He could've been an angel. Just walked straight up to the front gates of Heaven, knocked, and God would've let him right in. No tests, no background check, not even angel school.

He might've been one, had the world not gotten to him first.

Behind the facade of purity and youth, a predator laid in wait. Alec had hardly moved, but there was an emanating aura of sadistic dominance that I'd never seen in him before. The empty glare that told his prey she wasn't worth the gum on his Louis Vuitton Richelieu's — yes. The bored expression that gave the impression that her attempt was as pointless as an injured gazelle under a lion's paw — sure. But this Alec, from his princely debriefs after missions to the fury inspired by my bad decisions, I don't think even Zafir, brainwashed and wild, would have been able to recover from this Alec.

I almost felt guilty. Like I should have somehow warned her. I'd convinced myself that Alec wouldn't react to anything this time, but apparently, I was wrong. While the guys had seemed familiar with Issa, I highly doubted the same relationship, if any, existed between her and the twins. There was nothing to break but her will, to take the one thing she could not live without. Then, all of a sudden she got lucky. He lost interest and she was freed, all in a matter of seconds.

As Libby tried to bring Issa out of shock, Huda showed no concern, her focus instead moving from Alec and me and then to Aro. Her disbelief was the first genuine emotion she'd shown and it turned itself into a forced smile that didn't reach her cheekbones, let alone her eyes.

"Congratulations to your boy, Aro." She didn't address Alec, who had returned to dutifully focusing on Aro as if nothing had happened. "A special human, indeed." Although there was no ill-intent in her words, which were filled more with self-preservation, there was something about it that seemed ominous. Something about the knowledge she had just acquired changed her whole game plan. Not only did she know Alec's thirst for my blood, but she had figured out why he hadn't already drained and dumped me. I assumed Huda had looked towards me again, but I wasn't focused on either her or Alec.

I'd been caught in Jane's crosshairs when everyone had been distracted by Alec. Her stare was empty, identical to her brother's, but it was aimed directly at me and there was nothing positive or familiar about it. It was a build on the glare she'd given me the last time I saw her, right before Alec and I had it out in the library. She had seemed upset with me, but instead of the vexation subsiding, the look on her face gave me an inkling that it may have ballooned out instead. For a moment, I never would have believed that she had anything but hate for me in her bones. I swallowed anxiously and my heart nearly stopped. When she was sure that I'd seen and been affected by the stare, she turned away.

Aro barely acknowledged the back and forth of animalistic sounds nor did he exchange niceties with Huda's words. Instead, he stood in the same place with his hands folded together, deep in thought. Caius had made his position clear with a brief sentence. But neither he nor Marcus seemed to actually care what Aro chose, as if it didn't matter what they said. As if the decision had already been made.

"Yes," he began as if inspired by his own thoughts. He watched for Libby's reactions to his next words. "A lesson in control for two very special young women." While I couldn't see her face, I could see Issa's eyebrows lift from a small frown, still cowering, into a more worried expression. Though everything about his posture and words said otherwise, she would be right to worry but Aro didn't care about her. "No harm done." He waited to see if there was any protest, specifically looking between me and Libby.

I said nothing. I didn't particularly enjoy the chick, but I had no intention of seeing yet another person be torn apart in the same week. Every time I talked, a pit in my stomach seemed to grow and nag at me with disappointment. An excessive worry about Jane's thoughts didn't help. However, I was more miffed that this entire meeting, just like the others, had been added to a growing list of supernatural involved confrontations where I stood around and basically waited to be attacked.

If there was going to be anything positive about becoming a vampire, it was that I would finally be the one on defense, the one attacking - protecting, and not acting as the unpredictable hinderance that caused more trouble than her worth. But for now, I had to own the fact that I had been pushing my luck this time and Libby nearly paid the price for it, so I focused on keeping my mouth sealed tight.

Huda rose from the chair again. She composed herself before glancing abruptly up at Marcus, who narrowly avoided her gaze. She then shifted her attention over to Caius, giving him a nod and doing the same for Aro. Instead of a thank you, she claimed, "we would have hunted before, had we known." Her eyes flickered to Alec as she raised her head and I felt a second-handed pride that at least she shared the same apprehension the rest of her kind did when it came to the twins.

