Authors Note: There is sexual activity between two consenting adults in this chapter, remember this story is rated MA 18+, so if you don't like it – don't read!


Chapter 20 – The Road to Hell

Even though Marcus encouraged her to sleep over half a dozen times in that first hour on the plane back to Volterra, Castiel couldn't make her mind settle down enough to make sleep possible. She had hoped going back to Ivy Peak would give her ideas and would help them all answer the mystery of what had happened to her father, but all it had done was raise more questions.

So now she was frustrated and anxious with a throbbing headache to boot. Her fingers pressed hard into her temples as she squeezed her eyes shut. The soft leather of the reclining seat she was in offered none of the comfort or relaxation it was meant to.

This whole plane was basically one big first-class cabin. According to Marcus it was the nicest privately owned airliner they had, but it was also one of the smallest because it wasn't meant to transport large sections of the guard at a time. It was usually only used by the masters and whatever elite guards they had to bring on their trips.

Castiel started in surprise when she felt Marcus' hands on her waist, and her eyes opened to see he was leaning across the small space between their recliners, reaching for her so he could pull her across the space and onto his chair with him.

It was pretty impressive that he didn't jostle her at all when he did this, and he was able to tuck her under his arm as she lay on her right side, her head coming to rest on his chest.

"You're giving yourself a headache. There isn't anything to see sweetheart." He murmured quietly, kissing her brow before looking behind her at Afton who was walking down the aisle, and telling him to bring her a blanket.

Afton returned in hardly thirty seconds, and Marcus thanked him before tucking the thick quilt around her.

"Please try to sleep."

"I can't." She mumbled, sighing as Marcus gently rubbed her back. At her words he began to purr quietly. The soothing vibration coming from his chest caused her to fully relax against him, allowing him to attempt to lull her to sleep.

Castiel didn't think she fell completely asleep, but she was sure she definitely dozed for a good section of the flight since it seemed to her that no time at all had passed before Marcus was gently stroking her arm. Rousing her from her half sleep and gently detangling himself from her – apparently, she had wrapped an arm and leg around him – Marcus helped her stand and led her off the plane as she blinked sleepily behind him, glad he was holding her hand because he was keeping her from walking into anything.

The moment she was seat belted in the car for the ride back to Volterra, with Marcus on her left and Kemar on her right, Castiel leaned her head back and shut her eyes.

The hallway she was in was familiar. Castiel had traveled it down too many times to count since she was bought to Volterra. The double glass doors at the end of the hall that led to the garden usually had sunlight streaming through them, but now only a soft white glow came through the panes; moonlight that was only so prominent when the moon was glowing in a clear sky above the city.

"Castiel!" The familiar voice surprised her, causing her to turn to face back the way she came.

Ajmer was only barely visible to her at the other end of the dimly lit hallway and he came slowly closer to her, seemingly pleased that she had stopped, but his expression was full of apprehension.

The familiar face of one of her immortal friends whom she hadn't imagined seeing for a long time should have pleased her. So she was shocked when rather than happily greeting him, she let out an angry hiss.

"I thought I told you to never to speak to me again." She spat at him through obviously clenched teeth.

Ajmer flinched at her words, but his expression showed that he wasn't at all surprised at the way he was being received.

"Castiel, I'm so sorry, you know I am. Please you know I had your best interests at heart-,"

"Oh do I?" Her tone was full of spite, and though Castiel was aware that this was no dream, she still couldn't picture a future in which she would be so outwardly nasty to a friend.

She turned on her heel and began stomping away from him, ignoring his quiet protests until her right elbow was suddenly locked in an icy grasp and she was yanked back a step.

"Will you please just hear me out-," He begged but she cut him off, her voice low and full of implied menace.

"Let go of my arm." She enunciated each word slowly, implying an unsaid threat.

"Not until you listen!" Ajmer snapped at her, seeming to realize that begging was getting him nowhere, so instead choosing to speak to her with the same hostility she was directing at him.

"I think it's best that you do let her arm go, or I'll be forced to do something drastic." A bored voice drawled at them from the shadows and Castiel and Ajmer both turned their heads in unison to the adjoining hall to the left of them – this was a path Castiel knew led to the library.

Alec appeared out of the shadows, his eyes sharp points of red in the dim light cast by the moon. Castiel saw that his hands were slightly extended in front of him, his fingers splayed as the air around them seemed to shimmer.

Instinctively, Ajmer glanced down, and whatever he saw there caused him to let go of her arm as if he had been burned.

Castiel looked down too and saw that the floor all around them was covered in a small layer of shimmering white mist. It wasn't easy to see – she may not have noticed it at all if it hadn't been for seeing the strange phenomenon around Alec's hands only seconds before.

She and Ajmer were both standing in two perfect circles of the floor that were untouched by the strange sparkling substance, but it was obvious that Castiel's circle was significantly larger in diameter than Ajmer's. The thin white mist was hardly a centimeter away from touching his feet in his tiny circle.

"I wasn't going to hurt her," Ajmer said reasonably, "She's my friend. I only wanted to talk to-,"

"Yes, I caught that much, but I'm not so dense to believe that she wants to speak to you at all." Alec said dryly, his gaze flicking from Ajmer's face to her own, "Do you wish to speak to him?"

She shook her head.

"Well then that's settled." Alec said, his tone feigning joy as if he were a salesman who had just helped a couple come to the happy decision to buy their first home – though of course he was too young looking to be a house salesman. "You may go now."

With the most minor twitch of one of his fingers, Alec made the mist separate in a thin path from Ajmer's feet leading him back the way he had come. The mist around her own feet, however, seemed to thicken and when she breathed in her mouth seemed to go numb, her sinuses felt cold and she could taste Novocain on her tongue.

Ajmer said nothing. All he did was glare at Alec before he turned away from them, moving slowly down the hall as to avoid accidentally planting his foot in the mist.

"And I suggest you go back to your rooms and stay there." Alec called after him, smirking when Ajmer stopped and looked as if he would have loved to give Alec the finger but thought better of it and disappeared.

Something cool touched her cheek and Castiel opened her eyes slowly to see Marcus looking at her with only a small amount of concern. The car was quiet and a quick glance around told her that everyone was staring at her.

"What did you see?" Marcus asked quietly but Castiel didn't answer. She was not completely sure herself but also felt like what she had seen was something private, and she didn't really feel like sharing it with everyone in the car.

She shook her head and Marcus raised his eyebrows at her before she leaned back, closing her eyes again and making an effort to fall asleep or at least to make it look as if she were asleep so she could think and not have anyone bother her.

It was only a couple of minutes later that she felt Marcus tap her arm, and she opened her eyes to see that he was holding his phone out to her, angling the device just right so only she could see what was on the screen.

It was a text chat to Aro and there was a message typed in the box at the bottom of the screen above the keyboard that Marcus had yet to send.

Will you tell me what has happened? I worry when you keep things from me.

Castiel stared at the message for a second, allowing the words to sink in, and glancing back up at him when he pressed the phone into her left palm.

She paused for only a second before holding the backspace button on the phone, erasing the message Marcus had typed to her and beginning to type her own. She was pleased to find out his phone had the swipe-to-text feature, as this was how she was used to texting.

Nothing's happened yet. It's not something I want to hide from you or anything, I just don't like broadcasting my business for everyone to hear. Just because I have visions doesn't mean everyone's entitled to hear them. You and your brothers and my sisters are fine, but it's not everyone's business what's happening in my life.

She held the phone back out to Marcus who took it from her before asking, "How did you do that?" aloud causing Kemar to look up from the book he was reading and the guard driving to glance back in the rearview mirror.

"Do... what?" Castiel asked, confused.

Marcus mimicked her sliding her thumb around on the phone screen and Castiel understood.

"Swipe to text? It's easy you just don't lift your finger as you're typing out each word. Just slide it to the next letter and only lift it when you mean to start swiping a different word."

Her explanation seemed to take the guards collective interests off of the conversation, for Kemar went back to reading his book and the driver refocused on the road.

Marcus and his brothers really did know a lot about modern technology, Castiel mused as Marcus focused on reading her message before working on swiping his reply with a look of intense concentration on his face, but there were always the little things that led to them being surprised.

He held the phone out to her, and she read his reply.

I understand. But you will tell me?

He had hardly finished typing out his question when Castiel took the phone back from him, deleting his text and replacing it with her own message.

I saw Ajmer in Volterra. He was in the castle and apparently looking for me. I don't know why but I was FURIOUS with him. He kept asking me to listen to him saying I knew he meant well, and he was sorry and all that jazz. I told him to go away and he grabbed my arm. Then Alec showed up and made him leave. I may be able to see the things that will happen, but I certainly don't have all the answers. I don't know when or why he comes or why I will be angry with him.

She handed Marcus back the phone so he could read her message. He had his own reply typed up and the phone back in her hand before she had taken three full breaths.

Perhaps it is because he is the one who essentially turned you in?

Castiel shook her head at him before typing her response.

No. I'm not angry about that at all and I'm not about to start being angry with him either. Give me a few moments so I can try to see.

She passed Marcus back the phone and leaned her head back in her seat again, shutting her eyes so she could concentrate.

It was ten minutes later when she opened her eyes again, and Marcus – who had been watching her face the entire time – knew with a fair bit of certainty what she was going to say.

Her concerned blue eyes found his, confirming his thoughts and telling him silently that now… now she was truly beginning to worry.

"You're having trouble seeing Volterra, aren't you?"

He said the words aloud, and the driver and the front passenger as well as Kemar, Caius, and Arkos all turned to look at her now, not even bothering to pretend they weren't trying not to eavesdrop.

Castiel's cheeks reddened at all of the eyes on her face, so to avoid making uncomfortable eye contact with anyone, she spoke to her hands which were clasped together in her lap.

"At the moment…" Castiel mumbled, "I can see everyone just fine. I can even see Trent. Be's sleeping right now but... but when I try to look ahead to see Ajmer something's interfering with me. Something is punching a hole in my sight of Volterra about three weeks from now. I keep losing Aro in the holes-,"

"What?" Caius' voice was alarmed but Castiel's expression when she met his gaze was reassuring.

"Not like that Caius. Aro's fine. Nothing's going to happen to him. I just mean – I just mean that whoever this shield is, is going to be in Volterra. I was looking to see when Ajmer would be arriving in the city and couldn't see it. I can't see anything properly when I try to predict the more recent future to see why I should be angry with him. I can see the next couple of weeks clearly but not anything past then unless I search a few months out."

"Okay, I've grasped that your friend is coming to Volterra, presumably to see you," Caius said, "But I don't understand about these holes… this mystery shield – are we going to catch the man who killed your father? Is that what's-"?

"That can't be right," Marcus mused interrupting Caius as his brother tried to piece together what he had missed and the silent communication between himself and his mate, "If we were to capture him he would be executed. He wouldn't be alive long enough to mess with Castiel's visions of Volterra for weeks on end."

"So what? We're welcoming him into our home as our honored guest?" Caius scoffed, sarcasm heavy in his tone.

"Maybe Aro offered him a place on the guard…" Castiel said quietly, trying to somehow piece the confusion together.

"Don't be ridiculous." Caius sighed rolling his eyes at her when she raised her eyebrows at him. "We'd never make a guard out of someone who broke our laws-,"

"But the shield didn't technically break any laws. You guys have to kill humans to eat and stealing some of my belongings isn't a capital crime."

"Are you defending him?" Kemar's deep tone broke into the conversation, his expression curious as Castiel focused on him.

"Of course not!" Castiel looked surprised that anyone could come to that conclusion, her expression pinching at the thought, "I'm only saying that to claim killing him would be some matter of upholding the law is not true. I know that vampires' settle things with violence, and I know that it's basically an unspoken thing that when a coven is wronged it is not against the law to carry out vengeance in whatever manner is deemed necessary and that you guys don't usually interfere unless that vengeance breaks one of the laws of secrecy; but to claim that executing whoever-," She winced. "You know whoever hurt my…"

She took a deep breath. "To claim it's anything more than getting revenge on my behalf isn't the truth."

Caius rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess if you want to be technical about it-,"

"Regardless," Marcus said with the air of someone trying to end an argument between two people, "You know we'd never treat the man who hurt you – who harmed our family – with any type of kindness." He gently stroked Castiel's hair once before allowing his arm to rest around her shoulders. "Sometime in the next 24 hours after... certain things are taken care of; all necessary people will be called to a meeting to help figure out what is coming and piece things together with Castiel's help."

Caius shrugged once before nodding, everyone turning away to either resume staring out the windows or go back to reading their books or playing on their phones respectively.

Castiel knew she must have gone a little pale – of course by business that needed to be tended to Marcus meant Trent – and Marcus responded to her change of mood by purring gently against her side.

She leaned into him, shutting her eyes. At least Marcus had stated that when they did meet with the rest of the family to talk about what she both did and didn't see, the only ones who would be told her business were those whom it was necessary to inform, or those who could help.


Aro, Sulpicia and Athenadora had of course been waiting in the garage for them when they got back to Volterra. But Castiel was glad when the only words that really passed between them were words of welcome and small pieces of news of the things they had missed in the few days they had been away.

It was a quick conversation. Nothing had really happened while they were gone, and even though Castiel had a private conversation with her raven-haired brother in the way only the two of them could and she was reassured that Trent would be asleep for a good while longer and that she had nothing to fret about until the morning at the very least, his reassurances didn't really help calm her nerves.

Aro only seemed a little interested in what she saw, but that was probably because he was more focused on the upcoming confrontation with her friend.

She was now back in Marcus' room, watching as Marcus unpacked the small bag they had brought with them to Ivy peak. Really it was just a spare change of clothes for each of them and some toiletries. The bag with the scent of the mystery intruder had disappeared with Kemar somewhere.

"I think I'm going to take a shower." She sighed giving Marcus a small smile when he stopped what he was doing to come to her and take her in his arms.

