Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising (4 page)

Venturi hadn’t even come to see how she was.

Serenity had mentioned him once or twice, telling her that he seemed to be constantly practicing his fighting in the training rooms.

She frowned. Why hadn’t he come to see her? Since the defeat of Kalinor, he seemed to be avoiding her. Whenever she’d entered a room, he’d intentionally looked away from her. He’d spoken to every woman in the house except her. Was he punishing her for some reason?

Maybe he didn’t care about her any more.

Slipping out of her bodice and into a tank top, she put her boots on and went to the door.

She stopped just short of it, telling herself that what she was going to do was ridiculous. It was exactly what he wanted her to do. She smiled. No. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of it. She would play him against himself.

Walking out into the hall, she hurried to the training rooms on the ground floor at the back of the house. She limbered up as she walked, stretching her muscles so she would be ready the moment she walked in.

Passing the guard room, she paused at the door and looked in. They all rose to their feet, each of them bowing. She smiled when she saw Tiberius.

“It’s been a long time since we fought, old man,” she said.

He smiled. “It has indeed, my lady.”

“Spar with me.” She nodded towards the hall, enticing him into following her.

He did as instructed and she dropped back as they approached the training room. She would let him go in first. His signature would block hers enough that Venturi wouldn’t notice her before she had a chance to study him.

She stopped breathing when Tiberius pushed the door open. Her eyes immediately scanned the room and her senses reached out to assist them in their search. She found Venturi at the side of the room. He was raining punches down on one of the bags hanging from the ceiling. She watched him for a moment and wondered if this was what he did when he came here. Serenity hadn’t mentioned the particulars, just the fact that he’d come here every day, spending hours shut away in this room.

Stepping out from behind Tiberius, she removed the amulet from her hand and placed it into her pocket. She did the button up, ensuring that it was safely stowed away and couldn’t fall out. Turning to Tiberius at the exact moment that Venturi stopped and turned to face her, she nodded and smiled.

“Fists and feet only, old man. No fangs,” she said and he bowed before walking to the side of the room to prepare himself.

She limbered up a little more, feeling Venturi’s gaze burning into the back of her head and ignoring him. She wasn’t going to play his game. Here she was, if he was avoiding her then he would leave, but if he was intentionally ignoring her, then he was going to get a taste of his own medicine.

She brought her fists up in front of her, shaking her hair out of her face while she flexed her fingers. Tiberius came to stand in front of her, his lean body no longer clad in the garb of his position. He had stripped off to the waist. She had forgotten the tattoos that he had, tribal marks made long ago. A lot of the older guards carried them. They were symbols of Caelestis, of dragons and the heavens. She looked down at the stars that marked her, those that had been raised to the surface by the three witches of Paris. The ones on her shoulders weren’t as intricate as the one over her chest. She studied it for a moment and then pressed her hand against her stomach, sensing the one there. She could feel the power in them.

Raising her head, she crooked a finger at Tiberius, silently telling him to begin the fight.

“You look well,” Venturi said and the note of concern in it caught her off guard.

She grimaced as Tiberius hit her hard across the jaw, sending her brain spinning.

She shook her head to clear it and growled at Venturi, baring her fangs to him and letting him see that it had been his fault.

“Are you all right, my lady?” Tiberius said.

“I am, and stop calling me that,” she said with a sigh and rubbed her jaw, slipping back out of her vampire guise. “Just call me Prophecy. I don’t like this lady stuff.”

“Prophecy?” Venturi’s voice was one of worry.

She looked over her shoulder at him. Her frown melted away when she saw the apology in his stormy blue eyes.

She let him see in hers that she was fine and then turned to face Tiberius. “Lucky shot.”

Tiberius smiled and nodded. His fingers swept his dark grey hair from his face and he rolled his shoulders. She crooked her finger again, this time keeping the whole of her focus on him. When he threw a punch at her, she ducked beneath his arm and hit him hard in the side. She brought her leg up and scorpion kicked him in the chest. He growled and lunged for her but she rolled out of the way, a smug smile settling on her face when she turned to face him. He was rubbing his chest and frowning at her.

