Chapter 63: 63: Unveiling the Prophecy

GRAYSON

After we were both dressed—and I made sure that she wasn’t wearing any of the fucking lingerie Minnie got her—I led Belle through the halls of the castle.

It was a bit of a long walk, but I never let go of Belle’s hand for a single moment. She smelled incredible, like sweet sex and mating pheromones.

I nearly swore when I thought back to the way she had begged me to take her back in our room, thrusting her wet pussy up against me, licking and kissing my marking spot, and whining in my ear.

Fuck, she had almost killed me. It was a miracle I made it out of there alive.

She had a right to know exactly what she was asking from me. And it was about time I told her.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

She had never been to this part of the castle. It was blocked off for a reason.

“The archives,” I responded.

“Why?”

“Because there’s something I need to show you.”

Belle’s small hand gripped mine with so much strength that, when I looked down at it, I saw it was white. I was scaring my poor little mate.

I gently pulled her to me and lifted her into my arms, cradling her to my chest. I purred for her as I continued to walk and only relaxed when I felt her nuzzle into my neck with a sigh.

We traveled down several flights of stairs until we could go no farther, arriving at the absolute bottom level of the palace, deep underground.

It was one giant maze down there with twists and turns that could trap you in a never-ending loop if you weren't careful.

I maneuvered it easily, though, having come down there hundreds of times when I was still searching for Belle.

I finally came to a stop at the end of a long corridor, which finished with an archway. I stopped in a small brick room. It was dark, and the air was thick with condensation.

I set Belle down on the ground. She turned around, assessing the room.

“Is this when you tell me this was all just some big joke and murder me?” She laughed nervously.

I walked to the wall on the other side of her and removed a loose brick from the layers of stone. Behind it was a small box of matches, which I grabbed.

“King Elijah Viotto came from a mighty line of vampires who had the power to manipulate and create fire.” I held up the matchbook for her to see. “Since I don’t have those powers…”

I lit a match and then lifted it to one of the torches that lined the walls of the small room, lighting it with fire. Immediately, the fire spread, and all of the torches burst into flames.

Belle took several steps back. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to magic,” she murmured uneasily.

I walked over to the opposite side of the room, where the bricks on the wall were arranged to form a circle the size of a car tire.

My eyes turned red, and fangs sprouted from my gums as my vampire came forward in my mind. I hadn’t even needed to call for him. He knew where we were and what I needed.

Silently, I pressed one of my fangs to the pad of my right thumb until it broke through the surface of my skin. A bead of blood formed on my thumb.

I looked back at Belle, who was watching me with skeptical interest.

“It only works with the blood of a royal,” I explained.

“And since I’m the only living royal, at least until we complete the mating process”—my whole body tensed at the mention of mating—“I’m the only person in the world who can get into this room.”

I pressed my bloody thumb into the center of the circle on the wall. The bricks began to turn in the direction of the circle, slowly at first and then faster.

Eventually, they were moving so fast that the average person’s gaze wouldn’t be able to keep track of the spinning. It became one huge blur of wind and brick.

“Yeah, okay,” Belle said as she stared at the spot where the wall used to be in awe. She walked to me.

“That was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. You’re telling me this has been here the whole time and you’re only now showing it to me?” She smacked my chest. “You’ve been holding out on me.”

I led her forward a couple of steps with my hand on the small of her back. “Why don’t you go check out what’s inside and then try telling me that again?”

Behind the wall was another bigger room, lit by the same torches surrounding us.

The room was lined with table after table of incredible artifacts and relics, dating back centuries, all having to do with the life of the supernatural royals.

The amount of history in this single room was absolutely astounding. And it would have gone undiscovered if it weren’t for Cassian Mortar getting lost down here several years ago and happening upon it.

Someday, I planned on truly exploring the archives—taking everything out and evaluating its significance. Maybe I would even make a museum out of it all.

But for now, its only job was to house and preserve the object that was the sole reason we were even here right now.

Belle hesitated, her eyes flying around the archives, probably confused as to why I brought her here.

I gently grabbed her hand, pulling her attention to me. “You have nothing to be afraid of. It is perfectly safe in there,” I told her.

