Thirty-Five
Kate traveled at night. She could have gotten to Volterra faster had she stayed with Jane's driver, but after a few miles on the road, Kate had pressed her fingertips into the human's neck. Releasing the barest of sparks until the woman was incapacitated, allowing Kate to flee on her own.
It took her two days, traveling slowly, by foot across the countryside. Weighed down by her need to think. Irina was alive. Jane had inherited her. She needed to write a farewell letter to Tanya and be blunt enough to not encourage Garett or any of her family to follow her. She needed to join Aro's coven.
Jane had told her to drink and fuck whomever she wanted. It wasn't the fucking that gave Kate pause, it was the drinking. Being freely around human blood and vampires who openly and hedonistically consumed it sent a trickle of fear down her spine. She had once greedily indulged in her true thirst, but after her mother, Sasha, was murdered by the Volturi, Kate, and Tanya, and Irina especially, had chosen a different path.
On her first morning in Milano, she wandered the aisles of Office Depot Italia and grabbed parchment and pens. She could have composed an email, but the written word was the truest form of dedication, and how would Tanya be convinced that these were her own words, if they had not been penned in her own hand.
At a café near Sforzesco Castle she sat down to write as it was nearing twilight.
My Dearest Tanya,
Please forgive me for leaving without saying a proper farewell. Goodbyes have never been easy for me. I have found myself, of late, questioning the decisions that brought us to our way of life. Although we cannot dream, I find myself often reminiscing about our dear sweet mother. I can recall, so vividly, the curve of her cheek when she smiled and the roundness of her belly as she carried Irina in her womb. So many memories of our life before the change have been lost to me, but our childhood days in Prievidza remain, like jewels, in my mind.
Although it grieves me to say this, I can no longer continue to live at your side. I once thought I would never feel anything as painful as hearing Momma's cries after loosing Vasilii, or seeing how still and quiet she became when she was resigned to her own fate for the crimes that she had committed. Losing Irina, in such a way as we did, has changed me, irrevocably.
I want to find my own way in the world, dear sister. Our lives, up until Irina's death, were built on the hopes and desires to always be together, the three of us. Irina was, I'm sure you'll agree, the best of us. Rare in her ambition to change and better the world. My drive to continue that dream is no more.
You will see me again, dear sister. But I must make my way in the world, alone, and free from the weight of my own kith and kin. Do not follow me. I do not write these words to entice a reunion or to encourage you or anyone to come after me. My decision has been made.
I will write you again after one year. Trust that I am well and safe, and no harm will come to me.
You may give this letter to Garett to read. My decision will burden him, and for that, I am sorry. I will always cherish our time together. It will be memories of you, dear Gavril, that will keep me strong.
You're loving sister,
Katya
Kate felt more at ease in Europe, even if she had been born and grown up in Slovakia, rather than Italy. The people and the customs always felt sharper here, then in America. She sealed her letter inside an envelope that she folded herself, recalling the skill even though it had been long since dead in the world.
She would be in Volterra by daybreak; she could not prolong the journey any longer, but she found herself wandering the palazzos. Stepping gingerly through the evening, remembering. Trying to pluck her long dormant human memories from her mind like harp strings. Plucking at images of her mother before her human death, or Tanya, as a teenager, dressed in a red gown, attending her first ball and dancing, delightedly, with a duke's son. In the back of her mind, though, was always Irina. The youngest of the three girls, gap toothed and dirty cheeked from playing in the gardens. When Sasha, their mother, had returned to them, nearly a decade after her human death, it had been Irina, still so young herself, who had begged to be changed first, clinging to their mothers' skirts, affected, so deeply, by the loss of her mother at such a young age.
When she could wait no longer, Kate entered Volterra. Contextually, it looked like all of the other cities that she had passed through. A mixture of old baroque architecture, crumbling churches, and moldering cemeteries, mixed with posh metal structures, and minimalist modern housing. All of it felt unusual to Kate.