Aro nodded in an unnaturally understandingly and sympathetic movement, directing her towards the main doors where Xavier stood, already waiting. "Xavier will show you the area where you may do so. Outside the city, of course."

Huda smiled, showing off the whiteness of her teeth. Still flawless. "Of course." The three women bowed respectfully in concert with each other and turned to follow Xavier. I made eye contact with Libby as she turned and almost immediately, we both retracted the action as quickly as we could.

I wouldn't see Libby or her coven for a long time after this. And it wasn't until then that I would realise that yes, Libby kept her life, but I had cost her much more than that. That was the lesson I wished I'd learned this day, but unfortunately, life doesn't work like that — undead or not.

As the women passed through the doors, Caius' voice rang out to bring up a new topic. "We should reconsider the diets of our other guests." Other guests? I refrained from groaning at the inside information. If all my meetings with outside vampires continued with the current pattern, there was no way I'd survive many more of them.

Now free of Huda and her members' presence, Marcus had finally come down from the balcony to join the rest of us. He listened to the others as he glided down the steps and across the floor. I watched him curiously, feeling safest keeping my eyes on him so as to avoid another distanced and potentially hostile encounter with my closest friend.

"Perhaps it was fortuitous that the young ones had their disagreement." Aro began, moving to sit in a larger and more regal chair than his previous one at the chess table. The three leaders were now positioned in a lopsided circle, as if they were playing out to the rest of us as their audience. Which we sort of were because it was obvious that this had been a privately discussed topic that they did not want, nor did they previously seek, outside opinions or comments from their guards. "Huda's coven may have adopted Carlisle's ideals, but our new arrivals will likely experience a similar, if not stronger, temptation."

Marcus chimed in, speaking slowly but with an unwavering firmness. "We have already concluded this matter—"

Again, Caius countered with little patience and an equally even tone. He got right to his point, revealing the problem at hand to the rest of us. "Suppose her blood spills in unfavourable company or she continues this brazen antagonism?" Marcus raised his head at the bluntness, but didn't argue back. Which wasn't surprising. I'd known Caius had little faith in my self-control and I knew, as Marcus did, that I had done little to prove him wrong. He tested my temper and prepared the future for it, the glued down valuables in my room were proof of that. His eyebrows narrowed even further, nearly meeting in the middle of his face. "What then?"

None of the men were denying that my humanity or rather the blood that ran through my veins was a temptation to every vampire around me. A pull that only their oldest, most controlled, and respected could stand to be around me. One so innately provocative that when those highest were unable to watch me, that not two or three, but four of their other guards had to both protect me from an unknown threat as well as those within their own ranks. Therefore, they had no need to verbally address the fact that while it was loyalty and fear that kept me safe among the Volturi, fear alone might not be enough to keep me safe from others of their kind. It was clear that the three Kings did not believe it would.

Their conversation began to pick up speed, until all I could really make out were a few words and a general buzz in the air as they discussed next steps. For men that seemed to consider every avenue, they'd certainly failed to do so with such an obvious factor like their food source. I would have believed it was faith in their own guard that produced this blind spot, mainly because I was convinced of their guard's success. For some reason, the near-miss attack on my life prompted them to revisit a decision Marcus said they had already moved on from. It left me wondering exactly who or what was coming to the castle that this threat to my life now posed a larger and supposedly unexpected threat.

As I waited impatiently for them to slow down so I could get clearer intel, I observed everyone around us. An odd number due to the departure of Xavier left a single mid-tier guard by the doors, Afton. Demetri and Felix had flanked to opposite walls with Felix on my right. Directly across from Prosper and I, I could feel eyes waiting for me to reach them. Whether it was Jane or Alec, the shift in the room had caused the individual to actively search for my attention. Or perhaps it was my own desires that dragged my attention in that direction.

In defiance of my own will, my stomach still unsettled, I shut my eyes tight and tried to concentrate on the only conversation in the room. Without the distraction of my other senses, I did manage to pick up a few words - enough to partly piece their conversation together. Enough to know that they had no idea what to do with me. With a clear and present threat outside their walls and and several new ones being cordially invited inside, their options were limited to locking me in a tower and…well,

"There is only one solution." Caius' suggestion brought me out of my thoughts and my head snapped up. Caius had always been an advocate for my quick transformation, like an executioner with a newly sharpened blade. Though the intensity behind his argument seemed to have a less sadistic and impatient drive in the current debate. And I could have convinced myself that he just might have been looking out for my overall well-being. Perhaps he might tolerate me a bit more if I was already a vampire.

