~Isabella's POV~
The jet door opened, and Jacob launched himself down the steps, landing on his knees at the tarmac runway, heaving down great lungsful of fresh, Italian air. Kai and I exchanged a look before following him down.
"Too much for you, pup?" I teased, offering a hand to help Jacob to his feet. He looked pale – no – he looked green.
"I'm never flying again," He swore, one hand on his uneasy stomach he moved uncertainly away from the aircraft. Jacob had apparently never flown before and had been wary to board the private jet I had texted Sebastian to arrange for us at Sea-Tac International. The flight had already been a long one before the stench of Jacob's vomit filled the cabin.
"It wasn't that bad." Kai sang as he passed him to greet the young man in a black suit rushing across the runway to meet us.
"Buona Sera! Sig Ricci, Si?" The young man spoke in fluent Italian. I missed the language despite the sound of it reminded me only of Volterra.
"Si, Si," Kai replied, confirming that he was Mr. Ricci – another alias. I had asked Sebastian to arrange the jet under one of Kai's false identities as I was sure by now both the Volturi and the Cullen's were fully aware of my aliases. As Kai took the boy aside to confirm the arrangements we had made with Sebastian and to collect the car that was sure to be waiting for us, I moved to stand by Jacob's side. Together we looked towards the sky. The weather in Florence was much calmer than that in Forks, the night sky clear and full of stars, a sweet-smelling breeze blew through our clothes. Rich tastes and smells from the city.
Staring up at the stars I was brought back to only a couple of hours before, standing in the meadow with Edward by my side. How had that only been hours ago? "Come along," Feeling uncomfortable with the surfacing memories and the ache that accompanied them, I took Jacob by the arm and lead him away. We met Kai by the black car the human had parked nearby and left the airport as quickly as possible, Kai choosing to drive rather than have a human do it. The fewer people that knew we were in the country the better. For now, at least.
We drove in silence into the heart of the city. Florence was a subtle beauty. Unlike other cities of elegance – Rome, Paris, London, Etc. – Florence did not flaunt its beauty even with its ancient churches and coliseums, its countless and priceless galleries and museums.
"Whoa," Jacob leaned forward between Kai and I's seats, gawking at the city beyond the windshield. An ocean of colour and sound. He gaped at the cathedral in the distance, struggling to get a better look. "What's that?"
"That's the Cattedrale di Santa Maria Del Fiore," I told him. His returning look was enough to warrant a further explanation from me. "Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower," I said. He shrugged, not knowing what I meant when I continued to explain the sights but his smile did not falter.
"This is my first time away from home." He told us.
I was thankful that becoming a Shifter had halted Jacob's aging process indefinitely – well, until and if the day came, he decided to stop Phasing altogether but I doubted that day would come. In many ways, he was still so much a child. He had spent his entire, miserable life in that dreary little town and although I had come to develop my own sense of appreciation and love for Forks, it paled in comparison to the rest of the world. Other than being home to a Coven of Vampires and Pack of Werewolves, there was nothing extraordinary about the sad little town for Forks- save perhaps, for its unnatural and perpetual downfall of rain.
No, Jacob deserved to see so much more, and I wanted to show him. I wanted to be able to take him traveling, show him the world. For him to climb Machu Pichu or Everest and visit the Pyramids or the Taj Mahal or even the Grand Canyon. Any number of wonders this world had to offer. I had seen them all and then some. He had seen nothing I wanted to tell him this would not be his last time away from home.
But I couldn't.
Ten minutes into the drive through the city, we came to a stop and Jacob frowned at me in the rear-view. "Why've we stopped?"
"We're staying here tonight." I nodded to the Hotel across the road. Humans dined by candlelight in a private garden to the right, overlooking the Arno river.
"Are you sure it's safe to stop moving, to stay overnight?" He asked, peering into the shadows of the nearby buildings as if the Volturi Guard were lingering, hiding, waiting.
"If we go straight to Volterra now then we'll have to wait for the others to arrive much longer than we would if we set off at dawn. Besides, Kai and I have to hunt and you-you need to sleep."
He scoffed and waved off the comment as we stepped out of the car and headed into the hotel. It was small, ordinary. As was the room we quickly purchased for the night. One small living space with a built-in kitchen, bedrooms through the doors to the left and right along with an en suite. Okay, perhaps small and ordinary for someone who once lived in a palace.