He smiled down at her, his eyes dark as he hummed contentedly as he pulled her to his chest, "Mm, perhaps I should join you."

His words were full of hidden promises, his voice low and provocative.

Castiel could feel heat rush to her cheeks and she glanced away with an embarrassed smile. "You mean shower together?"

A low growl came from him. She could feel the vibration in the hands that were pressed to his chest.

"Of course, you know, save water… help save the planet." Marcus said teasingly, lifting one hand to cup under her chin so he could tilt her face up to kiss her.

Their lips moved together slowly for what felt like a very short few minutes before Castiel pulled back, biting her lower lip.

"How kind of you, I never knew you were such an environmentalist," She said playfully, feeling her heart rate begin to pick up as he led her by the hand towards the bathroom.

She had no idea why she was suddenly so nervous – she had been with him in the shower before after all.

But maybe the large difference between this time and the other times was before he had remained dressed in some way and was only showering with her because she needed the assistance. However, this time his voice was full of unspoken promises that already had her body responding in that way it only ever did with him.

The bright lights of the bathroom blinded her as Marcus hit the switch on their way in, only releasing her hand when they were beside the glass doors of the shower so he could reach in to turn on the water. She was glad he chose to select the function that had multiple shower heads running at once since she didn't really fancy the idea of shivering outside the stream of the water when Marcus would need to rinse himself.

He turned to her, the only sounds that of the running water and the fan as the glass of the shower began to fog up with steam. His eyes were entirely black now as he reached toward her to hook a finger in one of the loops of her jeans, tugging so she stumbled forward and fell against his chest.

She let out a little huff of indignation but that only made Marcus laugh as one of his hands came to guide her face to his.

He kissed her deeply, purring as she ran her hands up his chest, using his free hand to remove her clothes. The sounds of the fabric tearing startled her, but she had barely let out a surprised "Eep!" before she was completely bare, trying to process how he had removed her clothes so quickly.

His lips only parted with hers for a moment so she could catch her breath and he could remove his own clothes and tearing them free so quickly she heard his shirt buttons scatter against the floor.

Marcus reached behind him to open the shower door, pulling her body against his with his free arm as he stepped back into the warm water. Castiel was thankful he had set the water very warm – because she liked her showers hot and was glad to have something keeping her warm as goose bumps rose on her skin from her unexpected loss of clothes.

They kissed passionately, Marcus nipping her lower lip every now and again to make her gasp and clutch at him, her fingers slipping on his shoulders as his hands knotted in her hair. She only broke away from him when on of his hands reached down to grab her leg and hook it around his hips before his arm braced itself against her bottom and hoisted her up against him, pressing her back against the cool tile wall of the shower.

This change of position caused his erection to press against her center, feeling his smooth marble skin brush against her opening and causing her to shiver in both excitement and fear.

"M-Marcus?" His name came out as a question, her voice trembling a little with her nerves.

"Shhh," He hushed her, using the wall to keep her pressed against him while keeping one hand hooked under her left leg and the other came to gently cup her breast, the pad of his thumb stroking across her nipple. "I won't."

The reassurance that he was still aware that she might not be quite ready for that step yet calmed Castiel down immensely. It was obvious in the way her body relaxed against him, but the sudden calm did loosen the grips of the passion that had all but consumed her the moment Marcus suggested showering together and he could see it in her face.

"What's wrong?" Marcus shifted his weight slightly, a small enough movement that told her that he wasn't planning on letting her down, his hips pressing into her a little more firmly.

And the feeling as he pressed his shaft against her clitoris very nearly caused her to lose track of her senses.

She whimpered at the feeling, wishing to grind her hips back at him, to gain the pleasure she knew he was all too capable of giving her.

"Maybe now isn't the time…" She began, the things she had been so tirelessly worrying over and the parts of the future that she couldn't see began to come to the forefront of her mind; the only thing distracting her from focusing on them fully being Marcus' voice.

"When you live as long as I have my love you begin to see that moments like these are to be cherished and worrying can always wait until a later time." He said huskily, gently kissing her mouth before trailing kisses across her jaw, murmuring in a language she didn't recognize.

His words did not leave any argument and she certainly didn't have an argument anymore as he began to roll his hips into her, sending sparks of pleasure from her core through her body, making her gasp and causing her to seek out his lips.

The warm water flowing over them, accompanied by her sounds of pleasure and Marcus' steady growling were the only sounds in the room. The atmosphere, the heat, and the feeling of Marcus thrusting his hips against her and dragging his cock along her sheath made it impossible for Castiel to think of anything but him.

Marcus pressed the head of his cock against her clitoris and purred, sending a vibration that sent shocks of pleasure from that little button of nerves, causing her to cry out his name loudly as she reached the height of her pleasure, feeling his hips buck against her as his erection twitched between them, spilling his cool ejaculate onto her stomach.

They remained like that for a long moment, Castiel catching her breath as Marcus kept her supported between his body and the wall, only letting her down at her prompting and quickly grasping her elbow when she proved to be a little unsteady on her legs.

Marcus smirked when her gaze flashed to his face and she rolled her eyes at him as she reached around him to the shelf to grab her body wash, ignoring his chuckle when the first thing she did was to clean her stomach.

"You know," She said after a moment, both facing away from each other toward opposite streams of water as they washed their hair, "I don't think it really saves any water when we spend extra time in the shower not bathing."

Castiel closed her eyes to avoid getting shampoo in them as she began rinsing her hair, surprisingly not jumping when Marcus hands found her shoulders. She could smell her citrus body wash as he began washing her back. "Of course, how ignorant of me." He teased, the pressure of his hands becoming a little less on her skin as he turned her so he could gently soap her ribs, "How are you feeling?"

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking water out of them as she took a deep breath, categorizing how her body felt mentally before speaking. "Fine." Castiel reassured him honestly, earning an approving hum from him.

Marcus was ready to get out of the shower sooner than she was, both because he was just naturally faster at bathing since he was a vampire and didn't spend time luxuriating in the warm water like she did, but also because she wanted to shave her legs. When Castiel finally emerged from the shower, wrapping her body in one of the fluffy blue towels on the hook next to it, Marcus was standing at the sink across the room, a towel wrapped around his waist as he used an elastic hair-tie to secure his hair in a bun on the back of his head.

Castiel stood watching him as he began washing his face, staring at the way his muscles moved in his arms and back. She marveled at how comfortable she had become with him seeing her body in such a short period of time, especially considering how perfect his body was in every way – all tall and muscular with finely toned legs and a lattice of nearly invisible white scars across his back and arms. The only reason she could really see the markings at all was because of how bright the lights in the bathroom were.

When Marcus lowered the hand towel he was using to dry his face and made eye contact with her in the mirror, his expression adapted the same warm and pleased expression he always got when he caught her staring at him.

She blushed and his grin widened as she crossed the room to him. He thought it was endearing to see how flustered she got whenever he'd caught her looking at his body, as it was something she really didn't have to feel embarrassed about doing since she was his imprint. Marcus knew that it would only be when she became an immortal herself that she would realize how often he looked at her in the same way. It was only because he was quicker than her that she had missed all the times he had watched her ass as she left a room or marveled over the perfect view of her legs when she wore heels.

But being faster also meant she missed so many looks of deepest love and concern he gave her when he watched her sleep or when she was reading and he could see that she was worried by the tenseness of her shoulders. Or by the way her eyebrows pinched together, or her perfect cupids-bow of a mouth would open slightly just before she came out of a vision and wasn't sure the news she had to give was good.

Castiel reached him then and Marcus extended his hands out to her, glad when she took them and allowed him to pull her close.

He grabbed a fresh towel off the counter beside him, covering his hands with it and gently beginning to dry her hair, smiling gently at her when her eyes drooped sleepily.

"You know how much I love you right?" He whispered, earning a small smile from this perfect creature before him as she nodded.


"I can't do this; I'm going to throw up." Castiel whispered as Marcus led her to Aro's private office – the same one she had gotten sick in and vomited on everyone's shoes after she saw the newborn attack in Mexico.

Caius still moaned about her ruining one of his favorite pairs of shoes every now and again.

And to say Marcus was only leading her was a bit of a stretch too. The way her sneakers would scuff against the floor every few feet was a pretty obvious indicator that she was dragging her feet enough that Marcus was most certainly forcing her to keep walking with him.

"Piccola, please relax." Marcus said as they turned into the hallway that would lead them to their destination. He understood why she was so frantic about seeing her friend for the first time in months but surely she couldn't believe he would take her to see the boy if there were any risk at all for a negative reaction?

She had been through more than enough and facing rejection by her childhood best friend was not something any of the family would allow to happen. Unbeknownst to her, her friend had already been awake for four hours and had spent a majority of that time in Aro's office while his brother explained everything he possibly could. It was only fifteen minutes prior that Aro had texted him to say that it was alright to bring Castiel to see Trent.

And when he had informed his small mate that Trent was awake and asking to see her, she had fretted so much initially that Marcus had to make her sit down with her head between her knees for a few minutes to calm her breathing before she got out of her pajamas.

She was in a pair of dark grey leggings and black running shoes, wearing a heather blue t-shirt with the NASA logo on the front. He preferred her in dresses of course but ever since her injury she had dressed casually in loose fitting tops. Though she was surely able to go back to dresses now he understood that wearing a t-shirt would make her feel more normal… well, normal in the way her friend remembered her.

Castiel's hands were trembling and she fought to still them as they stopped in front of the office door and Marcus reached up to knock.

The sound of his knuckles on the door was loud in the deserted hallway and Castiel started when it took only half a second for the doorknob to turn and for Aro to be standing there – the door completely open but his body blocking the view inside the room.

Aro looked down at her seriously and the gravity in his expression made her stomach feel as if it had dropped down into her shoes. She was about to open her mouth to say something, she wasn't quite sure what though, when he smiled at her. It was a look so unguarded and encouraging that she couldn't doubt what it meant.

A voice – a voice that was as familiar to her as her own face in the mirror – rang out from behind Aro in an exclamation that could only be discerned as shock and joy.

"Cas!"

Her brother stepped aside and before she could even register what was happening, she was swept off her feet and yanked into a hug so tight it knocked the wind out of her.

The first thing her mind registered was the warmth of the person holding her and the frantic beating of the heart that she could feel in the chest pressed against hers.

Trent had always been tall and fit, but he felt positively soft to Castiel… soft and warm and human.

Her face was pressed into his shoulder and he smelled like body wash and axel grease and… and home.

Castiel's heart panged as her eyes filled with tears, overcome with feeling as Trent began to rock from side to side, pressing his face into her hair as he continued to hold her in the hug that kept her feet from touching the ground. She could hear him muttering into her hair. It took her a second to realize he was saying her name, over and over, like a prayer.

"Trent stop." Castiel said weakly, her voice watery with the tears that were threatening to come, "You're going to make me cry."

Trent let out a laugh that was mostly a gasp as he started to sob into her hair, overwhelmed by the sound of her voice; a voice he had been quite sure was gone forever.

Castiel felt something brush against her and moved her head enough to see that Aro and Marcus had both moved close, Marcus pressing his hand against her back as Aro carefully grasped Trent's upper arm, the two of them ushering Trent and herself into the privacy of the office but both unwilling to break them apart.

Castiel heard the slight thump as Aro closed the door and thankfully she was able to keep herself from crying even though Trent's tears were usually guaranteed to activate her own. She rubbed his back soothingly, one of her hands coming up to gently run though his hair, mimicking what Marcus always did for her when she was hurting or in need of comfort.

Trent made a small sound that Castiel wasn't sure was a laugh or a groan before he took a few deep breaths, his grip gradually loosening on her before he finally set her back on her feet, taking a step back but keeping his hands on her arms as he looked at her.

He was still tall, still muscular, and still blonde. His hair was disheveled, and his eyes and face were red from his brief episode of tears but other than that he looked exactly the same as Castiel remembered him. She wasn't sure why she had expected him to look different, it had only been months since she had seen him and not years.

Trent's expression mimicked her own, his eyes scanning her face as he looked for changes that weren't there, and he let out a small laugh as she smiled timidly at him.

"I promised myself I wasn't going to be emotional," His voice was thick as he released her arms and raised his hands to wipe at his wet cheeks, jumping slightly when Aro appeared next to him, holding out a handkerchief.

Trent only stared at it for a second before taking it with a grunt of thanks. Castiel found it a little funny to see Aro offering a handkerchief to Trent when she knew that all of her family had begun carrying around extras recently considering she was human, and therefore much more prone to leaking various fluids like tears and snot than they were, since they were unable to both cry or develop runny noses.

Aro seemed to know what she was thinking without touching her, but this really couldn't be considered strange since he had read her mind so frequently that he knew her better than she knew herself, and he grinned.

"Yes, having extras of these has proved to be rather useful for the various leaking humans I've had in my company as of late." Aro teased, waiving his hand airily as he went to take a seat in the loveseat he usually occupied with Sulpicia.

"And by various humans you mean me and now Trent?"

"Exactly!" He said cheerfully, motioning to where Marcus was standing by the door and then to an empty chair. "Now come sit down Marcus. We have much to discuss."

Marcus did, moving toward the couch and taking her hand as he went and towing her with him. Castiel was surprised when she felt her other hand grabbed by a set of warm fingers that she knew could only be Trent's. But even as she turned to look at him, she saw that he wasn't acting to stop Marcus from taking her. His expression only to clearly showed his unwillingness to have her too far away from him.

Aro sighed, "There's plenty of room on the couch for the three of you. Now will you all sit down?"

They did, Castiel sitting awkwardly in the middle of the couch with one hand outstretched on either side of her. She could feel Marcus gently rubbing patterns on the back of the hand he still held while Trent kept death grip on her fingers that had them rapidly going numb.

Feeling awkward, Castiel raised her eyebrows at Aro, silently begging him to start talking as the tension in the room seemed to mount.