She had limited experience with the Volturi. In the last three centuries she had had no need of them, and other than what had happened to Irina during the attack against the Cullen's. Before that, her only other interaction with them had been when her mother and younger brother were both murdered.
Heidi, one of the most beautiful vampires that Kate had ever seen, greeted her at the door. Kate knew who she was from the stories she had been told. Heidi was said to be so beautiful that no man or woman could resist her. Both human and vampire were susceptible to her charm. Upon seeing her for the first time, Kate's pupils dilated and her mouth began to water. There was the most delicate curve to the stranger's smile, and the most enticing globe of a breast through her tight-fitting blouse. Her hair was an ethereal, almost unnatural shade of honey blond and her lips were painted with a deep mauve shade. "You must be Heidi?" Kate said.
Heidi giggled; the sound melodious. "What gave it away?"
Kate licked her lips and took a deep breath. "It's obvious, I think."
"And who might you be?" Heidi asked. Her voice was so soft, with the hint of a European accent, peppered by varying regionalities. "I don't think I've ever seen your face before."
"My name is Kate. I'm from the Denali coven in Alaska."
Heidi pursed her lips. "Alaska?" She asked, slowly. "You must be… Ah, yes. I've heard of you."
Kate didn't know if Heidi was referring to Kate's electrokinesis, their coven's proximity to the Cullen's, or the fact that she was a "vegetarian" vampire.
"Did you come alone?" Heidi asked. She was still standing in the doorway. Kate on the outside looking in, while Heidi observed her. Kate was surprised that it was Heidi, and not one of the guards or lower lackies who answered a knock on the front door.
Confirming, Kate said, "Yes, I came alone."
"You must want to see Aro, then?"
"That was my desire."
Heidi ushered her in. The entryway was casual enough. It was a door that opened directly onto the main street, and to Kate's eyes it looked like any other business. At a front desk, a human women sat, typing quickly. The sound reminding Kate of a steady drip of water coming from a broken sink. As Heidi led her through the rest of the building, she saw rows of mahogany desks, hidden inside gothic looking cubicles. There were computers on each of the desks, the screens idling, with the logo Sprezzatura spelled out.
Heidi did not offer an explanation, and Kate did not ask. She assumed that this was one of the many human fronts that the Volturi put up as shields against the outside world.
When they got to an elevator, Kate was greeted by two of the guards, who were standing like sentinels against the wall. "Afton," Heidi greeted one of the males. She did not look in the other's direction.
Afton nodded. Kate could tell that neither of the men were human.
Continuing to speak to Afton, Heidi said, "Has Renata returned yet? I'm starving."
Afton smirked. "She got back a while ago. From what I heard, she and some of the others have already dug in."
Heidi hummed, "Excellent." The elevator doors sprang open, and Heidi, followed by Kate, stepped inside. "Make sure you go down to get your fill, my boy."
Afton nodded. Kate watched him reach aside to initiate the elevator doors to close. "As soon as my shift ends," he reassured.
Once the doors were closed, Kate was surprised to notice that opera music was coming from the speakers. Verdi, if Kate was not mistaken.
"Aro likes it," Heidi told her, guessing her thoughts. "He finds it peaceful."
Kate found nothing peaceful about the bubblegum shrieking of bad opera.
When the elevator doors opened, Kate was greeted with a wildly bright room filled with long hallways and paintings lining the walls. "We give our tours here," Heidi explained. They turned a corner. Seconds before Kate saw the bodies, she smelt the blood. "Looks like the tours are over, now." The floor was scattered with dozens of human dead. Kate saw older humans and younger humans alike. Even a few children had not escaped the rampage. There were puncture wounds in necks and arms and legs. The blood had long since pooled on the ground, drying a blackish-burgundy.
"Renata?" Heidi's tone was regretful. "Is there none left? I haven't eaten yet."
Renata shrugged apologetically. "Felix and some of the others got a bit carried away. We'll have another tour in the morning."