"Won't the Volturi smell us?" Jacob asked as he headed to the obviously empty mini-fridge in the kitchen.
"No," I replied, moving to close the curtains. "When I overlooked the Guard I only ever stationed one or two vampires here in the city. Florence is too busy for our kind to stay very long without cause. And even if any guards stationed here are close by then our scents will be masked by your own."
"And," Kai said, sitting on the sofa. "No offence, you don't smell necessarily appealing."
"Right." Jacob nodded, closing the mini-fridge.
"You're hungry?"
He shrugged but didn't deny it.
"Order room service and put it on the bill."
"I don't speak Latin," He said.
I stifled a laugh. Kai did also. "Italian," Kai corrected, "And I do, what do you want?" Whilst Jacob relayed what he wanted to Kai, I headed to the bathroom.
The shower at the Cullen's had rejuvenated me a little but there was no denying my need for blood. In the harsh white light above I could see my reflection clearly was not unsurprised by how…undead I looked. Still, remarkably beautiful, of course, but the battle of the Newborn's and almost losing my life tonight had taken a toll on me. The battle, the loss, had hollowed out my face. Deep purple bruises were beginning to form beneath my eyes, of which the colour had changed from topaz yellow to black; an odd golden shimmer being the only indication of the nature of my diet. It was the fastest I had ever seen them darken.
For a moment – and only a moment – I considered abandoning the animal blood diet If our plan were to fail then we would surely need our strength. It was no secret that despite nourishing us, fresh-from-the-vein human blood would have empowered us and given me a more secure grip on my shield, something I was sure I was going to need tomorrow.
But then it dawned on me so suddenly I almost laughed. It wouldn't matter. After tomorrow, it wouldn't matter what diet I wanted. One ultimate factor swayed my decision to maintain the animal diet tonight: I wanted Aro to see these eyes.
"We need to hunt," I reminded Kai as I stepped out of the bathroom. He stood through the window, peeking through now drawn curtains. He sighed and nodded in agreement and I wondered if perhaps he had been wondering the same as I had. "There's some wildlife in the woodlands we passed through on the way here," A subtle way of hinting that I was going to remain with animal blood. I would not have judged him if he had chosen otherwise, but alas he nodded to the door.
"Lead the way."
I didn't particularly like the idea of leaving Jacob alone in the hotel whilst Kai and I went hunting but it wasn't safe for either of us to go alone. Kai reassured me Jacob was safer alone, mentioning how even if the Guard passed through, they would follow our scents, not Jacob's. I couldn't argue with him, not when I so desperately needed to hunt.
We weren't gone long, feeding on the local deer and wild boar deep into the Tuscan countryside. We were back within the hour.
In the time we had been gone Jacob had wolfed down – put intended – three full meals, showered and was now sat in a pearly white bathrobe on the end of the couch, his white slippers up on the coffee table and the television blaring out in Italian. He smiled at us with a mouth full of food when we walked in.
"Better?"
"Much," Kai answered for us. Seeing him now in the light I could see the blood already beginning to take effect, bringing some life to him. I could only hope it had the same effect on me.
Not long after we returned, Jacob let out an exasperated sigh and said, "So, I talked to Jared,"
"Jacob!" I scolded, glancing over my shoulder at him.
"I know, I know, don't worry," He began shaking his head, resting forward in the cushion. "I didn't tell him anything, just wanted an update on Leah,"
I went to speak but caught myself, thinking. I couldn't blame him for wanting to know how she was doing. I felt guilty for not wondering before now.
"How is she?" I said after a momentary pause.
Satisfied he wasn't in trouble, he leaned back in his seat and smiled softly to himself. "Better," He answered, "Healing,"
"Good news," Kai said,
"Yeah, but she keeps asking for me. Jared's been telling her I'm off trying to save Seth. Promised her I'll bring him home soon."
I turned my head so he wouldn't see the roll of my eyes. He shouldn't have made that promise, but I couldn't blame him for that either. There was no certainty either of us would live to see tomorrow.
"By now the others will know what we did," He said out of the blue, "So why couldn't we have just told them? They might've agreed to go along with it?"
I tried hard not to roll my eyes. "They wouldn't," I said.
He shook his head, his glossy black hair which was still wet stuck to his face. "How do you know?"