Aro quickly shut the idea down, and clearly not for the first time. "She is not ready."

Marcus supported the decision with a solidly logical point. "Nor do we want the recklessness of such an unpredictable newborn." Despite its validity across my time with them, I was growing frustrated with the developing reputation.

I'd been slightly reckless, sometimes short-tempered, and usually prone to trouble throughout my life — I would be the first to claim it. But I would be remiss to not also appreciate that I had proven myself to be more than that. After all, I was just barely sixteen, yet disciplined enough to copy every detail of artistic masterpieces and to balance on my knees with practiced patience through several hours long masses delivered entirely in Latin. Besides, it wasn't like Alec, their pride and joy, was much better. Where was his call-out?

Caius paused before making his point. "At least her life would be guaranteed." And it almost seemed like he cared.

They continued to debate and like actors on a stage, they pretended as if we weren't there. And even though the other two rulers had moved past Caius's last argument, the atmosphere of the guard had shifted. Still, no one spoke and the Kings did not acknowledge it, if they'd even noticed.

After an abrupt hum of silence, Marcus' hollow voice had dropped the low tone and mocking secrecy from before with a new proposal. "Perhaps, Carlisle."

I was lost to how their conversation had progressed to this seemingly unconnected topic. I wasn't planning on asking, but my curiosity increased as the highest in their ranks disobeyed an unspoken rule with a low hissing sound at the name. Every head turned to face the owner, to see what kind of explanation they would provide that was important enough to interrupt.

"Speak, boy." Marcus snapped, taking an unusually sharp tone with the boy.

The reaction surprised me and I wasn't the only one. Doing as he was told, Alec framed his words like a question, careful not to add to his insubordinate behaviour by challenging his masters' judgement. "Is the loyalty of Carlisle's coven not in a state of uncertainty?" From what I knew about Carlisle Cullen and his coven so far, it seemed a fair question to ask. Carlisle had been nice enough when I'd met him, but the way the others spoke about his 'family' did not paint many of the members in a very flattering light. While it seemed unlikely that Carlisle would allow them to betray the Volturi, I wouldn't be surprised if they took actions to do so.

Aro took over, shutting Alec down. "Come now, my boy. Did you not find a recent kinship with young Edward?" It was a rhetorical question, stated to dismiss Alec's theory, as if it were preposterous to suggest otherwise.

"Aye, Master." Alec was reluctant to agree, but his response was merely a formality. Aro had already made his decision.

"I am sure he will be quite pleased with your progress over the course of these past three months." Three months? When had Alec talked to…it took me a minute to connect the pieces of a puzzle I'd long since abandoned. I had forgotten about the mysterious trip Alec had taken after Victor Tima confirmed my father's death. Alec had been particularly secretive about it at the time and even though I tried, he wouldn't give up any details. So, with no success, I had finally let it go - until now. But, it hardly seemed like anything of consequence that he had met with the Cullen, at least nothing that he would want to keep to himself. A whole new slew of questions began to form in my head, but I pushed them to the side as a reminder for a later time.

The Volturi's leader had moved on, "Afton, notify Regina," the current secretary, "that she is to inform Carlisle he will be receiving guests — discreetly." Afton nodded and disappeared through the doors.

Unwilling to give up his role as the devil's advocate, Caius spoke up again with an enigmatic stance. "And should our enemy discover their whereabouts in spite of this?"

Aro's answer was too muddled for me to hear, but I noticed Jane's cloak move the smallest bit. I had missed any actual change in their physicality, but I believed I knew them well enough to assume that whatever Aro had said did not sit well with the siblings.

Caius pushed his agenda, "and if he is?"

Aro's burgundy orbs flickered over his small audience, all of them awaiting their next direction. He stopped on Prosper who stood dutifully beside me. "Prosper will accompany them."

