When we stopped just outside the walls of Volterra, it was still dark. The near-full moon, close to setting, bathed us in gentle light, and something within me settled as the city came within our view. We had lost a little time getting gloves for Caesar and Hugo and paper for me to write a note on for the kings. Caesar had the note tucked safely in his pocket, and both he and Hugo were already wearing the gloves we had bought.

"You should text your guardsman now, and one of them can escort us into the city. Otherwise we run the risk of being killed for infringing on their territory," Caesar said after he called for us to halt a mile outside the city.

"Good plan," I agreed, pulling out the burner and powering it on. "Request a new burner for me, please? This one is almost dead, and I don't exactly have anywhere to charge it."

"Certainly," Caesar said. "After you get in contact with one the guard, you should conceal yourself fully within the shadows so that you remain undetected."

"Noted," I said. My mind had been shielded since before we departed so that Demetri wouldn't know of our movements and alert the kings. Grief ripped through me when I saw Felix's name among my contacts, my eyes lingering on his name for a moment before I continued down to Santiago's number, sending him a text stating that Caesar and Hugo were waiting a mile outside Volterra.

He responded almost instantly. On my way. You with them?

No, I sent in response. I wished I could tell him the truth, but it was too big a risk.

"Santiago is on his way," I told Caesar and Hugo before pulling the shadows over me, becoming one with the night.

It wasn't long, perhaps another half-minute, before Santiago arrived, accompanied by Afton. I felt a rush of relief knowing that Afton appeared unharmed despite me having escaped Volterra under his watch.

"So you're Caesar," Santiago said, appraising Caesar critically. Santiago was several inches taller than Caesar, but there was no denying the powerful aura that Caesar seemed to naturally exude.

"Santiago, I presume?" Caesar asked, eyes pinned on Santiago. Hugo shifted a little behind Caesar, intimidated by the two Volturi guard.

"That would be me. This is Afton," Santiago said, gesturing towards Afton. "Guess we owe you a thank you for keeping the queen alive."

"No thanks necessary," Caesar said. "We're here to speak to the kings."

"I thought as much. Wish Rowan would have told us you were coming before now," Santiago said. "She's really not here?"

"No," Caesar said. "We thought it wisest she stay behind. This was something of a last-minute decision."

"They won't notice your absence?" Santiago asked.

Caesar grinned, though the expression did not reach his eyes. "We got permission. A plan devised by Rowan, who is becoming quite the strategist."

"She escaped Volterra, there's no 'becoming' a strategist about it. Clearly she's always been one," Santiago said.

Behind him, Afton shifted guiltily. "We should bring them to the kings, Santiago. They wouldn't be here without good reason, I'm sure."

"We'd prefer not to be killed by our allies in battle," Caesar said, smiling dryly, "and with Hugo and I on a bit of a time crunch, it would be best to speak to the kings as soon as possible."

"Follow us, then," Santiago said. The four began running towards the city, with me ghosting unseen beside them. It was strange being back in the city like this.

It was even stranger walking into the castle, cloaked in shadow, the mate bond settling as it sensed my mates nearby. The castle was bustling with activity, and my eyes widened with surprise when I saw Carlisle and Jasper walking down the hall. I had known my family was here, of course, but it was slightly surreal actually seeing it for myself.

Santiago pushed the doors open with ease, and steeling my nerve, I followed in behind them.

"Santiago, Afton, who do you bring to us?" My eyes snapped to Aro, who had spoken, and the mate bond that had been so weak as a human finally sprang to life. It was Caius my eyes settled on next, my instincts roaring for me to take action, to go to him, and I took several steps forward. My eyes snapped to Marcus, the strength of the three bonds now smashing into me full-force, and I fell to my knees.

Marcus was staring straight at me, looking staggered, and I thought the shadows around me had dissolved as the mate bond had solidified, but no; they still swirled around me, reacting to the presence of my mates, more docile than they had ever been.

This all happened within the span of a second or two, Santiago's voice jerking me back to reality as he and Afton stepped aside. "Caesar and Hugo have come, Master Aro."