"because I know if the roles were reversed then I wouldn't have allowed it." I said and he sighed, "Even if tricking the others has only granted us a few more hours then it still was worth it. If we told them, they would not have allowed us to leave. That's why we brought you, so Alice wouldn't foresee the plan."
"What do you think they're gonna do?" He asked.
"Oh, they'll meet us in Volterra." I was sure of this. "They'll probably try to go ahead with the original plan, try cut Victoria off before she reaches the city tomorrow, but they'll miss her and have no choice but to follow her to Volterra where we'll be waiting."
Repeating all of this seemed to put a damper on his mood.
"You should sleep," I told him. He shook his head. "Jacob."
"I won't be able to."
"I've never doubted something more in my entire existence, not even when you all told me I wasn't real."
At this, he laughed. I even smiled with him. "You need the rest. You need your strength for tomorrow. Others may depend on it." I knew it was the right thing to say to get him to agree and it wasn't long before he was on his feet heading for one of the bedrooms.
"Just a couple hours." He said.
"A couple of hours." I agreed and closed the bedroom door. He was asleep within a matter of minutes. Kai and I stifled a laugh as he begun to snore.
Not wanting to risk disturbing him with conversation, I nodded to the second bedroom and Kai followed me inside, closing the door gently behind him.
"He'll sleep for hours," Kai said and I hummed in agreement from where I stood by the window, peering through the blinds nosily at the humans walking blissfully unaware of our presence down the busy street. "I must say, I envy him." Kai moved to place himself on the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees.
"In times like this, I do too," I confessed.
I had never been one to miss sleep. My memories of sleep as a human were spent in a cold stone room on a bed made of straw with a sheer gown and a think blanket of cow fur as my only source of warmth. I had spent those nights plagued by nightmares of what was sure to come the following day. Sleep had never been something I enjoyed as a human and never missed as an immortal. In fact, all of the spare time I had upon becoming immortal was something I was very much excited for. Only as time passed, I came to realise that for most humans, sleep was an escape. A release. A way to literally shut off from the outside worlds, ignore your worries and give your mind time to heal. If I were human, I would have spent the night sleeping away the hours until dawn.
After a minute of silence, I glanced over my shoulder and found him looking at me, watching me. Slowly moving his eyes up and down my body, admiring every detail until he met my eyes. "See something you like?" I teased, letting go of the blind and facing him, crossing my arms against my chest as I leaned against the wall.
"Definitely," The corner of his lips turned upwards.
I smirked.
"Come to me," He demanded, holding out a hand. I usually did not take well to demands but this time did not refuse. I pushed off from the wall and moved to stand between his legs. His hands found my waist, his fingers so careful. I lifted his chin with a single finger, smiling down into those impossibly bright amber/gold eyes. I found myself counting his unnaturally long lashes and dragging my fingers along the stubble of his jaw and caressing his sharp cheekbones; taking in every possible detail of his face. I took a moment to remember them.
His lips parted a fraction as my thumb brushed across them. His eyes closed. "Kiss me." He pleaded in a single breath. I complied. I did not know if he leaned up to meet me or I collapsed into him. Perhaps both. My focus only on the warmth of his lips. The taste of them exquisite. My arms folded over his shoulders as I leaned further into him; our mouths moulding together perfectly.
After a minute we broke apart, his eyes looking longingly into my own. As if staring at something he would never quite possess. But he did possess me. I was his now, just as he was mine. Hoping I conveyed this in the look I gave him in return, in my smile, in my touch. I knew what also troubled him, what sad wonder plagued him: if tomorrow did not go our way then that meant this was our last night together.
And if it was, we were going to make it count.
I kissed him again, longer this time. Harder. His fingers squeezed me tighter and closer to him. I slid my hands down over his chest, past the flesh of his stomach to the hem of his T-shirt. I brushed my fingers beneath the fabric, thriving in the warmth of the bare skin I met there – and I pulled it upwards and over his head to the ground. I took a long second to soak in the magnificence of his body, wondering what about it made me desire it so.
Other than the typical muscle, I found myself obsessed with every single aspect of it. From the battle scars to the dip of his belly button to the tuff of black chest hair across the planes of his torso. This was love, I realised. Finding yourself adoring silly aspects of someone without any true reason to.