“You have improved,” he said.

She grinned and then stopped when she caught sight of Venturi standing a few metres behind him.

“You could use more of a challenge,” Venturi said and she barely kept the frown off her face.

She didn’t give him the honour of a reply. She kept her attention with Tiberius, shaking her hands to loosen them up and then switching the position of her feet.

Over Tiberius’ shoulder, she could just about make out Venturi scowling at her. She wanted to stop the fight and ask him exactly why he hadn’t come to check on her or even ask about her, but that would be giving him precisely what he wanted. He wanted her to come to him and she damn well wasn’t going to. He was going to come to her.

Tiberius swept his foot around and she barely had time to react when she noticed it. She sprung into the air and flipped backwards, placing some distance between them. When she was ready, she closed in on him, moving slowly at first but speeding into a run as she approached. She almost laughed when he went to swipe at her. She threw herself into a slide and turned swiftly when she was behind him. He blocked the first punch she threw at him, but the next two connected, knocking him off balance and leaving him open to attack. He tried to defend himself against her but she caught him with a series of kicks and punches that ended with her sweeping his legs out from under him. She straddled his chest, her fist held just millimetres from his nose.

He breathed heavily beneath her, his eyes showing her how impressed he was with her skills now. She smiled. It was nice to spar with him again. He’d taught her everything she knew about combat.

A heavy, dull clapping filled the air and she looked up at Venturi, her smile faltering.

“He’s still no match for you,” he said.

She got to her feet and smoothed down her clothes. Her eyes met his.

“What, and you are?” she retorted and then held a hand out to Tiberius, helping him up off the ground.

Venturi gave her a smile. “I could be.”

She didn’t like the connotation of those words. Was he talking about fighting now, or was he talking about him being a match for her in the way that Valentine was? She damned his attempt to confuse her and make her think about her feelings.

Turning her back on him, she faced Tiberius again and curled her fingers into tight fists.

“Ready?”

Tiberius nodded. Just as she was about to throw the first punch, the training room door opened and she looked across at the young guard who walked in.

“You’re needed on patrol, sir.” He saluted Tiberius.

Her heart sank and all of her confidence left her when she watched Tiberius leave. She was suddenly overly aware of Venturi. The fact that she was alone with him made her stomach twist into knots and her head ache. She stared at the far wall, wishing he would leave too because she didn’t think she could move.

The sound of his heavy boots on the wooden floor made her swallow hard. She tracked his movements with her senses and closed her eyes, picturing him walking towards her. She felt like prey for his predator—trapped and helpless.

Vulnerable.

When his footsteps ceased, she opened her eyes and found herself staring straight at his chest. She slowly raised her gaze to meet his.

She went to leave but he caught hold of her upper arm, stopping her.

“Fight me,” he almost purred the words as he leaned in close to her, his breath washing over her skin and tickling her ear. “You know you want to.”

She swallowed again when she realised that she’d played right into his hands. He’d avoided her so she would come to him and come she had. She’d thought that sparring with Tiberius would make her plan work and she would show Venturi that she hadn’t come here to see him, that she was perfectly fine without him and his attentions, but here she was, alone with him in an area of the house where people rarely ventured.

No one would notice them down here.

She went to move again but his fingers tightened around her arm, the tips of them pressing hard into her flesh and telling her that he wasn’t going to let her go without an answer.

Maybe she could turn this around and bring it back in her favour after all. She had come here to ignore him and show him how it felt, but now they were alone she couldn’t do that without leaving and she got the feeling that walking away wasn’t an option.

She wasn’t about to back down from this fight.

She didn’t even raise her head or twitch; she didn’t show one sign of her intentions before she slammed the flat of her hand into his chest, sending him flying backwards against the wall.

