"So it's worse than what we thought?" Santiago asked, a deep frown etched across his features.
"Much worse. They've been working on this quiet for over half a year now," Demetri said. "They've learned since last time, that's how they've been getting away with creating an army practically under our noses without us even noticing."
"How big of an army are we talking?" I asked.
"Hard to give an exact number, but I picked up at least a hundred unique scents. They're not just going for numbers this time, otherwise there would be more," Demetri said.
"We think they're training them. Not that we were able to get close. Got within about a mile of their sorry excuse for a castle before we had to run out; they keep the place well guarded and I prefer my head attached to my body," Felix said.
"We're looking at full-fledged war at this stage. If we had caught this even three months ago we probably could have put a stop to it, but not anymore. We're well past the point of no return," Demetri said.
"War? You're absolutely certain?" Afton asked.
"A hundred percent. This isn't some twenty-man force, this is shaping up to be a trained, deadly army," Felix said. "We think they're gift-hunting, too, though we weren't able to get close enough to confirm the theory. But, if they want to stand against Jane and Alec, we're assuming that they have to be."
"I need to speak to Caius," I said.
"You do realize he's going to be pissed we told you all of this, right?" Demetri asked.
"From what I'm hearing, he's already pissed most of the time anyway. I'll talk him down. But I have to see him," I said.
"He's in his study," Demetri said, sounding reluctant.
"Thanks, Demetri. I'm glad you guys got back safely. Get some rest, I'll see you soon," I said, walking out with Santiago and Afton at my heels.
"What are you thinking, queenliness?" Santiago asked.
My mind was running a mile a minute. "I'm trying to figure out how the hell we're supposed to get out of this one."
"We're the Volturi. Even with trained vampires, most of them are still just newborns. We've been doing this for centuries. Everything will be fine, kid," Santiago assured me.
"Never underestimate your enemy," I said, quoting one of Jasper's many battle adages. "Even with Demetri and Felix's report, we still don't have the full picture of what we're dealing with. Just because the Volturi has won against the Romanians in the past does not mean that we are guaranteed to win again in the future."
"You're spouting some serious wisdom there, kid," Santiago said. "I guess that's just what tends to happen when you hang around me."
"Santiago, you are an arrogant ass," I said, rolling my eyes. "Any wisdom I have I certainly did not get from you."
"And here I was thinking we were friends," Santiago quipped.
"Yeah, whatever," I said, well accustomed to his dramatics. We stopped outside Caius' quarters. "See you in a bit."
I entered Caius' quarters, headed straight for his study. The time not spent in court Caius spent in his study, but usually I abstained from visiting as it distracted from work that, without the help of Aro and Marcus, he was always behind on.
"Amore," Caius said, looking surprised but not displeased when I entered. He stood to greet me and I noted with displeasure that his eyes were still black; Demetri and Felix had been gone during the last feeding and clearly Caius had forgotten to take care of himself. Again.
"Caius," I said, melting into his embrace. He buried his nose in my hair and we stayed in each other's arms for several long minutes before stepping back.
"Is there something you needed? You don't usually just stop by," Caius said, taking a seat and tugging me into his lap.
"In a way. I wanted to talk to you about something. But before we do, I can't help but notice your eyes are still black," I said.
He groaned, his eyes sliding shut. "I became caught up in things. I didn't mean to break my word to you."
"I know," I said softly, placing a hand on his cheek. He pressed a kiss to my palm. "I worry about you."
"I'm sorry," he apologized.
"Don't. What's happened isn't your fault," I said.
"I know. But I'm sorry that you have to deal with the aftermath," he said, his eyes flickering back open. "I know you're not here to talk about my health or the woes of my brothers, however. What is on your mind?"
"I know about the Romanians," I said, getting straight to the point.
Caius immediately stiffened. "I ordered the guard-"
"Funnily enough, you're not the only one they answer to," I said. I probably would have been more irked at him for this if it weren't for the fact that I had suspected it already. "And I'd rather know than not."
