Author's Note: First, I am so sorry it took so long to update Monarchy in Flames. Perhaps with this 4,500 word climactic chapter, my beloved readers might not seek me out with torches and pitchforks? Either way, I dearly appreciate your support of this story- whether you've been here for the last 1.5 years or stumbled upon this recently. Buckle up, this one is a bumpy ride!
Last Time...
He gazed at her, a mournful expression displayed across his features. It was earnest, begging her forgiveness for what he was about to do. "Protect your Queen."
Smoke curled from Alec's fingertips and encircled Isabella in an instant. Everything went black.
Chapter 24
Awareness slowly came back to Isabella. She heard voices around her, faint and distorted as if she were underwater. Her eyes, although open saw a very distorted, dark image that became slightly clearer as the moments passed. Her fingertips began to feel the surface she rested on, though the sensation was dull. She picked up muted scents of vampires, though she could not name them. Her mind worked sluggishly, but was improving rapidly. With incredible effort, her hands and feet twitched as she stubbornly fought the strong, claustrophobic weight of the force that held her under.
"I will not be able to hold her much longer."
"Neither can I."
"Give her space."
The remaining wisps of constricting black had just disappeared when she was on her feet to the right of the curtained bed, eyes darting rapidly around the room she had found herself in. She realized quickly that this old, elegant bedroom she did not recognize was crowded with vampires. All looking at her.
Felix and Demteri watched her warily from the doorway, standing shoulder to shoulder and effectively blocking that exit. Closest to her by a delicate writing desk and chair was Jasper, Alice standing slightly behind him. She felt the calm he tried to engulf her it, it doing little to calm the confusion, hurt, and anger swirling within her. There were no windows, only another doorway to what she presumed was a bathroom with a small stretch of porcelain tiled flooring in her sight.
Alec stood a few feet from the doorframe, seeming to have a low conversation going with Felix and Demetri as they shared quick glances to each other and back to her. Outside the room, her gift allowed her to sense the presence of Jane, Athenodora, Caius, Marcus, Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme and a dozen other guard members. The other guard were milling about the unfamiliar property in zones, the population most compacted within the quarter mile radius of the place she had found herself in.
Aro's absence screamed at her, filling her with the worst dread imaginable. What she thought were the after affects of Alec's gift hadn't ended, a deep ache radiating throughout her body. Painful and ongoing, Isabella involuntarily gasped as her stance faltered.
"What... the fuck... did you do?" she hissed, trying to regain her bearings in spite of the unfamiliar pain.
Jasper cleared his throat gently, cuing her to look at him. "We moved to a safe house in Denmark, darlin'."
"Why?"
He hesitated, seeming to consider what to tell her. "To keep the coven safe. To keep you safe."
She wrung her hands, a tortured expression crossing her features. "Where is he?" What Isabella had meant to be said with strong conviction morphed into a broken plea. No one met her eyes then, even as she searched each of their faces several times over. The ache intensified, spanning across the expanse of her skin and sinking into each nerve ending. It woke something inside her, that came roaring forth with a vicious scream "WHERE IS HE?!"
"In Volterra," Alec replied cooly.
Alice began to step forward, though Jasper gently stopped the action with a touch and further stepped in front of her to shield her at Isabella's feral look. He was wise to be so cautious and protective of his mate; Isabella had shown considerable control thus far in her immortality, but being separated from one's mate could wake ruthlessness in even the eldest of vampires. "He told us to take you and keep you safe. He said there was no other way, and hoped that one day you might forgive him for it."
Isabella did not know who she loathed more at the moment, him or those who followed his orders so blindly. Did he truly think that she was incapable? Dread filled her then, suddenly; her breath was knocked from her gracelessly in a very human fashion. He couldn't have possibly...
"Who else is there with him?"
The silence that followed gave her her answer, but she still chanced a look at Alice to find her eyes shimmering with tears that would never fall.
Pain. Deep, heart breaking pain wracked her body at the thought... he was there alone. Something had happened, and it had confronted him with the reality that he may soon sacrifice himself for her. How could he think she could live without him when the mere thought took all color from the world?
Isabella took a step towards the door, noticing how the energy in the room shifted.
Alec was watching her carefully, her next step rewarded with unhelpful soothing words from Alice and a wave of deep calm from Jasper. At this, her attention snapped to him, her face twisted in a half snarl before it snapped to the left to allow her to glower at Alec. "Do you think I'd be stupid enough to let you in now? You have betrayed my trust. All of you."
