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The airplane ride back to Italy was both depressing and awkward at the same time. Depressing, because I had given myself to the leaders of the vampire world as their servant and I really did not want to do it, and awkward, because I didn't know anybody, and I was not in the mood to start making friends.
It didn't seem like anyone else was, either. I was nearly ignored the entire trip, which I didn't mind. I wanted to be left alone.
A small, black-haired female vampire came and sat next to me at one point. "Hello," she greeted me, a gentle smile on her face. "You must be our newest recruit. My name is Renata, I'm Aro's personal bodyguard."
Why on earth does a vampire need a bodyguard? I wondered. Besides, this girl is so small I'm surprised she doesn't get blown away by the wind.
Being polite, I answered, "I'm Kristin," in a small voice. Not because I was shy, I just knew to keep my head down.
But Renata only smiled. She patted my shoulder and said, "It's been a pleasure speaking with you. I hope you enjoy your time with the Volturi." Still smiling, she walked away.
When we landed in Volterra, it was on a private landing strip owned the by the Volturi – naturally. It was nighttime, the stars sparkling across the sky. I could see it so much more clearly now, with these new eyes. I took a few seconds to appreciate it before moving on.
We entered the city, and the sounds of sleeping humans were everywhere. I could hear their slowed, subtle heartbeats, but it didn't make me thirsty. It was peaceful.
Our group reached a thick iron grate in the city's cobblestone ground. Felix lifted it from its place, and nodded to us to jump down. I landed on my feet with a soft thud. We continued down the dimly lit tunnel until we reached a set of stairs locked behind an iron gate. Following the stairs up, we arrived at a pretty standard-looking door, which was unlocked. We entered into what looked like an office, though I knew that couldn't be what it was. The bland industrial carpet, the plain white walls – it seemed so out of character for the Volturi. I guess I was wrong.
What threw me off even more was the dark-haired, tan human girl sitting behind a desk a few feet away from the elevator we were heading towards. She looked up from the paperwork she was doing and was about to smile, but it died on her lips. She simply nodded at our party and murmured, "Bentornato."
Aro smiled at her, but it didn't touch his eyes. A fabrication of happiness. "Grazie, Chiara."
Chiara just barely nodded, her dark eyes wide and scared. I felt bad for her – I knew what our presence was doing to her, and I was guilty. I smiled at her, trying to reassure her that I wasn't out to kill her. Before I turned away to enter the elevator, I thought I saw her smile back tentatively, then drop her gaze.
It was a bit cramped in the elevator. I was shoulder-to-shoulder with Renata, who was in turn very close to Aro and Caius. It was like she was sewn to their cloaks. I wasn't sure if she was ever away from them for very long. The two ancients ahead of her were touching each others hands. I wasn't entirely sure what was happening there, but Alec, standing on my left, noticed my questioning expression, explained it to me. "Master's special gift is reading minds via touch. He can read every thought you've ever had simply by touching you." His soft, silky voice was like a fake voice recording – emotionless and monotone. He went back to pretending I didn't exist.
I was frozen in place. Every thought? I wondered. There were certain things I wanted kept private, but obviously that was lost now. He had already touched me. He had touched Lydia – I winced mentally at the bad memory – and knew what the situation was. And that I was there, and what my powers were. Isn't anything sacred? I thought, irritated.
He probably has certain things he'd rather keep under wraps. But no one can read his mind. It's not fair.
The elevator doors slid open then, and we all filed out quickly, grateful for the personal space. We continued walking down the hall, the stone walkways covered with tapestries and very old oil paintings. We reached a set of ornately carved doors at the end of the long walkway and entered a large, round, carpeted room. This must be some kind of castle turret.
This room was also made of stone, but there were various rugs on the floor and on the walls. A fireplace burned at the end of the room with chairs, chaise lounges, and sofas
gathered around it. I looked up, and there were bookshelves upon bookshelves stacked up very, very high around the walls, all filled with books. I could spend hours in here... I thought to myself, delighted.
