Chapter Thirty-One
Proof
tw: slight sexual harassment
A week later, Lena found Aro sitting at her dressing table, absently running his fingertips over the grain of the wood. Lena froze by the door, watching his skeletal hands move over the desk, pale fingers dancing, taunting.
A twinge of jealousy. She could only presume he came to torment her.
"Come in," he said, as if it were his room. It was, she supposed. All the rooms were his.
She stepped inside, and stared at him.
"Close the door."
She did.
He smiled at her. A thin smile that didn't reach his eyes. There was no softness to his gaze, no amusement.
"I don't tolerate secrets, Lena."
Lena tried, desperately, to look like she didn't know what he was talking about. Had he already found out about Corin and Chelsea's plan? Did he know that she hadn't really agreed to it? That she hadn't spoken to either of them since they met in the library?
Did he even care?
Demetri's face flashed in her mind's eye. She bit her tongue to keep her top lip from curling. He must have heard something. He must have said something.
It was a stupid plan. A stupid decision to talk about overthrowing the kings in their own home.
Lena swallowed. "Secrets?"
Wordlessly, Aro turned. With his back faced to her, some predatory creature within her gleamed. And then, seconds later, it was tackled and wrestled to the ground by some sickening sense of loyalty. It was in her bones, coded into her very being. This was her creator. She was not supposed to rise up against him.
She curled her right hand into a fist. She would have to overcome that.
Aro's eyes flicked to her in the reflection of the mirror, the colour of congealed blood.
Wordlessly, he opened the drawer to her dressing table. He picked up a thin gold chain and dangled it in the air from his thumb and forefinger. A tiny red gemstone twirled and caught the light streaming in from the window.
He stared at her. No longer was he smiling. His lips pulled into a thin line. His glare, sharp as glass, did not falter.
"What is this?"
Lena frowned. "A necklace."
He slammed his fist on the table. Wood creaked. He spun to look at her. His eyes glistened with rage.
With them now set directly upon her, Lena's skin prickled.
"I mean," he hissed through his teeth, "where did you get it?"
"It was a gift."
He stared at her for a moment. Lena could picture the violent fantasies running through his mind, reflected in the wetness of his unfriendly eyes. Limbs torn from her body, and locked away with her missing digits. Her neck snapping cleanly in his pale hands.
He stood, and crossed the room. Held his hand out to her.
"Pray I don't find anything I dislike."
Lena looked at his hand - his pale skin, scarless, and his fingers all attached. Last time he touched her, it had not ended well for her. This time, she knew he would take more than a few more fingers if he uncovered her conversation with Corin and Chelsea.
Her eyes darted back to his face. He smiled, but it was false. He was angry. A keepsake was a betrayal, a sign of wavering loyalty. That she might like someone more than Aro - someone other than him - was an insult.
"It doesn't matter what the truth is," she said. "You won't like it either way."
His smile collapsed. His eyes hardened. His hand dropped to his side.
If her heart still beat, she suspected it would be thundering against her ribs now.
"Alistair gave it to me," she said. "A long time ago."
"I see."
She waited for him to say something, to do something. To destroy it, to take it away from her as he had taken everything else. She waited for him to drop the necklace into his palm, and curl his fingers around it, and clench his fist until broken chainlinks fell from his hand.
He did not.
Instead, he held the piece of jewellery out to her.
She hesitated, glancing between his face and the necklace. She could not tell if this was some sort of trap. Quickly, she reached out, took it from him, and stuffed it in her pocket before he could change his mind.
He stared at her, making no move to leave. His eyes dropped from her face to her cloak. He reached out.
Lena flinched.
He stopped. Looked at her.
He smiled.
Stepping towards her, he closed the distance between them. He smelt of blood and pomegranates. His gaze dropped. With the tips of his fingers, he traced over the fabric draped over her shoulder.
"You would look much better in a darker colour."
Lena kept quiet.
His eyes flicked back to her face. Something shifted, just for a second, and exposed just how irritated he was. His mouth. The way his lip curled around his teeth. Vicious.
"I grow bored of you, Lena," he sighed.
His hand dropped, and he took a step away from her.
"It is in your interest to keep my attention," he said. "I do not keep clutter."
"Yes, Master."
His eyes shifted to the door. "I expect to see you tonight. You offend us with your refusal to attend our celebrations."
He drifted to the exit. Turned back to look at her, one hand resting on the door handle.
"Wear something nice. There are many you need to impress. Your reputation is… Well, I am sure you understand."
He left without another word.
Candles bathed the throne room in a soft golden light, a hundred dancing flames casting shadows onto the walls. The castle was old enough that the humans didn't question the absence of electricity. Marveled, instead, at the high ceilings and ornately carved stone.
