Aro went rigid. His eyes glossed and I knew it was too late to stop it. I forced myself to stay in place, to not make a scene, even when Aro's gaze cleared and he stared at me with horror and agony and rage broiling within his eyes. Not now, I pleaded silently, hoping he would understand. The emotion in his eyes softened a little and he gave a jerky, minuscule nod.
The whole exchange lasted less than two seconds and no one besides Marcus and Caius seemed to notice; even Hugo, still tugging Aro away, was oblivious. Only the slight tightening of Caius' arm around me showed that he was concerned by the encounter.
"Later," I murmured to Caius and Marcus, who were now gazing questioningly at me.
Aro listened attentively to Hugo, but he was clearly far from being at ease. Calm flowed through me, washing away my anxiety, and I nodded my thanks to Jasper for his silent support. His lips quirked into the slightest smile in response.
It wasn't long before Aro returned to my side, weaving his fingers through mine and squeezing my hand. Hugo's memories had made him ill at ease and his mood was being quickly mirrored by Caius and Marcus, who looked tenser than they had just minutes ago.
"I hope we're not keeping you from anything," Carlisle said, the one in the room besides Jasper who was best equipped to identify the shift in mood.
"A meeting with the lower guard meant we couldn't finish an earlier conversation," I said, which fell only a little short of the truth.
Carlisle smiled at me. "I understand. We won't keep you, if you'd like to step away. Much has happened."
"You all don't mind looking after Hugo, do you? He doesn't really need a babysitter, and he's quite safe here, but I still…" I trailed off.
"Not at all," Carlisle assured me. "It will be nice to get to know the newest member of the family. Perhaps soon Edward and Bella can make another visit, this time with Nessie. It will be nice for her to have a playmate around her age, now that her growth has slowed."
"I'll have to bring it up with them later, but I think that would be a great idea," I agreed. "I'll be back later for him."
"There's no rush," Carlisle said, and the kings and I swept out of the room before much fanfare could be made about our leaving.
The run back to Aro's office, which had been cleaned since our last exit, was short and silent. None of us sat; Marcus leaned against the back of a chair, watching as Aro paced the room and Caius and I stood stock-still, both soldiers. There was a brief, strained silence that Aro broke on his sudden halt.
"Did Caesar do it to you, too?"
"Yes." Talking about the brand was easy enough. "What other choice did he have?"
"It was torture! If I had known-" he moved towards the door but I moved quicker, blocking his path.
"There would have been questions if he had gone about it the normal way," I retorted. "You can't change what has past. It's on my skin, remember? Mine, not yours. If I wanted vengeance, I would have taken it."
"What are you talking about?" Caius demanded, pushing Aro back. "What did Aro see?"
"I swore fealty to the Romanians. They gave us a brand to make sure we'd never forget." My fingers tore easily through the left side of my shirt and the brand was there, seared into my skin for eternity. "A brand with their crest, soaked in venom. That's how they changed us."
Marcus made a choked sound that was almost lost under the noise of Caius' snarl. "Those bastards. May they rot in the lowest pits of hell for what they've done to you!"
"They were inventive," I said slowly, slipping my hands mindlessly through the sleeves of Marcus' suit jacket when he put it around my shoulders. "Vladimir and Stefan had thousands of years to perfect their craft and Doyle was their most willing pupil."
"The punishment. Why- what-" Aro cut off, fists clenched.
"Fire," was all I could say, phantom flames licking at my arms. "For defying Stefan."
"You should have done what he said to save yourself the pain," Marcus said softly.
"No," I snapped, my tone harsher than I meant it to be. "I'd take the fire. Every time."
Aro's eyes held the sort of horrified knowing that only came with a millennium of seeing the minds of the most depraved. "What did he ask of you?"
"He didn't ask. He just took, because that's all he's ever done, so I knocked him on his fucking ass before he could touch and take any more of me," I snarled, the lights dimming as the shadows reacted to my anger.
It wasn't until I was engulfed in Marcus' embrace that I realized I was shaking with dry sobs. Caius and Aro joined the embrace, forming a protective cocoon I never wished to leave, and it was a long time after my cries ebbed that any of us moved.
At Jasper's urging, by my third day back safely in Volterra I had fallen into a comfortable routine. I spent the mornings doing combat training with Caesar, Santiago, and Jasper. Then I trained my gift with Maxim, the two of us falling into a familiar pattern that made us more deadly than we were on our own. Once training was completed, I'd spend time with the kings and my family. Santiago had agreed to resume my lessons in Italian and Hugo tagged along, taking a break from his lessons with one of the Volturi's scholars.
