AN: I still haven't finished Midnight Sun! My reading speed crushes me at times, damn it!
Chrissy, if you're reading, I have tried PMing you, hope you are okay?
Stay safe everyone!

Missing

JANUARY 8th

Caius and Dora entered the guard hall to a round of applause - it wasn't for them.

Each time the coven barkeep dropped a glass, he was greeted to a mocking round of applause from the guard hall guests. As Turk, a vampire, very rarely dropped a glass, much less the three he had just seen smash to the floor, the taunting claps were a rare sound. The poor guy was so nervous that his clammy hands just wouldn't work the way he needed them to.

Caius gave the young guard a raised eyebrow as he collected two goblets of bloodwine from the bar. He took them back to his usual seat where Dora waited with their friends.

"What's going on, then?" he asked the group. "Phil told me to report to the guard hall, but he disappeared before explaining why."

Phillipe had caught Caius in the dungeons, and the coven master still wore the bloodied shirt from his activities down below. Caius was particularly annoyed that a guard had the temerity to command his presence at all, and doubly so when the same guard hadn't even graced him with a reason!

"We have a rogue mission," Chelsea explained, her tone hushed and grave.

"A new mission?!" Caius shot up from his seat as he looked around for Magnus. If you've set a mission up without me…

"No, you misunderstand," Chelsea said, shaking her head. "A rogue mission."

Caius retook his seat as Afton took over from his mate.

"Some of our younger coven members have taken it upon themselves to pop to France and kill some werewolves." Little bastards have stolen our mission.

"What?!" Dora spluttered behind her goblet. "Who?" Who could be so stupid? She thought about the younger members of the coven. Many of them!

"Freyr's doing a head count now," Renata said, turning to Chelsea to ask what more she knew - Chelsea had been helping the guard master with the task.

"So far it looks like Irina…"

"Great!" Dora burst, interrupting Chelsea. "Maybe she'll be eaten by a werewolf and solve our problems."

Renata tittered at the idea before Chelsea continued.

"Maybe, but she's taken one of her sisters with her." Chelsea paused and put a hand to her head as she tried to recall which little Denali was which. "The one who looks sad all the time?"

Caius took a swig of his drink. "Kate," he said without any emotion. He only knew which one the sad one was because Eleazar had expressed his concern over the child the day before.

"Oh, I like that one," Renata sighed. Of all the Denali girls, Kate was known for being the least squealy.

"Ren!" Freyr called across the hall, requesting the guard's presence.

Chelsea watched her go, wondering what Freyr was asking.

"Has anyone else gone?" Dora asked.

"Felix and Demetri are unaccounted for," Chelsea replied, one eye still on Renata. "So, they are assumed to have gone." She saw her coven mate shaking her head and Freyr comforting her. Please don't say Corin has gone on a secret mission? Renata will not survive losing the girl.

Dora flinched at Caius' side. Sulpicia must be a wreck, she thought, wondering whether she was still friendly enough with the woman to go and offer some support? They had a lot of history, both good and bad. More good, she hoped, but recent years had seen their relationship sour. It had never really recovered from when she'd pushed the twins down the stairs. The memory punched Dora in the guts.

Looking at her mate, Dora thought to herself, I might not be able to help, but you can. "Are you going to follow them?" she prompted. "Aro's your best friend, Caius. His children are missing."

"Not my circus, not my monkeys." Caius took his cup from the table and downed the last of its contents. When he looked passed his goblet, the whole table - Dora, Afton, and Chelsea - all looked back horrified. "What?" he asked them. When they all continued to judge him with their eyes, he added. "I'll help if I'm asked."

Dora tutted. "That's weak."

"I've been in the fucking dungeons all day!" Caius tugged at his bloodied shirt to make his point. An exaggeration, though, as it was only midday. "They're Aro's kids - he can drag them back here. If you're so bothered, you can help him." With that, Caius went back to the bar for a refill.

It wasn't so much that Caius didn't care about Aro's kids - he felt a certain fondness for them, for sure. The sort of feelings that come with sharing a space for such a long period of time. He would even go so far as to say he liked Demetri, at times. He had a lot of time for Jane. Alec, he didn't know well, though he had turned the child himself, which proffered a certain attachment. Felix, though… Felix was mostly a pain in the ass. He had nothing against the boy, however.

Freyr's voice called out across the room again. "Has anyone seen Corin?"