There were swarms of them gathered in little rings around the place. Mindless chatter layered over the clinking of glasses and loud drunken laughter, not quite drowned out by the orchestra.
Lena screwed up her nose. Awful noises.
It was the first party she had attended since her arrival. She much preferred the feasts. There was nothing complicated about herding a group of tourists to their death, about grabbing someone suddenly and sinking her teeth into their neck. Here, there were too many social aspects Lena didn't care for. She had to laugh a particular laugh. Had to smile a certain way when someone told her about their trip to Monaco, to Egypt, to Peru.
As if she cared. She saw no point in talking to her dinner.
She made the mistake of dressing up, as she had been asked. She wore a floor-length gown of heavy black fabric. A gift from Aro. The waist was cinched and a long slit ran up the side of the skirt, exposing a toned brown leg when she moved. The deep V-neckline framed her cleavage, adorned with the small ruby pendant Alistair gave her before she left.
Aro was displeased. He watched her from the balcony. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second.
He turned away.
She watched as he spoke to Caius and Marcus. They were up there with him, watching, quietly muttering amongst themselves. Lena could not isolate their voices in the sea of noise. Even if she could, she suspected they were speaking their old language.
Someone bumped into her. She dragged her gaze from Aro to the man in front of her. A human, ruddy-cheeked, swaying as he stood. His eyes were dark and lustful, and fixated on her chest. He tempted her, though not in the way he probably hoped.
It was his blood, the very smell of him.
Lena tugged the sleeve of her dress down, hiding the four glossy bumps on her left hand from sight.
"You're really pretty," he slurred.
Lena pressed her lips together. Her gaze darted to the man coming up behind him, seemingly a friend from the way he slung his arm over the other.
"Pete botherin' ya?" he asked, blowing hair away from his eyes. "I'm sorry. Told him no more wine, didn't I, Pete? But he's not very good at listening."
"It's fine," she said.
"But it isn't. Tell ya what, let us make it up to ya." He swaggered towards her, his arm snaking around her waist. He lowered his head - bringing his throat closer to her mouth, she noted with glee. "We booked a hotel just down the road," he said by her ear. "Four stars, real private."
She pushed him off of her. "No."
"At least have a drink with us," the first man said.
"No, thank you." Lena turned to leave.
One of them grabbed her by the wrist. "Just one drink."
"So we can tell our friends we had a glass of wine with an angel."
She pressed her lips together. "You're pathetic. Leave me alone."
"Now, you don't gotta break a man's heart like that."
"That's right. That's just not nice."
"We just think you're pretty. That's all."
"Any man would love to drink with a pretty girl."
One touched her arm.
"And you're as pretty as they come."
"Prettiest girl here."
A hand grazed her back.
"Prettiest girl alive."
"Prettiest-"
One of them touched her hair.
Lena glared, and moved to slap his hand away. A pale hand caught it mid-air. She spun, eyes narrowed. These men deserved it. They were bothering her, they touched her, and they deserved it.
Demetri stood behind her. His eyes slid lazily from her to the two men. "Sorry to steal her away, gentlemen."
"Oh, she's your girlfriend? Sorry, man."
"We just thought, since she was alone, that- she- you know- we-"
His attention flicked back to them, like a magnet to metal. The corners of his lips lifted into something polite, but not at all amused. "I would advise against thinking in the future, then. It seems it is not your greatest talent."
And then, without giving them the opportunity to reply, he dragged Lena away. Despite Lena's efforts to shake him from her, his grip did not falter until they were out of the room.
"I apologise for grabbing you," he said.
"You shouldn't have stopped me. Those men were-"
"Vermin," he said. "But what could you have hoped to achieve by striking them? You are stronger. You would have killed him."
"I am not a child. I can control myself-"
"What, you would have only hit that man hard enough to make a scene?"
She was quiet.
"You are an embarrassment to the guard," he said. "You are not here because you are stupid. You are here because Aro sees something in you. Do not be so foolish as to throw that away."
Lena scoffed. As if any of this was a blessing. As if she had reason to be grateful for any of this.
Demetri narrowed his eyes and looked away from her. "Nevermind. Aro wants to see you."
She nodded, turned, and began to walk away. Another set of footsteps followed her, quiet, light, ghostly. She stopped and looked behind her.
Demetri, standing only a few paces behind her, did not blink.
"I know the way, thank you."
"I am sure you do," he said, making no move to leave.
Lena swallowed, and turned back around. She continued along the twists and turns of the hallways, and then marched up a flight of stairs. All the while, another pair of feet followed along behind her.
