REVEALING
A few hours had passed since Aro had sent Felix to his bed when Demetri arrived at his father's side. He ended his conversation with Sasha about Romanian's sniffing around her homelands and tutted at his son.
"You are supposed to be with Caius."
"I know, but I need to talk to you," Demetri explained.
Aro sought out his co-master in the crowd. "How has he let you escape anyway?" he asked, though it was soon clear.
Magnus loomed over Caius as Caius slouched into a bench. Whatever the juggernaut was bending the younger master's ear about, Caius didn't seem the least bit interested to hear it.
From what Aro had seen so far that day it was Magnus who appeared to be the loose cannon, not Caius, so he wasn't too sure what had happened to cause a ruck between the pair of them. Assuming they were disagreeing about Henri, (because most disagreements had so far been about Henri) Aro decided to leave them to it.
Checking the clock, Aro realised he was a little late waking his eldest. It was closer to nine than the agreed upon eight. "I need to wake your brother," he told Demetri. "You can come with me."
As they walked the halls towards the south tower, Demetri explained the conversation he had heard between Caius, Basileus and Hilda.
"They are going to do what?" Aro asked, assuming he must have misheard.
"They are going to put humans through extreme conditions to see if they can predict the type of gift they will develop as a vampire."
"That's genius!" Aro exclaimed, already coming up with a list in his mind of the talents he would wish to procure for the coven.
"Dad!" Demetri all but shouted. "It's wrong. It feels wrong."
Aro hadn't predicted that his son would be upset by the proposal and rushed to ease his concerns. "The humans will suffer for a few moments before they die, and they will awake as Volturi guards and immortal … seems a good deal to me."
Demetri crossed his arms and stamped his foot to the floor. "That's pretty much exactly what Caius said!" He had expected more from his father than a rehash of Caius' words.
Aro eyed his son for a moment. He already had Felix going against him, he wasn't putting up with theatrics from Demetri, too. "You mean to tell me you questioned Caius on this?" he asked sternly.
"I asked him about it," Demetri answered. "I didn't question him … we talked."
Aro scoffed. Caius pretended the kids didn't exist most of the time, he certainly didn't talk to them! "So you have shown Caius none of the disrespect you showed Amun?"
Demetri fell quiet until he eventually said, "Caius was on my side with Amun, actually."
"I will need to hear Caius say that before I believe it," Aro said dismissively. "Go and wake your brother."
Demetri showed his father he was pissed off with him by purposely stomping on each and every step. Brat! Aro thought.
"Erm … Dad …" Demetri called down the stairwell from the stop floor. "You might want to see this!"
When Aro arrived at the top of the stairs, Demetri was standing outside Felix'a bedroom with the door wide open. "You know, he can be a lot of trouble, but he looks so sweet when he's sleeping … with a naked girl wrapped around his body."
Felix lay fast asleep with Irina coiled around his body. Both naked. Both fast asleep.
"Out," Aro ordered his younger son. "Straight back to Caius, now."
Demetri would have liked to have seen his brother copping for his crimes, but thought he'd better scram in case he ended up in the firing line somehow.
"Felix!" Aro boomed, stalking to his boy and shaking him harshly. "Wake up."
"What time is it?" Felix asked with his eyes still closed. "How long was I sleeping?"
Irina woke properly and smiled to Aro. Fuck she was brave! "Morning lover boy," she whispered into Felix's ear.
Felix's eyes shot open upon hearing the girl's voice. "Holy fuck!" he moved to sit upright but Irina remained wrapped across him. "Dad, listen …"
"I don't want to hear it." Aro stormed back to the door. If he had stayed near them he might have killed them both. "If you are rested enough, feel free to re-join the party at your leisure."
Felix heard the faux calm, the forced nicety and flinched. "Dad, I …"
It was too late, Aro was already out of the south tower.
"Fuck!" Felix roared, mainly to himself.
"Why are you so stressed," Irina asked. "We haven't done anything wrong." She was quite pleased with herself for gaining access to the king's private quarters and couldn't wait to brag to her sisters.
Felix untangled himself from the blonde bombshell and started to redress. "Maybe you haven't, but I most definitely have." Aro's going to fucking slaughter me when the covens leave, he thought in a panic. "Hang on, when did you come in here?"
Irina went to answer, but stopped herself quickly, changing her response. "You don't remember?"
"No …" Felix tailed off as he thought back. "I remember coming up here, being pissed off with Aro and getting into bed."
"So," Irina said, wearing a wicked smile, "you don't remember me coming in here?"
Felix shook his head.
"Or what we did?"
"I would really like to remember that!" Felix whined, pulling his shirt over his head.
Irina had yet to move, sitting in his bed, naked, in all her glory. How Felix wished he could remember! "Aro's going to murder me and I don't even know if it was worth it!"
"Oh, it was worth it." Irina started to slowly crawl over the bed towards him. "I could give you a replay?"
"That is so tempting …" So tempting that Felix very nearly dived back into bed! He had to force himself to back up and throw the girl her dress. "Come on, I need to convince my Dad not to execute me."
When Aro re-joined the party, he headed straight for Caius and Demetri like a man possessed. Felix had a hell load of trouble coming his way, and by the look on the boy's face when Aro had left him, it was clear Felix knew he was in damn deep water, too. That might keep him from screwing up any further, Aro thought hopefully. Now he planned to set Demetri straight to end whatever games he was playing with the Egyptian coven.
"What happened with Amun, brother?"
He may have been speaking to Caius, but Aro's eyes were firmly on his son. Demetri had to wonder what he had done to add to his father's annoyance in the ten minutes they had been apart, and was ready to ask until Caius replied.
"Amun was being a condescending cunt, quite frankly," he said, slurring ever so slightly.
After losing his dungeon blood to Magnus, and not being brave enough to ask Basileus for the other bottle, Caius had turned to bloodwine to distract himself from his desire for the drug.
Aro noted the slur, but pushed on. After all, it wasn't unusual for either of them to drink to excess. Aro would have happily joined his co-master had he not had so many people to talk to. "That's not how Amun tells it," he replied, still glaring at Demetri.
"I bet it isn't," Caius scoffed.
He had believed every word the boy had told him about what a prick Amun was. To be fair to Demetri, he wasn't lying as such, more he had a distorted view of things and a wild imagination to fill in any blanks.