Kate watched as a team of human's began to sort the bodies into piles and mop up the blood. A splatter of blood had crisscrossed on the walls, bisecting through one of the paintings. Kate fingered the canvas.
"Oh, don't worry," Heid told her. "We don't keep the originals in here. For that very reason."
Heidi beckoned her away from the savagery and back to the elevator. This time no guards were present, and Kate watched Heidi hit the button to go down further. "You must be hungry," Heidi suggested.
Kate was famished, but she wasn't prepared to dine on a human meal just yet.
"I'll come find you in the morning when the next tour starts, if you're still here, of course. I'll let you have first pick, if you like?" Heidi's voice was flirtatious and soft. Kate found herself leaning into it, subconsciously. Her eyes darting from Heidi's honey-colored hair to the berry-purple of her lips. "You are sweet," Heidi told her. She stroked a delicate finger down Kate's cheek. "Very pretty, as well."
When the elevator doors opened again Kate was met with more of what she expected for the rulers of the vampire world. The walls were paneled with dark wood, carved ornately, to resemble the palaces of centuries ago. Long red tapestries rippled lightly as she and Heidi walked past them and their footsteps clinked against the black marble floors with each step.
Heidi led here into the throne room, where vaulted ceilings towered over three vampires observing her from the dais. Caius and Marcus were still seated, but Aro had stood up when Heidi and Kate entered.
Aro clicked his tongue at the sight of her, eyes widening in delighted glee. "Heidi, my lovely one, what have you brought for us?"
Heidi turned to Kate, beaming. "…She says that her name is Kate. From the Denali coven in Alaska."
Aro's mouth fell open and his eyes widened. A child-like astonishment cracking the veneer of his otherwise still face. "Katerina," he basked in her presence, using her full name. A name that she had not gone by, or responded to, in over a hundred years. He approached her, bridging the distance in a few short strides. She reached her hand out to him, expecting him to take it, and read her thoughts, but he did not touch her. "I am overjoyed," he explained. "To see you once more and to have you here."
Kate would have liked to explain that he had murdered her sister the last time he had seen her, but one murder was likely just like any other to a man such as Aro.
"She knocked on the door," Heidi explained, she seemed breathless to be in Aro's company. "It was her desire to see you."
Kate looked the leader of the Volturi over. Aro was not particularly tall; Garett was more than a head taller that he was, she noticed. His black suit was expertly tailored, and his black hair was tied at the nape of his neck in a low ponytail. "I," she began, at first fleetingly, but then stronger once she gained the conviction of her statement. "I have left my coven in Denali. It is my wish to become one of the Volturi."
Aro, to his credit, looked taken aback for only a moment. "My dear, nothing could give me greater pleasure than to see you join the racks of our society. With your skills you could easily become one of my elite guards. But, your sister, Tanya…" he said her name slowly, letting his tongue flick the roof of his mouth on the last syllable. "And your lover, Garett…"
"I have broken ties with Garett," she said simply. "He and I parted on good terms."
"And your sister? Will she be joining you?"
"It is my hope, yes, that someday she will join us here."
Aro exhaled, the gesture more out of emotion that any necessity to breath. He clapped his hands together, "This is the most perfect news."
Caius spoke from his throne, "And is your intention to continue abstaining from human blood? To deny your true nature as a vampire?"
Kate kept her eyes on Aro. "The decision was not an easy one, but I am resolved to change. I once fed on human blood, as other vampires do. I am ready to embrace my true nature, as you say."
Caius did not look convinced. He scrutinized her with the gaze of a man used to catching insubordinate vampires in lies. Marcus, who said on the other side of Aro's empty throne looked on in boredom, but Kate could also see a twinge of apathy.
"I see truth in Katerina's eyes," Aro declared. "Why would she come all this way to us?"
Extending his fingers, Aro beckoned Heidi forward. Kate stood motionless as Heidi reached up and pushed the hair away from Kate's face, letting her blond strands fall, loosely behind her back. The touch of Heidi's hands was near-ecstasy.
"So beautiful," Aro admired, tilting his head, examining her.