She stopped in an arched doorway leading to the balcony which overlooked the throne room. Mere feet away from her, the three kings sat in their extravagantly carved chairs, observing the crowd below.
Behind her, Demetri cleared his throat. Then, when she still did not move, he shoved her forwards.
Lena didn't fall, though she might have moved too quickly when correcting her feet. She glanced at the humans below. Had they seen her unnatural speed, her superior grace? It didn't seem so. They were all busy, enthralled in conversation, or else too drunk to notice her at all.
"They'll be dead by morning anyway," Caius said.
Lena looked at him. His face was blank, expressionless. Bored, even, as he looked out to the socialising masses. This was a routine to him. The part of the night he did not enjoy. Undoubtedly, he was deciding which of the humans stirring below he would like for supper.
Heat ravaged Lena's throat at the thought of feeding. The fire was not extinguished by the venom flooding her mouth. She gulped.
"Not yet," Aro said. "First, you must do something for me, Lena."
He stood, and moved towards the parapet. Rested his hands on the stone railing, and looked over the crowd gathered below. He spotted someone, nodded.
A signal.
He turned back to face her. Smiled. Said nothing, even though Lena expected him to elaborate.
A moment later, Felix walked out onto the balcony. A slender woman was beside him, her arm looped through his. She smiled up at him, her eyes begging him to look down at her. Enraptured with him entirely.
"Thank you, Felix."
He bowed his head, and detached the woman from him.
"Where are you-"
He kissed her temple, and met Lena's eyes as he did. "I'll be back in just a second."
He didn't go far. Lena saw him lurking in the dark, over by the stairs. Odd.
Her attention turned back to the human.
Her heart rate quickened.
Lena heard it, pictured the warm blood surging through her vessels. She swallowed, and glanced at the crowd below.
Footsteps. Aro moved behind Lena, and rested his hands on her shoulders. The sound of fabric. "Cream of the crop," he said by her ear. "I wouldn't skimp on your supper."
He drew a deep breath and sighed blissfully. The rush of air disturbed stray hairs.
"Sweetest one in the room. Why don't you see for yourself?"
Lena wanted to, but knew it was a bad idea. The mere thought of sinking her teeth in a fleshy neck made her gums ache.
The woman was growing more and more uncomfortable. She was not unaware of the two staring at her, or the words being exchanged. Her gaze flickered between them all, undecided on who she should address.
"What's going on here?" The woman tried to sound brave, but Lena caught the tremor in her voice.
She took a step back, and knocked into Felix's chest. He wrapped his arms around her securely. The woman twisted and writhed in his hold, desperate to escape, to turn and see her captor's face.
"She's a gift. It would be rude to slight me like this in front of our present company," Aro hissed. His fingers dug into her shoulders. "Breathe in, or you won't eat at all tonight."
She sniffed the air.
A strong sweet smell flooded her senses. Potent. The burning in her throat worsened. She clenched her jaw, gums aching for something to bite down on. There was no give, but her mouth pooled with venom as if she bit into supple flesh.
She moved to approach the woman, eyes trained on her throat.
"Not yet." Aro's grip on her tightened, fingers digging further into her shoulders. She felt his sharp nails through the fabric of her dress, shards of glass threatening to bury themselves in her skin.
Lena swallowed. Stood stiffly. Every muscle in her body was taut, anticipating the very second she was presented with an opportunity to spring forwards, latch onto the woman, and drain her.
She could do it, she thought, if she really wanted to. It wouldn't end well for her, but she could do it. Aro's strength seemed inferior to hers, and she was not in a position where movement would cause her immense damage. His hold on her was not strategic, not as cleverly planned as last time. Though, it would not be long after her teeth pierced the woman's neck before she was hauled away. Starved. Punished.
Would it be worth it?
"A meal is always tastier when you have earnt it," he said. "Show me your gift, Lena."
She frowned, and turned her head to look at him.
He smiled encouragingly. "As you did with Jasper and the others. I want to see it for myself."
She looked back at the woman, cowering in Felix's arms.
She had not used her gift on a human before. A part of her was thrilled with the idea, glad to have an opportunity to practice, and another part was uncertain. Was she even capable of summoning the ghosts of a human? Were her powers limited only to those like her?
She wasn't sure. She only knew she ached - her gums, her throat, her very being. She wanted her, and this was the only way Aro would let her feast.
She stepped closer to the woman, and ignored the way she flinched, whimpered, and tried to sink deeper into Felix's chest. Her expression was deliciously fearful. A bitterness tinged her scent, spoiled her and yet made her a hundred times more appealing to Lena.