"I suppose this means Demetri and Felix filled you in on their findings straight after they finished reporting to me, then?" Caius asked, heaving a sigh.
"Yes. And I'm thankful to them for it. You know I don't appreciate being left out of the loop," I scolded gently.
"I'm doing what I can to keep you safe," he murmured.
"I can't afford to be ignorant in times like this. I promise I can take it. I don't think I would be your mate if I couldn't."
"Hmm, true."
"How bad is it? Really? Demetri and Felix gave me the shortened account," I said.
He didn't respond, instead pressing his face into the crook of my neck. His lips brushed over my jugular, and even though he hadn't fed in several months at this point, I didn't feel threatened. It took me a moment to realize he was speaking softly. "It's bad. If we can't pull together… I fear for us."
My anxiety spiked. If Caius was scared, things were worse than I ever could have anticipated. "We will get through this. We have to."
"I am open to suggestions," he said, leaning back to see my face.
"I had a thought," I said. "There's a single point of failure in the Volturi as it stands."
"I will not allow anyone to harm you," Caius said, his chest rumbling in a growl at the mere thought.
I brushed a hand through his hair, soothing him. "I'm not saying you would. But as a human, I'm a liability. I know we've had the conversation of turning me already. But that was before we found out the Romanians are on the move. Even if I'm still something of a liability as a newborn, at least I would have the chance of defending myself. As a human against vampires, I would be dead."
A loud snarl ripped through him. "They would kill me before I allowed them to they kill you."
"These are perilous times, Caius. We have to make hard choices. Changing me is the smart choice," I said. "The best way to keep me safe is by making sure that I can protect myself."
"Even so, with the threat of the Romanians confirmed we truly do not have the resources - nor the time - to train a newborn," he said.
"Maybe you don't have the resources, but I do. I can get my parents, Alice, and Jasper to help. Jasper has experience with newborns - training them, controlling them. With Alice able to predict my every move and Mom and Dad able to help Jasper tame me, I'd be alright. You wouldn't lose any guard," I said.
He closed his eyes, mouth pressed thin. "I will think about it. But I fear the battle is close. I don't know if there would even be time to train you."
"You're reaching, love," I said.
"Perhaps. But I cannot bear the thought of you in battle. You are best hidden. You'll be safe that way," he murmured.
"I refuse to hide away while everyone else puts their life on the line. If I can help, I will help. Queens aren't made to be hidden away in towers. Any good king has a great queen behind him."
"What if I'm not a good king?" Caius asked, a teasing growl rumbling in his throat.
"Impossible," I said with a scoff. "Any king with me behind him is a good king."
"I do love your humility, amore," he said, smiling. "You know, I heard it was you that brought the guard back together."
"I wouldn't say it was all me-"
"So it was all you, then," he said. "That in itself has helped immensely. You don't need to fight to prove your worth."
"I'm not trying to prove anything. I will always fight to protect what I love. And that includes you," I said. "You know what I've been hearing from the guard recently?"
"What?"
"Apparently, you've been in something of a mood. Now naturally, I couldn't believe it. I thought to myself, 'My Caius, in a mood? That's not possible.' Yet I keep hearing it," I said, grinning at him.
"I believe I know a way to remedy the mood of mine," Caius said, bumping his nose against mine.
I arched an eyebrow playfully. "Oh?"
"Yes. See, I've been feeling rather lovesick recently. I've been so busy I haven't even had time to kiss my beautiful mate," he murmured.
"I may be able to fix that," I said, allowing him to pull me in for a searing kiss. He nipped lightly at my lower lip and slipped his tongue in my mouth when I gasped lightly in surprise. I felt his lips curl upwards at my reaction.
"So this is why you don't visit often, hmm?" He asked when we separated so I could breathe, nuzzling his nose against my cheek. "You'd be horribly distracting. I would get nothing done."