I ran my hands over the wings of his shoulder blades and nodded to him, a nod to say I wanted more. He shot up, spinning to throw me against the bed. He tore my shirt over my head, balled it up and threw it to the ground to join his. He pressed forward, laying me back against the mattress as he moved to cover me, his fingers caressed my hips and brushed past my stomach and along my ribs. His lips continued up and down my jaw. I relished in the heart burning between us as our skin touched. He attempted to hover, but I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him in, wanting to feel the warmth and weight of his body against mine.
My hand glided over the rolls of his shoulder blades, down the arc of his back and into the back of his jeans. He fiddled with the button of my own until it became undone; one hand holding the back of my neck as he kissed me, the other dragging down my jeans. I grabbed the waistband of his and pulled them down also, his bare backside out in the open. Another part of him I was infatuated with.
Our lips became more eager, our hands more demanding, inpatient. The gentleness was gone, replaced with a fierce intensity and desperation like no other.
He gasped out words between kisses, words like 'Beauty' and 'Incredible.' He barely had the chance to get them out before our lips crashed together again.
After my jeans fell away, his own hand returned quickly to grab my thigh, guiding us as we rolled onto our sides so he could unclasp my bra. It fell away to the floor. He wasted no time in removing my underwear, gliding a hand firmly down my leg, taking the underwear with it until they flicked off my toes.
The hand hitching my leg over his waist began to glide over, squeezing tightly. His fingers soon giving me pleasure. His lips moved to suck at my neck, then quickly to my breast where he took my nipple wholly into his mouth, between his lips and his teeth. His movements below quickened as he massaged in circles.
Oh, Gods, I'd missed this.
After a while he withdrew his hand – the absence of his fingers and the pleasure they brought was painful. He leaned back up to kiss me, laughing softly to himself at the look I surely had on my face. "I love you," He laughed. There was no time to say it back before he kissed me again. I could feel him pressing against me through his jeans, moaning into my mouth at the sensation.
"Take them off," I demanded, and he quickly obliged. He dropped his own jeans, boxers too. I couldn't help but pause to gawk at him as he sprung free. The only thought running through my mind? It had been too damn long. As he quickly flew back to my side, my own hand moved around to the front, grasping onto him as I massaged up and down, smiling into his lips with each moan he breathed into mine, feeling him grow more and more with each movement.
He shifted me further up the bed and separated my legs. He knew where I liked to be touched. He knew what would make me shiver.
A kiss to my abdomen, then lower.
And lower.
And then his lips…his tongue…
I gripped the bed so tightly my nails tore through the linens. I arched into him, trying not to hurt him as I ran my fingers through his hair, biting my lip as to not cry out his name. One hand ran the length of my body to my neck, my head fell back in ecstasy, my already tangled hair falling free of the bun. His arms curled around my thighs to hold me in place. His name escaped me. "Kai…" His lips, tongue, and fingers worked in tandem. It became impossible not to make any sound - the noises I made only seemingly to entice him into going faster.
Wanting to touch more, feel more, I growled and moved forward, flipping him over. He arched an eyebrow at me but didn't' question it as I began kissing my way down the smooth curves of his abdomen, past his navel – his fingers entangled in my hair. He groaned loudly as I took him into my hands, my mouth, listening to him moan my name over and over.
Isabella…Isabella…Isabella…
Finally, I moved further up the bed until I straddled his waist. His eyes on me as he spread my legs and began to position himself; I teased with slow back and forth movements, his smile the most beautiful thing on Earth. Then after an eternity of being apart, we came together as one.
We both gasped aloud at the sensation. He pressed deeper into me – slowly at first but quickly picking up the pace. He knew my body, knew the right places to touch, knew what sounds mean what. I ran my hands firmly down his torso, feeling his chest hair between my fingers, wanting to press against the firmness of immortal muscle beneath his skin as I ground back and forth; he moaned in time with me, the both of us finding immense pleasure in the action.
His muscle chest heaved with each thrust. He curled into me, pressing the top of his head against my stomach. My name still on his lips. Grabbing me by the waist, we flipped again, and I landed on my back. His lips smashed against mine, his fingernails dug into my claves as he hoisted my legs over his shoulders and again, pressed into me. I savoured every inch of him, tipped my head back and let my moans slip out. One hand entangled in my hair, the other exploring below in circles as he rocked into me again and again and again. Relentless and unforgiving The way I craved it.
