Unknown POV

It was an imposing structure; crumbling, yes, but for the many millennia that it had stood it faired well. The looming, moss-riddled castle was by all accounts deserted, and the cold, dank air that wafted from it did nothing to add to its allure.

"Are you certain you've brought us to the right place, tracker?" The vampire who spoke, a woman, asked this with a certain amount of disdain. Compared to her, he was nothing.

"Yes." The tracker looked uneasy, his near-black eyes not leaving the castle. He didn't dare venture out from the treeline to it; he knew what horrors it held, and he was not foolish enough to draw closer.

"I hope, for your sake, that your words are true," the second woman said, seeing the tracker's hesitance and scoffing at his cowardice. "You are to remain here until the accuracy of your supposed gift is confirmed."

"I lead you to your destination. My gift does not lead one astray. I will leave with my life, while I still can. I fear them more than you," the tracker said, giving the castle a last apprehensive glance before turning on his heel and disappearing into the trees.

"He has always been a coward," the first woman said with a sneer. Further complaint was halted as the two stilled, hearing rapid footsteps approaching. Footsteps that originated from within the weathered castle.

The vampire who emerged was not the one the women wanted to see; he towered over them, red eyes unsettling in their intensity as he glanced from one face to the other. "What business have you with the masters?" His voice was deep and accented by a language long forgotten.

"We have information. There is weakness in Volterra," the first woman spit.

The man's face remained impassive, but he turned and made a beckoning gesture. "Come."

He lead them in silence for some time, walking at a human pace; he seemed to do this on purpose, as if he knew it irritated the two women. After walking some distance, so far that they must have been deep within the bowels of the stone castle, he halted in front of two heavy, semi-rotted wooden doors. He pushed them open with no effort, leading them inside.

The only light in this room came from torches that were spotted intermittently along the walls. Two more vampires stepped forward from where they stood flanking the door to glide silently behind the two women. There were other vampires around the room, standing like statues against the wall, their red eyes following the strangers.

"My, my, my." Red eyes glittered in torchlight as their guide dropped to one knee. "What have we here?"

"An audience has been sought with you. To inform you of weakness that lies within the walls of Volterra," their guide said. His head was bowed; he did not meet the eyes of his masters.

"Excellent." The man on the left throne leaned forward, appraising the two women. "Oh my. You ladies are so very far from your tower. Betraying the Volturi, are we?"

"Is it betrayal, then, if it was we that were betrayed first?" The first woman tossed her chocolate hair and stared at the two men without fear. "Do you want our information, or no?"

He bared his teeth. "Very much so. What have you to offer us?"

"The kings have found their true mate. A very human mate," the second woman said. "And it is with her that the Volturi will fall."

A dangerous smile, made all the more haunting by the flickering torchlight, spread over his face. "How convenient the timing of this news is. You've noticed the force we've already began to assemble, I take it? Our timeline must be accelerated. Assemble a team to search out humans that could be of use to us."

This order was directed towards the still kneeling man, who stood abruptly, raised his eyes to the thrones, and said crisply, "Yes, masters."

"How delightful our fight will now become, Vladimir. Once the mate is dead, the Volturi will fall. Fools! They are ours."


Bad things are happening, both within and outside of the walls of Volterra. I'm moving the pieces into place for what is to come in the much-anticipated sequel: Penance. The Romanians are acting and the Volturi is divided, how concerning... Anyway, the reaction of the last chapter is about what I expected, but I won't leave you to stew on that cliffhanger or this epilogue for very long. I'm hoping to have the prologue of Penance out within the next couple of days, and I'll update this story with the sequel announcement when I do so. I'm very excited for what to come and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do. I've had such an amazing journey writing Tenebrous and I've grown so much as a writer by doing so. I'm sad that it is now, officially, over, but I'm looking forward to what is to come. A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who have supported me along the way, you guys are all AMAZING and I love and appreciate each and every one of you.

On that note, here are a few responses to the fallout from last chapter:

FAIRY4LIFE: Fun fact- I originally wasn't planning on having Aro kill Didyme in this storyline. But as I was planning the sequel I realized it made the most sense for what needed to happen, so here we are. Rowan is going to do a lot more growing and will make an awesome queen. I'm so glad you noticed the foreshadowing that I sprinkled throughout this chapter, some happened accidentally but most of it was intentional. Thanks for noticing (and thanks for your review!)

FriendlyNeighborhoodHufflepuff: I know exactly what you mean. Disappointed but not surprised, right? ;)

Maia2.0: So glad you liked the twist! I'm having mixed reactions on that count - some are horrified (understandably) while others are very excited about what this will mean for the story to come. Thanks for reviewing and sticking with me throughout the story!

Luceoscura: Yes, so many twists! I try not to leave things on cliffhangers, so when I do... oh boy. Lots of exciting things (like the proposal) happened during this chapter but there are a lot of hurdles to overcome before the wedding. Rest assured, you will be seeing Rowan as a vampire. Can't say when, that would spoil the fun. Emmett is my fave, I love him. Thank you for your review and I'm glad you're excited about what's to come!

I guess that's all I have to say. The last A/N has me kind of emotional, I'm not going to lie. As I mentioned, I'll release an announcement when I publish Penance so you guys will know, but the next time you'll really get my rambling thoughts are in the sequel. So take care and I'll catch you in Penance. That's all, folks!