Heidi leaned forward and pressed a feather-light kiss against Kate's neck, and breathed, "Lovely," into her skin.
Caius's voice hardened into derisive sarcasm. "Are we to have an orgy in the throne room, now?"
Chucking, Aro gestured for Heidi to step back, and he obeyed. The loss of her hands against Kate's skin made her shiver.
Aro turned to Marcus. "And what is your opinion?"
Marcus seemed drugged, his eyes were hooded, and even for a vampire he remained unusually still. Finally, he blinked slowly, and that seemed to be all of the assent that Aro needed. "Wonderful," he breathed. The word was long and slow in his mouth.
"I do not agree with this," Caius warned. "There is treachery in her coming here. Recall, brother, that you killed her sister."
Kate interrupted, "And my mother. And my brother. I am willing to leave the past in the past, as long as you agree to the same."
"Of course, my lovely." His voice echoing Heidi's word, strung.
The main doors to the throne room opened. Both sides banging against the wall from the force of it. Kate heard the hinges creak, the sound like screaming children. She turned, trying to assess what the commotion was.
A figure sauntered into the room, and Aro erupted into delight. His steepled fingers tightened and he clapped his palms together. "My dear," he saluted. "My sweet Felicity, welcome home."
The figure—a young girl, really—stalked up to Aro from behind Kate. The stranger couldn't be older than fifteen, with dark black hair slicked away from her face in silky tendrils. She was wearing black jeans, ripped at the knees, and a looped nose ring glistened in one nostril. She looked Native American, to Kate's eyes, but she could have easily been Asian, as well.
Aro turned to Kate. "This is our darling, Felicity. One of our newest coven members."
Kate raised an eyebrow in replay. "Pleasure."
Felicity scoffed. "Pleasure? What kind of baby boomer shit is that? How old are you really, honey?"
Caius recoiled, rolling his eyes, while Marcus looked on, unamused and nonplused.
Aro giggled, his squeal akin to a butchered pig. "She's so delightful, isn't she?" The question was directed at Kate, but she did not reply. Aro went on. "Felicity is our newest member, besides yourself, of course. If what you say is true. She's American—"
Felicity bristled. "—Native American, Aro." She slashed her hand through the air angrily. "Big fucking difference."
Rather than being upset by the girl's outbursts, Aro seemed effortlessly pleased. "So fiery. So passionate."
"So young," Kate countered. She was thinking of Vasilii, the little brother who had been hidden away. A secret. A savage vampire trapped in the body of a toddler. And of course, Sasha, Kate's mother, who had died alongside him. Killed by the Volturi's ancient edicts.
"I'm fifteen, bitch."
Kate craned her neck, lazily staring Felicity down. "Using all those filthy words makes you seem about eleven, sweetie."
Aro chucked, his gaze darting from Felicity's angry stare to Kate's contemptuous glare. "Katerina," Aro purred. "Why don't you give Felicity a demonstration of your powers."
Caius muttered, "She needs to learn to play nice."
Kate eyed Aro. It was no inconvenience to use her power against an enemy. What she wouldn't give to be able to put Jane in her place with a particularly violent volt or two.
Felicity straightened. Kate was reminded of a boxer springing up from the corner of the ring, pacing like a caged tiger. Kate watched her, a thin smile curling her lips.
"What?" Felicity mocked. "Is your power to smirk at people?"
Kate stepped forward, cutting the distance between herself and the other girl, quicker than the blink of a human eye. She pressed two fingers against Felicity's neck and unleashed an angry spark against the young girl's skin.
Felicity yelped, pushing Kate away.
Aro was ecstatic. "Extradentary. Truly remarkable."
"Again," Felicity huffed, agitation written across her face. "Try it again."
She had backed off from Kate, fleeing several feet away across from the marble throne room, one hand still pressed to her skin where black scorch marks were just starting to heal.
"Are you sure?" Kate asked. Temping the younger girl forward with the bravado dripping from her voice.