My legs slid down from his shoulders and locked around his waist; with each passing second, I could feel my release gathering, getting closer. Kai could sense this in the way I tensed and bit down on my lip involuntarily and dug my fingers into his shoulder blades. A current of light ran through me – then I exploded.
I held him to me as the world around me erupted with lights and energy, unyielding energy – pure shining joy. Kai found his release only seconds later, spilling into me with a moan of his own as his head came to rest against me.
Smiling down at me he seemed to glow. It radiated from his skin, his eyes. I couldn't be sure if he was actually glowing or if it was me. He remained buried in me, breathing me in, slowly, leaning heavily against the bedframe we hadn't realised we'd destroyed.
"Oops," I said and he huffed out a heavy breath of laughter, giving in he collapsed against my body as we erupted into laughter.
He fell off me soon later and I rolled into the nook of his shoulder, his arm draped around me, our legs knotted together
"It's been a long time since we've done that." He said.
I hummed, agreeing whole-heartedly "To think we've spent all these weeks training when we could have been doing that."
"You know what that means?" He asked. I looked at him.
"We've got plenty of lost time to make up for?"
"Exactly."
And with a growling purr, we started all over again.
From where I lay in the crook of Kai's arm, I could see the first few pink rays of dawn began to shine through the blinds. I lay there, his fingers mindlessly tracing patterns along my arm. The smile that had been on my face these past few hours slowly disappeared as a sense of dread washed over me as I realised, we soon would need to leave. I did not want to leave. If I could, I would have stayed in that spot for the remainder of eternity. It had been too long since I had curled up against Kai's warmth and was lost to the world.
What had happened between us last night had been different. In the past, we had always been rough and careless and predictable, meaningless. Just two people fucking – that's all it had ever been to me but now, this time, it was different. This time we hadn't fucked. This time was special. I rolled my own eyes at the sentiment but knew it was true. For the first time in forever, I understood was people meant when they said the term 'Making love'
As Jacob woke not long later (more than a couple of hours) I watched for any indication he was aware of what Kai and I had done with our last night together. Kai and I had already showered and changed back into our clothes. I wasn't embarrassed or ashamed, even if he did know but what I did not want was for him to have been aware of what it had meant to Kai and I and realise that he may never have had the chance to be intimate with his mate again – he could very die today and never have had the chance to say goodbye.
After breakfast, Jacob headed downstairs to retrieve the car; he came to collect us out the front of the building rather than risk us being caught in the sunlight. Despite our hoods being up and hands tucked deep into pockets; if word spread of a beautiful glowing woman, then it wouldn't matter what happened today, we'd be sentenced to death anyway.
We rushed into the car as he pulled up, Kai taking the wheel and Jacob hopping into the backseat. Once inside, protected by the tinted windows, I lowered my hood.
"Ready?" Kai asked. I looked to him, then Jacob, then nodded, hoping the fear I felt within was not portrayed in my eyes.
"Let's go."
The drive passed quickly and mostly in silence. Every now and again Jacob would ask a question about Volterra and the Volturi themselves and I would try my best to answer them and prepare him for meeting Aro. I hated that Jacob was now a part of this world; if it were my choice, I would have left him in Florence to await the arrival of the others, but I knew Jacob and there was no way on this Earth he would stay behind. Not with Seth's life on the line. And I respected him for that.
As we approached Volterra, his phone beeped. I met his eyes in the rear-view mirror and, after glancing down at his phone only once, he nodded back to me. A solemn look on his face.
"It's…"
"Edward?"
"Yeah," He said. Each of the Cullen's had called a dozen times and texted twice that, we had ignored them each time. I hadn't even read their messages. Jacob had and had told us on the flight that they were worried, confused, demanding answers on where we had gone. I'd told him it would be easier if he too stopped reading the messages, only now Edward was calling.
"Do I-?"
"No," I snapped, "No..."
"They won't be happy," Kai said.
I shrugged, "I don't need them to be happy. I need them alive."
I knew what this was to them, what they would likely see it as. A betrayal. I just hoped one day they would come to forgive my actions and decisions – or at least, come to understand them. "Anyways, we'll see them soon enough. We're here."
Kai and Jacob leaned forward. "Whoa…" Jacob gasped.
