Free Prophecy: Dark Moon Rising by Felicity Heaton

her head, she looked at Venturi for what felt like hours. Her mind raced to think of something to say but she choked on the heavy atmosphere between them. She wondered if the others could sense it as keenly as she could and then told herself it was just her imagination and too many unspoken things. It was to be expected after the incident in the training room. She really hadn’t handled it well.
    “Why have I been called here?” Venturi said in such a light tone that his ease sounded forced to her, especially since his eyes had remained dark and cold.
    “Have you discovered anything new about the prophecy? It’s been a long time since we’ve spoken of it.” She knew that Valentine could sense that something was wrong. His hand left hers the slightest amount but she didn’t let it get far. She moved hers at the same time and then covered his with it, showing him that she wasn’t about to let him go.
    “I am making progress.” Venturi opened the journal and picked it up. He flicked through the pages for a few minutes in which she took the time to look at Valentine.
    Valentine’s expression was darker than thunder and she really wished that they weren’t having to take part in this meeting. When he frowned over her head, she turned and caught Venturi looking at her clothes. She stopped herself from looking away from him like she wanted to and instead managed a frown. Venturi should have known better than to look at her like that when Valentine was present. He should know better than to look at her like that even when Valentine wasn’t present.
    “I have unveiled some of the scroll, but it is nothing that we do not already know,” Venturi said.
    Her heart sank. All this time and she still knew nothing new. The war was getting closer and she could almost see a clock hanging over her head, ticking away invisible seconds to the moment when she’d have to face Elena for the final time. How was she supposed to defeat the witch without knowing more about her own magic or the prophecy? She couldn’t unlock one and Venturi couldn’t unlock the other. It was hopeless. It couldn’t possibly get worse than this.
    “Most of it is complete gibberish.” Venturi went on, his fingers toying with the spine of the journal while his eyes scanned the page it was open on. “There is a series of words placed at strange intervals within the core of the prophecy. So far, I have translated the following: A dark moon will herald the birth of a prophecy. Great powers will rise and grow. With the return of the long night, Hell will be unleashed.”
    He gave her an apologetic look.
    “Thank you.” She nodded and smiled. “You’ll keep working on the rest?”
    He nodded and determination filled his eyes. “Of course … the prophecy will yield its secrets. I will never give up on it.”
    She wondered if he was talking about her or the actual prophecy now. Was he telling her that he’d never give up on her, or on the text? Was the secret he spoke of the one that was hidden within the cuneiform, or her feelings for him? She barely kept the frown from her face. It seemed Venturi didn’t need to muddle her any more. She was doing a good job of muddling herself. She had to stop reading into things.
    Dragging her eyes away from him, she gave her head a moment to clear and then hurriedly looked back.
    “I meant to ask you to contact your men. They may have heard something and you might feel more at home if you had some of them here. The house of Caelestis will welcome them.”
    Venturi lowered his head and then smiled up at her. “I have contacted Piotr recently, but will send word again to ask him to come and bring a small number of my army with him. None of them have left Romania before. It will be interesting for them.”
    She wanted to remind him that visiting Prague wasn’t the reason they’d be coming and that there was a battle on the horizon, but she realised that these were Tenebrae. She’d noticed that Venturi’s attitude