A flurry of activity ignited in the hall again. Every time Freyr asked about a member of the coven, the guards began questioning each other to work out who had seen them last. Renata flitted between them all, gathering as much information as she could whilst simultaneously realising, she had been the last to see Corin, and their last words had not been pleasant.

As he stood at the bar - waiting, and clapping, because Turk had smashed another tray of glasses - Caius could feel his wife's discerning eyes boring into his back. He had spoken the truth, he felt. He would go after the miniature mission crew, if asked. But he would rather not be asked.

Ren will be asking me to go if Corin has gone with them. Damn it. Corin's no use in a fight. She should be more use than Irina and Kate, though. Caius tried hard to convince himself he wouldn't have to trek across the country that day. Felix and Demetri will look out for the girls. I've trained those boys, he reminded himself. They can look after themselves. It's not like Alec's gone with them.

Again, Freyr's voice called out across the din: "Has anyone seen Alec?"

Oh fuck! Caius cringed and cursed the Gods for their timing.

Somewhere behind him he heard Chelsea repeat the boy's name, sure she must have misheard her master. "He's just a baby!" she finally said, the shock clear in his voice.

Coming up behind her mate, Dora tugged at Caius' arm. "This looks bad, love," she said. "You should offer to help."

Caius didn't say so, but he was starting to see he would have to at some point. He took the cup that Turk had finally refilled without responding to Dora. He raised an eyebrow at the young guard, again, who was visibly shaking in front of him.

"Do you know anything about all of this, Turk?"

"Me, master?!" Turk spluttered at Caius without actually saying anything of sense. "I'm not missing," were the only understandable words he managed to squeak out.

"I can see that - it isn't what I asked you."

Before Turk could answer, Richard came to his rescue. "Can I help you at all, master?" he asked Caius, seeing how stressed Turk looked. "Can I get you another drink? Something stronger, perhaps?"

Caius tapped the glass he already had, and therefore no need for another. Being a coven master for thousands of years meant Caius knew when guards were covering for each other. Something told him that Richard wasn't covering for Turk, as such - more like defending him - but he could tell Turk was covering for someone else.

Caius fixed Turk with his eye as he addressed Richard. "You can get him to answer me."

Richard hadn't heard what Caius had asked Turk, only that the master had scared the young guard. "What's going on, buddy?"

"Well…"

Turk wouldn't have to say anymore as all eyes turned to Magnus instead. He came storming down from the guard dorms with glassy eyes, shoving a piece of parchment into his pocket. His voice, thick with emotion, boomed across the whole hall, "Has anyone seen my son?!"

The tempo in the guard hall increased again and yet another glass smashed against the flagstone floor.

Caius knocked his drink back and pushed Dora aside.

"Where are you going?!" she asked him, steadying herself on the bar.

"To get ready!"

He was gone before Magnus had made his way through the guards to join Dora. He had his eye on a very flustered Turk. "That's the fifth round of applause I've heard for you in a half hour," he pointed out. "Get your ass to the office and be ready to explain yourself when I get there."

"Yes, master." Turk tossed his washcloth in Richard's direction, who he assumed would be taking over the bar for him. I'm going to kill you for this, Odi!

"Are you okay?" Dora asked the juggernaut.

It seemed such a stupid question under the circumstances, but she didn't know what else to say to him. The idea that Odi was out in the wilds, alone, with a band of kids to defend, and possibly facing a lair of wolves in any moment... frankly the idea made her feel ill. She loved the kid so much. she loved Magnus and Freyr, too. Your world must be crumbling, she thought, looking up to the emotional giant.

Magnus half smiled and nodded. "Go and see Sulpicia," he said, encouragingly. "You are her oldest friend in this coven and her children are missing."

Dora had thought the same herself but was still unsure. "Do you really think she'd want to see me?"

"Yes," he said. "Go and talk to Sully." And I'll go and talk to Turk.

Dora passed Aro as she left, and offered him a sad smile, which he seemed to return. He and his father had been running through various minds to gather information - his younger brother's being the most bothersome so far. Absolute moron! Aro thought again, cursing the day he'd chosen the country bumpkin to be turned. Knowing Eleazar already had the matter in hand (the matter being tearing their baby brother a new asshole) Aro sought out Renata from the crowd.

"Oh, master," the poor woman cried. "I'm so sorry. I'm so…"

"I assume you knew nothing about this little mission, Ren," Aro said, taking her hand to double check that assumption. "No hint of their plans? Nothing for us to go on?" he collected his answers before Renata had the chance to speak them aloud.