"Precisely," I said, stealing another small kiss. "I should leave you to work."
He scowled in displeasure. "I'd rather you stay here, in my arms, forever. Damn the rest of the world."
"Unfortunately, we both have our responsibilities," I said.
"Most unfortunately," he agreed, pressing his forehead to mine for a long moment before pulling back. "I will keep you in the loop from now on, as much as I can."
"Thank you. Do me another favor and take better care of yourself. I'll have Felix and Santiago drag you to a feeding if I have to," I said.
He smiled, black eyes crinkling. "Yes, my queen. What would I do without you?"
"Starve, probably," I said, kissing his forehead before sliding off his lap. "Love you."
"I love you too. Be careful, even within the castle walls. I don't believe there is a threat here, but the fact remains that these are perilous times," Caius said.
"I will, so long as you do the same," I said.
"Of course. I hope I can find the time to see you again soon, amore," he said.
"I hope so, too," I said, offering him one last smile before leaving his study and shutting the door behind me.
"How did it go?" Santiago asked as I left Caius' quarters and rejoined he and Afton in the hall.
"Just fine," I said.
He eyed my rumpled hair. "Clearly."
"Perv," I scoffed.
"Please, you love it. Where are we headed?"
"To see Aro. He's not exactly involved with the decision-making right now, but I think it's important that he's kept informed, and Caius doesn't exactly have the time to drop by and see him."
"Probably wise," Afton agreed. "What about Master Marcus?"
"We'll see if this news snaps him out of it," I said. We halted by the throne room, where Demetri was standing guard.
"Master Caius isn't on a warpath for us telling you about the Romanians, is he?" Demetri asked.
"Don't worry, I talked him out of it," I said.
"Yeah, talked," Santiago muttered from behind me.
"Afton, if you could punch Santiago for me, that would be great," I said, not turning around. "Anyway, I'm on my way to speak to Aro. Could you point me in his direction?"
"Sure, he's on the roof."
"Thanks."
"Any time," he said warmly.
I cut through the throne room to reach the staircase, where I resigned myself to climbing what felt like five hundred stairs up to the roof. Santiago and Afton didn't follow me out onto the rooftop, leaving me to poke around for Aro on my own.
I found him facing away from me, leaning against the half-wall that overlooked the garden below. I knew he heard me approaching, but he didn't react to my presence until I stood beside him.
"Mia cara, I didn't expect you to come up here," he said, glancing over at me. He had clearly been lost in thought, and there was no telling how long he had been here before I arrived.
"I needed to talk to you. Demetri told me you were up here," I said.
Aro angled himself towards me, leaning on one arm. "Yes, he is quite helpful in that regard. What did you need to speak with me about?"
"How informed are you about recent events?" I asked.
"Not at all, I'm afraid. I'm kept, for lack of a better analogy, in the dark about things."
I laughed lightly. "Well, I had better start at the beginning. Unfortunately, I bring no good news, but I made the executive decision that you should be told about what's happening."
"By executive decision, you mean you didn't consult Caius before telling me," Aro surmised.
"Yes," I admitted. "Demetri and Felix just got back from mission. Caius sent them to investigate trouble up north. Jane and Alec were the ones to tell me that they were there investigating suspected Romanian activity."
Aro was already frowning. "And I take it Demetri and Felix did not return with a good report?"
"Nothing even close to the sort. The Romanians are moving, assembling an army. We believe they've been working on this since before the Volturi split two months ago. Demetri estimates they've been building an army for over six months, but I'd go so far as to say that they've been training and adding numbers for eight months at least, possibly more."
"What indicators are there of that?" Aro asked. One of the things I appreciated most about him was that he looked at all the facts before acting.
"The disappearance rate has risen by half a percent, and the rise began in July of last year. Though I don't doubt they were working silently even before that," I said.