Walking past Alec with lethal grace, she fixed her expression on Felix and Demitri who continued to block the door wordlessly. "Let me through. I will not ask again." Her words dared them to defy her, to risk sure incapacitation at her hands should they get in her way. The silent standoff ended with Felix and Demitri moving aside silently much to Alec's visible dismay. Isabella greeted no one as she passed them through the halls, making quick work of the stairs with the others trailing behind.
Two hours prior, Aro had informed the elite guard of a threat made against the Volturi and their allied covens; Isabella especially, though he provided no evidence of it. It was not needed, however, seeing their figure head's distress, despite his clear attempt to appear calm.
The elite guard was making preparations necessary to move to a secret safe house when an envelope, similar to the one discovered months prior, was found. It was unclear as to how it had come to be in the castle, placed on Aro's marble throne. Inside was another Volturi crest, venom clinging to intricate grooves in the precious metal; Renata's crest, Aro confirmed.
Aro sighed deeply in grief and resignation. "I am afraid I have been dishonest" he spoke softly. "The threat on your lives, on Isabella's... it is true. What you do not yet know is that I shall be staying behind. For centuries I have done what was best for our coven, but now... I must do what is best for my mate. My protection has not been enough. My arrogance too great... I cannot bear to risk keeping her here. By coveting her, only to keep her under constant threat. They want me." These words were met with disbelieving exclamations, questions, and sentiments of outrage. He held up a hand, waiting a moment until the room went quiet. "Please, do not fight me on this. I beg you for your aid, to keep Isabella safe. I must give my Isabella a chance. A chance to survive, to protect our world as she was born to do."
They could not possibly deny him. With the threat against Isabella emphasized with the unanticipated death of a most skilled and valuable guard member, Aro acted quickly. Gathering Felix, Demitri, Jane, and Alec, they caught Isabella unawares in her wedding dress of all things. Alice caught Isabella as she began to fall, her eyes darting up to the Aro in bewilderment. Giving no explanation or context, Aro asked Alice to change Isabella out of the dress; this, she accomplished with a few moments of privacy and a deep sense of dread. The future had become blank.
The sun sunk low on the horizon as all the castle's occupants, except one, traveled on foot to Denmark. Alec carried Isabella, aware of the subtle signs of Isabella's gift attempting to resist his. Months previously, when they had explored the nature and limits of her gift, she had allowed his gift past her defenses; there had been no reason to mistrust him since, and Aro had utilized that trusting relationship secure Isabella. Similarly, Jasper had been recruited to influence Isabella with feelings of lethargy to keep Isabella secure during travel, knowing she would successful fight any attempt to be separated from Aro, were she able. Still, she gave clear signs of trying to fight both their influences. Though she had had with her protective mechanisms down to them both, Jasper had reasoned that her gift was instinctually triggered to some degree, even in her unconscious state. Slowly but surely, the effectiveness of Alec and Jasper's gifts eroded in a war of wills, intensifying with the distance that separated the mated pair.
Just twenty minutes after arriving in Denmark, here they were.
"It may very well be a trap, darlin. Vampire wars have proven to use one's mate to manipulate the other," Jasper advised carefully.
"I fully expect it to be. Demitri, Felix, Alec and Jane... you will accompany me immediately to Volterra," her tone left no room for opposition. "Most of those creatures died out at the battle months ago, but there may be a few still lurking around."
"One more thing," Alice interjected, causing Isabella to pause. "We haven't heard from Edward since he left with Renata to France. If he is still alive, he will likely be involved."
Isabella looked to Carlisle and Esme, and the empty space beside them. Meeting Carlisle's eyes, he gazed at her with fatherly anguish. "Be careful," he managed softly.
They were but two miles out of Volterra when Isabella picked up Edward's presence. Fucking Edward. He made a dramatic entrance for himself, four humanoid figures clustered around him. By their repugnant scent alone, it was clear that they were hybridized vampire-werewolves. Furthermore, their hostile expressions and stance behind Edward the four were most certainly indistinguishable goons; they were agitated, visibly strong, but lacking the cool finesse of the Volturi guard present. Edward, on the other hand, could read minds but was defenseless to Jane and Alec's gift and was significantly weaker due to his diet of animal blood.
They were merely a distraction.