"Master, you told me us all to exclude Felix, and I have. We all have," Renata explained, gesturing with a sweep of her arm that the whole guard had excluded the boy. "As you ordered, Master."

Aro's heart sank deeper into his chest. He had ordered that, yes. Is that why they've done this? His stomach ached and threatened to release the content over his shoes. I've lost all three of my sons in one night because I needed to pull Felix back from the grownups! What is this, son? he wondered, thinking of his eldest boy. Another grand scheme to show me you're in charge, or a more general abandoning of your good sense?

He couldn't think on it any more for the moment, so Aro got back on track with questioning Renata. "And Corin?" he asked, referring to the girl's exclusion from the older guards socialising.

"Her, too, Master." Renata sucked back her tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I mean, I still see her in our dorms, but she pulled away from me. I have been on her case about breaking your rules and…"

Renata's voice cracked in her throat as the weight of the situation dawned on her. She loved Corin to the bone and had spent the best part of a thousand years looking out for the girl. And now I might lose her, and our last words… Renata couldn't even think them again. At the time, it hadn't seemed so bad to remind Corin that she needed to buck her ideas up or risk being thrown out of the coven - 'and how will you survive then?' she had asked. 'You won't be long for this world if you go out there without protection, my girl!'

Aro flinched hearing Renata's thoughts, mainly because they were true - and not just for Corin, but for a good number of the dimwits who'd skipped along into the night.

"I'm so sorry, Master."

Aro shook his pinched the bridge of his nose. "This isn't your doing, Ren. It's mine."

I just need some damn surety on where they have gone, and I can go and find them. There must be one person here who knows where they were going, he thought. The masters had already shared their belief that the children would likely be off chasing werewolves - the fact that a mission had been announced the evening before for that very activity was a dead giveaway. That wasn't enough for Aro, though. What if they are using the mission to France as a cover to head to Tao's lands? I'd be in the wrong direction and they'd be dead! Bile rose in his throat at the thought. Again, he looked around for someone who might know something. Aha!

"Ren, bring Adrianna to me."

...

Phillipe had been sent on a run around of the coven with various messages for one master or another. Now they had all been informed to attend the hall, he was back to find new directives. He was surprised on his return to see Magnus raging at Turk in the masters' office. He thought about jumping to the kid's defence before Magnus growled in his direction. Maybe I should find out what's going on first, he thought, backing into the guard hall.

His feet crunched against broken glass as he made his way around the back of the bar to his mate. "Whats going on with Turk," he asked, finding a broom to clear the floor. "Do you think he knew about this?"

Richard winced and bobbed his head. "I'd bet your ass he did."

"My ass?" Phil spat back. "Bet your own ass!"

"He's coming back," Richard said, nodding in the young guard's direction.

Poor Turk looked ready to vomit as he crossed the hall to the bar. Seeing the faces on Richard and Phillipe didn't help his state. Phil and Rich had been put in charge of making the coven's supply of bloodwine many years before, and since then, they had spent much more time working closely with Turk on the bar. The two older guards were good to him, usually. They stuck up for him with the other guards, helped him out on the bar whenever the hall got busy, and occasionally put him in his place when he was being a typically moody younger vampire. In the main, Turk felt grateful for their support - he had dropped Phillipe's name more than once into minor altercations with Alex, for example. He wasn't quite so keen when the pair of guards rebuked him, and he could see that was about to happen again.

It's not like I don't deserve it, I suppose. Turk offered to take over from Phillipe sweeping the floors, but Phil ignored his offer. Instead, the older guard pulled the kid right to the back of the bar area for what little privacy it could afford them all. Once Richard had finished serving Afton to his round of drinks, the interrogation began.

Turk rambled back and forth without really answering their questions. Richard could see his mate growing in agitation - Phillipe had always been the more volatile of the two - and decided to get things moving.

"Hey!" he said, poking the younger guard in the chest. "Enough stalling. Just tell us what you told Magnus."

With a gulp, Turk did just that. Very, very quietly, he told them about Odi's plans to go on a secret mission to kill the wolves in France, just as Aro had feared.

For a brief moment, neither Phillipe nor Richard spoke at all. Turk used the time to glace around the hall - he was mainly worried Renata would have heard the information he'd shared. She'll take her pound of flesh from me if anything happens to Corin. He liked that Corin had someone who cared for her so much, who looked out for her, who loved her. It must be nice to mean so much to someone, he guessed.