Felicity stepped forward, tauntingly. Kate echoed her, and before the younger vampire could react, Kate shoved her hand against Felicity's chest, using the full force of her open palm to send an electrical charge through Felicity's body strong enough to knock her over. The smell of burning vampire-skin filled the air, something akin to ozone and sodden earth. Puffs of smoke billowed out from Kate's hand, and she laughed, watching Felicity, prone on the ground, grasping feverishly at her chest cavity, trying to heal herself.
"And that wasn't even full force," Kate said. It was close, but not quite. No need to tell the child that.
Caius leaned forward. "Will the brat live?"
Kate lifted her gaze to him, shrugging. "Probably."
"Pity," Caius added, leaning back in his chair. Bored with the show.
Aro moved to Felicity's side, and leaned down over her. "Dear one," he cooed, extending his hand, letting the young vampire grasp it. Kate was reminded of a daguerreotype of a father nursing a dying daughter.
Slowly, Felicity recovered herself. Vampires had no need of breathing, but the muscle memory of her human years was still strong, and watching, Kate saw Felicity's chest rise and fall rapidly as she tried to recalibrate herself. Eventually, she sat up, with Aro's assistance. Kate watched him stroke the young girl's hair, lovingly, tenderly. Again, Kate was reminded of a father entranced by a daughter on the cusp of womanhood.
Finally, Aro instructed, "Now I would like Felicity to give you a presentation of her powers."
Kate sighed. Neither Caius or Marcus reacted, Marcus remaining as stone faced as ever.
"I can't see what talent this child could possess that could hurt me?" Kate was mocking. She knew from vampire lore that Aro liked to collect things, talented vampires with unique skills being one of them. She had no idea what this child was capable of, but it would appear that she was about to find out.
Felicity got shakily to her feet; Aro kept his arm around her waist the entire time, cooing softly into the mop of her black hair. Kate could hear the tender endearments that he whispered to her and it made her skin crawl.
After staring Kate down for a moment, Felicity shrugged Aro off like a stifling coat. His gaze was hungry and wanting, while Felicity only had eyes for Kate.
Teasingly, Kate said, "Common little girl. Show me what you got."
Felicity raised both hands to the sky, fingers pointing high and both palms pressed together. Kate watched as she began to sway, a strange kind of dance, her movements accompanied by a strange low key humming spilling from the back of Felicity's throat. She twisted her neck from side to side, a slow calculated movement. Kate was reminded of a snake shedding its skin. Suddenly, Felicity lowered herself in one quick movement, resting all of her lithe frame onto the balls of her feet, and when her mouth opened, the roar of a black bear came out.
Transfixed, Kate watched as Felicity's luscious black hair turned into the pelt of a black fur, arms and legs slashed with darkness as though she were being painted. Hands and feet turned into paws; long claws clicking at the marble floor of the throne room. Finally, Felicity's tiny body rolled sideways, fully transforming into the barrel of a wild animal. Another deafening roar from the animal's mouth sent Kate backward a few steps. She was still hypnotized. Mesmerized by the transformation that had just taken place. She knew of Native American's shifting into wolves, but she had always assumed that it was a condition of the Quileute's gene pool. At no time, in her centuries of life, had she heard of such a thing. Let alone witnessed it.
Felicity swiped her paw toward Kate, claws coming close to backhanding her across the abdomen. Kate spluttered away, farther back again. Abandoning her thoughts to focus fully on the fight. In normal circumstances, a vampire would have the upper hand on a black bear. They were the apex predators of the world, but Felicity, a vampire, still able to shapeshift could easily be the deadliest thing on the planet.
"It's stunning, isn't it?" Aro remarked. "One of a kind. A jewel in my crown."
Kate was only half listening. Felicity had taken another hasty step forward, catching Kate off guard. She was able to move at a propelled speed in this form, like a vampire, while still maintaining the guise of a bear.