But Aro did not turn to her; instead, he focused his penetrating red gaze on Trent who squeezed her fingers a little tighter in response.

She winced.

"Are there any more questions you have for me? There are important things we have to discuss, and I need you to be able to keep up or we'll be here all day."

Trent tensed minutely. Castiel saw him turn to look at her face from the corner of her eye before he looked back at Aro.

"No…" Trent hesitated, thinking, before shaking his head, "Vampires, laws, supernatural world, Castiel…"

She couldn't avoid looking at him then and was surprised to see he was smiling at her… but it was a little sad all the same. "Castiel got herself arrested for involving herself in the supernatural world she wasn't supposed to know about, and now she's uh-"

Trent's gaze moved past her to Marcus and Castiel felt heat rush to her ears. Obviously Aro had been literal when he had told her in the garage that he'd tell Trent everything.

"Uh – the rest isn't really important right now," Trent looked back at Aro, his grip on Castiel's hand never loosening, "You said Castiel sent your… guards… to come take me because my life was in danger. But I don't understand. If you guys were the ones who took Castiel in the first place, who could possibly be out there that's a risk to me or anyone in Ivy Peak? The most danger I've been in was a couple days ago when that big guy-,"

"Felix." Castiel interrupted out of habit and Trent gave her an exasperated look before rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, that big vampire came knocking on the door, barged into the house when I answered and choked me until I blacked out. I mean seriously! What's-," Trent broke off with a deep exhale. "Look is dad here too? Can you all just let me in on whatever big secret-,"

Castiel felt like her blood had turned to ice and her heart felt as if it was being squeezed. She had no idea what her expression was. When Trent finally looked over at her face as she stared confusedly at Aro, it made him gasp.

"Cas?" He said gently, finally letting go of her fingers, which throbbed with pain as the blood rushed back into them, to touch her shoulder, "Cas what's wrong?"

"He doesn't know?" Her lips felt numb as she spoke. Aro's serious expression didn't change as he shook his head.

"What don't I know?" Trent demanded, trying to make his expression harsh as he glanced at Aro, but failing, as Aro's eyes seemed to flash with hostility of their own. Obviously not liking the way Trent was speaking to him.

Trent turned his attention rapidly back to her. "What don't I know Cas?" He whispered, gentling his tone as he read the pain on her face.

"Trent…" She whispered back, pulling her left hand free of Marcus so she could bury her face in her palms, her elbows on her knees as she hunched over. Her hands blocking the sight of the room helped calm her as she mumbled her reply. "Trent… dad's dead."

Trent didn't respond right away. The room was quiet for nearly a minute before he answered her words, and his tone was shockingly soothing.

"No, he isn't." Trent cooed at her. She felt his hand rubbing her back, "I talked to him just the other day-,"

It was like a hundred volts of electricity shot through her. One second she was sitting with her head in her hands and the next she was on her feet, her hair flying around her as she turned rapidly to look down at her friend who was very clearly startled by her sudden wild movement.

"What!?"

Marcus and Aro both stood in unison but Castiel hardly noticed in the face of the overwhelming bloom of hope in her chest. Her cheeks felt flushed and she almost felt as if she wanted to run.

Trent stayed seated, staring up at her openmouthed as Marcus came to her side and rested a firm hand on her shoulder. His fingers pressing in as if he meant to restrain her.

"Easy." Marcus' deep voice was probably the only thing that could interrupt her racing thoughts and her eyes flicked up to his face to see that he wasn't looking down at her but across the room at Aro, "What's the meaning of this?"

Aro sighed, his gaze flicking to each of theirs in turn, making sure he had everyone's attention. "I know how confusing this all seems, but I believe I have answers to many of the questions we've all been asking the last few weeks." His head turned to Trent – the only one still sitting – and he sighed. "Perhaps it would help if you clarified one thing for us first. By talked to do you mean you saw Mr. Rodgers in person or…"

"No." Trent looked bemused, "I mean on the phone – I mean, I texted him about… I guess a week ago? I don't know, I'm feeling pretty confused now."

Castiel was hardly listening, barely registering any of what Trent was saying after the word text. Her heart felt like it had fallen into her shoes.

"Why did you do that?" Marcus hissed, a growl fighting its way up from his chest. Trent looked up at him alarmed and was relieved to see his ferocious gaze was trained on Aro and not himself, "Why did you let the boy get her hopes up like that?"

Aro growled back but it seemed to be instinct to because his expression was guilty. "It wasn't intentional. I don't know what he was going to say. I can't read minds from a distance."

"Stop!" Castiel's voice startled even her. It was toneless but somehow still pained, "Don't fight. Aro please… please just tell us whatever the hell is going on so we can go…"

Go. Castiel didn't know where it was she wanted to go. She just knew she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be alone, preferably so she could find a rock somewhere she could crawl under and wallow in misery.

Marcus let her shoulder go so he could put an arm around her, glaring at Aro over her head.

Aro turned his gaze back to Trent since he was the one who needed to be filled in the most of anyone in the room. "Several weeks back, we sent some of our guard to your town to retrieve some of Castiel's belongings – only small things that we didn't believe anyone would notice missing – but when they arrived at her home they came across the scent of one of our kind-,"

"The scent of?" Trent interrupted, his eyebrows raised, "What are you guys like... like bloodhounds or-," Trent brook off seeming to realize the irony in calling vampires bloodhounds.

Aro waved him off, "No, we're much better than bloodhounds. Someone will explain more about immortals to you later but-,"

Castiel interrupted him this time, "What, did you not explain vampires to him at all? How'd you get him to believe-,"

"Oh, he didn't believe a word I said until I showed him my skin in the sunlight and crushed one of my favorite glass paperweights. Even then I think he was skeptical of everything I told him until you walked in-,"

"Well can you blame me?", Trent interjected, looking indignant, "You can't just spring all that on someone and-,"

"Children!" Marcus raised his voice, waiting for everyone to look at him before nodding back to Aro who looked just as indignant as Trent had a moment before at being referred to as a child, "Continue."

Aro cleared his throat unnecessarily. "Our guard caught the scent of another one of our kind in your home and this is not a normal thing. The only time you find the scent of an immortal in the home of mortals is when those mortals have served as sustenance… except of course in very special circumstances." He amended thinking of the Cullen's.

"A brief search of the area led to the discovery of Castiel's father's firehouse jacket; the collar and arm of which were stained with his blood." Aro's eyes flickered to Castiel for a second whose face was pale but otherwise unchanged, before continuing, his attention back on Trent. "I'm… sorry, but the evidence indicates that he was fed on and presumably killed. We haven't been able to recover a body… but for our kind this is not uncommon. Most of us hide our kills very well."

Trent sagged forward, hiding his face in his hands as the words hit him. Castiel's head turned to him but she didn't move to comfort her friend. She seemed to be leaning very heavily into Marcus as if the conversation were weighing her down.

It probably was.

So Aro directed his next words at Marcus, knowing Castiel and Trent would still listen but deciding it was best to leave the two of them with no obligation to speak.

"A few months back, Trent observed as Castiel's father took a call from a man who claimed to have information on her whereabouts and left to meet with him after breakfast one morning. Trent hasn't spoken to him since, except, as we've already noted, through text messages. At first Trent only received one message from Castiel's father's cellphone and all it said was All is fine, possible lead on Castiel. I will call you when I know more, do not wait up for me, I will be traveling."

Aro paused and at this brief moment of silence Trent raised his head to stare at him, his expression deeply unsettled. "How-,"

Aro held up a hand, silencing him, and resumed speaking.

"Trent didn't hear from Castiel's father for weeks, even though he sent him multiple text messages a day. One day after work Trent stopped at the firehouse in Ivy peak to see if anyone there had spoken to Bryon and when he got there, he found out that Castiel's father hadn't shown up to work for weeks and that only a few days beforehand he had apparently dropped off a letter of resignation on his bosses' desk when no one was around to see him."

Aro paused but only because Castiel looked at him directly – white faced and shocked as if she wanted to say something. But she didn't speak so he continued.

"Trent did his best to look like this news hadn't surprised him. When he got home, he noticed that the door was unlocked, and the family room light was on. He expected that Castiel's father had come home but once he got inside, he realized the house was definitely empty. Castiel's bedroom door was open, though the crime scene tape was still up. All of the picture frames in the living room were empty and the stash of emergency money they usually kept in a jar in the pantry were gone."

"He called Castiel's father multiple times and didn't get an answer." Aro let out a long breath, nodding toward Trent who looked too thunderstruck to speak, "Then he sent a… rather rude and angry text to him and said he didn't know what was going on but he was going to call the police."

"And I did!" Trent's voice was hoarse and Castiel glanced toward him in concern to see that he had gone just as pale as she surely was, "Well, I started to at least. I sent that text and started calling the police when I heard my phone beep as it rang. I hung up and-,"

"And you received a text back." Aro said reasonably, "A message from Bryon Rodger's phone that I highly doubt came from the man himself, saying that he had stopped by the house and not to be alarmed, and that he had left his job so he could have he time to look for Castiel, and that..." He trailed off, his look pitying as he and Trent stared at each other.

"And that I needed to stop hounding him and knock it off with all the calling so he could focus on finding Cas and that he'd let me know when he found out more." Trent's tone was bitter, but it didn't mask the hurt he obviously felt. "And he never did get back in touch with me after that."

"Dad would never shut you out like that." Castiel whispered, and at her words Trent let out a laugh that was as bitter as his tone.

"Yeah, I realize that now. You don't need to tell me that I'm an idiot for thinking I was talking to dad the whole time. I knew I should have called the police the night he didn't come home."

"I don't think you're an idiot!" Castiel said in a wounded voice, her eyes shimmering. "I know that I would have thought it was him. I wouldn't have wanted to think anything had happened."

Marcus' hand had begun rubbing her back soothingly and she felt as her shoulders relaxed, the threat of tears passing again. Trent was staring at Aro and Aro didn't break eye contact with him even as he answered Marcus' next question.

"So, Trent…" Marcus trailed off.

"Had no part in the disappearance of Castiel's father. He's just as much of a victim here as Castiel." Aro confirmed, sighing, "And Caius was so sure he was right. He's going to be in such a foul mood once we tell him."

"What?" Trent's outraged voice was definitely too loud for the small quiet office, Castiel jumped back and stepped on Marcus' foot in surprise.

Marcus' hand grasped her elbow to steady her as she stumbled and Aro gave Trent a reproachful look.

"You thought I had something to do with…" Trent was breathing heavily, angry and hurt at the accusation, "You guys brought me here for my protection, but you thought that I had killed…" He spluttered incoherently for a moment, "I only just found out that he's… that he's…" Both of Trent's hands came up to fist in his hair and Castiel, already knowing what was about to happen, rushed to his side and threw her arms around his middle. She squeezed him tightly as his arms dropped around her at precisely the same moment, his face burying in her hair as he began to sob.

No one said anything. The room was quiet aside from the sound of Trent's ragged breathing and the shushing noises Castiel was making at him. Yes, it might have been Castiel's biological father who had been killed but that didn't mean he wasn't a father to Trent too.

"If it means anything," Aro said gently as Trent began to quiet, obviously not liking showing his weakness and pain in the presence of himself and his brother by the stiff way he was standing. "Neither Marcus nor I believed you responsible. We trust Castiel's judgment and as she believed you had nothing to do with it – so did we."

Trent didn't respond but his hand did come up to gently pat the back of Castiel's head, silently thanking her for her faith.

He stepped back a minute later, directing his red rimmed eyes up at the ceiling to avoid looking at the two vampire leaders who had just watched him cry like a bitch into his tiny friend's hair.

"So, tell me," Trent's voice was gruff. "Do I even want to know how you knew all that stuff? I didn't tell you anything about myself at all or anything that's been going on since Castiel went missing. This whole morning was just youtelling me that my best friend was alive and that… that vampires are apparently a thing and that I was at risk for being murdered if you didn't abduct me-,"

Castiel cut him off, her eyebrows raised at her raven-haired brother. "Did you not tell him?"

Aro grinned.

"Tell me what?" Trent said apprehensively, looking from Castiel to Aro and back again and when neither of them responded throwing a quick glance at Marcus who didn't look at him. "Tell me what?" He repeated.

"Aroooo!" Castiel groaned. "That's so rude! You know that right?"

Aro was utterly unashamed as he laughed, "Oh, but it's so fun to see their reactions! I haven't seen a nice candid reaction to my gift in a long time!"

"You warned me beforehand." She pointed out to which Aro shrugged.

"I was trying to make a good impression that time." He said simply.

Marcus started laughing then, unable to help himself at their banter, only causing Aro to look even more pleased with himself. He was still not used to the sound of his brother's laughter after so many millennia of emotionless from him and was glad that his antics could invoke the cheerful sound again.

"Okay, I feel like I'm the butt of the joke here." Trent grumbled and Castiel reached out to pat his arm soothingly. He looked over at her just in time to see her pupils shrinking back to a more natural size and realized he had just missed her having a vision. Before he could open his mouth to ask, Castiel pursed her lips and shook her head. But there was something about her eyes that hinted at her being… amused?

"What?" He complained, poking the side of her head, "What aren't you telling me Cas?"

Castiel stepped out of his reach and flopped down onto the sofa, "He's gonna freak out."

It took Trent a second to realize she wasn't speaking to him, but to the two vampires in the room. Both of whom looked like they were sharing a private joke.

"Why am I going to freak out?" He asked apprehensively.

Aro grinned at him like a shark, showing just enough teeth to be unsettling. Trent stepped back without thinking.

Aro seemed to try and tame his expression. His grin softened into a look that he hoped was placating. It was in his nature to be exuberant and slightly unnerving; Castiel had gotten used to it to the point she usually just rolled her eyes at him if he did anything she deemed as "creep-tacular", so he had forgotten that most of the time humans found him pretty disconcerting.