Aro floated behind her. His stare was much more noticeable than Marcus' or Caius'. Invested. Something coiled in her stomach at the attention.
She had no choice.
She looked her in the eye, and waited for something to emerge. To float up to the top of the dark waters, a body left to drift away in the current.
A man. A fair bit older than her. His hair was pushed over to one side, away from his forehead. Two bushy eyebrows drew her attention, so thick that his eyes were lost in his face. Too small, too plain.
Lena imagined reaching out, grabbing him by the shoulders, and jerking him up and out of the depths in which he now lurked. His skin was cold under her fingertips. Firm.
She frowned, and her gaze wandered.
He was a short man. Scrawny. His neon blue polo shirt was loose on him. It did not give the illusion of bulkiness, but rather that he was much tinier than he truly was. The fabric was soft, smelt of licorice, and was stained with blood.
She stared at it: the spot, just over his left breast, where his heart should have steadily pumped. Dark red. A circle with bleeding edges. Wet to the touch.
He appeared in front of her as they all did. Formed himself from a shapeless blob of clay. A man shorter than her, shorter than the woman, convincingly human-like.
"Fascinating," Aro breathed.
Lena ignored him. Reached out to touch his face. His deceivingly warm cheek squished under her fingers, and bounced back when she pulled away.
The man stared at her with something akin to awe. Amazed, just as Lena had been the first time she managed such a feat. What a human reaction to have.
"Fred?"
His head snapped to the woman, and he stared at her. Her eyes were wide, her mouth agape.
For the first time, Lena saw one of her beasts attack another being. His face detached from his body, and he lunged at the woman. Snapped his jaws, exposing rows and rows of teeth. An anomaly, and not one she consciously dreamt up.
The woman shook. She trembled violently in Felix's arms. Did not blink. Her attention was claimed entirely by her ghost, a creature she refused to let out of her sight for even a second. Strange sounds came from her, caught in her throat.
"That's enough," Aro said. "I think you've more than earnt your reward."
Lena ignored him. Watched curiously as the man reached for her. His hands rested on her cheeks, and he drew his face nearer to hers. Could he hurt her? Could he really cause her harm? Or was he just frightening, like a myth, like an urban legend?
The woman whimpered. Writhed wildly in Felix's arms. He seemed caught between letting her go and holding her still.
"Stop, Lena."
Nails dug into skin. Blood bubbled up from beneath his hands, seeping from her pores. Dribbled down his forearms and dripped onto the floor. Tears streamed down the woman's face as she drew shuddering breaths. Saltwater mixed with the blood, but did not erode her precious creature as it passed over his skin. He was not stone anymore, not as the others had been.
He was real. For now.
"Holy-"
"Lena, stop."
She didn't want to. She wanted to see how far she could take this. Aro had given her an opportunity not just to prove herself, but to test herself. She doubted she would be given another.
She needed to know if she could use her gift to kill.
She hardly had to wonder, because in the next instant, the beast lurched forwards, and buried his face in the woman's neck. Bit down hard, and tore open her throat.
He spat the hunk of flesh onto the floor by her feet.
The woman slumped forwards. Did not hit the floor, by fault of Felix's hold on her.
Dizziness overcame Lena. She smiled weakly, proud in spite of the damage she caused to herself, as the beast crumpled to dust beside the woman, quickly bleeding out.
Hands were on her in an instant. Restraining her. Demetri, she realised. He wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her torso. His grip was firm, tight to the point of pain. Unnecessary. She didn't have the power to fight back. She had forgotten what this was like. The last time she pushed herself this far, she had been with the Cullens. Months ago, now.
Aro appeared before her. His face was blurry, though she was certain her eyes were dry.
He studied her closely. Peered into her face, as if it would reveal some great secret. "You shouldn't have pushed yourself. Your eyes are like coal."
He sounded displeased. But he had asked for this, hadn't he? He wanted this. How could he stand there now and pretend he didn't?
He looked past her and at someone else. Gestured to the side, somewhere Lena couldn't see. Her vision was closing in, darkness lurking at the edges, leaping away when her gaze darted over.
"Sit her down," he said.
"She ruined the party," someone said.
"I thought it was very entertaining," said another.
Quiet. Demetri lifted her into his arms, and Lena tried her best not to throw herself from them. It wasn't as if she could. His hold on her was steely. He was stronger than her when she was at her best, nevermind when the room was spinning.
He placed her carefully in a chair. Aro's, she realised with glee. The feeling was short-lived. It fluttered away, replaced instead with exhaustion. She let her eyelids slide shut. She could not sleep, but the dark expanse before her never failed to calm her.