This seemed to satisfy the other men, but the frown on Alec's face grew darker. His distaste for the plan was still evident and Prosper's added involvement made it even less favourable. Suddenly unable to keep these doubts to himself, he received a dirty look from his sister as he again interrupted their Masters.

"Masters." This time, he waited until they gave him permission to continue. "Prosper has failed to prove his ability to assist in an assignment as sensitive as this." He paused, but the Kings made no move to agree with him. He tried harder. "I do not trust him." I'd been doing so well in the last few minutes, but at this, I just couldn't help myself.

I gave a sharp laugh. "Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Saffiya!" My head whipped to the source of the ferociously disciplined voice. Jane was glaring at me, not quite as harsh as when we'd first met but with a coldness I hadn't seen since. She'd said nothing the entire time, hadn't acknowledged me for even a second, but now her silence was broken with deliberate consequence. "Be quiet." It was the first reprimand I had received all day and it was well-earned, and succeeded in shutting me down.

The problem with impulsivity is that it blinds you to reality. When that high drops, there's moment of clarity when you're hit with all the negative effects and the consequences of your actions under it consume you. The past hour of my behaviour fell with a heavy and immediate weight triggered by Jane's discipline. Filled with shame and embarrassment, I crossed my arms and dropped onto the couch behind me.

But the way Jane had said my name stuck to me like a spider's web and as I sat there in disgrace, it began to inspire an almost daydreamed story made up of the last few months. Except this story included a twist that made the memories far from nostalgic. I'd automatically sent my brain through a fashioned flip book film in which Jane had reacted to me as the others expected. It showed me what my life would have been if she hadn't walked into my room, sat down and started playing chess out of nowhere. It mocked me with the events that would have unfolded had Jane decided I was an enemy, instead of a play mate. And in all honesty, I hadn't realized how drastically this decision on Jane's end could have shaped my time in the castle. I'd been angry, scared, upset…but I never felt alone.

The Masters observed the exchange with no particular interest except to wait for it to pass.

Once it had, Marcus cracked his uninterested facade and his next comment was, no doubt, prompted by the moment just past and the tumultuous relationship Alec and I had become infamous for. "Perhaps we should…prepare Carlisle as well." Warn. He meant warn Carlisle that the Volturi had had to glue down the valuables and stock up on extra blood - just in case, because Alec and I couldn't get our shit together.

I hid my face in my hands as Aro began dishing out orders so quickly all I could really hear was a buzz. Everyone seemed to move at once and Prosper tapped my shoulder, which I took as an indication to stand.

"Alright?" He asked me and I nodded, catching Alec glaring at him from across the room. I thought he was going to approach us, but one of the masters called his name and he turned away.

Prosper led me out of the observatory and we made the familiar trek to my bedchambers. I'd spent months in this dramatically large castle, but had hardly spent time in more than a handful of spaces. I made myself a silent promise that the next time I was able to ditch my detail, I was going exploring. If Versailles had a hall of mirrors, I could only imagine what the Volturi had lying around this place.

"Hey, what was wrong with Marcus in there?"

Prosper was staring at the ground and he stumbled briefly before gave a late reaction to my question with a poorly constructed confused expression. "I didn't notice anything."

"So, the Great Gatsby routine was just a coincidence, then?" He laughed before giving in as easily as the Wonder Boys — Felix and Demetri always did. The entire guard gossiped so much they deserved their own reality show.

"Long before my time and before she was a nomad, Huda was a member of the Volturi. She betrayed her own coven, with whom the Volturi were at war at the time. She believed she would be rewarded with a seat at the table, so to say." He hesitated and it probably hit both of us at the same time that maybe he shouldn't be telling me this story so candidly in the middle of the corridor.

I prompted him, "she didn't get one, did she?"

He shook his head and continued despite the risk of an awkward encounter. "Still, she stayed. She, supposedly, fell in love with Marcus, whether for his power or his sparking personality, you may decide yourself."

"Didn't Marcus have Didyme?" Prosper nodded. "As far as I know, it wasn't until after Didyme was killed that she tried to seduce Marcus. Unsurprisingly, each attempt proved more futile than the last."

My face scrunched up at the information. I refrained from using any choice words or disrespectful language, aware that we were still in the hallway and I was on thin ice already. Prosper nodded once more at my reaction, confirming what I wasn't saying out loud. It was no wonder Marcus had avoided her like the plague. My mind began to wander and the thought popped into my head before I could stop it.