He really hadn't been intending to frighten Castiel's friend. Intimidate him a little bit yes, just enough to keep him respectful, but not frighten him outright.

"As you are aware, Castiel is gifted with a rather substantial psychic ability. I did not mention it before, but her talent is the entire reason she was bought to us for trial in the first place. Usually when there are secrecy breaches where mortals are involved we just send a guard to…" He was interrupted by Marcus clearing his throat, and his brother's stony expression made it perfectly clear that he didn't want the whole Castiel-could-have-been-accidentally-executed thing brought up. A quick glance at Trent's expression showed him it wasn't necessary to finish the sentence anyway. The boy had obviously caught on to what he was about to say.

Trent started to say "Wait so you guys know that she can-," but Aro waved a hand dismissively at him.

"Yes, yes we know Castiel is psychic. Did I forget to mention that this morning? Oh well. Anyway, she's not the only one who's gifted in this coven. Marcus and I also have talents of our own."

"So… you can see the future too?" Trent said uncertainly. The only response to his questions being a whisper of a sound he couldn't place right away; was it Marcus chuckling?

"No." Aro grinned when Castiel snorted at his one-word answer and spoke up from the couch.

"Oh, stop it Aro. I know you want to build up to this big dramatic reveal but can we not?" She looked up as Trent turned to her, "Aro can read minds but not just like… what's going through your head at the second. If he touches you, he sees every thought and every memory your mind has ever had. Did you two have an awkwardly long handshake earlier by chance?"

Trent's following freak out was exactly as Castiel had expected. There was a little bit of yelling as he stated his denial and the impossibility of such a thing, a lot of cursing, and now there was a fair bit of space between Aro and Trent as her friend went to stand over by the fireplace in an effort to be as far from Aro as he could in the space available.

"Impossible." Trent muttered over and over under his breath as Marcus took a seat on the sofa with Castiel again, playing with a lock of her hair as Aro stood with his hands folded behind his back in the center of the room looking pleased, as if his day was going perfectly so far.

Castiel just stayed quiet, giving Trent time to process things. He had been given a lot of information to digest in a comparatively short amount of time.

"Nope." Trent said loudly causing each of them to turn to look at him, only to see he was shaking his head. "Nope – not a thing. You guys must have hacked my phone or something because there's no way-,"

"You wet the bed until you were nine, you have an irrational fear of kangaroos and about a month ago you slept with a woman you met at a bar and were sub-sequentially punched in the face by her husband later that night. Of course, this being at no fault of your own, as she hadn't told you she was married and wasn't wearing a ring."

Castiel's hands were clamped over her mouth and Trent groaned sinking down to the floor. "Man, I really didn't want anyone to know about that. Not one of my proudest moments."

"Oh my god, you were beaten up?" Castiel's voice was slightly muffled by her hands before she lowered them. "Trent, I told you, you needed to stop picking up girls in bars-,"

"Hey, I was not beaten up!" Trent said indignantly. "I only got a black eye; the bouncer kicked the guy and his wife out before it could escalate."

"Alright that's enough." Aro sighed, not wanting to give the two of them the chance to really get into it. "Do you believe me now?" He asked Trent who nodded at him mutely.

There was a long moment of silence before Castiel asked curiously, "Did you really wet the bed until you were nine?"

Trent blushed and Aro laughed.


"I'm just saying," Trent complained, kicking a pebble along the alley they were walking in, "He really didn't have to do me like that, you know?"

Castiel and Trent were out walking the streets of Volterra. They weren't far from the city center and Castiel knew this because she could hear the fountain from the alley they were using as a shortcut.

It had only been a day since they had reunited in Aro's office and the sun was high in the sky as the two of them walked together. Castiel was wearing a new pair of prescription sunglasses Marcus had ordered for her – they were Oakley's with frames that molded close to her face to provide maximum protection to her eyes from the sun which had always been a little sensitive to light since they were blue. She had on plain skinny jeans and a t-shirt with the "All That" Logo on it. It was warm in Volterra today so thankfully a jacket wasn't necessary.

Trent was in jeans too, wearing a plain black t-shirt and sporting a pair of designer sunglasses Afton had loaned to Castiel for her friend to use.

"Trent, I keep telling you, he only ousted you because you didn't believe him." Castiel rolled her eyes as they stepped into the main plaza, looking around in an effort to decide where the two of them should get lunch. "And again, if you keep talking about it, all the guards will know."

He groaned, "Ugh, you mean they can really hear us from here? You weren't exaggerating?"

She shook her head as Trent started looking around the plaza; his eyes not only scanning the storefronts and side streets but also the rooftops in a way that was too obvious not to be noticed.

Castiel elbowed him in the ribs. "Knock it off Trent. You won't be able to see any of them. It's their job not to be noticed but I can assure you they're there."

Trent shivered, "Ugh it just gives me the creeps man, talk about eyes on the back of your head."

Castiel knew what he meant. Maybe it was just the fact that she knew Marcus and Aro had sent out double the number of guards who usually patrolled the city because she and Trent were out, or maybe it was just because it was pretty disconcerting to feel Afton's hand brush against her elbow every few minutes to remind her he was still there even though she couldn't see him.

Yeah, she hadn't quite gotten around to telling Trent too deeply about Afton. Last night she had mentioned her two personal bodyguards by name of course – she had even introduced Trent to Kemar who had looked at her friend with ill-disguised mistrust – but she thought telling Trent that her other guard, while much more friendly, could turn invisible might just cause him to go insane. He had been loaded with enough information and was, naturally, extremely weary of all the vampires in a way that Castiel was not.

But maybe that was just because she knew they weren't going to eat her and had her visions to back her up. Trent had no such extra sense for comfort.

She considered for a second telling Trent about Afton but decided against it. He probably wasn't going to react well to the news that an invisible vampire had always been no further than five feet from them since they got outside. She knew Afton was staying so close because he was the only one who could be close to them now since the sun was out.

"C'mon," Trent mumbled, indicating with his chin to a bench by the fountain and taking her hand to tow her along with him, "Let's sit down and talk."

It really was very smart of Trent to choose to sit by the fountain. The sound of the running water assured them that if they spoke quietly enough there was no way anyone would be able to overhear them – well no way any humanswould be able to overhear them that is.

The bench left enough room for three people to sit and while Trent sat on the left end, Castiel choose to sit in the middle. She was a little in his personal space, true, but she wanted to leave room for Afton to sit where there wasn't a danger of Trent accidentally touching him.

Castiel felt Afton brush against her as he sat, and thankfully Trent didn't comment on Castiel's choice to sit a little too close. He was probably figuring it was just so they could whisper to each other.

"So…" Trent began, leaning back and running a hand through his hair, "We really didn't get a lot of time to talk last night – I mean we did, but we didn't really get to the real stuff."

This was true. She and Trent hadn't really been separated since their reunion in Aro's office. After the initial explanation from Aro on everything that had been going on in Ivy Peak, he and Marcus had excused themselves to the throne room to brief the guard and Caius before trials started for the day. Meanwhile she and Trent had been left to wander the castle together. They didn't really wander much though, they only stopped at the kitchens to get food before hiding themselves away in Trent's rooms – which were actually her old rooms.

All they did was eat and talk; Castiel had turned the television on for background noise. Trent had a lot of questions, but they had all been about the ins and outs of living with vampires and all her responses had been met with great skepticism. Castiel had known that Trent wanted to ask about Marcus and about how she was doing but he hadn't seemed able to work up to it. The most he had done was assure her that he wasn't angry with her for having the Volturi take him in because it was the same thing he would have done if the situation was reversed. He even teased her about the fact that she hadn't chosen to save him from certain doom sooner, joking that while she'd taken her time deciding if she should save his life, he could have been vampire chow.

They had both fallen asleep on the couches in the living room of Trent's quarters, but she had woken up in Marcus' bed that morning. He must have come to get her last night and carried her to bed.

It seemed like Trent finally worked himself up to asking the questions he wasn't sure how to ask last night.

"The guy with the black hair, Aro, I know that he's one of the three leaders of the vampires and other… supernaturalthings." Trent said in a low whisper, leaning down toward her as he spoke. He didn't necessarily need to talk quite so quietly since the water of the fountain was pretty loud but at least he was taking the whole secrecy thing seriously. "And he told me yesterday, before I saw you, I mean, that you're… involved with his brother – but not real brother – Marcus."

Castiel was sure her ears had gone red at his words but tried not to appear too embarrassed as Trent studied her face with a level of gravity she wasn't used to from him as she nodded.

"Okay." He breathed, glancing over his shoulder quickly before leaning down so that his lips were nearly touching her ear and whispered, "Okay but first I have to know Castiel, before we get into anything else – is he hurting you? If he is, I can get you away from here. We'll figure out how to escape I-,"

He stopped talking when she put a hand on his arm and he drew back to study her astonished expression as her mind reeled – she hadn't been expecting that.

"Trent," She whispered, her voice tender. "Oh Trent, no. No, he's not hurting me, he'd never…" she trailed off as he let out a deep breath.

"Okay, okay good.", he was nodding to himself as he leaned back, "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be insulting but I just needed to know. That's part of the reason I wanted to be outside when I asked, in case we needed an escape route."

Cas smiled sadly, "It wouldn't have worked but I appreciate that you'd have tried."

He smiled back at her, "Of course I would have… anyway so now that the most important question is out of the way tell me – just what in the hell has been going on since they took you from Ivy Peak? I know a little bit, but I certainly don't know most of it."

She bit her lip, "It's a really long story-,"

Trent shrugged, leaning back further on the bench and stretching his legs out, "We've got time."

That they did. With a sigh, Castiel began to tell him everything he had missed. She told him every little thing she could remember from the moment Demetri and Felix appeared on the doorstep to her father's house, to the Russian Coven's visit, to Jane's attack, and back to her recent trip home with Marcus, Caius and the select guard members they had brought along.

Trent didn't interrupt her. There were a few moments where he opened his mouth to comment on something but firmly shut it at her sharp look as she had warned him that if he interrupted her, she might forget something.

The only times she stopped talking were the two times Trent had gotten up to get them food from one of the little eateries in the plaza. The first time he came back with sandwiches for lunch looking a little flustered, saying the girl at the counter had to get her boss to help cause she didn't speak English, and the second time he had gotten them soup and pasta in little paper bowls for dinner but was in a much better mood because the people at that restaurant did speak English. It was dark out now and definitely colder in the plaza than it had been when the sun was high. Castiel had her arms wrapped around herself for warmth, declining when Trent offered to put his arm around her if she was cold while she talked.

Because in all honesty Castiel was a little uncomfortable sitting so close to Trent and if the aching in the center of her chest was anything to go by it was because of her bond with Marcus.

When she did stop talking, it was quiet for a long moment while Trent finished digesting everything she had told him before he spoke.

"So, one of their allies almost accidentally killed you, a crazy child vampire guard actually tried to kill you, and now someone went after dad and we don't know who?"

Castiel nodded.

"Oh Cas," He whispered, throwing his arms around her in a sudden embrace.

Castiel felt all the hair on her arms stand up as Trent crushed her against his chest and her chest seemed to tighten painfully as the thought don't touch me ran unbidden through her mind.

"Trent let go!" She gasped and thankfully he did so immediately.

The first thing Trent noticed is that his friend's eyes had gone wide with alarm and she tensed like an animal about to bolt. He was confused at first but quickly remembered what she had told him about her new relationship with one of the vampire rulers, and he understood.

He raised his hands to his shoulders, palms out toward her. "Easy babe, my bad. I forgot about… about the uh, bond."

Cas nodded and her posture relaxed again.

"Man, this is some crazy shit, Cas. All of this happened because you made friends with some vamps while you were a teenager and Aro found out. It's some really unlucky shit that you got sick that week and weren't able to see any of this coming."

Castiel only shrugged at him, "It be like that sometimes."

He laughed.

"And now you're married and destined to become a vampire leader." Trent teased, stretching as Castiel snorted in reply.

"I'm not married Trent."

"You basically are." He argued, "That's what mates sound like to me – not to mention you being one of the rare imprint things-,"

"Imprint things?"

"Oh, you know what I mean." He waved a hand dismissively at her, "It's all cool, though I really hadn't expected your first boyfriend to be so… scary."

Castiel laughed, "Scary? Marcus isn't-,"

"Oh-ho-ho don't even try to pretend your boyfriend isn't scary!" Trent interrupted.

"You think all the vampires are scary!" Castiel accused in a slightly raised whisper.

"True." Trent amended before shaking his head, "But seriously, your boyfriend is even scarier than mister tall, dark and judgmental-"

"You mean Kemar?"

"Right, that's his name-,"

"Yes," A deep voice drawled from their right, causing them both to jump. Kemar had come strolling out into the nearly empty plaza, the lights from the dim streetlamps casting his face in strange shadows. "And mister tall, dark and judgmental is here to bring you both back inside."

Kemar's sharp red eyes flickered from Trent's pale face to Castiel, "You promised Master Marcus you'd be back before dusk. That was almost an hour ago."

Castiel stood, "Shit, I forgot-,"

"Try not to forget next time." Kemar snapped, "You know better than anyone that something is coming, and it isn't a good idea for you to be outside of the castle at night."

Castiel shared a look with Trent who was still sitting on the bench and it was obvious that they both understood what Kemar meant. Castiel hadn't left out the fact that the vampire who had killed her father was also blocking her sight and most likely traveling to Volterra very soon.

Although Trent had asked Castiel one question earlier that, for some reason, she still couldn't stop thinking about. When she had said there was a vampire interrupting her sight of the next few weeks, he had asked "Intentionally or no?"

What if whoever was coming didn't know they were blocking her? What if everything wasn't as malicious as it seemed?

The mystery vampire still killed dad. The unwelcome thought interrupted her musing and Castiel found she really didn't want to consider the idea that the mystery shield might not be a bad person.