A bittersweet feeling, returning to this place. It had been my home for hundreds of years and despite that being only in memory, I still found myself missing this city. That did not mean that I ever wanted to return. Never again did I believe I would step foot in this city, on these cursed grounds. Not willingly, anyway. And yet here I was. I was home.
"So that's Volterra, huh?"
"That's Volterra."
It saddened me deeply to see the city of Volterra rise over the horizon. An ache started in my chest as I took in the familiar silhouettes of the buildings looming over the wall, rising above the forest surrounding it, hidden away from the rest of the world. A stirring in my gut warned me to turn back now before it was too late, but I ignored it and pressed harder on the accelerator, knowing the only way out of this was to head straight into it.
As we drove through the city, I kept my eye on the road ahead and not the buildings or the people; Jacob, however, peered through the tinted windows at the market stalls and busy restaurants, trying to hide how impressed he was by this entirely new world he had entered. Volterra was like Florence, in a way but on a much smaller scale. Of course, it lacked the monuments and extravagance, but authentic Italian music still played in the streets, smiles were passed from stranger to stranger, children danced and sang and played in the square. So much joy and life. The perfect place to hide monsters.
We pulled into a parking lot behind a block of apartment buildings, only a short walk from the courtyard. I looked to the ginnels between buildings, finding no faces in their shadows. Not yet. I turned in my seat to face them both to find them looking back at me.
"Are you both prepared for what is about to happen? What could happen?"
Kai just looked at me and gave my hand a squeeze. The way he looked at me bringing me back to the night before only now the memory had become painful. Last night had been perfect. I only prayed we would live to experience it again.
"As I'll ever be," Jacob forced out a huff of laughter, one I tried to echo but managed only a soft smile. I heard them approach from all directions.
"They're coming," I told him. We stepped out of the car directly into the shade of the nearest building. Standing side by side, facing a long and narrow tunnel before us.
"I love you," Kai said.
"I love you too."
He reached down and took my hand, his fingers interlocked with mine. It was a matter of seconds before they emerged from the shade, ghosting closer silently. Their black and grey cloaks blending in with the shadows surrounding them. The Guard. Only a handful – they knew we weren't stupid enough to try anything in public. They parted and a shorter figure stepped forward. She lowered her hood and where I expected to find a smug grin, an angry frown met me. Jane. I had not missed her. Jacob gulped at the sight of her brilliant red eyes.
No reunion, no introductions, no sarcastic 'I told you so' remark.
"Follow me." Was all she said, turning and leading the way back into the shadows. Kai and Jacob looked to me and I nodded. Together, we followed.
As we moved I did not take my eyes off Jane, or the Volturi guard surrounding us. Several of them I had trained myself but most of them, I noticed, were Newborn's. Recent additions to the guard likely turned in light of Kai and I's betrayal. Losing two of his most powerful guard had seemingly frightened Aro into expanding his forces.
We passed through the courtyard and I risked a glance over my shoulder at the building across the fountain, peering over the stone balcony at the glass and wooden doors there. Beyond which had been my chambers once. My safe place. My quiet place. I knew no matter what happened, that space would never again mean what it once had.
Jacob tried not to be impressed by the Volturi's underground palace, but we could all sense the awe radiating from him, gawking at the marble columns and ornate furniture as we passed. That one painting worth more than three times the land he lived on. I reminded myself after this to send some money to Jacob and his family, to ensure their comfort for the rest of their days, if I had the chance.
We turned the corner to the throne room and when I spotted the guards I knew would be stationed there, I felt a pang of nostalgia. Who would have ever thought I would have missed Dimitri? Felix grinned at me but Dimitri, whom I'd expected a joke from, kept his expression flat and mouth shut. He looked almost…sad.
The doors to the throne room opened and we passed by Dimitri and Felix in silence.
Stepping into the throne room I could feel the promise of death weighing down on me. I knew these marble walls and magnificent columns and stone archways better than anybody and still found myself wanting to look around, to take it all in with new meaning, a truer meaning – it was in this very spot not three years ago that my fate was changed. All of the history and lies and betrayal and deceit had all started here – but Jane spoke, her voice capturing my attention.
"Masters," Jane said, "We have visitors."
She stepped aside and I saw him.