"Demetri mouthed off a little," he explained. "But I don't blame him. Nothing more to it."
Aro nodded to Caius and then leaned down so he was face to face with his child. "I will speak with you when everyone leaves."
Demetri backed up a step and instinctively took cover behind Caius.
Caius stepped up to Aro. "I already gave him a good smack and a talking to - it's sorted. Leave him be."
"What's wrong with you?" Aro tutted at Caius' stance. He felt they were equally matched on a good day, and with Caius in the state he was in Aro would floor him easily, so he wasn't backing down. "You aren't normally the protective type."
"It happened on my watch and I am telling you it wasn't Demetri's fault. That should be enough, so why are you questioning me?!"
"It may well have been your watch, but he's still my son and he knows better than to insult our guests!"
"What about them insulting him, huh? How about that?!" Caius was getting louder. He had already drawn Carlisle and Eleazar over in case Aro needed help.
Aro tried to explain himself in an effort to calm Caius down. "I already have Felix going off on his one-man idiot show, I don't need to worry about Demetri right now on top."
That was the wrong thing to say. After all Demetri's talk of living in his brother's shadow, and Caius feeling the same about his life with Aro ... well, it was just the wrong thing to say.
"What the fuck has Felix got to do with Demetri?!" he asked, or rather, shouted.
That brought Basileus and Magnus, the former placing a heavy hand on Aro's shoulder and the latter taking the goblet form Caius' hand.
"Aro, if Caius says its sorted, its sorted," Basileus said to his boy.
Caius stormed away, less a drink. Demetri was hot on his tail, thinking Caius was a god among men for standing up for him like that!
"He looks wrecked," Magnus whispered to Basileus, both following Caius with a glare.
All Basileus could do was nod. He IS wrecked, he thought. But what could they do with Caius now?! If we remove him from the ball his absence could create a concern amongst the other covens, or even our own coven! If the other covens ask where he's gone we can't lie to them, they would no doubt find out at the next ball and it would create distrust. Fuck.
Magnus took a swig from the goblet he had confiscated from Caius and damn near spat the contents back into the cup. "There must be half a bottle of whiskey in this!" he told the Creator in surprise.
Basileus shook his head, truly unsure about what they should do. "We need to keep a closer eye on him," he told Magnus.
"And what are we waiting for before we intervene?" Magnus shot back. Caius was already slurring ... and a little rocky. He'd also already knocked down a good six or seven shots of dungeon blood that day from what Magnus could estimate based on the generous servings Caius had dealt himself. "This is going to end in tears, Basileus."
The Creator didn't particularly disagree, and he didn't know how to prevent it, either.
Felix took all of their attentions when he barreled through the throne room in search of his father. Having missed the altercation between Aro and Caius, he paid no attention to the brooding adults around him and went straight to Aro.
"Master, may I talk with you in private please?"
"Master?" Aro repeated, surprised with his son's deference.
Eleazar, like the others in attendance, burst out laughing. "Who's he trying to kid?"
Aro wasn't laughing after what he'd caught his boy doing. "If you have something to say, say it."
"Please," Felix begged, eyes cutting around the circle of men. He didn't want to explain himself in front of his grandfather, his uncles, and Magnus! It would be traumatic enough begging his father for a reprieve.
You deserve some shaming, you damn delinquent! Aro thought. "I'm disappointed enough without hearing your excuses." His verbal response was a little more reasoned, at least, but that was only because Aro also felt ashamed of his son, or rather his own lack of control over the boy.
Felix heaved a shaky sigh before he began. "You have every right to be mad at me ... "
Aro's tinkling laughter cut him off. "Thank you for your permission," he said, adding a sarcastic bow to his comment.
Felix could feel the danger he was in like a thousand bees stinging him all over his body - his father's sarcasm tended to rise in correlation with his anger.
Aro held out his hand expectantly.
Felix wasn't up for his father traipsing through his memories. "No! You can't look!" he squeaked, backing up a step from the group. "I can't remember what happened I have no idea what you will see!"
Aro exhaled angrily and pulled his son in close. With a rather sinister smile, he hooked a hand around his boy's neck and dived into his mind. Aro prepared himself for seeing his son's sexual antics. It wouldn't be the first time, he thought with a shudder.
Felix could feel himself cringing already and he didn't even know what Aro was looking at.
The sinister smile faded and made way for one of clear amusement. "Relax," Aro whispered to his boy. "I've seen you do a lot worse, with a lot worse."
"What do you mean?" Felix asked, looking perplexed.
Aro chuckled and wrapped his arm around his son. "Get him a drink, El," he called to his brother.
"He can get him a drink," Carlisle huffed sarcastically when Eleazar passed him by. He had received a verbal round of fucks from Basileus and Atia over supplying Felix with alcohol.
Basileus heard him and fixed his boy in his sights. "Aro knew Eleazar was supplying drinks, you went behind everyone backs! If we must speak of this again we will be going somewhere private!"
Carlisle looked most affronted to have such an obvious threat of punishment announced in front of Magnus and Aro, let alone his nephew! If he could have blushed, he would be blood red. His trips away from the coven with Marcus had come to an end and Carlisle felt like a totally new man.
A man - that was the important part. No longer stuck in that odd phase he had found himself in since he was turned, where he didn't really know who he was. Marcus had opened Carlisle to the world outside of Volterra, which was just as stifling to Carlisle as Spittle Fields, where he had been plucked from as a human. There was no way that Carlisle, a new man, a man of the world, would suffer the indignity of being punished by his father. Not a chance on God's green earth was that going to happen.
Basileus was following his boy's thoughts on the matter. Luckily for Carlisle, his father found humour in his stance on parental chastisement and had to stifle his laughter to avoid outing either himself or his son. Bless you, Carlisle, he thought. You really don't get how things work around here, do you?
Thankfully for Carlisle, Atia stepped in on his behalf before his father could say anything more on the matter anyway. "Basileus you make it sound so malicious, my dear. Carlisle is guilty of nothing more than mistaken generosity."
Aro rolled his eyes. Atia always downplayed Carlisle's mistakes, though to be fair, Basileus always exaggerated them. In the ten years that had passed since Carlisle and Felix ran their 'reign of terror', Basileus had yet to relent his watchful eye on his youngest son. It had surprised Aro as he, by his own admission, had been an uncontrollable cock at times, yet Basileus seemed far more hurt by Carlisle's trickery. At least with you breathing down his neck my little brother won't think to start up any new schemes of idiocy, he thought to his father.