"You may stay out if you wish." Kemar's attention had turned back to Trent while she had been thinking. "Afton will remain here with you."

Trent looked around blankly, not seeing anyone in the plaza besides himself, Castiel and Kemar.

"I haven't met Afton yet." Trent said slowly, "Where- GAH!"

Afton had decided at that precise moment to make himself visible to Trent, and Trent having been totally unprepared for a vampire to pop into existence on the bench next to him at barely two feet away, threw himself unceremoniously off the bench and onto the cobbled street.

Afton started to snicker, and Trent scrambled to his feet, heart pounding, to wheel on Castiel.

"Has he been there all day!?"

Trying to look apologetic even though she was fighting the urge to laugh Castiel nodded.

Trent ran both of his hands though his hair, "You'll be the death of me Castiel! I swear you will."

That did make her laugh.


By the time Castiel stumbled into Marcus' rooms it was nearly ten o'clock and the first thing she registered once inside wasn't Marcus pacing back and forth – as she had come to expect since he did that quite often when he was worried – but the fact that Marcus was standing behind his desk by the window, facing out through the open curtains into the dark town.

He was on the phone. It was only when Kemar shut the door behind her that he turned, his expression clearly showing his relief when he saw that it was her standing there.

The phone call must have been really important if he'd hardly noticed her enter. She mouthed the word Sorrybefore moving toward the bathroom – planning on taking a shower – and she only stopped when she saw Marcus shake his head, extending his free hand out to her and beckoning her to come.

As she was crossing the room Marcus answered a question the person on the other end had asked and she was shocked to hear that he was speaking what had to be either Chinese or Japanese. She wasn't very good with languages so she couldn't tell which.

It still surprised her sometimes to remember how old Marcus was and how much of history he had seen and how many languages he knew. Sometimes it made her feel like there was some insurmountable gap between them that she could never hope to leap, and she would always seem so small and inexperienced compared to him.

Even though he couldn't hear her thoughts, Marcus could still feel what she was feeling, and when she reached him, he stretched his arm out so he could cradle her face in his palm, his thumb stroking along her jaw soothingly.

Castiel could hear the soft sound of the voice on the other end of the phone and she could tell it was a woman as the speaker asked Marcus another question to which he responded with mostly unfamiliar words – the only word she recognized was her own name.

The voice on the other end seemed to get a little louder – excited almost – and Marcus' lips quirked up at the corners in a little grin at whatever the woman was saying.

He shook his head and sighed, still grinning. His response seemed to be slightly teasing before he uttered what was obviously a farewell, removing the phone from his ear and sliding his finger across the screen to end the call.

He tossed his phone gently onto the desk where it made a soft bump against the polished wood.

"That was one of our allies in China. One of the wives of the leaders of the Gansu coven. She was calling to arrange a possible visit to Volterra in the next year. Usually, they would call Aro, but she wished to interrogate me about the mortal imprint rumor says I have." Marcus laughed, drawing her close to his body so her chest was pressed against his, bending towards her so he could press his lips to hers for a short moment, "And she was rather disappointed when she heard you come into the room and I told her you couldn't speak with her-,"

"Why did you say that?" Castiel laughed as Marcus lifted her feet off the ground and set her on his desk, coming to stand between her legs as he began kissing across her jaw while she spoke, "I would have talked to her even if I don't know her."

"Her name is Mae and I think you'd like her very much, but you still wouldn't have been able to speak with her as she doesn't know English. I was teasing her before I hung up that I told her last time we saw each other that she'd need to pick up some languages from the western continent." His lips brushed her skin as he spoke and one of his hands came to knot in her hair so he could tilt her head back exposing her neck to him as he began to kiss it down from her jaw. She shivered when she felt his tongue touch the pulse-point at the base of her throat.

"Now why don't you tell me what upset you earlier. I felt your alarm about an hour ago and called Kemar to check on you… and then you were sad when you came in. What's the matter?" Marcus' hands folded behind her back as he spoke, and he pulled away from her throat so he could look down at her.

"Oh," Castiel blushed, "You didn't need to call Kemar. Trent just… got a little too close for a second."

Marcus raised one eyebrow, "Did he?"

"Not like that!" Castiel sighed exasperated, "He just hugged me when I wasn't expecting it. The bond's been a little sensitive all day and I just panicked a bit."

Marcus nodded humming his understanding of her words, "And how is the bond now?"

She couldn't help the small smile that come to her face, "It's fine now."

Marcus kissed her forehead, "Good. And what about those troublesome feelings when you came in?"

She glanced away, "It's nothing."

"Dearest." He said soothingly, his hand gently taking her chin and turning her face to look at him again, "Don't hide things from me. What's wrong?"

She shook her head minutely. It wasn't very easy to move her chin since his grasp was always so firm.

He sighed, "Oh well, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way."

"What?" Castiel said alarmed and he grinned at her before he lifted her – and then tossed her with perfect precision through the air.

She let out a cry of shock when she hit the bed, bouncing softly against the mattress as her head spun at the rush of motion that came with being thrown through the air. Marcus had tossed her clean across the room hardly jostling her at all when he did so.

Castiel didn't get the chance to sit up before Marcus was over her, crouching above her on the bed as he began tickling her.

Marcus, who was definitely having too much fun torturing her with laughter to stop anytime soon, ignored her shrieks and protests. She only ended up being saved by her desperate need to breathe and Marcus sat back on his heels to allow her to do so, grinning as she glared at him.

"That wasn't funny." She said out of breath.

"Well, I enjoyed myself" He grinned shamelessly before settling his face into a more serious expression, "Now will you tell me what is bothering you?"

She sighed but funnily enough the lighthearted tickling from the moment before had put her into a slightly better mood, and she mumbled to him about feeling insecure and inexperienced compared to him.

He listened to her earnestly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear when she finished and placing one finger under her chin to tilt her face up to his.

"There is no shame in being young Castiel." He said gently, "In time, you'll pick up just as many languages as I have and just as much knowledge. Just know that there has never been and will never be a moment that I think of you as stupid or lesser than then me. Don't let my age intimidate you Castiel, please."

She nodded, feeling immensely better than she had when she came in and she reached out to take Marcus' hands, drawing him toward her as she lay back on the bed again grinning shyly.

He groaned as he lay over her and began kissing her with enough passion to leave her breathless, one of his hands snaking up the back of her shirt to unclasp her bra.

There were three sharp knocks on the door and Castiel jumped when Marcus pulled back from her and said what sounded like a curse in Latin.

Hardly a second later the door to his rooms banged open and Caius stormed in, his black robs billowing out behind him as he strode to the center of the room. He glanced toward the bed when Castiel let out a startled squeak.

Caius let out a frustrated huff.

And Marcus, who was still hovering over Castiel, growled, "Excuse you."

"Excuse yourself." Caius snapped, obviously in a raging temper. "In case you forgot, there are some things we agreed to go over once the situation with Castiel's friend was sorted out. I was under the impression that you were going to bring her down to my office to meet with the Elite guards once she got back."

"I was." Marcus said smoothly, sitting up and angling his torso in such a way that Castiel could re-clasp her bra without Caius staring at her. "I got sidetracked. We would have come down shortly."

Caius snorted derisively; and he mumbled something that sounded rude under his breath before turning and storming from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Marcus sighed as he stood, reaching out a hand to his scarlet-faced mate.

Castiel slid off the bed after smoothing down her hair and straightening her shirt, taking his hand and allowing him to draw her from the room, following after Caius.


Castiel's head was pounding like it hadn't pounded in weeks. With her cheek pressed against the cool polished wood of the table she sighed, trying to block out all the talking vampires in the room as Marcus rubbed between her shoulders.

It had been a meeting very similar to the one they had just before the newborn attack in Mexico. The only things that were different was the topic of conversation and the fact that their Russian allies were not in attendance. The maps on the large bulletin board now showed an underground map of Volterra's tunnel system connected to the castle.

She had spent the last two hours shoving hard against the mental block that was interfering with her visions. Renata sat diligently on Aro's right side, drawing up a timeline for everything Castiel could see around the holes that took up random blocks of time in the next couple of weeks. The only problem was that this mystery vampire who was interfering with her sight seemed to be heavily intertwined with the Volturi's daily happenings when he or she arrived and therefore Castiel was having a real problem trying to nail anything down for certain.

"Maybe if you just focused a little harder on-," Caius began to say from across the table before he was interrupted by Castiel's frustrated voice.

"Maybe if you just shut up-,"

"Stop it you two." It was Athenadora, cutting off the argument they were bound to have without her interference, "Caius, Castiel is doing her best. And Castiel, don't goad Caius please."

There was a long moment of silence. All the guard's individual conversations and spoken contemplations had quieted when Castiel and Caius had been about to argue, and it was only broken when Castiel started to speak in an exhausted voice, still not lifting her head from the table or opening her eyes.

"I already told you, I can see the business trip Aro has to New York in two months, I can see the trip you're going to take with Athenadora this summer and I can even see Marcus and myself out somewhere with Kemar and Isabella Swan in the next few months. I don't think any of us are in any danger from this mystery shield. Our futures are fine."

"Why would Master Marcus and I be out of the castle with you and Isabella Swan?" It was Kemar's voice from somewhere across the room. Castiel didn't move her head to look at him as she sighed.

"Dude, I don't know. I'm just trying to get snippets of our futures to make sure we're all not dead. I don't really give much of a shit-,"

"Language!" Aro interjected but Castiel continued without pause.

"-about the why's of anything right now. I'm just trying to see the when's as that is what I'm good at… well at least what I was good at..."

Marcus' hand moved from its place at her back to gently pet her hair and she opened her exhausted eyes to look over at him, lifting her head slightly and feeling a pulse of pain through her skull in response to the movement.

He studied her expression measuredly for a moment, his thumb stroking gently across her cheek as she put her head back down and closed her eyes again.

"She has a headache and she's exhausted." Marcus said addressing the room as a whole as he stood. "We've gotten all the information we need. Let her rest now."

Some guards stood, understanding this was a dismissal, and others began collecting notebooks and papers they had brought along for note taking when someone cleared their throat, causing the whole room to still.

Sam stood looking self-conscious as everyone's heads turned towards him. Even Castiel lifted her head for a moment to send a tired look his way. Clearing your throat during a meeting was something Sam had been told to do if there was ever anything he felt needed to be said. The Masters didn't require any of the Elite guards to raise their hands to speak during meetings as they weren't school children and the Ancients had no desire to treat them like ones; and since immortals never had the necessity to clear their throats making the sound was just as good as saying, "Hey, I've got something I think you all might like to hear or consider."

Sam looked to Aro who inclined his head to him in a nonverbal permission to speak.

Sam directed his words to Marcus, and he stood with his back straight and his head slightly bowed in respect as he spoke.

"Pardon my interruption, but before we all leave here I think there is something we ought to try if Castiel is willing."

Castiel sat up straight at this, rubbing her eyes tiredly as Marcus' hand moved to rest on her shoulder.

"I understand what you wish to attempt Sam." Her mate's tone was measured as if he were holding back a lashing he wished to give to the young guard who he knew Castiel favored and thought of as a friend. "But she's not up for it-,"

"Up for what?" Castiel interrupted, looking from Marcus to Sam and back again. But the two were locked in an intense stare down and didn't turn to her.

She turned to Aro instead, "Up for what?"

Aro, thankfully, did answer her. "You don't usually ask guards if they are talented..." he began, stopping when Castiel snorted.

"Yeah, 'cause I think that's super rude but continue." She said, innocently smiling when Aro rolled his eyes at her.

"Sam is talented. His gift works as a type of… amplifier for other people's gifts. It isn't always incredibly strong. If he uses it too often the effect it has is weaker than if he uses it sporadically… but either way, it is effective."

Castiel turned to Sam who stopped his staring contest with Marcus to smile at her encouragingly. "I think together we might be able to blow a hole in this shield – at least temporarily. I haven't been helping amplify any gifts for over a month. I think I've got a lot of strength we can use."

She smiled back but before she could say, "Let's do it!" Marcus interrupted.

"Now hold on just a second." Marcus turned to look at both Aro and Caius in turn. "We've never attempted this on a human being before. Who knows the effect it could have?"

Castiel sighed as both of her brothers adapted looks that definitely indicated she was about to lose her shot of seeing the vampire who most likely had a part in her father's murder. She stood suddenly, straightening her back as everyone's attention focused back on her, and found that of all the faces in the room looking at her, the concerned expressions of her sisters were the hardest to look at. But maybe that was because she could see the way their eyes flickered to Marcus and understood that they weren't only worried for what might happen to her in attempting this but what would happen to her mate if something went wrong.

"I want to try." She said, trying to sound completely sure of herself and choosing to ignore everyone in the room except for Sam. "Has your gift ever hurt anyone before?"

He shook his head. "Never. But it is true that I've never done this with a human."

The only sounds as she pondered this where the sounds of the guards that had originally stood to leave resuming their seats. She noticed as Demetri and Felix shared a glance with each other that she couldn't decipher.

"Let her try." Aro said, his gaze training on Marcus. "Renata will go and fetch the doctor so he can stand by just incase."

Renata, who didn't need to be told twice, stood from her seat and flashed from the room, the candles in the candelabras on the wall flickering in the passing breeze from her flight.

Castiel was glad that this room was only lit by candles and that no one had chosen to turn on the lamps. The soft glow of the flames was definitely easier on her eyes in the face of the pounding headache she had.

"Fine." Marcus didn't sound pleased at all and Castiel felt a pang of unease as he stepped away from her and Sam came forward, walking slowing around the large circular table toward her.

Without really thinking about it, Castiel reached out through her bond to Marcus who had gone to stand about ten feet away with his arms folded across his chest by the bulletin board. She didn't like the idea of him being angry with her and liked it even less that he had walked away from her to leave her standing waiting for Sam to cross the room.