Edward's self-righteous mask slipped into place as he went on a speech about morality, the soul, and the future of the immortal world with Nathalia; predictably, she was the supernatural mastermind of the entire plot and had plucked up the talents of Edward. The calculated manipulation of Edward through her seduction to utilize his gift was glaringly obvious.
Suddenly, the residual pain and distress through the mate bond flared to a fever pitch. Gasping, she faltered and drew the attention of Edward from his uninteresting reverie. "My my, I see she's started. Come now, Bella. We are expected." He extended his hand to her expectantly before nodding to his comrades; on cue, their bodies twisted and heaved, their bones breaking and contorting as they began to transform.
Isabella called for Jane in exasperation. Edward immediately screamed and writhed, while the four hybrids whined. They staggered forward with menace clear on their faces as their bodies continued to tremble and morph fully into their monstrous forms.
"Take care of them, and keep Edward in pieces until his trial," Isabella ordered, not daring to look back as she continued on to Volterra.
The historical castle that had masqueraded the political mecca of the vampire world was in flames.
The grounds were decimated, smaller buildings on the outskirts of the property crumbling, rubble taking the place of centuries of memories. The throne room was mercilessly destroyed, the domed glass ceiling shattered and thrones crushed to dust. The walls bore markings where taloned fingers had sliced through the marble like butter. Isabella followed the marks like a path, down each corridor from start to finish, shuddering at the thought of how hearing the grinding sound would elevate feelings of impending doom for the sole person remaining within the castle walls. Her acute sense of smell leading her to believe that the external flames had infiltrated at least a part of the interior, most likely catching on heavy curtains and tapestries that framed the windows, the glass now splintering and shattering at the heat of the flames.
At last, this path of destruction led her to the outer courtyard. Metallic venom, both deep black and silver was splattered around the courtyard, its metallic sheen reflecting the fiery red and orange of the flames that lapped the castle. The sky, too, was an angry, orange-red, masking the wide expanse of stars in the night sky. The significance of the courtyard was not lost on her, as her enemy appeared to have a similar flair for drama as the vampire world.
When Isabella locked eyes on Aro and the creature he currently fought, she gave an involuntary snarl. Two gazes locked on her instantly, the deep maroon of her mate and the glowing green eyes of Nathalia. This was the woman Edward spoke of? Her beastly form of at least seven feet tall closely resembled a classical werewolf-standing-on-its-hind-legs archetype seen in media, but was even more twisted. This hybridization of two immortal species caused each vein to bulge under her dark furred form, her proportions offering a twisted resemblance to a woman's curved form. Her face, too, mimicked sharp feminine features, the nose incredibly pronounced but just shy of a snout; her teeth were elongated into sharp fangs, dripping with putrid, black metallic venom. Though wolf-like ears were visible, she also bore a tumble of hair around her head matching her coat's color. Lastly, it was her glowing green eyes that struck Isabella. There was something about them...
"Isabella, go!" Aro urged. His next attempt to speak was cut off with a sickening crack and Aro's guttaral cry; Nathalia had taken his distraction as an opportunity to dig her talons into his shoulders, tearing both from their sockets.
Watching him fall to his knees with a painful cry, Nathalia held Aro with one hand at the back of his neck and the other in his hair. Then her beastly form began to change. Bones audibly breaking, her form morphed into a smaller, lithe form of a young woman. Muscles strained and tendons snapped, sharp hisses spilling from her lips with breath as nauseatingly putrid as her scent. Shuddering, her fur seemed to ripple before vanishing completely, her veins remaining pronounced by the sheen of her dark venom. Her features remained sharp, though much less wolf-like, and her green eyes continued to glow in a tantalizing way.
She was beautiful, though something in that beauty sickened Isabella. In fact, her gift screamed how much of a threat she was. It took a good deal of concentration to school her features just enough to avoid revealing her disgust and unmitigated rage for harming her mate. No, Isabella would have to play this thing's highly orchestrated game.
"Isabella," she spoke, her voice melodic. The deeply satisfying and entrancing quality of her voice almost allowed Isabella to overlook the putrid scent that seemed to roll from her. Almost. "We meet at long last. I am sorry to see that Edward cannot join us."
"Yes, you must have cared for him a great deal," Isabella snarled.
From what she, Nathalia, and Aro could hear, it was clear that the hybrids were slowly losing the fight to the Volturi. Nathalia didn't grieve them. There was no concern within her features, even as her own kind continued to keen in pain and while Edward cried for her desperately.