Renata hadn't heard - she was too busy crying on Chelsea's shoulder. Turk heard her say something about a 'stupid bitch', and by following the direction of Chelsea's glare, Turk ascertained that Adrianna was the bitch in question. As Aro continued to loudly question the woman, it became clear to Turk that he wasn't the only one who had information on the Outcast mission.

"Phil, love," Richard said gently whilst simultaneously taking hold of the man by his arm. He could see his mate bubbling up with rage as he digested what Turk had told them.

Richard's efforts prevented Phillipe from slapping Turk, but it didn't stop him from yelling at the kid. "What were you fucking thinking?!"

Cringing as every guard in the hall turned in their direction, Richard hissed, "Too loud, love!"

"Fuck too fucking loud!"

Again, Phil asked Turk what had been going through his mind when not only had he failed to speak up before the outcasts left, but why in all that is holy had he not come forward since Sulpicia first raised the alarm that her children were missing?! The word around hall was that Irina had been last seen by Carlisle close to midnight. With it being midday, the young vampiric members of the coven had been missing for twelve hours already.

"What do you have to say to that, Turk?" Richard added. He felt just as agitated as Phil, but Rich could manage his temper better.

"Odi's my friend…"

"And that's a good enough reason to stick your neck on the block?!" Phillipe threw his hands in the air - it was that or throw them at Turk! "Odi would have still been your friend if you had stopped him from doing something so foolish!"

"Alright, back off," Turk tutted in response.

"Back off?!"

Just before Phillipe could land a smack to the kid's mouth, a commotion broke out behind him - Aro had thrown Adrianna to the ground, requiring the combined efforts of Marcus, Eleazar and Carlisle to hold him back. This place has filled up quick, Phil realised. The hall very nearly contained every coven member in the castle.

Turk watched as Adrianna scampered across the floor to safety. She didn't dare rise until Magnus was back in the hall to defend her. He no doubt thought as little of her as Aro did in that moment, but, always on the side of 'right', the guard master pulled the woman to her feet and sent her to the safety of her dorm room.

Chancing another glance at Renata, Turk half expected her to go after Adrianna. Retribution for putting Corin in danger. But she didn't. Too worried to move, or maybe crushed by the guilt she felt, Renata stayed at Chelsea's side. For not the first time in his immortality, Turk wished he had someone- anyone! -who cared about him so much. Magnus is ready to rip my head off, he thought, solemnly. He won't be coming to my defence - no one will.

Choking back his emotions, he quietly muttered, "Odi's my only friend in this place…"

Rich spun back to Turk before Phil had the chance. "What the hell do you think we are?!" he growled, his own frustrations forcing his volume to rise.

Turk tutted, shrugged a shoulder, and looked a little confused. "You only bother with me because we work together."

"You're as thick as she is," Phil snapped, referring to Adrianna. Hearing Turk tut again sent him over the edge. He smacked the kid hard across his head with his open hand.

"Phil," Richard hissed, pulling his mate back. "There are masters crawling all over this place."

"I don't care!" Phil raged in his mate's face. "He could die for this!"

"I know."

Turk looked between the two men as he rubbed his head, sure that Phil had cracked his damn skull. It was rather telling for the young barkeep that no one in the whole hall had even bothered to check on him. The only ones who did seem bothered about him were the pair in front of him… who had growled at, shouted at, and hit him! Turk couldn't understand it. The way Phillipe had said 'he could die for this' sounded so pained, angry, sure, but pained. Richard's distressed 'I know' was just as confusing for the young barkeep.

Whilst Turk had been lost in thought, Phillipe and Richard came up with a loose plan - talk to the guards, all the other guards. Make sure none of them will speak out against Turk. Ideally, find some who will speak in his favour. 'The kid is well liked', Richard had said. 'It shouldn't be too difficult'. Phillipe only half agreed. 'It will depend how many of those brats make it back from their mission, love'.

In catching the tail end of their conversation, Turk finally realised the severity of the situation he was in. What have I done?!

Phil caught onto grave expression growing on Turk's face. "We're going to talk about all of this when I'm sure you aren't going to lose your head for being so stupid," he told him. "Go to your room and keep yourself out of the way until then."

"You can't send me to my room!"

Phillipe's eyes widened slightly as he stepped forward. "I'll drag you there if I have to."

Turk gulped down the venom pooling in his throat. He might have liked to stand his ground, but his head hurt too much from that one smack he'd received from the guy - he didn't want another one of those, that was for sure. Whilst the masters were busy catching each other up with what they knew so far, Turk slipped away, straight for his dorm.

...

