And whatever comes next, whatever hell the universe decides to throw at us, I’ll face it with a vampire at my side and a blood bond tying us together.
Chapter Twelve
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Vex
Prophet has a smallcabin on club land he uses as a chapel.It’s also where he keeps his religious artifacts and texts.The brothers and I give him shit about it, but he doesn’t care.I only every come here when I’m searching for answers or when I need him to do a job for the club.It smells like incense and old paper.
Prophet has been holed up in here for three days, surrounded by texts so ancient the pages crumble at the slightest touch.Books in languages I don’t recognize.Scrolls covered in symbols that make my eyes water when I look at them too long.And in the center of it all, Prophet sits cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed, lips moving in silent prayer.
Or communion.
With angels, it’s hard to tell the difference.
I stand in the doorway, watching him.Waiting.The bond with Tessa hums in the back of my mind, a constant awareness of her presence upstairs, safe in my bed, finally sleeping after the sensory overload nearly drove her mad.I can feel her dreams through the connection, fragmented images of ice, shadow and me.
Always me.
The guilt threatens to choke me.
“Come in, Vex.”Prophet’s eyes open, glowing faintly gold.“I’ve been expecting you.”
I step into the chapel, closing the door behind me.The wards Prophet has woven into this space make my skin prickle.Divine magic and vampire don’t always play well together but I ignore the discomfort.
“You found something,” I say.Not a question.
“I found everything.”Prophet gestures to the books spread around him.“Sit.This is going to take a while.”
I settle onto the floor across from him, and he picks up one of the scrolls.The parchment is so old it’s almost transparent, covered in script that shifts and moves when I try to read it.
“Angelic text,” Prophet explains.“One of the few surviving records of the First Binding.”He sets it down carefully.“Do you know what Alaska was before humans settled here?”
“Cold.Empty.Inhospitable.”
“Wrong.”His smile is grim.“It was a prison.Specifically designed by heaven to hold something that should never have existed in the first place.”