Felicity exposed her razor-sharp fangs, swiping another long claw at Kate, this time, it came into contact with the side of Kate's abdomen, shredding the tight skin as though it were paper. Kate cried out, pain gripping her. Each time she tried to fight her way out of Felicity's grasp, the bear met her head on, only ever a breath away from coming back into contact with Kate's skin. With no other options, Kate reached forward, locking both hands onto the side of the bears muzzle, attempting to pry the jaws apart. Felicity was momentarily stunned, but recovered by stretching up to her hind quarters and sinking both of her front paws into Kate's chest, knocking her to the ground with the sheer force of the bear's body.
There was a moment where Kate recognized that this was the end of her life, and quickly she made peace with it. She would be failing Irina, and her demise would devastate her other sister Tanya. Her last thought was of Garett, before…
"Now, now, my darling," Aro tisked. Kate couldn't see him, but she imagined that he was waving a pointed index finger in Felicity's direction. "Let us not harm our new friend, too badly."
Felicity bared her teeth to Kate one final time, letting a tendril of saliva slip menacingly from her open jaws before stepping off of Kate.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kate watched as Felicity transformed back into her vampire form, the top of one palm wiping away the drool that had pooled around her mouth. She was naked now; her original outfit having been shredded during the change.
Aro clapped again, satisfied with the show, and held his arms out to Felicity. Still eyeing the pair, Kate watched as Felicity went to him, and allowed the leader of all vampires to enfold her into his arms. One marble hand lowering to cup the young girl's tiny breast, while the bony fingers circled the nipple. "My brave girl," he added, nuzzling Felicity's temple. "Now that you understand each other's unique gifts, perhaps the two of you can be friends now."
Felicity slid her eyes toward Kate, the unspoken words on her face proclaiming anger and hatred. Politely, for Aro's benefit, she said, "Of course, father. She will be as a sister to me."
Aro reached his bony white fingers toward Felicity's face, stroking the marble façade of her cheeks. "Why don't you show Katerina the rest of the compound? Take her to one of the empty rooms in the east wing?"
Caius' voice cut through the awkward silence that followed. "So soon, brother?" His tone was curt.
Aro turned to the other vampire, cocking his head slightly, observing. "And why should we delay, brother?" Aro released Felicity and she stepped back, allowing Aro to move, cat-like toward Caius.
Caius did not flinch at Aro's approach. "It is not every day that a vampire who has renounced the sanctity of human blood would come to us, requesting…" he eyed Kate, marking her deception quickly. "No. Demanding sanctuary from her former coven. What are her motives, brother? She is an ally of the Cullen's, our proclaimed enemies. She is a traitor, if nothing else. And a traitor in our midst is not someone I want in our coven."
Marcus, who had remained unmoved the entire time, noted, "You have not touched her hand, Aro. You have not tasted her thoughts."
Caius turned to Marcus, silently agreeing with his assessment.
"Yes," Caius' voice lightened, tauntingly. The promise of Kate's deception being revealed made him sit forward in his chair, eagerly waiting.
Felicity was at Kate's side now, one bare arm lightly brushing against her own.
As Aro steepled his fingers together and began to tap them slowly back and forth, assessing his brothers' expressions, Kate stepped forward, extending her hand and arm. "Here. I'm ready to be assessed. I am a vampire of her word. I have left the coven that I once called family. I am loyal only to the Volturi."
Felicity smirked as Aro took the steps down toward them. She said, "Heidi, come?" The beautiful vampire appeared as Aro reached them. Kate watched Felicity lead Heidi away, up the dais, toward Marcus. "Heidi," she heard Felicity begin, "Marcus requested that you come to him again." Heidi bowed to the senior member of the Volturi and cautiously climbed atop him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she straddled him. The sight was garish. Grotesque. It made Kate shudder. But under Heidi's touch the statuesque vampire seemed to come more to live, hands fisting upward into the coils of Heidi's honey-colored hair.
"You seem nervous, my dear?" Aro whispered to Kate. He continued louder, in a tone that echoed throughout the room. "Chelsea?" Another vampire appeared from the shadows, and came to Aro's side. "Can you make our friend feel more at ease?"