It seemed no one appreciated, or even indeed recognised the new and improved Carlisle that had returned from his European tour.
Basileus smirked at Aro's thoughts, though he disagreed strongly that he treated his sons unfairly. Differently, definitely, but unfairly, no. He would not concede to that.
Felix remained at Aro's side, gawping like a fish, when Eleazar offered him a glass of bloodwine. "I don't understand …"
"Which is a big surprise for us all, honestly." Aro cut his boy off. "Go and play," he instructed, pushing Felix away gently.
Felix was truly confused now. I shagged Irina again … I think. How are you letting that go? he wondered. "But what about …"
Aro held up a hand to silence his son. "Do you really want to talk about Irina, or would you rather spend a few hours seeing how much bloodwine you can sneak past me and socialise with our guests?"
Felix eyed his father curiously. You really are letting me off, he thought excitedly. "The second thing you said, definitely!" he replied gratefully, before bouncing away to find some like-minded company.
Magnus narrowed his eyes when Felix bounded straight over to the Denali girls. "Is that wise?" he asked Aro. Magnus wasn't one to get the young ones in trouble, but letting Felix loose on the visitors, with alcohol no less, after he had just spent the evening with Irina seemed foolhardy.
"Why not?" Aro shrugged. "He's a good kid."
Aro had seen inside Felix's memories and he knew why Felix had no memory of having sex with Irina … because he hadn't! Irina had arrived in Felix's room after he had fallen into a deep sleep and she had managed nothing more than falling asleep at his side. If Felix's dreams were anything to go by, Irina had tried to 'wake him up'.
Aro considered how, if roles were reversed, Felix would be hung out to dry for attempted rape! Felix would have happily joined in, if awake, Aro knew that. I think for the next ball I will have to assign someone to watch that girl, he thought, watching as the eldest Denali girl floated between the guards causing a minor disturbance for his mated members. Luckily the guards as a whole had enough respect for Aro and his alliance to keep their annoyance quiet. When he saw Irina heading for Caius, however, Aro decided he had to step in.
"My dear, you appear to be fishing in the shallow end of the pool," he said to the girl. "Mated men are not for you to play with."
Irina ignored Aro and stroked a hand down Caius' cheek. Demetri bounced at their side, desperately trying to alert his brother, expecting something to kick off.
Caius chuckled and removed the girl's hand. He quite liked that Irina had ignored Aro. Caius wouldn't have minded playing with the Denali girl, ordinarily, but he with the amount he'd drank he doubted he'd be able to get it up anyway.
Irina stalked away. It wasn't even as though she wanted to fuck Caius, or any of the other mated men for that matter, but she wanted to have some fun and so far, the second tribune ball was proving sadly lacking in that department.
Once the girl was clear, Aro asked Caius what was going on between him and Demetri.
Caius looked Demetri up and down, wondering whether he could be arsed to continue defending him. The beseeching look the boy gave him actually worked and Caius decided to give it Aro straight. But first, he had to get rid of Demetri.
"Get me a drink, but don't let Magnus see you," Caius whispered to Demetri, directing him towards the bar.
Had Aro been paying more attention to Caius, he might have questioned why his brother-in-arms was more nervous about Magnus than he was Basileus. As it was, he was preoccupied with Caius' sudden care for Demetri and missed that little nugget.
"He's been mouthing off at you and Amun and you are defending him against me." Aro felt that he had never uttered a more unbelievable sentence in his life. "Something is going on, Caius."
Caius huffed. He wasn't going to explain his own feelings on the matter, but he would explain Demetri's. "You know how Amun treated your son and you allow that bastard to waltz around our coven like he owns the place!"
"Amun holds the most powerful coven in our alliance. I need him on side," Aro returned. "Besides, you are making a fuss about nothing, Caius. Demetri has lived here for hundreds of years. I very much doubt he even thinks of his time there, let alone enough to be bothered by it."
"You are wrong, Aro."
Caius had a little laugh to himself when he realised the boy had told him more than he'd told his own father. Sounds about right, Caius thought. He'd had Basileus around almost all of his life but could count the serious conversations they'd had about his worries or concerns or anything of a personal nature on one hand. Magnus, comparatively, had only been around for five minutes and he'd had Caius spewing forth his innermost feelings on a daily basis since he'd taken an interest in him. He couldn't afford to think about Magnus' kindness at that moment, not when he was still being such a dick to the guy. Caius shook the thoughts from his head and got back to Demetri.
"Why would he have told me about it if it wasn't on his mind?"
That grabbed Aro's attention. The idea of Demetri opening up to Caius was … wrong. "What did he tell you?"
"Enough to know Amun still scares the shit out of him and he is struggling with having the guy around," Caius said. He knew there was no point giving Aro any details as he would only check the boy's memories, regardless. "He told me he was dreading a repeat of the last ball, but he wouldn't say why."
Demetri hasn't said anything about the last ball to me, Aro thought, but then I haven't really asked him, either.
Caius continued, "You can't blame Demetri for retaliating yesterday. Amun should know your son is off limits, and that needs to come from you."
Aro would have thanked Caius for standing up for his son, had Caius not stalked away the moment he received a new drink from Demetri.
Before Demetri could follow the coven leader, Aro pulled his by back. "We need to talk, son."
Aro took his boy to his throne and seated himself, pulling his boy to sit next to him. He would have much rather gone somewhere else with his son for this discussion, but with Caius in such a state he thought it best to stay present.
"I know I shouldn't have mouthed off to Henri …" Demetri started, soon trailing off without knowing what to say.
"You think Amun was fair game, I take it?"
"No," Demetri replied to his father. "I know I should have kept my mouth shut."
"I wouldn't say shut, exactly," Aro said, giving his boy a wink. "I think you should have told me or your mother that you had an issue with your old coven leader rather than sit and stew on it until you exploded."
"I didn't explode!"
Aro looked down at Demetri. "You opened up to Caius of all people … how else would you explain that?" He was smiling as he spoke, pulling the child in close, lovingly.
Demetri's moody expression broke, and he even laughed a little at his father's definition of exploding. "Am I in trouble?" he asked.
Aro shook his head, but that wasn't enough for Demetri. "But you said …
"I know what I said," Aro hushed his son before he could remind either of them of any threats he may have issued and embarrassed them both. "Caius changed my mind."