What would Alec do if his mate…me…if I…died and someone tried to seduce him? The possibility of the first part alone seemed to have been haunting him from the moment we met. It had fuelled his decisions, his mistakes…it was almost as if. I cut myself off. Groaning inwardly at myself, I threw the rude intruding thoughts into a closet and tossed the key into the depths of Tartarus. However, even the brief interaction with the imagined possibility was enough to make me feel ill.

What would I do, if he —

Unaware of my mental battle, Prosper summed the story to a close. "She left just before the height of the Volturi's rise, before Jane and Alec. She returns every few centuries, and while the Masters welcome her as a visitor, it is evident she is always looking for a way into the inner circle."

"Why did she leave?" I asked, suspicious of the decision, especially if she was as power hungry as Prosper was suggesting.

He shrugged. "What may once have been truth, was adapted and exaggerated over centuries of the guard's gossip." I raised my eyebrows, expecting more and he shook his head. "Conspiracies are bad for the heart."

I squinted at him and with a clear joking tone, "you don't have a heart."

"Ah, but you do, kid."

I rolled my eyes instead of commenting on the obvious time limit of the subject. To avoid a drop in the conversation, I further questioned, "And Issa? You're…friends, at least?"

Prosper nodded, confirming this. "Huda believed she would be gifted." I frowned, looking up at him but he was looking ahead. "Issa has spent her immortal life attempting to make up for the fact that she is not. It seems as though her mate may rectify that disappointment."

I stopped in the middle of the corridor in disbelief. "Libby has a gift?"

"Could you not tell?" I shook my head wildly, not having even considered the possibility.

Rubbing the back of my head, I admitted, "I was more focused on besting her in…well, anything I could."

"That would make sense. Libby appears to have an aura of aggression," he saw me about to interrupt because that sounded like a stupid power, but he shook his head to keep going."It means that she can induce a primal type of aggression and wrath into those around her, often leading to a need for violence." I wanted to question him on the claim, but it made complete sense.

Sarcastically, I chimed it. "Now, that's a party trick."

Prosper continued to fill me in on his theory, which didn't feel theoretical in the slightest. "She does not seem to have control over it yet, which is likely why, as a human, your mind was so susceptible to her influence."

"Wait, you didn't feel anything?"

He shook his head, denying this. "We all did, with less intensity." He paused, tilting his head down at me. "Why do you think no one stopped you?" I took this in. He was right, the Kings had hardly acknowledged or seemed to give a damn that we basically wanted to kill - or at the very least, injure, each other. Even Jane's check on my attitude didn't occur until after Libby left the room.

I pressed my hand to my head, trying to shake off the memory. This whole day could have gone a lot worse if I had gone just a step further. "I've never been so antagonistic in my life. It was mind-bendingly numb, and it was like I had — absolutely had to break her."

"I believe you inspired the same in her."

I bit my lip as a great deal of sadness swept over me. "Do you think she always feels that way?"

Prosper raised his head up and down slowly. "It is possible."

Our conversation dropped to a lull as we finished our trek to my room. After opening the still ridiculously heavy door, Prosper stationed himself just outside.

I paused before going in. "Don't you need like, my passport or something?"

He gave a very small, very light chuckle, as if my question were ridiculous and gave me a brief answer. "Pack a bag, get some sleep. We leave late tonight."

I groaned dramatically, to his entertainment, and let the door fall closed behind me. 'Late tonight' meant I had a decent amount of time and my brain was already debating whether I needed a shower or a nap more. However, I froze not two steps into the chamber.

I had a visitor, and she looked less than pleased to see me.

~•~•~•~

A/N: Uh oh

I couldn't wait sixteen more hours or whatever was left. I did forget to do the covers, but I promise I'll get to them soon.

Thank you to everyone for all your comments, for your votes, for reading. You inspire me to write better and just more, I just want to give you guys a story you deserve.

Still working on the next chapter, but guys, I just wrote this one bit, with Alec. And damn. My heart. Oh, and there's this moment with Jane - whew. Oh! And also...well, I guess you'll see ;)

Without further ado,

Ro