Chelsea, Kate thought, must have been able to been able to influence the emotions of those around her. Similar to Jasper, she imagined. Shortly after the other woman appeared, Kate felt markedly at ease. Sensing an overwhelming stirring of trust toward Aro and the rest of the Volturi guards. Kate bristled against the intrusion, but allowed it to flow through her, nonetheless.
Kate's arm was still extended, her hand ready for his touch, and although he had reached for her, his skin did not come into contact with hers. "There now," he cooed, his voice so gentle it made her sway. Several seconds went by, his hand still hovering near hers, but still no contact was made. "There!" He spoke with finality, clapping his hands. At his words, Chelsea released them from her hold, and the room visibly relaxed.
Caius's voice broke through the silence. "Well, brother? What did you see?"
Aro locked his gaze with Kate's as he said, "She means what she says. She has left the Denali coven and wants nothing more than to be a part of the Volturi guard. Her lover, Garett, will likely be a problem, however."
He must have guessed that, Kate thought. He had not touched her. He could not read her thoughts. "Garett is nothing to me," she hissed under her breath.
Aro raised an eyebrow. "Is he not, my dear?"
Kate appraised him. Contextually, he seemed to only be a silly fop, but she knew he could be much more deadly.
"Felicity?" he added, offhandedly. Kate watched the younger girl slither to her master's side like a snake, tiny breasts bobbing as she took the stairs down from the dais two at a time. "Do take Katerina to her room, now."
Wordlessly, Felicity smirked at Kate, and gestured for her to follow. Without a backward glance, Kate left the hall. Fleetingly she wondered what had become of Caius' objections, though whatever Chelsea had done, seemed to have squelched them.
Felicity leads her through the ornate doorway that she had come in, shutting the heavy iron doors once they were on the other side.
"I'm sure you can put your clothes back on, if you want to," Kate told her.
Smirking again, Felicity said. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"
Kate was honest. "No."
"Good," Felicity chirped. "Nudity doesn't bother me. A woman's body can hold great power over a man, as I'm sure you know."
"Interesting words from a child."
Felicity scoffed. "I'm older than I appear, bitch."
Kate chuckled. "It's the 'bitch' that convinced me how true that statement was."
Felicity glared at her.
"I was changed over a millennia ago," Kate added.
"In the land of blond-haired, blue-eyed white people, right?"
"Something like that."
"Well," Felicity went on. "I'm not as old as that. I was changed ten years ago, and in case you're wondering I was sixteen at the time."
Felicity was leading her through the maze of corridors that made up the entirier of the Volturi's lair.
"I wasn't wondering," Kate objected.
"Yes, you were. I saw you flinch when I changed back. When Aro touched me."
"And what…? You're his inamorata, are you?"
Felicity chuckled. "Using big words, doesn't make you seem older, bitch. I have my uses for Aro. Same as you, apparently. Caius was right, you have ulterior motives in coming here. Aro has his reasons for letting you stay, but you have your own agenda in coming here."
It was an open secret apparently, despite how Kate had tried to hide it. She suddenly felt very unsafe here. They were deep underground, and other than the way she had come in, she had no idea to get out of here.
Felicity must have seen the unease on Kate' face. "Let me help you out—let me, explain how the pieces move across this game." She had stopped walking, causing Kate to halt as well. "Marcus is a vegetable. I'm sure you've heard about his mate, Didyme?"
Kate had. Didyme was Aro's sister, and long-time mate to Marcus. She had died under mysterious circumstances years ago.
Continuing with her tale, Felicity went on. "He welcomes death. If it weren't for Chelsea's relationship building skills, and Heidi's sex appeal, he would have congealed into ash and jellaton long ago. Aro keeps his body motivated, but his mind is long gone." She moved her hand up to the side of her face, sparking her fingers out of her temple like an explosion. "Caius," she continued, "Is someone you have to watch out for. He's ruthless, and he and Aro have been at odds for a long time."