"They're likely building a newborn army. If they learned anything from their last defeat, it is that numbers alone will not win their war against us. If I had to guess, they likely were amassing allies who were already sympathetic to their cause before creating more soldiers. Newborns are incredibly difficult to control, and they would need numbers before they could even consider creating such an army," Aro said. "Their defeat centuries ago was in part due to the recklessness of newborns. They were not trained and it was clear that they could not be controlled."
"We believe they're doing more than just turning humans; we think they're looking for those with abilities, too," I said.
"That, of course, is far more difficult to do, nearly impossible. It is sheer luck," Aro said.
"Not if they have someone who can sense abilities. Eleazar can do it. Surely he's not the only one with that sort of gift," I said.
"Very true. I'm sure that is something Caius has already considered; my brother has always been a natural strategist. Is it still wise for me to be barred from ruling with the Romanians now looming over us?"
"Maybe not," I conceded. "but until you and Marcus are able to make peace, it will only cause further division if you return to your normal position as things stand right now."
"Is Marcus still unresponsive?" Aro asked.
"Yes. You should go visit him, maybe he'll spring to life to try and rip your head off." Aro grimaced and I felt bad. "Sorry. That was a low blow."
"After what I've done, I deserved it," he said.
I shrugged. "Even so, you shouldn't hear it from me. Anyway, I can have Demetri and Felix visit you when they have a chance to share the entirety of what they know."
"That would be helpful," Aro agreed. "Of course, you could always…"
"You know I can't do that with how things are now, Aro," I said. I had been shielding my mind from him ever since the whole thing began. Not to punish him, but because if I was to be a neutral party, I needed to keep my thoughts to myself.
"I know." Aro respected my wishes, but I knew he was unhappy about it. I didn't blame him; he was accustomed to complete transparency between the two of us. Then again, it was transparency that had gotten us into this mess to begin with.
"How long have you been up here?" I asked.
He looked thoughtful. "A day? Perhaps more. It's easy to become lost in your thoughts up here. This break from my normal duties has given me plenty of time to think."
"Perhaps that's a good thing," I said.
"I never said it wasn't. I've come to some realizations," he said, but didn't elaborate, nor did I push him to do so.
"This is a good place to think, isn't it?" I mused, studying the garden below.
"That it is, carissima," Aro agreed, following my gaze. We lapsed into silence, wrapped in our respective thoughts.
How had things soured so quickly? Perhaps I had damned them. Or perhaps we four together were each other's downfall, no more than monsters masquerading as men. I had killed my father, Aro his sister, Marcus and Caius countless others; we were not saints. But were we then to be conquered by a greater evil? I clenched my jaw. No.
The Romanians would not win this war. I would not let them rip everything from me. Not now that happiness is within my grasp. They cannot win this war.
I will not let them win this war.
⊱ ────── {.⋅ V ⋅.} ────── ⊰
Uh oh! The Romanians are up to no good, and as Rowan (and many of you) guessed, they've learned from their previous mistakes. Do you think Rowan is making the right decision by filling Aro in about what's going on? Do you think Caius will agree to her proposed plan and turn her into a vampire? Let me know what you think in the comments! Thanks to all who are supporting me during this journey, I appreciate your comments so much! Here are some responses from the previous chapter:
Mythgirl411: Thank you! I'm really glad you're loving the story and I'm excited to continue sharing Rowan's journey with you.
shippergirlky: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks, I'm working hard to make sure Penance is paced properly (which is turning out to be no easy feat despite my outline) so I'm glad it's flowing well to you! We're all hoping Marcus snaps out of it, we'll just have to wait and see when and how that happens...
Unfortunately, I seem to be losing reviewers her on (though s/o to my Wattpad peeps who are as active as always). I can't force you to review, but know that reviews really motivate me and even help me to write faster, so please consider leaving one if you enjoyed this chapter (perhaps by answering the questions I proposed above?). Anyway, I'm thankful to all of you who are reading and reviewing. I hope everyone is staying safe and I will see you all in the next update!