Marcus felt the tug near his heart and understood that when he had distanced himself from her – because if he hadn't there was no way he would have allowed Sam within five feet of her – that he had hurt her feelings. While his instincts told him what he should do was to take her in the protective embrace of his arms and reassure her, his mind was a little more rational of the current situation and he sent whatever soothing emotions he could to her through the bond, watching as her eyes unfocused momentarily and she swayed.

Sam had reached her than and took her elbow to steady her with a questioning look on his face.

"Easy Castiel." Marcus said lowly and her eyes seemed to refocus as she gave her head a little shake.

It was only the mated vampires in the room who had any idea what might have just happened between Castiel and Marcus, but still none of them had the full understand of what it was like to share emotions with an imprint. So, everyone except for Caius, Aro, and their wives shared slightly confused glances.

"Oh-kay," Sam let out a breath, letting go of her elbow. "Are you ready?"

She nodded.

"Now, where would you say your gift manifests most clearly?" He asked and Castiel gave him a bewildered look.

"Err… my head I guess?"

He nodded and Castiel figured this was probably the correct answer. She knew that if he had asked the same question of Aro, Aro would have said his palms.

Sam stepped closer to her then, so close that their chests were nearly touching, and raised his hands to gently rest his fingertips against her temples. Castiel wasn't sure how she felt about his body and face being so close to hers but didn't have much time to contemplate it as Sam said, "Are you ready?"

Castiel nodded and watched as the young guard shut his eyes, his fingers pressing a little more firmly into her temples.

Suddenly, it was as if electricity had been sent through her skull. It wasn't painful, but her head seemed to buzz with energy as if her very brain had begun to vibrate.

She shut her eyes and focused.

It was like being sunk down to her knees in mud and being told to walk a mile as she pushed against the white fog that was obscuring her vision. The resistance of this shield against her sight was incredible and Castiel used all the force she had left in her mind to shove against it, feeling like there was broken glass in her head as her headache worsened.

Unbeknownst to her, her hands had come up to cover Sam's, pressing his fingers more firmly into her own skull as she concentrated.

She could hear… talking – incredibly muffled talking that reminded her of that one time when she had been sedated by Arkos after getting so upset. This was encouraging to her and she only felt more excited as the voices began to sharpen and blobs of color began to appear and become clearer through the fog.

She shoved forward again with her mind and was unaware as Sam's teeth snapped together as the strain of their transfer of energy began to wear on him. Marcus and Aro both converged around the pair, who were completely unaware as they focused.

This time, the power that snapped from Sam's fingers and through Castiel's head did hurt and somehow Castiel knew that this was an indicator that Sam's gift had come to it's peak and that he was going to run out of steam fast.

Ignoring the pain that could now only be described as agony in her head, Castiel shoved against the shield one last time.

The image sharpened so much that Castiel was able to see where she was. She was on the dais in the throne room by Marcus' chair and guards surrounded her.

The image was still blurry like she was someone with very bad eyesight who had forgotten to put on their glasses, but she could pick out who was who…

Kemar and… Renata were in front of her. Afton's blurry form was to her right gripping her elbow and she could see Marcus in front of Kemar with Chelsea at his side.

She looked around and saw what were undoubtedly Aro and Caius standing in front of their thrones, Sulpicia and Athenadora behind them being shielded by their own guards.

Dark grey shapes that were surely their Elite guards in their cloaks lined the walls and movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

A small brown-haired figure had come to stand on her left. It might have been Alec but she couldn't be sure as he seemed blurrier than the others.

When Castiel looked towards the direction of the massive double doors to the throne room, she saw that it wasn't just Alec that had gotten blurrier – the whole room was going out of focus.

The doors began to open.

Suddenly, Castiel lost all grip on the vision. It was like a brick to the face as Sam used up the last of his stores of power and the shield mentally threw her back.

Castiel stumbled back from Sam, her head hurting so badly she felt nauseous, and was thankfully caught by two sets of hands before she fell onto her butt on the floor.

Aro and Marcus steadied her, and she watched as Sam slumped to the floor in what she originally thought of as a dead faint; but that was impossible as he was a vampire. The guards closest to him – Alec and a woman named Elaine – both stooped down to help Sam to his feet. When he was up, he looked more like a zombie than a vampire, his expression drawn and his eyes unfocused as he leaned heavily on Alec.

Castiel swayed and Marcus wasted no time in swinging her up from the floor and into his arms. Aro grasped her hand as she leaned her head into Marcus' shoulder and only released her when the door to the office opened and Renata entered with Arkos.

Arkos took one look around the room, his gaze settling on the half conscious Castiel and the exhausted Sam.

"Hospital wing. Both of you."


Arkos had given Castiel an IV, and through her IV he gave her some type of steroid, nausea medication, and Benadryl. The Benadryl was what had her out for the count though and she fell asleep listening to Arkos assuring Marcus that her headache would be mostly but still not completely gone by the time she woke up from her Benadryl induced nap and he would just give her some fluids in the meantime.

When she did wake up from her nap a couple of hours later, Castiel did feel immensely better than she had when Marcus brought her to the hospital wing. She was pleased when Arkos came over almost right away to remove the IV from her elbow – she had absorbed two liters of IV fluid while she was asleep and thankfully didn't need anything else administered.

"How are you feeling?" Marcus asked, brushing her hair back from her face as she rubbed her eyes.

"Tired." She said groggily, her voice thick with sleep. "What time is it?"

"It's time for you to go to bed." He answered with a small smile. "It's the middle of the night."

Castiel groaned and flopped back on her hospital bed curling up on her side and closing her eyes again.

"Come on now." Marcus laughed rubbing her arm as he stood from his chair, "You know you don't want to wake up here."

"Carry me?" Was her only response, her eyes opening halfway to look at him as his expression softened. He was used to carrying her – he did it all the time to get her from one part of the castle to the next and when she'd fall asleep in the library, but he wasn't used to her asking to be carried to bed – the innocence of the request was disarming.

"Of course." He whispered bending to lift her into his arms. He only turned once before he left the hospital wing to look at the only other occupied bed where Sam lay exhausted looking but otherwise alright as Arkos tended to him, laying out several bags of blood on the boy's bedside table.


Marcus was in a bad mood.

And it was because of this bad mood that he really had no patience for any of the day's trials. His temper didn't go unnoticed by his brothers who were used to him playing the mediator between the two of them and being the most level headed in his decision making at even the worst of times. Marcus made no effort to hide the fact that he couldn't care less about the two territory disputes and one case of a minor secrecy breach involving a small tribe in Africa hunting a coven of vampires who had been killing in their area. Of course the vampires were in no real danger from the tribe but they still had to dispatch a small group of guards to the area to control the situation.

It was more so the fact that Marcus' carelessness wasn't just boredom but outright irritation that caught his brothers' attention.

There was a small lull between cases because they were waiting for the arrival of two covens that had vendettas against each other because one member of the first coven killed the newborn member of the other. There was a bit of concern from other vampires in the area around the primary stomping ground of these two covens that things could escalate to a newborn war – definitely a very serious accusation that the Volturi couldn't ignore and therefore they sent out summons to both groups.

"Is Castiel out with her friend again today?" Caius asked his lips twitching as he tried to hide his smirk when Marcus growled lowly at him.

"Yes." The response was gruff and gave no indication that Marcus planned to elaborate any further.

Caius scoffed. "You aren't seriously jealous of that stupid mortal, are you?"

"Enough Caius." Aro said lightly lacing his fingers together under his chin. "You only don't like him because he wasn't the two-timing murderer you suspected he was, and we both know Marcus is only pouting because he can't monopolize Castiel's time anymore."

This was true and Marcus knew it was unfair to take out his frustration on his family and his people. Just as it would be unfair if he took out his temper on Trent.

He had gotten so used to being the main focus of Castiel's attentions since he had met her that now that he had to share her it wasn't sitting well with him. He was grumpy and jealous, and his attitude wasn't boding well for the future since Castiel's friend had only been with them for ten days now.

And when he was with Castiel, Marcus was much more possessive than usual. His instincts naturally chafed against the fact that Trent's scent would cling to her in a way that was only to be expected since they spent all their time together while Marcus was working. But Marcus knew his jealousy was unfounded. He watched the bond between Castiel and Trent enough to know that there wasn't anything romantic at all between them, there was not even the hint of past infatuations on either side. Their relationship was just like that of his to his sisters – strong, loyal, and innocent. Completely platonic.

He was only jealous of the time that he was losing with her, unhappy that he wouldn't be able to walk to the library in the middle of the day on one of his breaks to find her sitting in a chair expecting him or to have her come sit with them in the throne room and talk while there was a down period between cases.

"If it bothers you so much Marcus you should talk to her." Aro said lightly, relieved when Marcus expression showed that he was willing to be rational. "You know that matters of love and jealousy are not something Castiel picks up on easily so-,"

Aro paused as the doors to the room opened and the two covens they had been waiting for marched in, glaring at each other as they did so.

"Think about it." Aro continued quietly enough that only Marcus and Caius could hear him, "And try not to bite anyone's head off for the rest of the day."


When Castiel and Trent parted ways for the day, Trent heading down to the kitchens for a snack and Castiel to Marcus' rooms, Castiel's expression was vacant as Afton led her through the halls, her pupils wide as she focused on something he couldn't see.

Afton didn't ask what was up when she did come around, already at Marcus' door, figuring she was still trying to see through the mental block on her visions even though he didn't understand the slightly amused expression on her face.

Marcus was waiting for her when she arrived. He stood from behind his desk and held his hand out to her, which she crossed the room to take and allowed him to pull her into his arms before he sat again, placing her on his lap as he cradled her against him.

"Castiel." He murmured in greeting, kissing the top of her head.

She hummed back at him, tucking her head under his chin.

"I've been ignoring you, haven't I?"

Marcus' eyebrows rose in surprise as he pulled back to look at her. He had been trying to think of a way to bring up his jealousy of her friend and hadn't even considered the fact that she might have noticed already – not to mention that she would bring it up so quickly.

But of course she might have noticed. Just because she wasn't always aware of romantic feelings directed at her and currently had a shield interfering more and more with her visions every day, didn't mean she wasn't keeping some type of watch on him.

Because as much as he worried for her safety, he no longer believed that she didn't worry for his. She was probably watching him around the holes every day.

She smiled at him leaning forward to place a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm sorry, I've just been trying really hard to make sure Trent feels comfortable here, and to be frank I'm not having a lot of luck. He's really weary of all vampires. The only people I've seen him talk to besides myself are the human staff. He won't even talk to Afton."

Of course. Of course, she had been worrying about her friend's comfort level. It was only natural that humans avoided vampires – that's part of the reason why it was so hard for them to come by reliable human staff. And honestly if it hadn't been for the fact that Castiel had always been the focus of a vampire bond since her birth she wouldn't have grown up without that instinct to avoid them.

"I've missed you." She whispered as his fingers threaded through her hair, pulling her face up towards his so he could kiss her.

Marcus growled as her hands came to rest on his shoulders, adjusting her position so that her legs were on either side of his in his chair, his hands moving down to her hips so he could press her more firmly against him, his hips thrusting up against her as he grounded his erection into her core.

She let out a shaky breath and he growled again when she pulled back from him, not wanting to, but allowing her to detangle herself from his arms and stand.

He was about to ask her what was wrong when she slid down to her knees in front of his chair, her hands coming to rest on his belt as she looked up at him, her cheeks turning red with her blush.

Marcus groaned as one of her hands moved to squeeze him through his slacks, drinking in the image of her. He had fantasized about her giving him head at his desk before – maybe not his temporary work desk but really any desk was good enough when it came down to it.

She had only just gotten started; his fingers twisting in her hair as her warm mouth found his cock, when there was a hasty knock on the door and the door flew open admitting Trent and a scandalized looking Afton who certainly hadn't expected the boy to go barging into his master's rooms uninvited.

Castiel made a sound of shock and fell backward onto her butt while Marcus hastily tucked himself away and re-buttoned his pants and secured his belt. His expression was murderous as he stood glaring at his mate's friend and her guard as Castiel stayed on the floor, her expression mortified.

It was obvious she didn't plan to come out from behind the desk if she didn't have to. Afton already knew she was there and undoubtedly what they had been doing when Trent barged in.

The boy on the other hand seemed unaware. Marcus had moved so quickly Trent's eyes hadn't had the time to process what was going on. He only looked around confused when he didn't see his friend right away.

Trent felt extremely uneasy as the tension in the room mounted, both vampires staring at him – and one with a look of blatant hostility – as he glanced around in vain for Castiel.

"Err-," Trent had no idea what to say to the huge vampire glaring at him from across the room. He had to be like six and a half feet tall or something and he was built like a gladiator. He wasn't as muscly as the huge Felix, but he was close enough. He was by far one of the largest in this huge coven of vampires.

Most of his hair was pulled back into a bun to be kept out of his face and Trent couldn't understand how having longhair pulled back could possibly make a guy look more masculine – but here was the living… or un-living… proof right in front of him.

And it was clear by his expression that Castiel's boyfriend didn't like him – not one bit. The man clearly wanted nothing more than to deck him.

"Err, I was – I was uh…" Trent stammered like an idiot, the hair on his arms standing on end when Marcus let out a low growl.

"…Looking for Castiel." He got out the rest of the words in a rush, relieved when Marcus still didn't move towards him.

There was a beat of silence and then Castiel stood, and Trent realized she had been crouching behind the desk. Then she turned to face him with her cheeks extremely red and her eyes cast down.

Trent finally grasped what he had walked in on, and knew why Marcus was glaring at him like that.

"Oh – Oh my god!" Trent gasped, stepping back toward the door. "I'm so sorry! I'm just gonna-,"

And he darted from the room before anyone could say another word.