"Why are they at odds?"
Felicity looked smug. "I'm not going to tell you that, you might be able to figure it out for yourself, eventually, though. Chelsea and Heidi, you know. Demetri is gone, but watch out for him when he gets back."
"Where is he?"
"Tracking," she said flatly. "He's the most skilled tracker living. He rivals Sybil Rafferty and Jasper Cullen, who I know you know."
"What is he tracking?"
"Something that Aro wants."
Kate could tell that Felicity liked to withhold information, keeping her secrets close to her chest.
"You should also pay attention to Felix, he's the strongest vampire I've ever seen."
"Can he best you in your bear form?"
"Actually," Felicity obliged. "He can. He's the only one who ever has."
"Where have you been this whole time? You must be the only vampire in existence who can also shapeshift. I know about the wolves from the Quileute tribe."
Felicity rolled her eyes. "Them," she said tersely. "I don't even think they all know what's out there."
"Can you change into a wolf, too?"
"No. The gene is exclusive to one animal only. Wolf, Bear, Bird, Buffalo, and various others. I came from the Iroquois. The gene was triggered by various vampires in the continental U.S over the centuries. The Quileute have always thought of themselves as the only one who can change at will to protect their people."
"And how is it that you, someone destined to defend her people against vampires, became a vampire?"
"My mother would say, 'now that's the rub.' I was dying of cancer. Patricia saved me. All of my sisters were dying or near to death when they were changed, too."
"How many sisters do you have?"
"Navah is here. You might meet her someday."
"Just one? You said sisters?"
"We can't all live in the Volturi palace, you know."
"And who was Patricia? I don't recognize a vampire by that name?"
"She's dead. Doesn't matter." Felicity turned away from Kate. Breaking the earlier spell of their conversation. She led Kate up a windy staircase, into a corridor of dark oak doors and heavy velveteen tapestries falling luxuriously against the wall. "Be careful with some of these doors," Felicity warned. She pointed to a closed door, she saw both chains and locks on the exterior. "Sulpicia and Athenodora are in there."
Sulpicia, Kate knew, was Aro's human wife, changed into a vampire shortly after he was, and Athenodora was Caius' mate.
Felicity crossed her arms and leaned one hip against the wall. "They're kept in there because of the way Marcus is. Before Didyme died he was a lively vampire, and after they died, he became mush. Aro and Caius are afraid that their little women will be killed, making them succumb to the same affliction as Marcus."
"They can't truly love Sulpicia and Athenodora if they keep them locked up like that. Do they ever see them?"
"Caius goes in more than Aro, I can tell you that."
"And Aro spends all of his time with you, I'm guessing?"
"Actually, no," Felicity revealed. "I just got back from the states. I haven't seen Aro in months, with explains," she reached her palms up to her breasts, and cupped them. They were tiny, and her hands covered them completely, "Why he was so excited to get his hands on these babies."
Kate didn't know what to say. She was shocked at this girl's personality and attitude. She was struck by how American Felicity was, which seemed to be at odds with the demeanor of everyone else around them. She was equally disgusted that Aro was likely taking this child to bed, frequently. Enough for her to refer to his hands missing her breasts.
Felicity thumbed the doorway where she was leaning. "This is your room."
Kate opened the door, noticing the carved bedpost and several dozen lit candles. "No electricity?"
Felicity joked, "I thought you could make your own?"
Kate didn't laugh.
"Some of the rooms have modern conveniences. Some don't. I figured, since you were turned before there was such a thing as electricity, you might be more comfortable without it."
Kate hummed, slightly annoyed.
"Well, I leave you now. Get settled and all that. I heard the tour already came through for the day, but there should be something to eat tomorrow, if everything goes well."
Tomorrow, Kate thought. The tang of human blood had been in the back of her mind all day. As rhythmic as a heartbeat, like the flashes of Garett and Tanya's faces.
Felicity left her. Sauntering bare-assed down the hallway until she was out of sight. Kate withdrew into her room, alone.