising his figure perfectly when combined with the tight black trousers and knee-high black boots. Elaborate green embroidery edged the stand up collar, cuffs and around the buttons down the front of his jacket. He had chosen to wear it at the masquerade because it suited him and brought out the vivid green of his eyes. He had wanted Prophecy to see him as handsome. Back then, it had felt like a foolish thing to desire. Now, he was glad that he had been a fool and gone through with it. The dance they had shared, not at the ball but afterwards in an empty street, had made it worth it. He would give anything to have her back in his arms again. Valentine offered a hand to her. “Dance with me?” She didn’t hesitate. She placed her delicate slender hand into his and he closed his fingers over the backs of hers. He pulled her to him, his other arm encircling her waist to keep her close. They didn’t need music to dance. Whenever he saw her, there was a song in his heart and his head, a melody that she created in him.
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A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
Prophecy placed her free hand against his chest and looked up into his eyes. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered and started to dance with her, turning in slow circles beneath the glittering golden domes of the church. She followed his lead, her eyes never leaving his. The feel of her hand against his chest, resting lightly on his pectoral, made his body hum with quiet desire. It steadily built as they moved with each other, their bodies so close that they brushed with every step they took. Valentine tightened his arm around her back, pulling her even closer, and lowered his lips to meet hers. She sighed into his mouth when he kissed her, his mouth playing softly against hers. It was divine to have her in his arms. She was so beautiful and so pliant, on her best behaviour and most seductive at the same time. His gaze moved to her throat. He wanted to bite her. Did she want it too? A glance into her deep brown eyes revealed that something of that nature was on her mind. Her pupils were wide in the low warm candlelight, so enlarged that they swallowed the colour and made her eyes look black. They gradually changed to green as her true face emerged. Valentine let go of his control and joined her, allowing his green eyes to melt into lapis blue, the colour of his bloodline. Prophecy smiled and slid her hand up his chest. It grazed his throat and he wished the collar of his jacket wasn’t so tall. It touched his jaw, leaving her no way of caressing his throat as he wanted her to. As though sensing his irritation, she smiled. The jacket was gone in 8
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
an instant, disappeared by magic, leaving him in only a loose white shirt. He rolled his eyes closed when she stroked his neck and then stared down at her, studying her face as she teased him. There was hunger in her eyes. Her lips parted to reveal the barest tips of her fangs. He ached inside at the sight of them. “I owe you a present,” she whispered in a sultry way that turned his blood to fire. Her gaze flickered to his face and then back to his throat. Her hand left him and he groaned inside when she brushed her fingers over her own neck, tracing the line of her jugular. Valentine obeyed when she slid her hand back around his head and lured him down, tilting her own head to one side and exposing her neck at the same time. “Happy death day, my love,” she said and closed her eyes. Valentine tightened his hold on her waist with one arm, and cradled the nape of her neck with his other hand. His eyes zeroed in on her neck and he lowered his mouth to it, to the marks that proclaimed her as his mate. She hissed out a sigh when he eased his fangs into her throat. The first burst of blood to touch his tongue made him tremble and his grip on her increased. It was dark ambrosia, flooding his veins with her strength and her feelings, making him long to drink from her forever. He drank deep, getting his fill of her sweet blood and sensing her rising desire. His Prophecy. “Valentine,” she whispered into his ear, her breath tickling it, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clutching him.