Afton stood until Marcus nodded curtly at him, dismissing him and allowing him to flee from this awkward situation as well.

Once the door was shut Marcus looked down at Castiel who looked like she'd never want to leave the room again.

"Ah, there has never been a moment that I longed for the sweet, sweet relief of death quite like a minute ago." She said stoically and Marcus let out a surprised laugh before wrapping his arms around her.


They were all lounging about in the throne room; Caius was talking quietly to Athenadora who was perched on his lap, Aro was paging through a large book while Sulpicia observed from over his shoulder as she leaned over the back of his throne, and Castiel leaned back against Marcus' legs bouncing a ball across the room to Trent while Renata, Demetri and Afton watched.

Other Elite guards were scattered around the room. Sam and Felix were building a massive tower of cards, Renata was playing Jenga with Chelsea, and Corin was flipping through a magazine. The atmosphere was very calm.

Alec, who was sitting on the steps in front of Caius perked up suddenly, his head tilting as he listened to something.

Castiel didn't bounce the ball back to Trent when it reached her again. Her gaze focused on Alec who was getting to his feet.

The mood in the room shifted, guards put down their books, Felix knocked down his house of cards and Renata hastily put away the Jenga game.

Castiel stood as Kemar converged on her, grasping her elbow as he pulled her back behind Marcus' throne. Afton motioned for Trent to follow after Castiel and Kemar and he did so hastily.

Aro stood, straightening his robes as everyone took more alert stances around the room, sharing a look with each of his brothers before turning to Castiel who was now standing against the wall behind his throne, her hand gripping Kemar's elbow very hard as she stared at something no one could see.

Aro drifted over to her, feeling the eyes watching him as he took the free hand that was hanging limply by her side.

There was a beat of silence as Aro watched what Castiel was seeing, and then he swore.

"What?" It was Caius who spoke first. "What does she see?"

Aro didn't answer. He only dropped Castiel's hand, gently patting the top of her head for a quick second before he drifted over to Marcus who leaned down only slightly as Aro whispered something so lowly in his ear that no one in the room could hear.

Marcus looked as if Aro had slapped him when he straightened up – his head turning to look at Castiel whose expression was unreadable.

The doors to the throne room opened just as Marcus turned back to face the front of the room. Aro resumed his place in front of his throne as two guards Castiel didn't know the name of, led in a woman with long, straight black hair.

She was tall, lean and as good looking as any supermodel… but this was to be expected since she was a vampire. Her irises were ruby red, and her almond shaped eyes were outlined by dark eyeliner that ended in sharp points at the corners. Her lips were painted a bloody burgundy, her teeth appearing startlingly white as she smiled, her gaze focused on Marcus.

"Marcus!" She sang, sauntering forward a few steps but stopping as the two guards who led her in moved to block her path.

She didn't appear even slightly fazed by this.

"Miranda." Marcus kept his tone neutral, even though the last thing he was, was pleased that she was here. If he had been human, his heart would have been pounding.

He was very aware of Castiel's heartbeat behind him. He wished they had time to get her out of the room but signaling to one of the guards to remove her now would draw Miranda's attention.

"It's been much too long." Miranda crooned, her hand coming to rest on her bosom, drawing attention to the fact that the short and tight red dress she was wearing was definitely a little low cut in the cleavage department. It was only a dress someone would wear when they wanted a man's – or woman's depending on preference – attentions. "I was starting to think you didn't want to see me! I've written so many times."

"That's because I wasn't interested in seeing you." Marcus replied, his tone still natural but with just the slightest bit of an edge to it.

Miranda laughed, "Oh you're so funny!"

"Yeah" Caius' lazy draw came from his throne. He had resumed his seat and was leaning back with a bored expression. "Marcus is a true comedian."

Miranda turned her smile on Caius. But before she could respond, Aro spoke.

"Don't pretend you are ignorant to the fact that you are not welcome here." Aro's voice was stern and it took a lot of control to not turn to the rustle of movement he heard against the back wall. Castiel had taken a step forward and was stopped by Trent and Kemar each grabbing one of her elbows. "What do you want Miranda?"

Miranda's smile fell slightly which everyone in the room who know her was satisfied to see.

"I only wished to stop by to see an old friend." Her expression became a mask of fake hurt, "And I was under the impression that this castle was open to any immortals that needed temporary lodging."

This was true; there were a few passages in one of the outer spreads of the castle's tunnel system that were set up like a hotel. A large number of bedrooms and bathrooms were available to any nomads who needed a place to stay temporarily on their travels and get much needed showers and new changes of clothes. It was free to stay in these rooms, and there was always a large supply of lightly used garments available if new clothing was needed since the lifestyle of nomads often lead to a lot of wear and tear.

In short, the Volturi never turned anyone away who needed a place to stay. The only catch was that these temporary guests weren't to enter the main castle for any reason that wasn't of high importance; and they would have to prove such a need was founded to the guards that patrolled the only entrance from those tunnels into the castle.

"If you need rooms you know where to go." Aro said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Why did you come here?"

This time Miranda's expression was one of genuine shock. "You can't possibly mean the guest lodgings… I'm not just some commoner-,"

"But you are," Marcus cut her off, his tone now blatantly unfriendly. "You are not a friend or ally of ours. You've done nothing to earn a place in our home."

Miranda's expression became a stony mask of indifference. But rather than respond to Marcus, her eyes shifted to the right looking behind Aro to where Trent and Castiel stood with Afton and Kemar. Now that the friendly pretenses were gone, she seemed to finally deem the human heartbeats in the room to be worth her notice.

"Oh! Well, this is a surprise. I hadn't realized you guys had let up on your no pet policy. But to allow them to hang out in the throne room with you…" Miranda shook her head. "Human's really are so filthy I wouldn't have thought it allowed."

"Well, it's really very fortunate they did let up on the policy though isn't it? Otherwise, how would you have gotten in?" Castiel said innocently, and there was a rustle of sound around the room as the guards either shared astounded looks with one another or stifled their laughter.

"Nice." Caius said under his breath, smirking. Aro shut his eyes as if praying for patience while Marcus, Athenadora, and Sulpicia didn't react at all.

Well, Marcus did react a little. His body shifted ever so slightly as if he were prepared to throw himself between Miranda and Castiel.

Miranda's expression did not change but here eyes did flash with unhidden hostility.

She stared at Castiel for a long moment and then her eyes strayed above her head to Trent's face.

She smiled at him the same way she smiled at Marcus when she came in.

"Oh, you are beautiful, aren't you?" She breathed flirtatiously, winking. "What's your name gorgeous?"

Some of the guards shared skeptical looks with one another, as if not believing that this woman who had come her obviously trying to find herself in Master Marcus' favor would really start flirting with a mortal right in front of him.

But all of the Masters saw through her game immediately. As if Marcus would really get jealous she was turning her attentions on someone else! He had been praying for such an outcome for centuries.

"Sorry," Trent said after a moment's pause with a slight inclination of his head, not loosening his grip on Castiel's arm. "But I'm not interested. I have a very strict policy about not sticking my dick in crazy."

The same rustle that had gone around the room when Castiel dragged Miranda happened again. This time both Felix and Corin couldn't quite disguise their whispered snorts of laughter.

"Why I never-," Miranda hissed in outrage, taking a step forward toward Trent.

Castiel moved her body so that she was standing in front of him and both guards who had initially escorted Miranda in stood shoulder to shoulder in front of her – blocking her path to the dais.

Kemar let go of Castiel's arm and positioned himself a few feet in front of both mortals, his arms lifting slightly in preparation to block her approach.

But Miranda didn't try to come any closer. She had stilled as her eyes locked on the Volturi Crest that had glinted in the sunlight streaming in through one of the high windows. The thick golden chain was too obvious to miss against Castiel's plain t-shirt and jeans ensemble. It was only Miranda's ignorance that kept her from noticing it before.

Everyone watched as Miranda's eyes took in the exquisite detailing of the crest, resting for a long moment on the sparkling red gem at the bottom point of the V before her eyes drifted to Marcus and settling on the matching counterpart to Castiel's necklace around his neck.

"Oh, my goodness!" Miranda laughed incredulously. The next look she threw at Castiel one of such contempt and disgust there was no way it couldn't be seen as insulting. "You're sleeping with mortals now? Come now Marcus you can do so much better-,"

"She's my mate." Marcus interrupted his expression as black as night. "And you will speak to her with respect or you will leave."

She laughed again. "Is that what you're telling her?" Miranda's cool smirk was back, her eyes twinkling with malice. "I don't see any mark. If she's really your mate, then why haven't you claimed her as such?"

"That's no business of yours."

Miranda winked. "Of course not, I get it now." Her expression only too clearly showed that no – she did not get it. She was obviously under the impression that Marcus was stringing along a little mortal girl as if she were some type of toy to be played with. It made a few of the vampires in attendance feel a little sick to the stomachs with the thought.

"Felix. Santiago." Aro snapped his fingers impatiently at them and they both flashed forward to stand on either side of Miranda. "Please escort our guest to the temporary lodging."

Each vampire nodded and reached for one of Miranda's arms, but she stepped back compliantly enough, inclining her head to Aro as she turned to leave, Felix and Santiago on her heals.

As she reached the doors, she turned her head once more to look at Marcus. "I'll be seeing you around."

"Don't count on it." Was Marcus only response as the doors shut behind her.

The room was quiet for a long time, tension thick in the air as everyone processed what just happened.

Trent let go of Castiel's arm at last and Kemar's posture relaxed.

Castiel was the first to break the silence.

"Well, she's a piece of work Marcus, I'll give you that."

Marcus looked shocked as he turned to her, trying to understand her small smile as she drifted forward away from the wall, coming to stand beside him as Trent followed.

"That wasn't supposed to…" He took a deep breath. "She isn't…"

Marcus was at a loss for what to say and he looked pleadingly over at his family for help.

Sulpicia came to his aid. "She didn't upset you, right, Castiel?", she asked gently, drifting over to stand with them and placing a hand on her shoulder. "No one has the right to be so unkind to you."

Castiel shrugged. "No, she didn't upset me. It's not the first time I've been around incredibly rude vampires you know."

And she really didn't seem bothered at all. To be honest she seemed kind of amused by the way her lips kept twitching at the corners and how her dimples shown on her cheeks.

"Castiel..." Caius said lowly, standing from his chair and looking over at her with a confused expression as he wrapped his arm around Athenadora's shoulders. "I'm not sure you're completely aware but I don't want it to come as a shock you if you find out-,"

"That Marcus slept with her?" Castiel interrupted, her eyebrows raised as she looked at each of her family members in turn. "I'm not stupid you know; it was super obvious they shared history-"

"Hardly." Marcus muttered under his breath and Castiel looked up at him with a grin.

"You looked so apprehensive when she came in Marcus." She snorted. "Like you were afraid of me. If only she didn't choose to come now." Castiel rubbed her temples. "I would have had much more forewarning to her coming if it weren't for this stupid shield-,"

"You aren't upset?" He interrupted, unable to conceal his surprise. He had imagined the fallout from this situation being much more catastrophic than it was but here his mate stood, completely at ease and unbothered by everything Miranda had said and implied in the very short time she had been in the room.

"No!" Castiel said insistently, swatting his arm. "I'm not going to stand here and hold every person you've ever slept with against you Marcus. I probably wasn't even born when you guys…" She trailed off.

"You weren't." He admitted, his feeling of relief leaving him slightly dazed.

Castiel stretched up on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Then don't worry about it Marcus. Really." She crossed to the other side of the room where Trent had been previously sitting before Miranda arrived and sat against the wall, pulling the small bouncy ball out of her pocket. "I think this situation made me realize that I'm not the jealous type."

And with that the tension in the room was broken. Everyone resumed their previous activities while Marcus watched Castiel and Trent bounce the ball back and forth with a smile.


Castiel and Trent sat together on the barstools at the kitchen island, eating the homemade baked mac and cheese they had convinced Emmanuel to make them for dinner.

The chef also prepared a meatloaf, steamed vegetables, and cheesecake for desert; so, Trent and Castiel were both feeling totally spoiled by the time they helped themselves to a second serving of everything, showering the cook with praise as he put away dishes. He waived off all of their complements but Castiel knew it meant a lot to him to be thanked so wholeheartedly for his cooking by the smile on his face as he bid the two of them goodnight and left the kitchen.

Kemar sat away from the two of them and the smell of the food in a chair in the far corner of the kitchen, playing a game on his phone and studiously ignoring them as they talked.

"So, I heard a rumor that the crazy chick tried to come into the main castle again." Trent said through a mouthful of meatloaf as Castiel looked at him with a grossed-out expression.

She sighed. "Yeah, she did. She's only been here four days and she's tried over a dozen times."

"Why is she so obsessed with your boyfriend again?"

Castiel shrugged. "Marcus told me he slept with her a long time ago and that apparently she thought that sleeping with him was her ticket to power. He was only in it for a one-night stand, but you can see she never quite lost hope."

"Yeah." Trent scoffed. "I could tell she was super entitled by the way she referred to other vampires as commoners." He made air quotations around the word.

She nodded her agreement, standing to help herself to more mac and cheese as Trent started talking again.

"But he doesn't have a lot of crazy ex's, right? I didn't like the way that chick looked at you." The obvious concern in his voice caused Castiel to set her plate on the counter and turn to him, folding her arms across her chest.

"No, I don't think so. We don't usually talk about his past… lovers… but he told me the day Miranda arrived that's she's a special case and the only one who's still around that tries to cause trouble every century or so." Trent didn't look convinced, so she tried to smile encouragingly. "None of Marcus' past affairs are going to be allowed near me Trent. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Still," He set down his fork which made a small ping against his empty plate. "I don't like the way she spoke to you."