"Caius isn't so bad, you know?" Demetri told his father, snuggling in to the man now he knew he was off the hook.
"I do know," Aro replied. "He's my oldest friend, Demetri. There is more to him than his reputation would have people believe." Much more, Aro thought seeing the man shooting whiskey before a bewildered Turk at the bar.
"But …" Aro continued. He didn't want to upset Demetri, but he had to say his piece. "I would rather have circumvented any issues with Amun than see you and Caius on a two-man mission to bring the guy into line."
Demetri nodded along, but his mind was still on Amun. "Why does he hate me so much? Amun, I mean."
"I don't believe he does hate you, Demetri," Aro returned. Hate was a strong word, he only hoped the boy was being his dramatic self. "I think you are the one that got away," Aro added, going on to explain the awkward dynamic between his son and Amun. "All his other ex-coven members are dead, you are the only vampire living that was part of his coven and he always thought he ran a much better coven than I do. It didn't make sense to him that you would willingly stay here with me."
Demetri took a few moments to digest what Aro had said before replying. "He thinks I am a traitor?"
"I think he thought that," Aro answered, giving his child a protective squeeze. "I would say now he thinks differently."
"He's right," Demetri realised. "I did turn my back on my coven. I never tried to return."
"Why would you?!" Aro asked. "Your life was shit there and it's great here, isn't it?"
Deciding he needed the boy as close as possible, Aro pulled Demetri onto his lap and wrapped his arms around his waist. Demetri needed the affection and the security Aro offered and the boy lapped it up.
"Vampires are only loyal to covens when it's the best coven for them," Aro continued. "I have lost guards who didn't like the Volturi set up."
"Did you kill them?" Demetri asked.
"Not always," Aro admitted. "Some I let leave on good terms. Some I sent to outposts where they are better suited, happier I hope."
Demetri searched through the great hall to find his old coven leader laughing with his mate and their young wards. It was a happy scene, really, but Demetri's resentment convinced the child that Benjamin and Tia were only laughing because Amun expected it of them.
"Amun couldn't care less about his members being happy, he wants them to be controlled."
"I don't think that's entirely true, son, or fair." Aro wiped at the stray tear rolling down Demetri's cheek, a tear the boy wasn't even aware he had shed.
Aro had been following his son's thoughts and after a little digging he realised what a mess Demetri had gotten himself into. "Amun isn't as harsh as you remember, or believe he ever was."
"Can't you just kill him?" Demetri asked.
Such a request startled Aro. Demetri wasn't known for wishing anyone dead, anyone at all. He's usually very much like Carlisle, Aro thought, always looking for the best in people, a pacifist, even. To hear Demetri request Amun's death, and for Aro to know that the boy actually meant it, well, it was a shock. This won't be resolved easily, will it son? Aro thought, cursing his own lack of foresight in managing his boy's emotions.
"Amun may have been harsh with you, Demetri, but I don't believe he was overtly so. No more than any other coven leader. Especially back then."
Aro didn't want to outright dismiss his son's complaints, but he wouldn't give them anymore ground to run on, either.
Demetri briefly thought back to how much more supportive Caius had been with the boy's vendetta.
"I cannot even claim to be any better than Amun," Aro added. Demetri looked aghast, but Aro pushed on. "I have, in my time, been just as harsh. Maybe not with you, but I have. I had a hundred years practising on Felix before you got here. I probably would have continued my ways, had the twins not arrived."
That stung. Demetri was a typical middle child. Firstborns are special for simply arriving first, last borns are special for being the babies. Nothing special about the one stuck in the middle, he thought petulantly.
"Why did you change for the twins and not for me?"
Aro caught the way his boy spat 'the twins', but under the circumstances he let it go. "Because you and Felix were young vampires to my eyes, but Jane and Alec were definitely children," he explained. "Having them here forced me to see you and Felix as children, too …"
Demetri wasn't too sure whether that had worked out well for him or not. On one hand, he wouldn't like to be treated like the adult members of the coven. He knew he was too immature to stick to the rigid rules of vampiric life without ever wandering off track - being a child allowed him to make mistakes without severe consequences. But then again, he would like a little more freedom to make said mistakes, freedom only an adult vampire would receive.
Demetri had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realised his father was still talking.
"… many in the vampire world are terrified of the Volturi and most of that fear comes from the way Caius and I treated our adversaries."
Aro paused to see if his boy was actually listening to him. Satisfied, he continued, "We have made our way into a good many legends. It's not a reputation I am proud of but it's certainly one I earned.
"I bet Caius is proud of it," Demetri sniped. He didn't even mean it really, not after the day he had spent with the coven master had gone so well. Considering.
"You would lose that bet, son," Aro said knowingly.
Aro took a breath and looked over at Caius, his brother-in-arms. You seem to be on a downward spiral tonight, brother, he thought, feeling it was a shame with how much effort Caius had put into not being a prick, lately.
"Anyway, I thought you liked Caius now?"
Demetri laughed a little. "I dislike him less."
Aro added his own chuckles to his son's. That's a start, I suppose. "Caius is trying to change," Aro explained. He didn't want to give any details to the boy, but he wanted to leave Demetri with a good impression of the coven master, as Caius deserved in Aro's mind. "He's a few years behind me, that's all. And his reputation is fiercer than mine. I have to admit, Caius was my superior on the battle field."
Aro jutted his chin towards Amun before he continued. "Change takes time, son. The Volturi will be instructing change going forward but we need to create a strong alliance first."
Demetri still wished the man dead.
"What did he say to you last time he was here?" Aro asked. He had travelled through his son's memories to the last ball, but he hadn't discovered anything of note from Amun. The man had been abrupt, perhaps, but that was just Amun's way.
"Nothing," Demetri huffed, annoyed by his father's lack of support, as he saw it.
"Demetri," Aro said sternly. You will answer me, boy.
Demetri huffed and let his head fall back into Aro's shoulder as though what his father was asking of him took far too much effort. "He said he 'missed' me." Huffing again, he added, "He made me feel like shit."
Aro rolled his eyes. Demetri didn't see. "So he said he missed you and that made you feel like shit?" Aro checked. When his boy nodded, Aro huffed in a similar way to his son. Bloody teenagers and their dramatic interpretation of the mundane. "I think you have been stewing on your own feelings and making more of Amun's brief conversations with you than there really was."
