Caius seems genuinely surprised that I have returned.
Every opportunity to flee, and yet here you are. Scared of Demetri's skill?
I don't give him the satisfaction of looking in his direction, concentrating instead on Sarah's weakened form as Felix dumps her unceremoniously at Aro's feet. Her dirty blond hair is lank, and clinging to her skin with sweat. Still lost in the grip of Alec's gift, she barely breathes, her mind a blank slate.
Aro congratulates Jane on the successful completion of our task. She beams at his praise, and it makes me realize that for all her centuries of living, she is still a very young girl at heart. The thought of Aro as any kind of father figure makes my stomach turn.
Being back in the Grand Hall feels cloying, but being back around Chelsea results in apathy cloaking me like a blanket. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I know that I should be appalled at myself. Carrying out the will of the Volturi so readily; killing the young vampire in Scotland. Bringing this poor woman back to Aro. My decisions feel muddled, riddled with second-guesses. I feel like I am trying to do the right thing, but I'm losing sight of what the right thing is any more.
I try to conjure up something to cling to, settling on the way Bella looked the night of her prom. Her face was the most divine contradiction: so beautiful, and so furious with me for misleading her about my plans for the evening. I think about the heat of her body under my hands as we danced. It is just enough. I tune out Aro's pompous, meandering pronouncements as he lays out the crimes Sarah is supposedly guilty of.
"Edward," he snaps, and I flick my eyes to his with a start. "When Alec releases Sarah's mind, she will be free to speak. If rumors of her gift are correct, she may then be able to convince any of us here of anything."
I give a curt nod. I have no idea why he is addressing me.
"You will tell us all if her thoughts are not aligned with her words."
I concentrate on keeping my expression as neutral as possible, even as my mind races. If Aro wants me to vouch for Sarah, he clearly believes in her gift, and thinks it possible that she will convince him not to touch her, whether now or in the future. He doesn't believe himself immune to her power, which makes it an immensely dangerous move on his part to bring her into his midst. I let my mind range around the room. The Guard is largely disinterested. They have seen newcomers come and go for decades, and they appear to be used to Aro's desire to collect new toys. Alec's mind is solely focused on keeping Sarah under control. Jane's emotions are mixed: suspicious of Sarah, but ultimately unconvinced that her power could be anything to rival her own. Marcus is paying absolutely no attention at all. Caius, on the other hand, is watching with keen interest. He wanted Sarah killed in the field. I see, now, that he and Aro argued at length over this. But just as Caius' discontent starts to rise again, Chelsea makes a slight move toward the podium, and his mind softens back into something more akin to mere contempt.
Aro is staring at Sarah, and his mind is a carefully schooled facade. He is picturing her alongside us all, dressed in the customary robes of the Guard, her red eyes bright with devotion to him and to his cause. This picture seems aimed squarely at me, because it doesn't waver and I can't access anything behind it.
I step toward Sarah, kneeling beside her pale form. Her face seems peaceful, but her clothes are damp and dirty from our run through the countryside. It is hard to guess at her age. She seems older than Rosalie, but not by much.
"What makes you think Edward will tell you the truth?" Caius' voice rings out, too loud in the hushed reverence of the Hall. Aro freezes, turning abruptly to his brother with barely masked irritation.
"Edward has spoken the truth the entire time he has been here," Aro sneers. "He has kept his word despite countless opportunities to break it. Even Jane's report of this recent journey further afield finds no fault with Edward's performance." His tone is jesting, but his thoughts are anything but. The shielding vision he has been maintaining for my benefit slips briefly as his anger flares beneath the surface. I'm staggered to realize he actually believes what he is saying. Not that he trusts me, exactly, but that in his arrogance he assumes I have come to see things his way. That there would be no reason for me to leave any more. That the pinnacle of any vampire's existence would be to join the Guard.
And something else. Something darker, a flicker of a memory long buried. Surfacing for only the briefest heartbeat. No reason to leave. No reason for anyone to leave.
And then it disappears. Just the returning picture of Sarah, her dark robes swirling about her ankles, her features flush with adoration, commitment and purpose.
Caius stares at his brother, but says nothing. Whatever battle of wills has taken place between them on this point will not be revisited.
Aro turns to me, arching an eyebrow in an unspoken question.
I nod, looking only at him, refusing to acknowledge Caius' apparently quelled insubordination. "I'm ready."