"He was merely a means to an end," Nathalia continued, unperturbed. "It hardly matters now. You see, I never wanted Edward. I wanted you."
"For this?!" Isabella couldn't help but cry in disbelief, gesturing to the destruction around them.
"Of course," she replied, eyes alight with pleasure. "I have finally found my equal. I have been told you defeated Caius Volturi himself. Warmonger, slaughterer of my people. With him," she tightened her grip on Aro's hair to jerk his head in indication, "as a ravenous supporter of our genocide. Forgoing alliances long made with the Children of the Moon, and for what?!" Her fingers dug into his scalp for emphasis, causing Aro to hiss as his skin cracked. "After we helped him take power, he decided we were no longer of use. He told us we were too dangerous for this world. What an excuse for wiping us out when he merely felt threatened!"
"Your people started slaughtering entire villages on a whim! You would not listen to reason," Aro spat, hissing further as Nathalia's fingers digging further into his marble flesh.
"Stop it!" Isabella cried, bringing Nathalia's eyes back to hers.
"Yes, do stop talking if you know what is good for you, Aro." Nathalia smiled then, her voice softening as she regarded Isabella. "But I am not the only one spurned by him, am I? After all the love you have given him, he betrayed your trust. Just as he betrayed Sulpicia."
Isabella would never admit to anyone that Nathalia's words did successfully rouse anger in her, at the memory of Aro's betrayal. Thankfully, she caught this immeadiately and used it to her advantage. She allowed her brow to crease, a frown marring her face in what appeared to be genuine conflict. "N-no, that's not true."
"No?" Nathalia questioned softly, eyes alight with a mixture of fascination and predatory calculation.
Fingers that had dug painfully into Aro's scalp and neck disappeared suddenly, leaving the weakened vampire to collapse and watch as Nathalia sauntered towards his mate; she drew closer until she was only centimeters away, her exhales ruffling a few locks of Isabella's dark hair. This proximity, combined with her feline-like poise was meant to entice her, Isabella deduced. Was that how she had ensnared Edward? The poor golden boy had been so sex deprived that he hadn't realized that feline-like seduction from what could be described as a freakish, foul-smelling she demon was utterly ridiculous. All of this aside, it did not deter Isabella from shuddering visibly when she locked eyes with Aro. He would know it wasn't from twisted desire, but from dread as she viewed his tattered form. He inclined his head imperceptibly when the she demon's eyes had been cast away, rather transfixed on her soon-to-be-prize.
Isabella urged her instincts to calm, her body to soften, and her expression to appear as if she were losing a fight to her darkest desires. Nathalia took this as encouragement, continuing in a soft, persuasive tone. "Do not be mistaken, he did not want you for your heart or mind. He will dispose of you when you prove to no longer of use, just like Sulpicia. It was her that discovered me, alone and half-starved weeks after the slaughter. She made me what I am. Oh yes, she told me that it was he who first spoke of ending Didyme, and when he could not follow through with his plans she ensured that traitor's demise. Sulpicia did nothing but love him and desire greatness as he did." She plucked a lock of Isabella's dark hair and rain it slowly between her thumb and forefinger, lips hovering near the shell of her ear. "I do not wish for you to meet the same fate when he decides he no longer needs you and assigns you unjust blame."
Nathalia grasped Isabella's chin, tilting her head to fully meet her glowing eyes. A lovely and worshipful smile, almost convincing in nature, was painted on her lips. Isabella made herself take a staggered breath, her eyes drifting to Nathalia's lips and then back to her gaze. Isabella was starting to believe that the she-demon's charm was more than sensuality and persuasion... Nathalia was attempting to break down her defenses. Earn her trust. Entrance her, even. "Your gift offers such protection to this world, Isabella. Consider who your enemy truly is. Together, my dear, we can protect this world from those like him."
Isabella willed herself to continue on in this charade. She just had to get close enough... She drew her lower lip between her teeth, wetting it with her tongue before releasing it slowly. "What would you have me do?" Isabella's voice was soft, but there was an impassioned edge to it that she demon delighted in. Turning slowly with a gentle sway of her hips, Isabella met her eyes. "To swear my loyalty," she murmured, ruby eyes transfixed on Nathalia's lips.