Bar the missing outcasts, and Turk and Adrianna, the whole coven had assembled in the guard hall. Carmen and Sulpicia remained in the south tower - Sully was so distraught that Aro felt her presence would be inappropriate. Caius had yet to return, but the other masters seemed not to have noticed.

"Well," Basileus asked, drawing his family and the masters to him. "Tell me everything."

"Carlisle and Adrianna kind of knew what was happening," Freyr explained from the information she had gathered. "Though they didn't realise it at the time."

"She knew, shes just too stupid to know what she knew," Aro said about the guard in question, adding about his brother, "Same goes for him."

Basileus scowled at his youngest son, and though he didn't blame his boy, neither could he disagree with Aro's statement.

"Turk knew it all," Magnus slipped in. He ran a hand through his dark, ragged locks. "I will deal with him when we have the young ones safe at home."

"As will I."

All eyes flew to Aro for the tone he had used.

"Aro…" Magnus began.

"As. Will. I."

Just before an argument could erupt between Magnus and Aro, which Phil and Rich desperately wanted to hear so they could work out what to do or say in Turk's defence, Carlisle unintentionally diverted attention when he muttered to himself, "Why didn't they ask me to go?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Aro rounded on his brother and again had to be held back by Eleazar and Marcus. "That's what you're worried about right now?!"

Basileus saved Aro the job and clocked his son around the ear.

Poor Carlisle winced and ducked his head. "Just thinking out loud. Sorry."

Fucking idiot, Aro thought.

Basileus suddenly squared his shoulders and stood tall. "Someone else is thinking pretty damn loudly." He wasn't talking about Aro's thoughts - his eyes were on Jane at her father's side.

Aro followed the man's eyeline. "I've asked, her," he said, waving away his father's concern. "Jane didn't know anything about it."

Basileus shook his head as he continued to delve through Jane's mind. "You may wish to check, son."

Snatching the girl's hand, Aro ran through her memories. His already firm grip tightened when he found the outcasts chewing the fat in the guard hall after Magnus and Caius had announced the new wolf-hunting mission. When he arrived at Jane's promise 'not to tell', the girl yelped and tried to pull her hand free before it would break.

"Aro, that's enough," Basileus said, as he attempted to break his son's hold. "You have the information we need."

Aro all but ignored him. "You lied to me?" he accused the child. "You lied to my face!"

Again, he slipped into Jane's memories…

"Felix, I won't tell Dad, but when he finds you missing, he will read this entire conversation in my mind."

"Then, in that case-" Felix grabbed his sister's face with one hand on each side, then he stared into her eyes as he spoke "-Dad, I'm sorry, but I have to do this."

"And, Dad-" Jane took hold of Felix in much the way he had her "-for the record, I think you've pushed him into it."

"So, this is my fault?" Aro asked, though it wasn't a question he expected an answer to - Jane's memories told him all he needed to know about what his dear girl truly thought. "I will be dealing with you on my return, I can promise you that."

Jane felt so confused. Her eyes searched those of the adults around her - her father and grandfather were furious. Eleazar looked fairly annoyed, too. Magnus seemed sad. Such differences didn't help Jane's confusion.

"I couldn't tell on my brothers," she said, mainly to herself. "I was doing the right thing…"

"It's okay, sweetheart," Magnus told the child, soothing her emotional state.

"Okay?!"

Magnus couldn't be sure which of the guys had spoken, but the angry eyes that had been on Jane all turned on him instead.

"Why is everyone stressing?" Tanya tutted. "They've been on missions before."

"Never alone, little one," Magnus explained. "At least one of us has always been with them."

"Oh, but…" Tanya had sent her sisters off without a second thought. She hadn't thought she could lose them. Hang on, hang on. Felix is really strong. Odi's loads older - he must have been on tons of missions. Corin's a proper guard. They pay her, and stuff. "They'll be fine," she said, almost convinced.

Aro couldn't believe his ears. "They could all be dead already, you stupid girl!"

"No, that won't happen." Tanya looked to Jane who bit her lip and looked away. "Will that happen?" she asked, getting no reply. She tried looking to Eleazar instead. The man, her new father, of sorts, closed his eyes and gulped. "No, no, no…"

"Hush, little one," Magnus told her gently. "We're going to bring them home."

Before Aro, or anyone else for that matter, could ruin Magnus' efforts in settling the young girls, Dora arrived with many questions from Sulpicia.

No one had any answers for her.

"Sulpicia is frantic," she explained. "I need to tell her something."

Aro replied by shoving his daughter in the woman's direction. "Tell her to keep this one under lock and key whilst I fetch our sons."