She didn’t seem convinced. “I just…I have this feeling that whatever you’re about to show me is going to be a big deal.

“It’s going to explain why you’ve been acting so weird since we got back from Maine and why you haven’t taken the final step to officially mate me and make me yours.

“And that’s what I want. But, before any of that happens, I just have to know that when we walk back out of that room, you’re still going to be my mate. This isn’t going to end with me losing you, right?”

I cursed low. “The fact that you even have to ask that…” I ran a hand over my face.

“Get those fucking thoughts out of your head. You’re never going to be rid of me. You’d have an easier time finding a grain of salt in a sandbox.”

Before she could reply and probably present me with more evidence as to how I’ve been a horrible mate to her, I scooped her into my arms and threw her over my shoulder.

Belle squeaked. “What are you—”

“Enough of this,” I snapped. I marched to the podium. On top of it was a piece of parchment scribbled with ink and lit by the torches surrounding us.

“Read,” I grunted as I set her down in front of it.

Her eyes scanned the old, fragile document. “Is this…?” She looked up at me. “Is this the prophecy?”

I nodded. “Read,” I repeated.

She looked back down. My body simultaneously relaxed and filled with anxiety. I knew I should have told her about this prophecy long ago. It was her life that was in danger, after all.

I just had to do everything in my power to protect her.

I wrapped my arms around her from behind, pulling her to me so her back was completely pressed up against my front, with not an inch of space between us.

I studied her for a while, looking for any signs of fear or panic on her face. The prophecy was long, though, and she was taking her time absorbing all the information it offered her.

“~Immortal king~…,” she read out loud. “Immortal king?” Her gaze snapped up to mine. “Is it talking about you?”

My chest rose and fell uneasily as I nodded.

“But…that means you’ll live forever—without me.” Her sparkling blue eyes widened, her tongue slipping out to wet her bottom lip.

“Is this why you haven’t mated with me? You’re afraid that I’ll die, and you’ll have to go on without me?”

I held her closer, a low growl leaving my chest. “No. You die, I die. You got that? I refuse to live without you.” I squeezed her hips gently. “Keep reading.”

“But I—”

“Belle,” I coaxed. “We’ll talk after you’ve read the entire thing. Okay, baby? Don’t start panicking on me just yet.”

“Oh, so there’s more to panic about?” she said, her voice sounding stressed.

“Not anything that we won’t be able to handle together.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she turned and looked back down at the podium.

I hated all of the stress I was causing her—had~ been ~causing her. I could feel her worry rolling off of her in waves and my protective instincts took over.

I brushed her hair from over her shoulder, revealing her bare neck to me. My lips brushed over her mark as she continued to read, my chest vibrating with the deep purrs of my vampire.

She leaned back into me, her small fingers losing the tense grip they had on my arms, which were still wrapped around her.

My only goal had been to calm her but I definitely didn’t mind when the smell of her arousal and mating pheromones filled the air of the small room, mixing with the smell of the wet stone and humid air.

Her breathing picked up, and I held in a groan as my already hard dick twitched in my pants. I knew Belle could feel it, the air around us so sexually charged that it was nearly suffocating.

I couldn’t help myself as my lips kissed from her mark all the way up to her pulse. It beat frantically beneath my lips, speeding up even more as I sucked it into my mouth.

It was all I could do not to sink my fangs into her throat and swallow her sweet blood, knowing all that would accomplish would be to send both into a frenzy.

“Do you want me to read this or not?” Belle demanded, unconsciously squirming her cute little ass back against my cock.

I chuckled into her neck despite my feelings of desperation. “Sorry, baby. Just anxious.”

She didn’t respond, turning back to the prophecy.

“~And she will become a member of the Fae. They will take the throne, the king and queen reincarnated~,” she read aloud.

My lips lifted from her skin, but my purrs only got louder as she continued to tense up with every word she read.

“What does this mean?” she asked me, pointing at the part that explains her transition after mating.

“It means that you will shift after we mate,” I explained softly. “You will become a fairy just like Evangeline Viotto was.”