"Rowan requested I give this to you, though she is not here," Caesar said, taking the note from his pocket and passing it to Aro. "It contains a request that the thoughts of Hugo and I remain our own for the time being."

"How can we be certain it is genuine?" Caius asked, leaning forward on his throne. "Do you have something to hide?"

"Peace, brother. It is genuine," Aro said softly. Caius was at his side in a second, snatching the paper from him.

"Genuine," Caius said, tucking the note into a pocket of his robe. "Though it contains no explanation as to why your gift is not to be used, Aro."

"We should respect her wishes," Marcus said. He tore his gaze away from where I was standing - could he see me with his bondsight? - to look instead at his brothers. "I am sure she would not ask such a thing if it were not with our best interests in mind."

"I quite agree," Aro said, sighing wistfully. "Though the insight you could provide, Caesar, would be invaluable."

"I will tell you anything you wish to know," Caesar said. "As to answer your question, Caius-"

"Master Caius," Caius hissed. I sighed silently; his ego was unchanged from the last time I had seen him.

Caesar appraised him coolly. "Do not forget I am far older than you. I serve Rowan because she has won my respect and allegiance. And as much regard as she has for you, I find it far better to make my own judgements. Do not forget it is I, and your mate, who are currently risking our lives for information that could save yours. Therefore, I will address you however I like."

Anger flashed in Caius' eyes. "You dare use our mate as an excuse to-"

"He is right," Marcus interjected. "We are fortunate he has chosen to side with us at all, Caius. He is not one of our guard and is free to call us by our names."

Caius snapped his mouth shut, looking indignant, and Aro took the opportunity to speak. "Please excuse Caius, Caesar. What Marcus said is true, and you have done much to protect our mate. And though I am disappointed to not get a look at your memories, you have our trust for as long as you continue to guard our mate, seeing as we, at present, cannot."

"It is my honor to do so," Caesar said. "Do know that it is nothing personal, but rather a respect for Rowan's privacy. It is not the place of Hugo or I to tell you of certain things that have happened with the Romanians. It is for her to tell, and her only, whenever she is ready."

Caius looked murderous. "If she has been harmed, Caesar, we deserve to know, so that as her mates we can raid that damned Romanian castle and kill the vermin ourselves!"

"Do not worry. She is well, and at present she could not be safer," Caesar said calmly.

"You cannot know that for sure," Caius retorted.

"I assure you that I can." A small smirk was playing on the edge of Caesar's lips. I shook my head at him. "And as we could stand here and debate this all day, I suggest we instead move on to discussing the battle."

"Yes, yes," Aro said. "But first, how rude we've been! Hugo, it's so nice to meet you properly. You can come out from behind Caesar, I promise we will not bite, no matter how surly Caius may act."

Hugo smiled shyly. "Hola. It's nice to meet you. In person."

"Come here," Marcus requested. Hugo looked like a deer in headlights, much more intimidated now that they were face to face. Still, Hugo walked slowly towards him, looking ready to bolt at the first sign of violence. I couldn't blame him; Vladimir and Stefan had been nothing but cruel to him.

"You're not in trouble," Marcus said, smiling gently at him. "You're looking after Rowan, yes?"

"Si," Hugo agreed, looking a little more relaxed.

"I had this made for you once your bond with Rowan solidified. I hadn't planned to give it to you so soon, but I trust you will take good care of it." Marcus pulled a crest out of one of the inner pockets of his robe and slipped it around Hugo's neck. "Wear it well, hmm?"

"Si, I will," he promised, examining it with round eyes. I caught a glimpse of it: five stones, with an orange gem at its point. Hugo beamed up at Marcus before scampering back to Caesar, now standing beside instead of behind him. Hugo's chest was puffed out importantly, something I noted with affectionate amusement.

"I think it may be wise for you to carry a crest as well, Caesar," Aro said, not looking surprised at Marcus' gesture. "Under normal circumstances, we'd give you a crest signifying your status as one of the queen's guards, but as we didn't know of your coming beforehand, I'll have Renata fetch you a generic one."