The music cut abruptly. Joyous sounds of chatter and laughter turned into confused mumbles. Then, a chorus of screams began.
A human was placed on her lap, arranged so that their neck was temptingly close to her mouth. A dead weight that reeked of blood.
"Eat."
A hand on the back of her head guided her to the curve of a human's neck. Her mouth touched something wet. She licked her lips, and tasted blood.
She lacked the self-control to stop, even to mutter a thank you. Her throat burned to the point of agony. She was tired, sick. This would fix her. She knew it. She needed this.
She pressed her mouth against the gaping wound and fed.
Two guards stood outside of Aro's chambers. She had never seen them before, but they wore light grey cloaks. A symbol of expendability. They lowered their heads when Aro approached, and said nothing as he let Lena into his room.
His chambers were much more spacious than Lena's, separated into generic living spaces. A lounge room, a study. Furniture made of rich dark wood was scattered about, though there was nothing homely about any of it. Spiritless. No bundled blankets or fluffed pillows. She doubted Aro spent much time here at all.
There was a single door on the far wall, beyond which she supposed was a bedroom, and perhaps beyond that a private bathroom.
Aro swept across the floor to a corner of the room. There was a heavy desk pushed up against the wall, and a large bookshelf stuffed with worn books and yellowing scrolls. A wooden cabinet sat beside it, scuffed at the bottom.
"You amazed me tonight," he said, and fished a brass key from his pocket.
He unlocked the cabinet, stood on the tips of his toes, and took a small wooden box from the top shelf. A scene was etched into the sides: people, trees, strange creatures she never saw before. She couldn't make much sense of it. Didn't need to. Instead, it was the pull towards the container which drew her attention, like there was something inside she needed and was supposed to have.
"I thought I should thank you," Aro said, "for providing us with such lively entertainment."
He unlocked and opened the box.
Lena glimpsed what was held within, and stiffened. Her fingers, all four of them, laid motionless inside. They looked no different than they had when they were attached. They were not decomposed or rotting. Brown, smooth, with sharp nails. Waiting for her to pluck them up and return them to her hand.
Aro smiled, and made his selection. Gingerly, he picked up one of her digits. He turned towards her, grinned.
Her forefinger dangled between his thumb and finger. Limp.
He crossed the room, stopping in front of her. He held his hand out, and offered her the severed digit. "A reward."
She glanced at it, then to his face. "Only one?"
"It could have been two, had you followed my instructions," he said. "I value your gift, Lena, but a guard dog's worth is determined by her ability to do as she is told."
"I did what you asked," she said through clenched teeth.
"Did you?" he asked. "I don't recall you stopping when I ordered you to. Not the first time, or the second, or even the third."
Irritated, Lena looked away from him. She worked hard, to the point of illness. She deserved more than this. All four of her fingers, wrapped up in coloured tissue paper and tied off with a pretty ribbon.
She followed the cracks in the stone walls with her eyes, the seams between bricks. She couldn't look at him now. Anger consumed her. The fingers of her good hand twitched, curled into a fist. She pressed her lips together. Kept herself from doing anything rash.
Aro stepped closer. He rested his hand on her bicep, thumb brushing along the fabric covering her arm.
Lena tensed under his touch.
"You could be much more than you are," he said softly. "You may mistake the things I do for cruelty but when I punish you, I do it out of goodness. I want to help you become something great."
A part of her adored him for saying such things, the part which would not question following her creator to the grave, through a second death. Eager for praise, she glowed under his kind words.
There was another half to her, though. A half which, at first, she thought was monstrous, and only now was she beginning to realise was horribly human. Dictated by emotion. Distrust. Hatred. Rage. Disgusting feelings which swirled violently in her gut - all of it was carried over from her past life, her time as one of the weak creatures she now feasted upon.
It was the half which did not believe him. Not even a little bit.
She turned her head to look at him. He wore lies so well that she couldn't quite spot the dishonesty in his expression. Smoothed over into something that could pass as genuine after centuries of practice. How many others had he played this game with? How many in his ranks had he subdued in a like fashion?
She couldn't be the first, surely.
"My heart is pure."
"I know, Master."
He offered a small smile, and held her finger out to her again.
Lena took it. Watched in wonder as the wound on her left hand reopened. She hesitantly brought her finger to the cross-section. Skin immediately began to cross-stitch, bridging the gap between her knuckle and digit. Inside, tendons and ligaments reattached, muscles connected, fibres intertwined like string.
A strange but painless experience.
She tested the digit. Flexed her finger, curling it towards her palm. It obeyed her. The motion was effortless, just as it had been before.
"Thank you."
thank u so much for reading x