… AND THE REST
Aro was truly dreading the French coven's arrival more than anything else. "Welcome ... " scum, he thought, "friends."
Henri laughed at Aro's choice of words. "Friends?" he questioned sarcastically. "Who are you trying to impress Aro?"
Basileus held Aro down with a strong hand on his shoulder. "Calm," he whispered to his son.
"What is all this about? Why have we been called to this godforsaken place?" Henri spat, casting a disapproving eye around the palatial Volturi throne room as though it were hell's own cesspit.
Both Aro and Caius were ready to respond, luckily Basileus heard their thoughts before they could voice them. He proceeded down the throne steps, commanding them to 'sit' as he passed.
"Do you know who I am?" Basileus calmly asked the French leader.
"Ptf! No. Should I care?"
Basileus smiled showing his fangs and looking scarily close to tearing Henri's throat out. Leaning down to catch the coven leader's ear, he whispered, "I am Basileus."
Henri staggered back. "No!" he gasped. "You aren't real!" Henri stated confidently to the very real demi-god stood before him. Basileus raised an eyebrow and looked around to his son. "Are you sure we have the right coven, Aro?"
Aro continued to glare at the French leader. "Henri has always been a prick, my lord."
"That is not helpful, son." Basileus narrowed his eyes to Aro before turning and catching Henri smirking.Oh, I don't think so!
"I turned Aro personally, he carries my venom in his veins. He is the son of a god. You should remember that when you address your king."
Henri looked aghast to the creator. He had heard the myths, sure, most vampires had. But now that myth was standing in front of him, growling and glaring at him. Oh fuck, he thought, though his stubbornness carried him through. I never accepted that cock as my king, he thought, unaware of Basileus' gift.
"I live in werewolf country - I have spent many years of my life in opposition, and I have grown to rather like the role," he sneered in reply, as though it was an adequate excuse for his attitude.
Basileus placed a crushing hand on Henri's shoulder before he spoke. "It must be quite tiresome. I suggest, for the good of your health, that you take a break for the duration of your visit."
Basileus' mouth hardly moved as he spoke, every word was delivered through gritted teeth. Henri wasn't sure why he had been brought to Volterra, but he was pretty sure it wasn't just to be killed off - the guards Aro had sent could have taken care of that if that was what the Volturi wanted.
Though he appeared more submissive, Basileus knew the leader was trying to play him. Don't react, not yet, he told himself.
"I have no doubt you will have heard of Caius, but you have yet to meet our new master, Magnus."
Magnus smiled to Basileus and prepared himself for Henri's reaction. He could read the man's emotions and knew to expect something.
"I've met him! He was a lowly guard, why is he sitting in a throne?" Henri sneered.
Magnus simply laughed. He wasn't quick to anger even with such a vitriolic display.
Basileus moved his hand from Henri's shoulder to grip the back of his neck tightly. "Magnus, and his mate Freyr, have been elevated to masters of the coven, and neither of them were ever 'lowly guards'."
Henri heard the warning, he felt it, too, through Basileus' grip, but he would rather lose his head than submit to a guard. Staying quiet was the best he could manage.
Magnus scoffed at the man's display. I could crush you like a bug, he thought, contentedly.
"I believe Caius will be chaperoning you in the castle before the conference," Basileus told the French pair. Yvette had yet to speak but the way she looked down her nose to the room and refused to meet anyone's eye gave Basileus a good measure of the woman. Sneering bitch, he thought.
Aro whispered to Caius as he passed. "Good luck, brother."
Yeah, thanks for this! Caius thought.
"Do not leave his sight - it will be taken as an attack and I will personally hunt you down to take you out," Basileus ground out as he shoved Henri by his neck before calling Caius close to him.
Placing a hand lightly to the back of the master's head, he transferred his thoughts. 'If you can keep things cordial, I will be personally grateful to you. Do your best, however, if you must kill him, kill them both. It's tidier.'
Caius smiled and nodded his understanding before stalking in front of Henri and taking the lead as they left the throne room.
"Wasn't that fun?" Aro sighed, already dreading dealing with the French prick in the conference.
"Will you be able to handle Henri?" Basileus asked with concern.
"If I can't, I'll kill him," Aro shrugged. He wasn't going to lose the whole alliance if Henri wouldn't play ball.
Basileus felt his anxiety rising again.
"I told you he's a prick, but they are the only coven of any note in France." Aro said, sensing his father's stress.
"He most certainly is, but watch your mouth," Atia told her boy, always on the side of proper decorum.
"Masters, the Irish coven is here," Renata announced from the front of the hall. No one had noticed her arrival.