Perched upon his throne was Aro. His long black hair tucked neatly behind his ears, one leg folded over the other almost lazily. The open book in his lap acted as a prop only. He had been informed of our arrival the moment we entered the city. An act, pretending to be caught pleasantly unaware by our "surprise" visit.
Upon seeing me his eyes widened frighteningly, his mouth dropped open but then slowly mangled into his wide open-mouthed grin. His eyes landed on mine and I did not drop his gaze.
"Ah! Isabella!" Aro exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air as he rose to his feet. He stepped down to the first step of the dais – in the past, he would not have hesitated to embrace me and kiss my cheeks. Now, he would not leave the dais. "What a wonderful surprise!" He had known we were coming for hours. "It has been too long since we've seen you! You know, when I told you to take time off to yourself, this was not what I meant."
The Guard present laughed to Aro's pleasure. Caius scowled. Marcus showed no indication of his awareness of our presence.
I moved into the center of the room until I stood precisely above the sewer grate, the trio's last feed still wafting up through the rusted iron bars. I had forgotten how much this room smelt of blood.
"Hello, Aro," I replied softly. Aro stopped smiling and the laughter died out. What I had said was enough to anger him; the simple act of using his name. An obvious display of my lack of respect. He was no longer my Master.
"There is something…different, about you." He stepped forward, pretending to squint to get a better look at me then gasped aloud. "Your eyes! Oh my." My eyes. I only now thought of their colour. "I must say, the change in your diet comes as quite a shock,"
"I am a very different person now,"
"In more ways than one, it would seem,"
His eyes drifted to Kai at my side.
"Mordecai, a pleasure to see you too deign us with your presence." He sighed, "I heard from your men in the Middle-East just two hours ago. You can imagine how disappointed I was to hear that they had realised they were under your compulsion and all this time had been sent on a wild goose chase whilst you were presumably with Isabella." His words were laced with venom, a snarl on the end of his sentence.
"My apologies to disappoint. Yes, I was with Isabella."
"I should have known. Instead, I was foolish enough to believe your loyalty to your coven outweighed your romantic interest in Isabella."
"It is more than a romantic interest."
"Yes…" Marcus breathed, startling us. "Yes, that is very clear."
Aro cocked his head, smiling. "So if all this time you were not in the Middle-East, I assume it's safe to say you were…"
"In Forks."
"With…the Cullen's, of course." He beamed. Why he smiled I didn't know. It was as if he were amused by this.
"They should be with us shortly," I said.
"Is that so? Well, we will eagerly be awaiting their arrival also." He nodded to a guard behind me and I heard someone leave the room.
Aro's head titled to inspect Jacob more closely, his nose twitching. "And Who is this young gentleman you have brought with you? He smells…peculiar?"
"This is Jacob Black. Alpha of the Quileute Shifter Pack and Protector of Forks, Washington and it's surrounding areas."
Aro's eyes widened, "Jacob…of course. I have heard much about you." He purred. Jacob's name sounded wrong in Aro's voice. I hated it. I hated this new connection between the life I had abandoned and the life I had found. Jacob followed my warning and kept his face expressionless, his eyes on Aro but remaining silent.
"A werewolf." Caius snarled, edging closer in his seat. "I would have you killed alone for that blatant lack of respect you demonstrate in bringing a mongrel here in our home." To bring one here – to give one a title – offended Caius directly.
"Brother…" Aro reprimanded, "I apologise on behalf of my brother, he is not a fan of your kind."
"The feeling's mutual." Jacob spat out. So much for remaining calm.
Aro just laughed but even Jacob who had never met Aro before today could see that behind his smile anger was beginning to show. "Indeed." If Aro hadn't laughed I was certain Jane would have tortured him – or Caius was have given the order. To the Volturi – with Aro as perhaps the only exception – the wolves would be considered no more important than a human.
"Not that I am not happy you have returned to us but your visit comes as quite a shock considering the circumstances of your departure, I cannot help but wonder why you've returned at all?"
"To surrender." Caius sneered, "To beg for mercy."
"We are not here to surrender." I snarled back, unafraid of him.
"Then why do you come?" Marcus asked.
"On her way here now is a vampire. Her name Victoria."
"Ah, Yes, Victoria." Aro hummed, "I have known her through the thoughts and memories of the Cullen's."
"Yes, well, she is on her way here now with a handful of Newborn's and a member of Jacob's pack as her hostage. She coming to offer you a deal."