"It isn't the first time someone's basically called me Marcus' human whore, and it won't be the last either. It's just how vampires are. I'll be a joke to them until I become one of them and when I do, they'll all start treating me like a person with feelings… I don't think I'm going to accept any of their apologies." Castiel hadn't expected to say any of that but it had all come out in an emotional rush she was helpless to stop.

Trent stared at her slightly open mouthed, but it was Kemar who spoke first.

"It's not worth getting bent out of shape about, Castiel." His deep voice drawled from the back of the kitchen as he slid his phone back into his pocket, locking eyes with her as he did so. "Human-vampire relations have always been a topic of controversy among our kind and if you're holding out hoping everyone will like you, you'll find yourself sorely disappointed. Rise above, be the bigger person now and in the end and just forget about them."

He paused, appraising her for a moment before continuing. "You kept a very cool head in the throne room that day and I couldn't tell she had upset you at all. While your comment about her being allowed in was, frankly, funny as fuck-," Castiel's eyes widened – she had never heard Kemar curse before. "Try to hold your temper back next time. Ignore the comments in the moment like you did with Jane."

It was… weird to hear Kemar talk like this. He was praising her and trying to give her advice on how to be a better future leader. It wasn't bad advice either. He was right to suggest keeping her emotions back in the moment, to only let them out with people it was safe to vent to. It made it so her feelings couldn't be used to manipulate her.

Castiel put her face in her hands, mumbling how she was going to check if trials were done for the day so she could go find Marcus.

It didn't go unnoticed when after hardly five seconds, Castiel dropped her hands and started forward with a look of horror on her face.

Trent stood immediately and Kemar cut across his path before he could round the island to Castiel, blocking his way to his friend.

Kemar grabbed her shoulders. "What is it?" h

His tone was sharp, his posture and expression all business as she gaped at him, and both Trent and Kemar watched as her pupils widened and shrunk multiple times in a row. Her face had gone almost completely white.

Kemar shook her once – not hard of course – but enough to get her to speak.

"It's- It's sooner than we expected. Aro and I were wrong. We got the timeline wrong." Castiel felt as if she were speaking through numb lips, too shocked to process fear.

"What? What timeline?" Kemar was frustrated that much was obvious in his tone. He looked as if he contemplated shaking her again but decided against it. He wasn't used to the time it took humans to articulate their thoughts.

"Gone." She breathed. "Everything's gone."

"Your sight?" It clicked with Trent before it clicked with Kemar and the guard glanced at him fleetingly before he understood the strange thing that had been happening with her eyes – she had been trying to see when there was nothing that could be seen.

"We thought we had a few more days." Castiel breathed, her eyes finally seeming to focus on Kemar's face. "We don't. The shield is here now. We have to warn the others-,"

Kemar let her shoulders go. "Both of you, do not leave this kitchen. I will send the first guards I see to come to your aid-,"

As he turned to go Castiel's hand lashed out, her fingers curling around his wrist and ignoring Trent as he tried to tell her to let Kemar leave.

"I'm coming."

"No." Kemar said shortly, reaching down to pry her fingers from his wrist.

"I have to!" She snapped and Kemar betrayed his own surprise by the way his eyes widened momentarily when he tried to tame his expression. "I have a right to be there."

"No-,"

"I'm not asking you!" Castiel almost shouted. "I'm ordering you. I'm coming with you and it is not your decision to tell me I can't!"

The room was so silent Trent swore he could hear a pin drop as Castiel and her guard stared each other down. He was about to speak, to try and talk some reason into his friend when Kemar shocked him by nodding at Castiel, turning his back to her and crouching down slightly so she could climb on.

Trent could only stare as she scrambled onto his back and hardly had time to nod at her when she asked him to stay in the kitchen before, she and Kemar vanished.


Castiel and Kemar ended up outside of the throne room doors just as Felix and Demetri exited dragging a snarling vampire who was bound in the strange white shackles she had only seen a couple of times attached to one of the beds in the hospital wing.

Both guards turned to look at them in surprise as Kemar flashed through the slim opening in the door as it was still swinging shut.

Kemar skidded to a halt in the center of the throne room as his running leap left him slightly off balance due to the added weight he was unaccustomed to having on his back. All three of the masters stood immediately when Castiel slid off his back, their expressions showing their alarm at the sudden appearance of the two of them.

It was obvious by Castiel's expression that she was shaken, so Marcus didn't bother approaching her at a human pace and instead just flashed immediately to her side taking her face in his hands as Aro and Caius hurried over to them.

Caius began demanding an explanation right away which Kemar was quick to provide as Aro reached out and took the hand that Castiel held out to him with an aura of panic, although her eyes didn't leave Marcus' face.

All the guards in the room listened to Kemar with rapt attention, each of them adjusting their positions around the room to be in the best places for a strategic defensive attack if necessary. Renata, Afton and Chelsea each came forward at Marcus' beckoning as he walked backward toward the dais towing his mate along with him.

Marcus positioned Castiel against the back wall between his and Aro's thrones, Afton on one side of her and Renata on the other, each of them holding one of her hands; prepared to hide and shield her at a moment's notice. Chelsea came to stand besides him, her expression tense but focused as she stared at the doors as if expecting them to be blown open by a grenade.

Aro walked slowly back to his throne, resuming his seat with Alec on left side. Caius went back to his throne as well, Corin and Santiago taking up place on either side of him.

Marcus heard as Corin asked if she should go get the wives, and Caius' gruff denial in response. Not one of them wanted to involve Athenadora and Sulpicia in the face of an unknown threat, and they certainly didn't want Castiel there either. He couldn't pretend he wasn't angry that she had ordered Kemar to bring her.

Marcus' heart seemed to clench painfully when he heard Aro whisper to Alec that his first concern should be Castiel's safety – above all he was to make sure Castiel was protected before worrying about himself, Caius or Marcus. His love for his brother could mount no higher than it did in that moment.

They all waited in tense silence for a long time. Twenty minutes must have passed before anything happened at all – and the first thing that happened was a quick four-tap knock that the guard used to alert the masters that they were about to bring in a guest before the doors opened.

It was only in the moment before the door opened that Castiel realized that Eleazar was standing with two other guards to the left of the door. She hadn't noticed before because she had forgotten her glasses in the kitchen and everyone's face across the room was slightly blurry. Afton gripped her hand more firmly and she suddenly felt as if she had been doused in ice water.

She shivered once looking over at Afton only to see that he wasn't there even though his hand still held hers firmly. One glance down to look at her own hand showed her what the cold feeling had indicated.

Afton had made her invisible too.

The doors to the throne room opened wide and Demetri and Felix entered with Ajmer in their wake.

To say she was surprised was an understatement. Castiel had been expecting Ajmer to some extent of course; she had that vision of him weeks ago that involved her being absolutely furious with him though she had no idea why. But she hadn't been expecting to see her friend now as they waited so anxiously for the arrival of this mystery shield.

"Ajmer." Aro breathed. His surprise showing in his voice as the nomad came to stand before the dais. "This is a surprise indeed. You did not inform anyone you were coming for a visit."

Ajmer inclined his head. "I know, my apologies for arriving unannounced but I've had my hands full as of late." Ajmer's eyes scanned the room, as if looking for someone before he said. "I was hoping to speak to Castiel, and I thought she would be here."

Castiel's heart skipped a beat; affection for her friend for coming to see her.

Aro shared a sideways glance with Marcus who gave a small nod.

"Afton." Marcus said simply and this time Castiel felt a hot sensation trickling over her skin, as if she had just stepped into a sauna.

She knew she was visible again as Ajmer's eyes flashed to where she was standing. The shock of her appearing out of thin air was obvious on his face. Afton was a very good shield indeed – he was able to not only bock her from sight but also block the sound of her heartbeat and breathing along with the scent of her blood, and the sudden arrival of all of these things would be enough to shock anyone.

Ajmer gaped at her as she walked slowly forward, smiling at him as Renata and Afton followed a step behind. "Hi Ajmer."

"Castiel?" He breathed, her name coming out as if it were a question. She stopped at the top of the steps between Aro and Marcus' thrones, unaware that each of them, including Caius, had stood as she approached her nomadic friend.

"In the flesh." She teased, her smile faltering when Ajmer continued to stare at her – his expression slowing taking on a look of alarm and even… fear?

"But… but you're…" Ajmer stepped back from her.

Castiel stopped smiling now, her gaze falling to her crest, assuming this was what had upset him.

She glanced over at Marcus who was staring at Kemar with an expression of complete distrust.

"Y-yeah…" She stammered, trying not to be hurt by her friend's retreat from her. Did he believe that she was some kind of monster for joining the Volturi? She knew the rumors of them weren't always good, but they were just rumors! Surely Ajmer couldn't take them so seriously? She thought he respected Aro at the very least. She knew her raven-haired brother had not only spared his life when he was young but helped Ajmer find the resources he needed to become a functioning member of the supernatural world. "I know it's shocking that I'm with Mar-"

"You're still human?" Ajmer breathed, cutting her off mid-sentence.

She paused uncertainly, truly confused now, her head tilting as she looked at him. "Yes? Of course I am. When haven't I been-,"

"You weren't supposed to be!" Ajmer burst out suddenly, causing her to jump over a foot back unconsciously. She bumped directly into Alec who moved in front of her as Ajmer's hands came to fist in his hair.

It became obvious very fast that Ajmer was having some type of mental breakdown and he began muttering under his breath. "Not good – not how this was supposed to happen. This is bad. Someone has to go stop-,"

"Ajmer," Aro said loudly, walking down the steps toward the distraught vampire as Alec walked backward toward Marcus, Castiel remaining behind him the whole time. Once she was at Marcus' side her mate grabbed her, pushing her behind him protectively as Alec went to follow after Aro. "Take a deep breath. What is wrong?"

Aro was so calm. Ajmer stared at him with wild eyes and the guard around the room tensed as Aro stopped in front of this vampire who could very well be deranged and attack at any second.

"I had the best intentions." Ajmer breathed, staring intensely at Aro's face. "I was only trying to fix what I had done – my intentions were good."

"I hear the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Caius said darkly from the other side of the dais. Ajmer glanced over at him with uncomprehending eyes.

"My friend you are not making sense." Aro said gently, holding his hand out to Ajmer, palm up. "Perhaps you can share with me what has got you so distressed?"

Aro's voice was like silk, smooth and completely unaggressive – disarming to the distraught vampire before him. This was why Aro was so good at his job. He was burning with curiosity as to why Ajmer getting his wish to see his friend was so upsetting, and he was suspicious as to what could be causing Ajmer to look at Castiel with such guilt in his eyes.

Ajmer untangled one hand from his dark hair and rest his palm against Aro's.

Aro clasped Ajmer's hand in both of his as the flood of memories hit him, and he got all the answers, to all of the questions that had been plaguing his family for months.

Time seemed at a standstill as Aro let go of Ajmer's hand, drifting back toward the stairs and up the dais and not once breaking eye contact with the nomad.

"Tell her." Aro's voice was bleak, the words an order to the nomad whose expression looked as if Aro had told him to light himself on fire.

"Tell her!" Aro repeated, inclining his head to where Castiel was peaking out from under Marcus' arm. "Tell her what you did."

Ajmer looked over at her with an expression like a mortally wounded man.

"I'm sorry." Ajmer whispered but he spoke just loudly enough for Castiel to hear it. "I thought I was doing the right thing. I turned you in and I didn't mean to."

"Ajmer." Castiel said softly, swallowing hard. "I'm not angry about that. It's fine. Really-,"

"You don't understand.", Ajmer groaned. "I thought you were immortal now. I thought you were a newborn. I thought-,"

"You thought wrong." Aro said darkly and Ajmer looked over at him pleadingly.

"I didn't break any laws. I was trying to fix what I had done."

"I'm aware." Aro spat. "Now tell her what you've done. Tell her what you did to her family."

Castiel felt like the floor was sinking away, Aro's words replaying over and over in her head. Tell her what you did to her family.

Her eyes filled with tears and a feeling of betrayal unlike anything she had ever felt before hit her like a ton of bricks.

"I was trying to fix things!" Ajmer spoke quickly looking horrified at the expression on her face. "I thought that you were a newborn. I thought that maybe after you'd past your newborn year you'd want to make a new life for yourself. I knew the only thing you cared about more than any other was your family. You wouldn't have been able to see them again unless – unless certain arrangements were made. I wanted to give things back to you, not take them away. You have to understand."

And Castiel did understand, and it only made her heart hurt even more.

"You killed my father." The words came out like acid from her throat and Castiel felt the room spin, her stomach turning as if she was going to be sick.

"I almost did!" Ajmer said quickly, holding his hands out to her in a silent plea. "I almost couldn't stop. It took everything I had to stop the bleeding."

These words took residence in Castiel's brain slowly and Castiel's hands came up to grab the back of Marcus' robes as the edges of her vision darkened. Surely, she was about to faint.

"What are you saying?" Castiel asked but she already understood. She understood everything just as clearly as if she had been the one to read Ajmer's mind.

And she knew, without a fraction of a doubt, just who the mystery shield was.

Because who else could be gifted with a talent so powerful it could keep her out than the very person who was responsible for the talent of her own?

Yelling could be heard from outside the double doors, Castiel tried to move around Marcus only to be stopped by her mate wrapping his arms around her torso, her back against his chest as he lifted her feet off the ground. Aro was yelling too – yelling things like "Keep the doors closed", ordering some of the guards to apprehend Ajmer, ignoring her yells as Marcus carried her hurriedly to the door behind the thrones to remove her from the room.

The doors to the throne room crashed open with such force that they banged against the walls. Guards swarmed forward to tackle the person who had made such a dramatic entry. The only thing Castiel heard as she was carried bodily out of the room through the back door, her vision darkening as she began to faint, was her name being called out by a voice that was both painfully familiar and heartbreakingly alien.

"CASTIEL!"

"Dad?" she whispered, and the world went black.


Revised January 24th, 2021

(60 Pages, 25,250 Words)