"Show them in," Aro said tiredly. This is the last lot. He thought in relief.
"The infamous Siobhan!" Aro announced gleefully.
"Master Aro," the Irish woman replied, and Aro took both her hands in his as he flashed to greet her.
"Siobhan… as in Sancar?" Atia asked.
"Yes, Atia," Aro replied over his shoulder.
Sancar had been an interesting coven leader, though he called his coven a harem. He travelled the world collecting the most beautiful and gifted vampire women to recruit to his personal harem.
Siobhan was one of Sancar's ex-recruits. He tricked her into joining his coven only to discover after the fact that she would be expected to perform sexually on request for the leader. Siobhan wasn't interested in that and during Sancar's first attempt to take his coven leader rights, she killed him, ending the harem forever.
"You know, my dear, Sancar was a personal friend of mine," Atia told the young woman.
That was news to Basileus. "How personal?" he asked, only for Atia to smile to herself and otherwise ignore him.
Siobhan panicked. "Is that why we have been called here? Liam had nothing to do with Sancar."
"It is not, no. Sancar was a good friend, apparently ... " Aro said with an impressed look to Atia, "he was also completely insane and acting against Volturi law with his harem. We are not seeking retribution, my dear. You have nothing to fear in Volterra."
"Then why are we here?" Siobhan asked, feeling much more comfortable. She and Liam lived within the Volturi law, she was sure of it.
Aro was sure of it, too. "We have a proposal to offer a few, select covens - the Irish coven is one."
Liam and Siobhan looked delighted.
Aro knew these two were going to be easy, thankfully, and he called Magnus to his side. "I have asked Magnus, my fellow coven master, to accompany you in the castle. I will see you again at sunrise."
Siobhan greeted Magnus but turned to Aro, "Sunrise?" she questioned.
"Yes, my dear, we will be holding a conference of the coven leaders so I shall see you then."
Siobhan shook her head. "Liam leads our coven, master."
"Really?" Aro asked, caught off guard.
"I do," Liam grunted. He was a simple fellow and not particularly loquacious.
Aro nodded. "So long as you are willing to make decisions for your coven ... " it was more of a question than a statement, Aro didn't want to waste his time with the wrong vampire.
"I am." Liam grunted, again.
Aro smiled and clapped his hands together. "Very well," he said, "Magnus, please deliver Liam to the library for sunrise."
"And where will I be whilst this meeting is taking place?" Siobhan asked, sounding a little concerned to be separated from her mate.
"In here, my dear. With all other coven members. I will represent the Volturi in the conference so the other masters, my family, the guards, they will all be in here." Aro smiled warmly at the woman. "You will be perfectly safe, my dear, I assure you."
Siobhan nodded too. She wanted in on this, whatever 'this' was.
Magnus guided the Irish coven out of the throne room. "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I lived in Ireland for a time before I was turned ... " and then his voice trailed off as he left the hearing zone.
"Liam is going to be nice and chatty, isn't he?" Aro said, laughing to himself.
Basileus joined him. "Siobhan controls their coven, I will listen to her thoughts."
"Is that all of them, Aro?" Atia asked.
Aro slouched into his throne, feeling mentally exhausted already. "It is. Other than Tao and Xola ... but I don't believe they will come."
"And what of Netty and Jen?" she asked, wondering if she should travel to the African lands herself.
"They may yet return, but I will instruct a mission soon to see the lay of the land with Tao if they aren't here by the end of the visits," Aro replied. He already had plans for Tao if he didn't show and he wasn't having his mother take over just yet.
"You seem to have set yourself an impossible task with getting these covens to form an alliance, Aro. Amun and Henri are going to have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into agreement." Atia verbalised both hers and Basileus' concern.
"Lots of things feel impossible until they are done. Show some faith in me," Aro replied, rubbing his temple's from he stress he was under.
"We do have faith in you, son," Basileus told him confidently. "What would you like us to do?"
"Walk the halls and listen in on any unspoken conversations, if you will?" Aro asked as he flopped a leg over the arm rest of his throne. He was virtually lying in the thing!
"Of course," Atia said, kissing his head gently. "Now sit up properly."
Aro laughed to himself but did as she asked.
"Remember to leave the library door open, Aro, so I may come and go as needed."
Aro nodded to his mother as he watched the two of them leaving.
"Now, my dear. Sasha?!" Atia asked, linking her arm through her mate's.
"I am rather more inclined to begin with Sancar," Basileus bristled.
"Oh, my dear Sancar." Atia began. "Our lives may not have fitted together, but our souls sure knew how to dance!"
Aro burst out laughing. He knew his father would be throwing a mental fit hearing that!