"A deal?" Aro mused, "What kind of deal?"
"She's coming to offer herself and her Newborn's to your coven and to give the werewolf to you as a sign of good faith. And in return for this…you will see to it that I am killed."
Aro paced back and forth slowly, his eyes on the ground. "Oh my," Was all he spoke.
Caius chuckled, capturing the spotlight. "And you have come to do what, I wonder? Beg us not to accept her deal?" His tone mocking, as if to say that we were stupid for thinking it.
"No," I said, stepping forward. "I've come to offer you a better one."
Kai, Jacob and I were escorted away from the throne room and deeper beneath the city. I knew where they were taking us before the others caught on. "The dungeons," Jane announced as she nodded to the guard at her side who opened the door, beyond witch a stone stairwell led down to a long and dark and narrow corridor, on which a dozen cells lined either side.
We were escorted down, into the pitch blackness and into one of the cells. The torch on the wall was lit so Jacob could see. They left us alone.
Kai scoffed, taking in the cell.
"What is it?" I asked.
"This is where they kept you until you woke up from your transformation," Kai told me.
"Is it?" I looked around the small, box of a room and found nothing familiar about it. No memories surfaced in this room.
"So what? We just wait?" Jacob shrugged.
"We wait." I agreed. Jacob scratched the back of his head, sighed, then slumped against the wall and slid to the ground. It wasn't long before I joined him.
Kai took my hands, "What do you think?" He asked me, nodding to the door, to what had happened in the throne room above.
"I don't know," I confessed. I thought I knew Aro, but his thoughts had been unreadable. "It could still go either way, we could still die today."
"Well," He said, tilting my chin until our eyes met. "If we burn, then at least we burn together."
Almost an hour later, the silence was interrupted by a sound that echoed into the dungeon from far away, beyond the walls of the city. The sound of a half a dozen howls at once. Jacob's eyes widened and he flew to his feet, staring at the ceiling as if he could see right to his pack.
"They're close," He said and smiled, listening to the howls and I could see in his face he wanted nothing more than to call back. We all knew what their call was. A call out to either Jacob or to Seth but one all the same. A way to say, 'We're here.'
Asher's Note:
Hello Everyone! Chapter 29 is here! It has taken some time, but it is here! And I have some wonderful news. I have taken this time not updating to write freely and as often as I could. I'm thrilled to say I have also finished the next two chapters! I will upload the next chapter a week from today and the next a week after that. I hope to update every Friday from now on until the story is finished. There are approximately five chapters left, give or take. The last few chapters are unfinished and unedited so don't hold me to my promise of one a week! But I can confirm I'm almost there! The reason I'm leaving a week between chapters is so people can leave reviews and I can continue to work on the unfished chapters.
In this chapter, Isabella, Kai and Jacob return to Italy where Isabella and Kai finally share one last night together. They reunite with the Volturi and offer them a deal they hope they cannot turn down. P.S. I apologise for any cringe moments in the sex scene. As a gay male, it's difficult to fully understand how the female genitalia and orgasm works. Oops.
Responding to your reviews:
~ Asher ~
Goldielover: Hi and thanks for your review! I'm curious why you think Isabella was saying goodbye to Kai also? Did you expect the two of them to come to Volterra when you discovered they were going off without the Cullen's?
Traceybuie: Hello! Thank you for reviewing! I did enjoy the last chapter. I'm curious about your opinion on how you think it will play out with Isabella and Kai considering your thoughts on him.
JLove34: Thank you! Hope to hear your review on this chapter!
Moonlightstriking: Thank you! I agree, I much prefer a strong and confident female lead! I'm glad you like Kai, you should like this chapter! I can see why you would think that about Jacob being too comfortable with Bella killing humans. It wasn't something I thought about at the time honestly. I suppose he probably realised that it wasn't in Bella's control entirely. He's an older Jacob here, a more mature one.
Sharpeyes: Thanks for reviewing! I will definitely check out that story when I have the time!
Clacelover08: Thank you so much! It means a lot.
Luvyateamedward: I agree! What Edward is going through is really sad. I can't wait to see what you think of future chapters to come!
Narn101: Thank you so much! Your review made my day! I really hope to hear more from you with each update!
Joyfulsky67: Thank you! I'm thrilled you enjoyed!
~Asher~