Demetri wasn't sure whether Aro was right or not. Caius had made the boy feel justified, Aro was making him question everything. He much preferred feeling justified.
"Amun is going to be a part of this treaty for the rest of its operation. He is a good ally and I want to keep him on side."
Aro heard his boy's thoughts turn to seeking out his own vengeance if Aro didn't offer him something better than that. For fuck's sake, if this is what talking to Caius does for you, you won't be talking to him ever again!
"That does not mean that you have to put up with any shit from Amun," Aro said quietly. "If you have a complaint, whether it's something he says, or the way he acts towards you, bring that complaint to me and I will address it with him directly."
Demetri perked up at that. "Can I watch?" he asked excitedly. "You are going to say something to him now, aren't you?"
"No, he is not," Basileus said to the boy, seemingly appearing from nowhere with his mate at his side.
Atia poked her son in the side to make him jump up straight. "Aro, sit up properly! Show some decorum."
"You are the figure head of this whole operation," Basileus continued. "You cannot afford to involve yourself in personal matters like this, Aro." Before either Aro or Demetri could object, he offered a sweetener with a wicked grin. "I, on the other hand, am under no such restrictions."
"What does that mean?" Demetri asked.
"You are my grandson and I will not have anyone riding roughshod over one of mine," he told the boy, cupping his chin with his large hand. "Join your brother for a while," he suggested, "and stay away from Amun."
"I want the children sleeping tonight, Aro," Atia said, following Demetri as he sought out Felix in the crowd. She wasn't happy to see her eldest grandchild manically flirting with Kate of the Denali coven, even less pleased when Demetri set in on the same task with her younger sister, Tanya. "It will give all the masters a break from babysitting, too."
"Felix won't go easily," Aro commented, thinking it hadn't been long since he'd woken his son up. He cursed that comment the moment it left his lips as Basileus turned a disappointed eye on his son for his lack of command with the boy.
"Did you hear everything?" Aro asked, referring to his conversation with Demetri and hoping to distract his parents before they could pass judgement on his own parenting skills.
"We did," Basileus returned. "I quite like Amun. I have no issue with the way he ran his coven several centuries ago."
"Are you sure ... because you look pretty pissed off," Aro asked, hoping his father's annoyance was for Amun and not him.
"I am," Basileus agreed. "But not because of what happened eight hundred years ago." That would be ludicrous! "More because Amun is failing to show any deference to the children in the coven. Demetri is a prince and he should be treated as such by our visitors."
Atia heard the options flowing through her mate's mind and nothing suitable had come up, yet, in her opinion. "Amun is a prideful man. You need to be clever about this, Basileus."
Basileus turned to his mate for advice. "What would you suggest, my dear?"
"We want to keep Amun, yes?" Atia mused.
Aro and Basileus both agreed.
"We are not so bothered with Henri?"
Again, they agreed.
"Henri has been quite disparaging towards Demetri," Atia reminded them both. "Give him a dressing down with Amun present, make it applicable to Amun without directly accusing him of anything."
Basileus was pleased with that plan! He took his mate's hand in his own and placed a delicate kiss at the base of her fingers. "If I didn't know better, I would swear you had given birth to Aro."
Aro checked the clock. Half nine. A little early to dismiss his children from the festivities but Atia was right, the masters could do with a break from child minding and he needed to talk shop with the coven leaders. Heaving himself from his throne, he stood to address his coven and guests.
"A few instructions for the remainder of this evening, if you please," Aro called out, gaining the attention of all in attendance. "I believe the bar in here is running dry," he said, sounding sad. "Could I ask you all to move to the guard hall to continue the festivities. Coven leaders will convene in the masters' office. We should do some work on your visit and I am keen to hear of any developments in your lands."
Aro bit his lip for a moment before he added his final instruction. "It is my wish that all children are returned to their chambers until dawn." Please don't kick off, Felix, he thought desperately.
Aro should have had more confidence in his son. Felix had no intention of kicking off - he was still riding a high after getting away with fucking … or whatever he did with Irina. Sulpicia didn't even have to seek him out, he went willingly to her and left with his brothers and sister for their home for the night.
"You shouldn't have to beg the boy to behave appropriately, Aro!" Basileus growled to his boy as he passed. "Lev, come and help me bring a barrel of bloodwine into the masters' office," he called, heading out of the throne room with Atia on his arm to guide their guests through the maze of Volterra castle's hallways.
I didn't beg, Aro thought. At least not aloud.
The masters and coven leaders allowed the guards and lower coven members to follow the Creator whilst they all held back to bring up the rear. They were mimicking Aro, really, rather than making the choice for themselves.
Henri was quick to comment on Basileus and Lev, but not until the Creator was well out of view. "I still can't understand why the Creator likes that insolent underling so much."
"He's a damn good guard, that's why," Magnus boomed. "And he'd eat you alive, Henri."
Aro watched Magnus as they walked through the halls at a leisurely pace. The juggernaut seemed agitated, on edge. Aro wasn't sure why, though he guessed it was because of the state Caius was in. Basileus must have called him in to help should Caius go down quick, he assumed. Still, Aro knew how to handle a pissed-up Caius. An angry juggernaut is much more dangerous, in Aro's mind. Time to call in some back up of my own, he thought.
"Freyr, you are going to join us, yes?" he asked, hoping the shield maiden would temper her mate.
Freyr tutted to Aro in response and walked straight over to the guard hall door. "And leave that lot unattended with a free bar?!"
"You are like an old mother hen," Magnus chuckled, taking a seat next to Basileus in the plush seating area of the masters' office.
"Would that make you the cock, my dear?" Freyr asked with a wink before entering the guard hall.
Magnus sucked in his breath sharply. "Yeah, you'd better run!"
Freyr stuck her head back through the doorway and gave her mate a playful glare. "What was that?"
Magnus rolled his tongue around his cheek. "I was just saying how much I will miss you whilst we are apart, my dear," he said, enjoying playing with his mate a little.
Freyr gave him a stern nod, but her smile soon broke through, and then she left them to their meeting and attended her guards.
"I swear, Magnus," Aro said emphatically, "one day I will find out where she keeps your balls and get them back for you."
"How can you permit your woman to speak to you in such a way?" Henri spat, feeling ever increasing derision for the upstart coven master.
"My 'woman' put you on your ass last time you were here," Magnus reminded Henri. "Or, have you forgotten that?"