He landed hard, dropping to the ground and shaking his head to clear it. She stood straight and removed the amulet from her pocket. Slipping it on and fastening it, she gave him a look of cold indifference.

If he wanted a fight, he was damn well going to get one.

She was tired of him always pushing her and playing her. It was time he learnt who was in control. She was stronger than him and this was her opportunity to show him that he couldn’t command her as though she was a child, and he couldn’t play his mind games with her any more.

She flexed her fingers and rotated each ankle in turn, waiting for him to get to his feet.

He looked a little stunned and swept the long locks of his dirty blond hair from his face.

Taking a deep breath, she moved into a fighting stance, bringing her fists up. She emptied her mind and her emotions, and saw him as nothing but an enemy to be defeated.

There were no feelings here.

No love for him.

Not one ounce of caring.

He stretched his back and rolled his neck. She could hear his bones clicking and cracking as he did so.

Her breathing levelled and her eyes fixed on him, waiting for any sign of movement.

The second he began to raise his fists, she shot into action. She caught him hard under the jaw with a left hook and then followed it through with a right. He went to grab her but she evaded his hands, slipping through them and kicking him in the knee. He growled at her, a disgruntled look settling on his face. She wiped it off by punching him solidly across the jaw. She grinned and pushed on, hitting him with a quick succession of punches that forced him to back towards the wall.

She flipped backwards and away from him when he started to defend himself. Switching tactics, she placed some distance between them and circled him, keeping him guessing as to what she was going to do next.

“You are quick,” he said and his eyes narrowed into a hungry look when he ran them down her.

She used the opportunity to attack him. Running full speed, she threw herself forwards, pressed her hands into the floor and propelled herself at him feet first. Her ankles landed against his shoulders and before he had time to react, she had turned and flipped him over, sending him crashing into the ground. He grunted on impact and she cart-wheeled away from him. She breathed heavily when she eventually came to a stop.

Her eyes widened when he didn’t move. He just lay staring at the ceiling with his arms stretched out.

“Did I hurt you?” she said, not daring to get close to him in case it was a trick. Her heart clenched at the idea she might have actually injured him.

“Not a chance,” he wheezed and slowly moved into a sitting position.

She watched him struggle to his feet and grimace when he pressed his hands into his back.

“Shame.” She idly flicked the word at him and was rewarded by a dark look.

He crooked a finger at her. She shook her head. She knew better than to attack him when he was expecting it. He’d have something planned and she wasn’t about to let him get the better of her.

Circling him, she assessed the possible avenues of attack and how well he’d defend them.

He sighed, giving her a look that said he was rapidly growing bored of this game. She couldn’t help it if he was losing. What had he expected? Did he think she was weak? Everyone was always underestimating her.

He went to clear the hair from his face and she ran at him, sliding at the last moment to take out his legs. He leapt over her feet and she turned sharply, bringing her foot around and catching his knee. Her eyes widened when he turned on her, growling while his claws extended and he shifted into vampire guise.

“I said no fangs.” She backed away from him and stared into his black eyes.

“You said that to Tiberius, not to me.” He grinned and licked his teeth.

“Fine,” she said and switched, forcing her fangs to descend. “But I’ll still beat you, old man.”

She grinned and rolled out of the way when he swiped at her. His strong signature stirred her senses and her desire for the fight. She focused on it, using her hunger for violence to control her actions. He swiped at her again and roared.

A thrill ran through her.

She roared back, hunching forwards and extending her claws at the same time. He looked a little shocked by what she’d done and she only added to his expression of surprise when she licked her lips, enticing him in.

It was easy to use him against himself.

He wouldn’t be able to resist moving towards her.

The moment he placed one foot out in front of himself, she sprang at him, shoving her palm against his chest and using the force of the blow to slam him into the ground. He lashed out at her and she narrowly avoided being hit. Catching hold of his hand, she sat across his chest, pinning one arm with her legs and holding onto the other. She wrapped her hand around his throat and looked down at him.