"Is Carmen at the south tower?" Eleazar asked, pleased when Dora nodded in reply. He pushed Tanya to follow Jane. "Tell her to keep this one with her. I'm going to fetch our dau... the other two."

"We shouldn't have told on everyone, should we?" Jane asked Tanya. "That's not what good sisters do, right?"

"Right," Tanya agreed, though she suddenly felt less certain than she had when she'd encouraged Jane to keep sibling secrets. Particularly with something else on her mind. "They definitely won't die, will they?"

"No?" Jane replied. Her voice rose as she spoke making her reply sound more like a question than the confirmation she would have liked to have offered.

Caius passed his wife on his way into the guard hall and stole a kiss. He knew it would be a while before he'd see her again. His arms were laden with black mission cloaks from the dungeon stores, which they would need if they were to track the young vampires in the height of the sun. Dropping them on the closest table - the outcasts table - Caius called the other masters to him, along with Basileus and Eleazar. A few of the usual mission guards were loitering close by, ready to go should they be needed.

"None of you," Caius told the guards. "You'll be needed here in case the coven needs protecting."

He passed Magnus his trusty (but totally unnecessary) battle axe and his mission cloak to wear. As he was pulling another from the pile for Basileus, one that would fit his frame, Aro caught his arm.

"Are you coming?"

"Your kids are missing," Caius replied. "Of course, I'm coming."

He may have been speaking to Aro, but he was looking at Magnus and Freyr.

To the empath, Caius' guilt and concern was palpable. Magnus smiled slightly to young master. This isn't your fault, Caius. Its mine.

"Thank you, brother," Aro replied to him, none the wiser. "That means a lot."

Freyr squeezed Caius' shoulder. "Yes, it does."

"So," Caius asked, clearing his throat. "What do we know?"

"From their memories," Basileus began. "Tanya and Jane seem to think that Odi is leading the little crew into the werewolf lairs in France." He felt Magnus shudder to his side. "I know what you're thinking, my friend," he said to the man. "Odi will not be blamed for this - they all went of their own free will."

"I won't blame him," Aro sang out. "So long as they all come back alive,"

Magnus didn't respond, though he was glad Eleazar did. "That's not fair, Aro, Felix comes up with this sort of shit all the time."

"You're only saying that because you know damn well Irina came up with the idea."

Basileus shoved Aro back a step, thrusting one of the capes Caius had brought with him into his arms. "Calm down, son," he warned.

Aro took the cloak and threw it around his shoulders. He couldn't keep his trap shut, though. "I'm telling you both now," he said to his brother and fellow master. "If anything has happened to any of my children, I'll be coming after yours."

Eleazar scoffed. "Good luck with that, Aro."

"Aye, he'll need it."

Before Aro could say something else to offend, Freyr joined her mate's side and glared at her king. He may have been willing to ease his own stress by threatening Magnus, but Aro couldn't do the same to Freyr. He wasn't so cruel to taunt a concerned mother.

"The children are all alive and well, I know it," Basileus told them, tapping his temple. "Don't ask how, but I would feel it if those kids were in real danger." Of course, he thought to himself. Its true now, but how long will it be true for? We need to get moving.

"They didn't plan to take Alec," Basileus continued once he was sure his son had backed down. "Though why they didn't turn back when they realised, he was with them…"

Aro snatched the bottle of dungeon blood from the table. "I'm going to find them and then I'm going to kill them." Then he popped the stopped and took a swig.

No one had asked where Caius had got the bottle from, and right then, no one cared. No one even cared that Aro was taking a chug of the 'stupid juice', as Basileus called it. Well… Basileus did care, actually, but they were going on a mission and as his son's children were missing, he chose to ignore the flagrant display. He also made sure to take the bottle from Aro and pass it on to the next in the circle. By the time the dirty drug made it back around to him, he pocketed the bottle for safe keeping.

Magnus noticed that Freyr hadn't taken any, and neither had she taken a cloak to wear on their travels. "Are you not coming, love?"

Freyr thought of her son and shook her head. "If he's not dead, I'll kill him," she said, clutching her hands to her stomach. "If… if he is-" please God, no "-I'll kill everyone."

"The energy of youth often rebels against control," Marcus told his fellow master, leading her away. "That same energy often keeps them safe, too."

By that, Basileus assumed Marcus wouldn't be joining them, either. There were more than enough with his two sons, Magnus, and Caius.

"We're wasting time," he told them all. "Let's get out there."