Henri and Caius flopped into a sofa together, both worse for wear, and the former trying to ignore the laughter from the other coven leaders after Magnus retold the scene from the first ball where Freyr had so easily pinned Henri in the castle grounds.
"She took me by surprise," Henri huffed in defence. "Surely you know how to handle your own woman?"
"Why on earth would I need to 'handle' my mate, Henri?" Magnus asked. He clung desperately to the calm that joking with Freyr had induced. "I have ripped thousands of vampires to pieces, effortlessly. Plenty of werewolves, too," Magnus explained, happily, before his tone turned grave. "If I ever harmed my mate I would ask for someone to remove my head and put me out of my misery because I would honestly never forgive myself for such treachery."
He may have been addressing Henri, but as he spoke, Magnus' eyes were on Caius. The point was made. Caius hadn't put his hands on his mate in a particularly violent way since his last bout on dungeon blood. Rather than concede the point, or even use it to change the course of his plans, (to get the second bottle of dungeon blood from Basileus) Caius rolled his eyes and looked away.
"I'll remove your head for you," Caius sneered. "Any time you like."
Basileus laughed to cover the insulting tone Caius had used and wagged a finger at his own son. "Caius is getting more like you every day, Aro."
Magnus joined in the laughter that Basileus had started but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Cocky brat, he thought, looking Caius up and down.
"Your honour is very attractive, Magnus," Hilda said, nodding sagely. "I would like that trait in the men you supply me, Caius."
Caius looked confused. "How the hell will I engineer that?!"
"I'm sure you can find some chivalrous knights for experimenting on," Basileus suggested.
Dora had taken the time to fill a few flagons with bloodwine and set them on the meeting table. The coven leaders wouldn't have wanted a guard there whilst they discussed private matters and she wanted the chance to see what state her mate was in close-up.
"I thought chivalry was dead?" Caius grunted, trying to avoid his mate's eye.
His efforts were futile. She didn't need to see into his eyes to see how fucked he was and Dora was disgusted in what she saw. "You wouldn't know chivalry if it slapped you in the face," she told him. "I'm going to keep Freyr company in the guard hall."
"Dora …" Caius called after her, but it was too late. She was gone.
"Let her go," Magnus whispered across the table, seeing Caius ready to follow her.
"Siobhan?" Aro asked the Irish leader, pretending to be confused. "Not Liam?"
Siobhan took the chair near Aro and leaned over the armrest to get close to him. "Don't be coy, my lord," she said. "It doesn't suit you."
Aro turned on all his charms. "Not even a little?" he asked with big eyes and small smile.
"Well …" Siobhan began keen enough, but soon pulled herself back into her chair and faced the rest of the group.
Aro didn't understand for a moment until he realised his mother had sat herself at his side. "Don't," she warned him.
Aro looked to his mother, offended. "What?!"
"You know what," Atia stated flatly, her eyes pointing out Siobhan. "Don't." She wasn't having a son of hers embarrassing himself ... or the rest of their family ... by flirting with a mated visiting coven leader, particularly not when he was mated himself!
You can't admonish me in front of these people! Aro said to his mother, hoping she was using Basileus' gift to read his thoughts. If Atia was, she made no attempt to take it back. Aro was glad Sasha arrived to distract everyone.
Are the girls going to be okay alone, Sasha," Atia asked, wondering what destruction the Denali clan could make in the guest chambers unattended.
"Irina is staying with them," Sasha explained happily, as though that would put anyone's mind at ease. "And so is Carmen."
Eleazar sighed internally. Fucking wonderful, he thought.
"I don't know why you didn't put Noella in my chambers, Hilda," Sasha continued, accepting a goblet of bloodwine from Basileus.
The fact that Atia had to fix her own drink did not go unnoticed by Aro. Playing with fire, Dad! Basileus heard him, and it was only then that he realised his mistake.
"Maybe next time, Sasha," Hilda replied, shuddering at the thought of her darling Noella holed up with the rambunctious Denali girls.
Basileus decided to get the show on the road and put Henri in his place over Demetri, simply to divert his mate's frosty glares. "I had an unpleasant conversation with my grandson earlier."
"Which one?" Henri asked, thinking all three of the Creators supposed grandsons were particularly unpleasant specimens of their kind.
Pleased that Henri had taken the bait so quickly, Basileus pushed on. "Demetri," he said sharply, watching Amun out of one eye for his reaction, too.
Amun narrowed his eyes, wondering where Basileus was going, but Henri guffawed. "I had the same displeasure when I arrived," he said, commenting to Caius on what a waste of fresh air the child was.
Aro did his very best to pretend he hadn't heard, though a deaf, dead human would have heard the insult.
"In what way?" Basileus asked, drawing Henri in.
"He's a mouthy brat," Henri replied confidently. It's an odd phenomenon of alcohol that it makes the most unworthy of men confident in all that they spew forth from their mouths.
Caius caught on to what was going on. He knew a Basileus trap from fifty paces. "Henri …" he tried, to hush the French leader, but Henri continued to damn himself regardless.
"I heard him telling me to fuck off," Henri announced. "Caius set him straight, though. Didn't you Caius?"
Caius looked up to be faced with both Basileus and Magnus staring down at him. "I'm not getting involved in this," he said quietly. He needed Basileus on side if he was going to get his hands on that dungeon blood.
"The conversation I had was in reverse, Henri," Basileus explained. He was talking to Henri still, but he made damn sure to catch Amun's eye regularly as he spoke. "You were the one being disparaging towards Demetri, the way I heard it."
"Not really, my lord," Henri returned, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Magnus was playing with his emotions. Only a little, just enough to ensure the conversation would go the way Basileus wanted it to.
"I do hope the boy was merely confused," Basileus breezed. He was blatantly looking at Amun then. "After all, he is only a child, an elite child, a child of the Volturi and protected as such. Anyone who finds themselves upsetting one of my grandchildren will have me to deal with. And I will ride roughshod over the alliance to bring such unfortunate and malicious individuals into line."
"I, I, I mean, I apologise, my lord." Henri sounded like a stuttering prick. He felt like a prick, too.
"I suggest you make your apologies to Demetri, my friend," Basileus said, resting back in his chair so he could see both Amun and Henri. "Take care not to offend him again because I will be monitoring."