I did well under the structure, a little more at ease now that my days loosely resembled the strict timetable of the Romanians. But I was still wary and felt like I was walking a tenuous line, unwelcome memories swarming through my mind at the worst of times and most of the guard treating me with utmost caution.
The most difficult part of my return to the castle was being reminded of all that I had lost. Perhaps it was my own guilt over Felix's death that made the castle feel so much emptier than before his absence. Five days after my return we held the funerals. Each of the guard got their own ceremony, but Corin's and Felix's were hardest. I sat in the front, beside Demetri, as the kings conducted the ceremonies.
Felix's ceremony was last. I was only dimly aware of what was being said; the memories made it so hard to concentrate. His ashes weren't in the same box I had been forced to put them in. They were now in a simple, yet elegant, urn. At some point during Aro's speech Demetri reached out and grabbed my hand. Hugo was already holding my other hand, his head leaned against my arm.
I never could have gotten through the ceremony without them.
The pain of loss eased a little after, now that they had been properly laid to rest. With the support of my mates, family, and friends, I once again began looking towards the future. Daily wedding planning with Alice, Rose, and my mates was added to my schedule.
Weeks turned into months, and little by little, I began to heal.
"You ready, pipsqueak?" Emmett asked, offering his arm to me.
"Hell yeah." The music changed and I glanced up at my dad. "It's go time."
"Let's get you married, huh?" he said, squeezing my hand as the doors swept open for my entrance. I sought them out and the world fell away when I finally saw them at the alter, their eyes locked on me. The walk down the aisle was both the shortest and longest of my life. Emmett squeezed my hand, pride and love and a thousand other emotions in his gaze as he handed me to the kings.
"Dearly beloved," Santiago began, serious for once in his life, "we are gathered here today to witness the union of our kings, Aro, Caius, and Marcus Volturi, to their queen, Rowan Cullen. We are all present to support and celebrate their love and to share their joy on this special occasion as they choose to spend their lives together.
"Your marriage is a lifelong promise to love, respect, trust, honor, and protect one another throughout all the ages to come. Your sacred bond will carry you through the years and push you to grow through your love. By standing here today, you profess to all in attendance your willingness to uphold these promises you are making to each other.
"Aro Volturi, do you take Rowan Cullen as your wife, to have and to hold, in war and in peace, till death do you part?"
"I do," Aro said, his voice steady.
"Caius Volturi, do you take Rowan Cullen as your wife, to have and to hold, in war and in peace, till death do you part?"
"I do," Caius said, his eyes never leaving mine.
Marcus Volturi, do you take Rowan Cullen as your wife, to have and to hold, in war and in peace, till death do you part?"
"I do." Marcus smiled at me and I smiled back.
"And do you, Rowan Cullen, take Aro, Caius, and Marcus Volturi as your husbands, to have and to hold, in war and in peace, till death do you part?"
I didn't even hesitate. "I do."
"Bring forth the rings," Santiago said. Hugo walked carefully forward, his wild curls a sharp contrast to his neat tuxedo. "Your rings represent this promise to one another. The never-ending circle is a symbol of your infinite, unbreaking love. Rowan, place the rings on the grooms' fingers."
I did so carefully, and then it was their turn.
"Grooms, you may now place the ring on your bride's finger." Aro and Caius held my hand as Marcus slipped the ring on my finger.
"I now pronounce you husbands and wife. You may kiss the bride."
"Finally," Caius said, and before his brothers could object, swept me into a kiss. Santiago wolf-whistled and there was unified laughter as we pulled away.
"Mrs. Volturi," Marcus murmured, capturing my lips in his.
Aro was last, kissing me deeply. "My queen," he whispered.
"Now presenting Messrs. and Mrs. Volturi, kings and queen of the Volturi," Santiago announced as, I, alongside my new husbands, started back the way we had came. "Long may they reign!"
⊱ ────── {.⋅ V ⋅.} ────── ⊰
I won't lie, I'm in shock right now. I was actually planning on having at least two more chapters to Penance, but it just wasn't working. But this is it. Well, this + the epilogue (+ a few bonus chapters). I cannot thank you all enough for the outpouring of support I've received over this two year journey of writing Rowan's story. I have grown so much as a writer and I truly could not have done it without all of you. I hope you enjoyed the final chapter of Penance (and I know you're going to love the epilogue) so please be sure to tell me what you think! It's shorter than a majority of the other chapters, but I really did just need to wrap things up. I'm going to hopefully put out the epilogue tomorrow for you. Right now, there's four planned bonus chapters, after which I'll be releasing a brand new story, so be on the lookout.
Once again, thank you for all your support. I love you all, and though I will have future author's notes in the epilogue and bonus chapters, this feels like the end of something. Thank you for sharing this experience with me.