There were others in this room besides the ones I'd come in with, a sea of black and dark gray cloaks, like mine. An average-sized, red-haired female vampire with a heart-shaped face and wide eyes leaned against one of the chaise lounges; what appeared to be a small, androgynous-looking girl with a short, light brown hair and full lips was standing next to her. She was Alec's carbon copy, apart from her feminine features. That must be Jane, Alec's twin sister. There was another female with light brown hair standing next to Jane, but she was several inches taller and more curvy, and she carried herself like a snob; next to her, a tall, dark-haired male, with sharply defined features. He had his arm around her waist, and he was very close to her. Must be her mate, I assumed. Then, a very tall, muscular male with an olive tone to his pale skin and dark hair tied back in a ponytail. Next to him, a tall, statuesque female with long, dark reddish-brown hair, easily the most beautiful of them all.
Lastly, there was another tall, dark-haired male in the corner of the room, sitting in a chair, staring off into space looking bored. His skin was thin-looking, like Aro's and Caius's, his eyes filmy. Marcus. His name came back to me then. He was physically the youngest of the three leaders, easily, possibly eighteen or nineteen when he was transformed.
"We are here today to welcome our newest member," Aro announced, his soft voice carrying throughout the entire room. He smiled at me, a gesture I did not return. "Kristin! She has been gifted with invisibility."
A few curious glances and skeptical murmurs sparked across the room. I looked around myself a few times, then began studying the rug under my feet, feeling uncomfortable.
"Kristin, my dear, why don't you show them your talents?"
This was the absolute last thing I wanted to do, but I had to. I looked up, and made myself invisible. I moved around the room a few times, nudging things as I went to let people know where I was, then I stopped. I became visible again, and everyone seemed impressed. I smiled a little, pleased with myself.
"Good, good," Aro practically purred. "Now, get acquainted until Marcus, Caius, and I return."
The three leaders left the room. My eyes lingered on Marcus as he passed. His burgundy eyes were not just uninterested, but... sad. He caught me looking at me, and I was about to look away. But those sad, uninterested eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He raised his brows, nodded to me, and left the room.
"That's the most interest I believe I've ever seen him show in anything," came a high-pitched female voice from beside me. I turned, and it was the redhead. She was looking at me curiously, still. I sighed. I was going to be a hot commodity for a while. "My name is Corin," she told me. "I may as well introduce you to everyone else." I perked up a little – I was interested in who this people were. I'd have to know later.
"You do know Jane, right?" she asked me.
"Yeah," I told her.
"Well, the other one with the light brown hair is Chelsea, whose special talent is manipulating relationships; her mate is Afton, he can make himself mentally invisible to others. It's similar to your talent. The tall one with the long hair is Santiago. He doesn't have a special talent, he's just stronger than the average vampire. He tends to think with his muscles instead of his head." Corin rolled her eyes. She continued. "Lastly, the tall girl with the long hair is Heidi. She's the one who brings the humans here for our... needs. Clearly, it's not too hard for her."
I looked at Heidi for a moment, and I couldn't help but agree with her.
"Well, Kristin, I hope you do good here with us," she told me. "I know it must be hard for you, being so new to this life."
I nodded. "It's definitely not easy."
She placed her hand on my shoulder and began leading me out of the room. We walked down the hallway from earlier, but we turned a corner instead of going all the way to end. Up a flight of stairs. Around another corner. Of course I would remember all of this later – perfect vampire recall. Thank goodness for that.
"So, did you leave a lot of family behind?"
I shook my head. "Just my mother and step-father."
"Step-father?"
"Yeah. My dad died when I was twelve."
"How long ago was that?"
"Five years ago."
"You're only seventeen?"
I nodded.
She shook her head, looking sad. "So, so young to have your life taken from you."
"I know. Sometimes I wish Lydia had never changed me. Though there are some cool things about being a vampire." I had no clue why I was feeling so comfortable with this woman that I had just met, or why I was opening up to her. But I felt fine with it, which was odd for me. I was normally a very private person.
"Well, to use the common expression, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right?" Corin smiled.
I laughed a little. "Right."
"Well, you will find your things here. Good luck, little one."
I smiled, my first genuine smile in a while, it felt like. "Thanks, Corin."
"No problem."
And she left. With a sigh, I opened the door into my new room and my new life.