Once he was sure everyone was on the same page, he picked up the closest flagon and offered to refill their cups, making sure to fill Atia's first.
"I hope my girls get some sleep tonight, they are so excited to be in Volterra that I fear it will be too much for them to rest." Sasha, as usual, was in a world of her own and really only spoke to speak to herself. When she looked around the gathering, she saw Aro's game face had dropped as he struggled to find a way to explain away the closely guarded secret she had divulged. "Have I said something inappropriate?"
"Aro thinks I don't know children sleep," Caius explained, pleased to have one over on his co-master.
"Since when have you known?!" Aro asked. That surprised him more than the shock of having his children's secret announced by Sasha.
Caius shrugged. "Centuries," he supposed. "I have found your need to hide the fact quite amusing."
"You really are morphing into Aro, Caius - it's not a good look," Basileus quipped. "We'll have to knock that out of him, Magnus."
Aro leaned across the table to Caius. "Since when are they so pally?" he asked. "Marcus will be getting jealous."
Caius didn't want to comment on their relationship - he knew one of the reasons Magnus and Basileus were so 'pally' was because of their frequent discussions over him! "Where is Marcus anyway?" he asked. It was better than facing Aro's question.
"Marcus is playing with my brother's pets," Tao told them from across the table. "I have never met anyone who could tolerate Xola's presence for as long as Marcus has."
"Annoying little brother, Tao?" Eleazar asked, looking to Aro. "I know all about those."
"At least I only have the one," Tao replied, laughing at Aro's scowl. It was good to see true familial bonds in the Volturi family. It gave Tao some confidence for the alliance going forwards. It wasn't only Aro who wished to find common ground between their covens.
Caius flicked his tongue across his teeth. It's now or never, he said to himself. "Basileus, could I have the dungeon blood?"
His plan was painfully simple. Ask for the dungeon blood in front of everyone, so Basileus would either give it him, or be forced to explain why he couldn't have it. It was a risk. Caius knew Basileus could go either way, but he was banking on Basileus' conservative nature and that he would wish to avoid a scene in front of the coven leaders.
Basileus barely looked at Caius as he replied. "You are supposed to be working." It was dismissive, and he expected Caius to take the hint and drop the matter.
Caius, however, was desperate for that bottle just to prove to Henri, if nothing else, that he wasn't restricted in the coven in any way and therefore an equal coven leader to him. "I have discussed Hilda's requirements already, my lord. I know what's needed," he said, adding a little louder, "so may I have that bottle?"
For a moment, time stood still as Basileus, Magnus and Caius all stopped breathing. No one else seemed to notice the pause in conversation, and it was only brief whilst Basileus weighed up his options, but the three of them felt it intensely. Caius' planned worked, Basileus didn't want a scene, so he reluctantly took the bottle of dungeon blood from his cape on the back of his chair.
"Don't take it in here," he said to Caius, and then handed the bottle to Magnus. "Go with them."
Caius felt a flash of shame and anger at the obvious slight. "I don't need an escort, my lord," he spat.
"I didn't say you did, Caius," Basileus breezed, returning to coaxing conversation out of Kachiri, who had barely said a word since her arrival.
"Come on, then," Magnus said, making to stand. Caius and Henri were already on their feet and walking towards the guard hall. "NOT in my guard hall!" Magnus called after them, nodding at the door leading back into the castle, instead.
Once they were all outside, Magnus closed the double doors and offered the bottle of tar to Caius.
"I wasn't aware you indulged, Magnus?" Henri sneered. He knew something was going on between Magnus and Caius, but he couldn't put his finger on what. He had briefly suspected a rivalry of some kind, but as Caius hadn't said a bad word about the juggernaut, he had dismissed that idea.
"I don't as a general rule," Magnus replied. "I'm here in a supervisory capacity."
Henri's eyes glinted with glee. "HE supervises YOU?" he said to Caius, very, very loudly.
Caius was sure the vampires within the masters' office would have heard that. "HE most certainly does not."
Magnus puffed out his chest and squared his broad shoulders. "The next one to refer to me as HE in that sneering tone will be wearing that dirty fucking blood."
"Do you want some or not?" Caius asked, as though it was natural for them to share the drug.
"I do not."
"It might calm you down, big guy," Henri said, taking a good swig from the bottle.
"I am perfectly calm, Henri," Magnus assured the French leader. "You would be smeared across the floor by now, otherwise." He watched as Caius took first one gulp, then another. "Have you had enough?" he asked, before Caius could take a third.
Henri shrugged and went back into the office, Caius and Magnus held back.
"What the fuck was that about?!" Caius growled out, still clutching the bottle of dungeon blood.
"What?" Magnus shrugged.
"You know what!" Caius snapped. "Throwing your weight around with me!"
Magnus sighed. He knew he and Caius would come to blows if he was on dungeon blood, but it was still too early in the covens' visit for that to happen. "That was for Henri's benefit, Caius," he said calmly.
Caius wasn't sure about that, but he didn't actually want to fight with Magnus, either. "So long as it was," he settled on saying.
"How much of that shit have you drank today?"
"Not nearly as much as I would have liked, as you smashed the other bottle," Caius answered. "Which was a real dick move, by the way."
"That was a dick move?!" Magnus returned. Yeah, I'm the one being a dick today, clearly, he thought sardonically. Caius tried to get past him and back into the office, but Magnus wasn't done yet. "Freyr plans to spend some time with Dora after the covens leave."
"Oh, does she?" Caius dripped sarcasm as he spoke. "So, I am being judged before I have even done anything wrong?!"
Magnus shook his head. "You are being judged on past experience, Caius, nothing more or less than that. Don't make a big deal out of it, just come with me to the guard hall when the visitors go. No one needs to know anything is going on."
He was cool, calm, using deep subtle tones in the hope Caius would see reason. On a good day he would have done. Actually, Magnus had got pretty good at controlling Caius in such a way. But that was a bad day and Caius had spent most of it brooding on the unfairness of his life and concocting plans to protect his pride - Magnus was adding insult to both of those things in one go by deeming him a risk without supervision.
"Fuck you!" Caius hissed. "This is ridiculous!"
"Fine," Magnus said, as though it was no skin off his nose. "You can spend a few days in a cell instead." Whilst Caius floundered in his drug addled state to come up with a verbal response to Magnus' proposal, Magnus pushed on. "It's up to you. Choose."