Caesar nodded his approval as Renata slipped out of the room. "I agree. It was one of the things I discussed with Rowan before Hugo and I came here. She also requested a fresh burner, as she has no way to charge hers."

"Consider it done," Aro said, waving a hand towards one of the lower guards that stood against the wall, who departed immediately. "Now, I'm hoping we can take the majority of our time to discuss what you know of the Romanians and their strategy. And perhaps get a demonstration of young Hugo's gift, if he'd be willing."

Tentatively, Hugo nodded. Aro grinned, clapping his hands together, and was about to speak when Caius interrupted. "What would you consider to be the greatest strength of the Romanian coven, at present?"

I wasn't surprised; Caius always had been straight to business.

I heard Renata returning before I saw her, and making a quick decision, slipped through the door she had pushed open before it could slam shut, exiting the throne room in favor of doing the exact thing that Caesar had explicitly told me not to do. The mate bond was already protesting, strained after being gone so long, but I had long grown used to ignoring it.

Instead I went in search of Demetri, and it was only by sheer luck that he was not terribly hard to find. He was in his quarters, which was the first place I thought to look as he wasn't on duty in the throne room.

I steeled my nerve and, seeing that the coast was clear, allowed the shadows to recede, where they pooled around my feet like a discarded cloak. I could hear him in his quarters, pacing, and I hesitated only a moment more before rapping lightly on the door.

"Corin, I've already told you-" Demetri stopped short, face slacking in shock. "Ro-"

I lunged forward, slapping my hand over his mouth and sending us both staggering into his room. I accidentally kicked the door shut in the silent struggle that ensued as Demetri attempted to pry my hand off his face and I struggled to keep him from alerting the entire castle of my presence.

"No one knows I'm here, be quiet!" I hissed, and he finally stilled. "I'm going to remove my hand now. Please be quiet."

He nodded, and I slowly withdrew my hand, watching him warily. He was staring at me incredulously. "What are you doing here, Rowan?" he said, so quietly that our conversation could not be overheard.

I responded in the same quiet pitch. "I'm here with Caesar and Hugo. They're in the throne room with the kings. Caesar will be pissed that I let anyone see me, but-"

"The masters don't know you're here?" Demetri asked, interrupting me.

"No, and they can't know. They'd never let me leave if I made myself known here," I said, "and this war isn't over yet. I have to return."

He rubbed a hand down his face, and I realized just how ragged he looked. His hair, normally meticulously kept, was rumpled, and his eyes were black. Guilt crashed over me like a wave; it was my fault he was like this. "I'm sorry, Demetri," I whispered.

"Sorry?" he echoed. "For what? You left because you felt like you had to, and it was probably the right decision."

"No, that's not- that's not what I meant," I said. I had imagined this situation so many times in my head, and now that I was here, facing him, I had no idea what to say.

"Then what do you mean?" he asked.

"Felix," I said, feeling even more remorseful when he flinched at the name. "I could have saved him, but I didn't. I could have-"

"It's not your fault," he interrupted, voice so soft that even with my vampiric hearing I had to strain to hear him. "I could never blame you. If you had stepped in, you probably would have died, too, and then where would we be? It's not your fault, Rowan."

I just looked at him, realizing that he and I were more alike than we had ever been; two shells, wrecked by war and the grief that came with it. I touched his shoulder briefly, a fruitless attempt at comfort. "It's not yours, either."

"You're different," he said, and I knew he had seen the crescent scars that peeked above my collar and the solitary bite on my neck, just below my jawline.

I gave him a tiny, sad smile. "So are you."

"Not in the way I meant. You've lost a part of yourself, and I would know, because I've lost that part, too," he said.

I understood what he meant, even though I could never hope to put it into words. "It's war, Dem."

"And afterwards we must piece what is left of ourselves back together," he said. "But we never forget what we have seen, what we have done, to survive. The greatest loss in war is innocence, and that is something we can never get back."

"But we can punish those who have stolen it from us," I said. "It was Vladimir."

"What?"