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A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
He wished that they were back home now. Neither of them were making an effort to dance anymore. They were motionless, lost in the tempest of their feelings and their growing desire. When he felt her weaken, Valentine released her and licked the wound, savouring every last drop of blood. He loved the taste of her and how it felt to bite her. The connection between them was incredible and deep, fusing them as one. Prophecy gave him a dazed smile when he pulled back and looked at her. She twirled the hair at the back of his head around her fingers and her smile turned coy. He didn’t need to read minds to know what she was thinking. It was written all over her face and her scent. “I seem to remember a hotel near here,” he said in a low voice. “One in modern times.” She nodded, wrapped her arms around him and held him close. Valentine closed his eyes, knowing what was coming. The world spun but he didn’t see it. He focused on Prophecy instead, putting to memory this moment she had given him. He was sure that his desire to go somewhere private with her, away from a church, had spoiled her plans in part, but she didn’t seem to mind. They would visit the inside of the basilica again tomorrow, after he had spent the night making love to her. When he opened his eyes, they were standing in St. Mark’s square in front of the basilica. There were people all around them, flashlights exploding in the romantic setting as couples took photographs of each other in front of the old domed building. 10
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
Valentine slid his hand into Prophecy’s, interlocking their fingers and holding her tight so she knew how much he loved her and how much this meant to him. She smiled when he looked at her, and then reached up and swept her finger across his lower lip, drawing a growl from him. “You had a little blood,” she said and her smile broadened, amusement twinkling in her eyes. “I shall have a lot more than a little soon enough,” he countered and pulled her close. He kissed her before she could say anything, his tongue brushing her lips. They parted for him and her tongue came to meet his, tangling and reigniting his desire. It wasn’t wise to let his guard down in such a public place, but he couldn’t help it when Prophecy was with him. She had a way of stealing his attention. She screamed when he grabbed her around the waist and swept her up into his arms. A nearby group of tourists cheered him and he considered tearing their throats open for interfering in his moment with Prophecy, but her laughter stopped him. She waved to the humans and then wrapped her arms back around his neck, holding on while he cradled her close. It wasn’t far to the hotel they had stayed at before when they had been on the run together, trying to save the world. Soon she’d be screaming for a different sort of reason. He smiled at the thought of burying his fangs in her throat as he buried his body into hers. 11
A Day in the Life: Valentine – F E Heaton
The bloodline could take care of themselves for a day or five. It had been too long since he’d had some time away from them. He deserved a holiday. Besides, he had never celebrated his death day before. He had to make up for the three hundred that he had missed. Prophecy gave him a wicked smile. It seemed she was going to make sure of that too. She pulled herself up and kissed him, just as she had done the night they had first made love. He kept walking with her, using his senses to lead him towards the hotel. He wasn’t going to let her go until they reached the hotel, and even then he wasn’t letting her out of arm’s reach. He was never going to let her go. He sighed and rested his forehead against hers, loving the feel of her in his arms where she belonged. It didn’t matter that their love was illegal or that she was a Caelestis and he an Aurorea. He was never letting her go. Never. They had fought so hard to be together. And they would be. Forever. The End 12
About the Author: Felicity Heaton is a romance author writing as both Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. She is passionate about penning paranormal tales full of vampires, witches, werewolves, angels and shape-shifters, and has been interested in all things preternatural and fantastical since she was just a child. Her other passion is science-fiction and she likes nothing more than to immerse herself in a whole new universe and the amazing species therein. She used to while away days at school and college dreaming of vampires, werewolves and witches, or being lost in space, and used to while away evenings watching movies about them or reading gothic horror stories, science-fiction and romances. Having tried her hand at various romance genres, it was only natural for her to turn her focus back to the paranormal, fantasy and science-fiction worlds she enjoys so much. She loves to write seductive, sexy and strong vampires, werewolves, witches, angels and alien species. The worlds she often dreams up for them are vicious, dark and dangerous, reflecting aspects of the heroines and heroes, but her characters also love deeply, laugh, cry and feel every emotion as keenly as anyone does. She makes no excuses for the darkness surrounding them, especially the paranormal creatures, and says that this is their world. She’s just honoured to write down their adventures. To see her other novels, visit: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk If you have enjoyed this story, please take a moment to contact the author at
[email protected] or to post a review of the book online Follow the author on: Her blog – http://felicityheaton.blogspot.com Twitter – http://twitter.com/felicityheaton Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/feheaton Grouply – http://felicityheaton.grouply.com
Enjoyed this story? This short was based on: Prophecy: Child of Light
A girl unlike any other girl, a vampire unlike any other vampire, Prophecy lives life in the dark until the night she breaks the rules. Leaving the family mansion to hunt for the first time, she encounters Valentine, a vampire from her family's enemy and a man who will change her life forever. Suddenly at the centre of a prophecy, she is kidnapped by Valentine, the man who should have been her executioner, and forced to run with him in order to save herself. Required to work together, the tension between them builds as a dark evil threatens to destroy the world, their families and the Law Keepers attempt hunt them down, and Prophecy discovers that her feelings for Valentine control her new found power. When the truth about her is revealed, will Prophecy be strong enough? Will they discover a way to save the world from Hell? And will they finally see past the hatred bred into them by their families and surrender to their love? The first of the Vampires Realm novels being written by five star author Felicity Heaton, Prophecy: Child of Light, is part one in an epic tale of love and war that is sure to capture your heart and leave you craving more. Read an excerpt or buy here: http://bit.ly/9tsTVD SAVE 25% on this story by entering this code during checkout:
VALENTINE