"Bring me his head," Nathalia purred as she stepped away from her, putting a few feet of distance between them. Isabella blinked, desperately trying to school her features; this ended in a general expression of discomfort. "Freedom does not come without pain," Nathalia purred patronizingly, her true attempt at encouraging her supposed 'equal'.
Isabella could only nod. Aro's eyes locked with hers the second she looked his way, communicating more than he could hope to say. Silent pride, love, adoration, and regret. It was possible that this may be the last time he saw her, should his head meet flames rather than his own shoulders in what would come. He told her that he loved her as her trembling hands braced themselves on either side of his head, fingers lacing in his dark hair. She was warring against her own nature that compelled her to protect him at all costs.
When she completed the act, her soul shattering pain was followed by a deep, reverberating emptiness. She could not control the inhuman wail that spilled forth, entwining in the smoke laden air before filtering off in the mind-numbing exhaustion of it all. Exhaling deeply, she turned back to Nathalia. "I'm free," she spoke with what she hoped was convincing rapture. She then stalked forward, hips swaying with each step as one hand clutched the raven hair of her mate's disembodied head. "Thank you," she whispered reverently, closing the remaining inches between them and capturing her lips in a sensual kiss. Nathalia growled in return, plundering Isabella's mouth with crazed possession as the young vampire began to writhe enthusiastically in her arms.
Isabella was assailed with harsh nips to her throat, hands in her hair; it was physical and psychological, playing on the scalp and throat as erogenous zones while also emphasizing how simple it would be to rip off Isabella's head in that moment. "This will hurt" she crooned darkly, pulling back to catch her eyes. The smirk she wore was malevolent as she evaluated Isabella like an ant under the ray of a magnifying glass. "You would know," she murmured as she slowly brushed the locks of hair covering Isabella's throat over her right shoulder, "with such careful preparation I've offered you."
Nathalia had to be mad, Isabella reasoned, complimenting herself for her thoughtfulness in subjecting Isabella to the pain of Krystoph's grisly transformation some months back. Seeming satisfied with the effect this information had on Isabella, she reared back like a cobra ready to strike. Isabella willed her plan to work perfectly.
A sickening squelching sound permeated the silence.
"Huh," Isabella breathed raggedly. Dark, foul scented blood poured down her right forearm, her right hand embedded in Nathalia's chest. "I didn't think you had a heart." Clenching her hand, Isabella crushed the irregularly beating heart before ripping out the pulverized remains; she reveled in the moment the life left Nathalia's eyes with nothing but a pained gurgle to accompany it.
Once the corpse was set aflame, Isabella's strong exterior crumbled. She whimpered as she made considerable efforts to immediately return to Aro's side. With his head clutched securely to her with one arm, she collapsed halfway and crawled the rest of the distance. Collecting his disembodied arms as well, she began the arduous process of putting her mate back together. She fused each juncture of marble flesh expertly, using her own venom to seal the stone flesh. Once the flesh came back together, Aro's spine slowly began repairing itself. She knew he wouldn't wake for some time, but this knowledge could not abate the emotional agony of what she was made to do.
Soon, Demitri, Felix, Alec, and Jane approached the estate with a cloak full of Edward's pieces In tow. Rising to her feet, Isabella crouched in front of Aro's prone form and growled lowly in warning; she would protect him now at all costs, especially from those who had willingly left him to die. This thinking was certainly of over-protective, instinct-driven distress, but she couldn't pay it any mind. The four halted wisely at the sound at the tree line of the castle grounds. Still poised to defend her mate, the four other immortals did not dare challenge her by moving an inch. "Secure the castle and return to Denmark." Though she managed to give the first two orders without growling, the last one held all her ferality: "Let it be known that I will not be held responsible for the vengeance I will take on anyone who attempts to separate me from Aro again."
Author's Note: And with that, MIF Is looking like it will be wrapped up in one or two more chapters. Now, I VOW TO FINISH THIS STORY BY THE END OF THE YEAR. That means all remaining chapters WILL be published by December 31st! I will hold myself to it. Seriously. Side note, I actually wrote the final scene in this chapter when I first started working on this story. Putting the world I had constructed on literal fire in a very emotionally raw chapter was admittedly difficult as we all weathered the many lows of the pandemic these last months... because chaos and despair was no long just in my fiction. I digress. So, with a long delay, finally it's here with many more questions answered, fluff, and smutty scenes to follow soon. Take care, good people.