Caius took a few steadying breaths to get himself under control. Not an easy feat with two fresh shots of dungeon blood coursing through his veins. "Is this coming from Basileus, or you?"
"Why would that matter?" Magnus asked. He genuinely wanted to know the answer to that. Basileus had hinted that Caius looked up to him and Magnus wanted to know if that was true, particularly if it was true in stressful situations rather than just in a day to day fashion.
"It matters!" Caius blustered, though he couldn't put his finger on why. "Which is it?"
Magnus didn't answer him. Instead, he changed tack. "Can you remember what happened the last time you took this shit?" he asked, flicking the bottle in Caius' hand.
"It wasn't that bad …"
"Oh, you have to be joking?" Magnus boomed, cutting Caius off before his lies could choke him. "My memory is not so short as yours, Caius."
Caius couldn't really offer a counter argument. He had been a cunt the last few times he'd taken dungeon blood. Magnus had borne the brunt of those disasters, there was no denying that. "I'll come to the fucking guard hall," he agreed. His words may have been harsh, but his tone had softened considerably. "I don't see how being pissed is any better than being high."
"You aren't such an evil cunt when you're only pissed," Magnus offered, giving him a supportive wink as he spoke, feeling proud of Caius for coming to the right conclusion after all. He held a hand out for the bottle of dungeon blood, feeling they were getting somewhere.
Caius went to hand it over, but quickly pulled back. If I give it back now, how will I get it back later? he wondered. He couldn't risk that. "I'm a big boy, I can hold the bottle all by myself."
"I'm trying to help you," Magnus said softly. He didn't want Caius kicking off again.
Caius backed up a step, protectively clutching his drug to his chest. "Why are you 'helping' me at all?!"
"We're friends," Magnus said. "I've known you for centuries, you don't think I consider you my friend after all this time?"
"We've never been close, though," Caius threw back. "Not like this. Only the last few years."
"Maybe you seem like you need help."
"It's because I'm weak, isn't it?" Caius presumed. "You like it that I'm weak. Weaker than you."
"Not at all, Caius!" Where is his head at?! "I don't think you're weak. I think what you have been trying to do has shown incredible strength."
Caius tutted and huffed loudly. He sounded like a damn child to Magnus and the sneering tone Caius proceeded with didn't help. "And, what do you think I have been trying to do?"
"Be a better man than you've been before," Magnus said pointedly. He was wondering where that new man had gone because he damn sure wasn't standing in front of him at that moment.
"Well get off my back and let me get on with being better, then. I'm doing my best …"
If Magnus would have left it there, the events that would follow this conversation might never have been. As it was, Magnus did not leave it there, he pushed Caius over the edge. It wasn't Magnus' intention, of course, he was still working out the best ways to deal with Caius – this was new territory for them both - but the damage was done regardless.
"Get off your back?! Doing your fucking best?!" Magnus repeated, unable to keep a hold on his annoyance any longer. "You were, yes, until this weekend, but let's not pretend you have been flying solo on this."
"It's got fuck all to do with you."
"It's got everything to do with me, you ungrateful brat," Magnus interrupted, "when I'm the one who has been propping you up for the last six years! Caius!"
Caius stormed passed Magnus into the masters' office, yelling a clear 'fuck off' as he went.
"Tell everyone about the coven religious festivals," Atia suggested, trying to bring normality back to the room after Caius' rude interruption.
Magnus retook his seat next to Basileus and it was clear as day that the two of them were discussing Caius. Caius was incensed!
"I prefer the term cultural festivals," Aro explained, joining in on his mother's crusade. "We aren't worshipping anything other than our own existence." Aro fell into his patter regarding the coven festivals, explaining as he went how they had celebrated and how such celebrations could work on a smaller scale for the individual covens in attendance.
"I like the idea of this," Amun said, nodding along. He thought his young wards would enjoy it, too, which would please his mate. "But you seem very one sided in your events, my lord. They are all Christian festivals, are they not?"
"Not at all," Aro returned, sipping from his cup. "Many of these festivals predate Christianity. Besides, we need not concern ourselves with human customs attached to the events. The idea is that we will' vamp them up', as my son suggested."
"Perhaps you could arrange some literature on the matter, Aro?" Eleazar suggested, much to the annoyance of his little brother, as he knew it would be. "For all the covens."
"I'm sure Marcus will take care of that if we ask him nicely," Atia told her boy, giving Eleazar the dead eye as she spoke. You aren't too old for a telling off, Eleazar, she thought as she hissed at him for trying to wind Aro up in an already stressful situation. "These events have done wonders for coven morale," she added.
"Morale?!" Henri spat like it was a dirty word. "I wouldn't waste my breath in encouraging morale. My coven knows better than to disobey me. I don't need to beg my subjects to be on good terms."
"Do you see us begging anyone, Henri?" Magnus asked plainly.
"Ignore him, Magnus," Basileus told the master. "He's not worth it."
That was it. Caius had had enough. Sure by then that the only reason Basileus and Magnus didn't like Henri was because he was Caius' friend, (because that's the sort of fucked up thinking dungeon blood brings) Caius waved the bottle of tar at his most hated best buddy and asked, "Henri, I feel like walking the grounds, how about you?"
The pair of them flashed from the office like a pair of young miscreants with Caius thinking he wouldn't even step back inside the coven until he'd finished the whole bottle.
"I get the feeling he is doing that to spite you," Basileus commented to Magnus. The rest in attendance all pretended not to have noticed anything amiss, but it was clear as day.
Magnus knocked down his bloodwine and set his goblet on the table. "Aye, he is that."
Basileus felt guilty. He should never have let Caius take the dungeon blood in the first place, let alone allowed himself to be backed into a corner and hand the second bottle over. He wanted to give Magnus a way out. "If Caius is so intent on hanging himself for a bottle of dungeon blood, I don't see what else you can do to intervene, Magnus."
"No, I suppose not," Magnus agreed. "But I'll be the one cleaning up after him, won't I?"
Basileus placed a supportive hand on the juggernaut's shoulder. "Only if you choose to," he said, making sure the man knew he was under no obligation to him to do anything of the sort.
Magnus didn't want to hand Caius over to Basileus, truth be known. He wanted to be the one to help him through the shower of shit he was bringing down on them both. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to handle things, but he was sure that it would be him handling it. "It doesn't feel like much of a choice to me, Basileus," he said truthfully, dreading what was to come.