Aro gestures at Alec, who releases Sarah's mind immediately. She gasps in pain and shock, sitting bolt upright. I place a hand on her arm to try and calm her, as she stares around wildly, breathing heavily in disorientation and fear.
"Sarah, my name is Edward. You are in Volterra. Do you understand me?" She clutches at my hand, her mind racing and her eyes whipping around the room. Her thoughts are a jumble, the only constant being images of Matthew - her creator, her father. I want to be able to calm her, to offer her some reassurance. I would give anything for Jasper to be here to ease her suffering.
"Sarah." Aro has drawn himself up to his full height. Peering down at us from his elevated position, he is like something out of a nightmare. His unnatural skin looks ghostly, and his eyes nothing but calculating and evil. "You have been found guilty of breaking our law. Your companions have already been sentenced, and that sentence carried out."
Sarah sobs and slumps against me, all of the nervous energy draining out of her in an instant. Her eyes are dark and dull. She needs to feed.
Aro continues without emotion. "You have a talent that we think may be useful to us. We will commute your sentence if you pledge your allegiance to this family and join the Guard. If you do not wish to do so, the law will claim you now."
I look down at her crumpled form. I see so much of my own reaction when I believed Bella dead. It's like a light has gone out within her. She is turning over Aro's offer in her mind, but death seems like a relief to her in this moment. Her grief rolls off her in waves.
I should let her go. I should let her slip from the invisible shackles of this room, this horrific company of devils. Maybe I am wrong about our eternal lives, and Matthew waits for her somewhere. But I can't face any more death. Not today.
"Choose to live," I whisper into her hair. The words barely form, but nothing is out of earshot at this range to a vampire, and a wide smile spreads across Aro's face. I feel sick. I don't want her dead, but I haven't done it to please him.
Sarah's mind is weary and full of doubt, but even she doesn't wish to give him any satisfaction. I sense her courage returning, spurred on by a deep-seated anger toward Aro that rivals only my own. She struggles up onto her elbows, and I help her to her feet. She is grateful, but still suspicious of my motives.
Her voice is hoarse as she speaks. "I am grateful for your mercy, Lord Aro. I swear my allegiance to your family. I will never betray you, and will always do exactly as you ask. You will never have reason to question my loyalty."
Aro and Caius both appear to relax visibly.
In her mind, all I hear is this: You and every other in this room will suffer at my hands for Matthew's death. I will not leave Volterra until every one of you is dead.
I turn to look at Aro, preparing to attempt to lie more convincingly than I have in a century.
"Edward," he says, with a vapid smile. "Perhaps you could get Sarah settled in before you hunt."
It is all I can do not to suck in a breath in surprise. I nod, and turn to guide Sarah from the room as quickly as I can, before Aro can change his mind, or worse, touch either of us. I am overwhelmed. Sarah's gift, stronger than any of them recognized, has meant he hasn't even bothered to verify her story. Can that last? Will he come to check up on us? To quiz me later about her thoughts?
Gianna is waiting in the lobby with shopping bags. "These are for the girl," she says, in her heavily accented English. "I have made up the suite down from yours." She follows us down the corridor, heels clicking on the stone.
I help Sarah into an overstuffed armchair, and Gianna puts the clothes on the bed.
"Should I stay? I could help her bathe?"
Gianna's desire to help is honest enough, even if her ultimate motivation makes my skin crawl.
"I can bathe myself, thank you." Sarah's voice is dull, but Gianna immediately nods and leaves us to it, closing the heavy door behind her.
Sarah turns to look at me. "Edward, you can leave me too. I am very happy to be here and to be one of you." There is absolutely no emotion in the words; she is making no effort at all. Her mind, on the other hand, screams the opposite.
I sigh and run a hand through my hair as I sink to a chair opposite her. "That won't work on me."
She looks startled, and immediately fearful. "I...I don't know what you mean..."
"Sarah, my gift ...I read minds. I can hear your thoughts before you speak. I think...I think that means that while your words would normally convince me, they don't, because I can hear the contradiction."
She swallows heavily, eyeing the door, thinking about screaming for help. Wondering how much worse her situation has just become. Then a thought stops her. Why didn't you tell them? Why didn't you reveal me?
The million dollar question. Not turning Sarah in could very quickly prove to be my downfall.
"I hate them, too," I whisper quietly.
She gasps.
"And if I'm ever getting out of here, it's only going to be with your help."