"Vladimir was the one who gave the order," I said. "He was the one who lowered the torch. You want revenge, you kill him."

"Thank you," he said, his eyes bright with some wild fervor. I wondered if my choice to tell him was wise.

The burner in my pocket buzzed. Brow furrowed, I pulled it out. It was a text from Alice.

If you want to escape unseen, you need to hide now.

"I have to go," I said. Even now I could hear the footsteps outside in the hall.

Demetri nodded and clasped my shoulder. "Be careful. I will see you again."

"See you soon, Demetri," I whispered, and his hand dropped as I let the shadows of his room envelop me.

There was a knock on Demetri's door, and as soon as it opened, I slipped out past Alec, who had come to summon Demetri to the throne room. As soon as Aro touched him, he would know I was here.

Shit.

I practically flew back to the throne room, going so fast that I couldn't quite stop in time outside the closed doors. But instead of slamming into them, I stumbled right through them, the shadows still intact around me.

That's new.

Hugo had the kings distracted, demonstrating his gift, and I let the shadows reach out around Caesar's ear. That way, he could hear me. I hoped.

"We need to go," I said.

The only indication of his surprise was a slight flinch that went unnoticed by the rest of the room, who were still enthralled by Hugo's impressive displays. Caesar tilted his head, a silent question. I noticed he was now wearing a crest, the inlaid garnet glittering in the light.

"I went to see Demetri. Aro has called him to the throne room. The second Aro touches Demetri's hand…" I trailed off.

Caesar gave me a tiny nod, showing he understood, though he did not look particularly happy. The tiny bit of shadow that was around his ear receded as he addressed Aro.

"I'm afraid that we will need to depart," Caesar said, sounding regretful. "We're expected back soon and will need to leave in order to make it back in time."

The doors to the throne room opened now, later than I expected; Demetri must have been working to buy us time. "You summoned me, master?" Demetri asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately Caesar and Hugo must depart once more for Romania. However, I'd like you to-" Aro abruptly cut off, stepping closer to Demetri, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled. "She's here."

Son of a bitch!

Caius was on his feet, snarling at Caesar. "Our mate is here and you kept it from us?"

Aro grabbed Demetri's hand, and I knew I had mere seconds to act before all hell broke loose. So I darted forward, doing the only thing I could think of, and the shadows pulled Hugo and Caesar back into their embrace.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ V ⋅.} ────── ⊰

I call this one "I rewrite Tenebrous chapter 1 to the tune of Penance". So yeah, there were several parallels between this chapter and the first chapter of Tenebrous. There are some major differences, of course, but lots of similarities as well, which has made this chapter once of my favorites of Penance to write thus far. What did you think of Rowan's conversation with Demetri? What do you think will happen with the kings knowing for certain that she is in Volterra? Will they be able to return to Romania, or will they be caught (or will Rowan end up revealing herself after all)? Let me know what you think will happen in the comments!

Big thanks to all those who have taken the time to review, I really appreciate every one of you! Here's some responses to the previous chapter's reviews:

Mystea Wolfe: Aw, thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying Rowan's story and I hope you loved this chapter!

lxslbrn: Thank you! You're absolutely right, Rowan would definitely step in if she felt like Caesar was being threatened by the kings. Of course, you see at the end of this chapter that she does a bit of the opposite by hiding her, Caesar, and Hugo instead of revealing herself, but it still counts as "getting involved". Thank you for your review, I really appreciate it!

LovelyFantasies: I hope this chapter with her return didn't disappoint! She didn't directly interact with the kings, but you did get to see her reunion with Demetri (not on the same level, though, but hopefully better than nothing). I missed writing my favorite tracker. I'm so glad you love my story, it means so much and I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Fun fact: the end of this chapter, with the kings actually finding out that she was in Volterra while she's still there (and hidden) wasn't actually planned. But I found that it worked very well and I'm incredibly pleased with it. Anyway, thank you all for reading and please don't forget to drop me a comment letting me know what you think! Stay safe, healthy, and I'll chat with you all in the next update!