I wasn't afraid of my death. I had been prepared for it my entire life. The thing is, I never expected to see it coming.

"Travis." The foggy air and flashing colours in the depths of the club hadn't done the man justice. The vampire attributes highlighted the classically handsome features of his face. Only now, his eyes were filled with contempt and fuelled by hate.

I tightened my grip around Alec's phone, but my attempt only amused the vampire before me. He pried the device from me and held it in front of my face, shaking it with a 'come and get it' attitude. From the phone, a high-pitched voice repeating my name in a muffled vibration as if from inside a cloud, or deep within a cave — distant and useless.
Travis clicked his tongue, crushing the phone in his bare hand, thus ending the call. Plastics and wiring fell from in-between his fingertips, bouncing once on the carpet before yielding to their fate.

He took his time as his eyes looked me over and I crossed my arms over my chest. "You owe me a kiss," he declared. Travis went to make a move forward and I countered sharply, which only made him smirk.

"He'll try this again."

"He doesn't have to die for us to prevent that."

My features allowed me a slight frown, still cautious, and yet not cautious enough. "I'd rather kiss a toad."

He straightened his shoulders, but chose not to punish me immediately. "You should watch how you talk to me. No witch to do your dirty work this time."

I snapped back, "they would've killed you —"

The twins were fearsome, with no doubt,
hundreds of years of experience torturing and killing vampires.
Unfortunately, in that moment, all their experience
fell under the vampire category. In that moment,
I was the one who knew how to deal with humans —
without killing them.

And what did I have to offer? If not the
extensive historical, anatomical, and gory fairy tale
jargon I had acquired from, disturbingly enough,
the nunnery I'd last called home. Or even the
extensive scars and marks that littered my body
by fault of my condition. Not to mention: an overactive imagination.

I turned my head to stare at the curled
up form on the ground. At the silence, he looked up.
The quiver of his lip halted as our eyes met.

"— I saved your life." I faltered at the irony of my claim.

"I lost - everything!" He roared, advancing on me again as he cut the air with his hand. "You ended my life."

I flinched away as Travis mouthed off once more,
testing his boundaries with liquid courage.

"Cuore," Alec murmured in my ear, altogether
unbothered by a new round of filth leaving our captive's mouth.
"Jane can handle him. You have done well." He placed a
hand on the small of my back, as if to console me
for not being as sadistic as them.

It had the opposite effect.

"And you knew exactly what you were doing."

In a near whisper, I muttered, "he wants to be a dancer."
Alec frowned, a dark look framing his face at the
source of information, rather than the content. He then
shot his sister a look, but I turned and stole her attention.

Jane scoffed, "so?" Her fingers were twitching.
Being around so many humans was testing her patience.
I had to get her attention, ramp up my proposal to match
murder in order to keep that attention.

"I've heard stories of your mate and his twin." It was the first time Travis' eyes left me. My eyes darted around the dining car, looking for something to help me get away. A door, a vampire killing stake...but, there was nothing.

"It would just be a shame if something
ruined that dream." I shrugged nonchalantly,
avoiding the eyes of all three of them. It was
awkward to explain my thoughts, but
I spoke slowly. I tried to sound sure of
myself. "Like a drunken night of fun that
ends with an accident...or an attack."

"That Jane is one sadistic bitch." I clenched my fists, hating the way her name sounded in his mouth. "But you—" My head snapped back and the edges of his mouth pulled up, mocking me. "You gave the order."

"That is hardly an equivalent punishment."

I swallowed, looking up to meet Jane's eyes. My stomach turned.

And suddenly, Travis was behind me. His hand wound its' way around my neck. Travis dragged me closer to him and locked me in against his chest. The more I struggled, the tighter his grip became. He rested his hand on the small of my back. Immediately, muscle by muscle, my entire body tensed and I froze.

"It is. If he never walks away from it."

I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to pull myself together. I couldn't afford another injury and though he seemed together enough, I had enough smarts to know better than to challenge a hostile vampire. Dark, vibrant, red eyes spitefully stared down at me with a mocking grin as I finally stopped fighting. Coincidentally, at the same time as his hand on my back started to explore the length of my spine. The touch was gentle, almost teasing. Just as it had been the night we met.

"I woke up in a hospital, with some doctor saying that I'd been in an accident. That my spine had been shattered." He moved up my spine and slowly slid back down it like a slide.

"They told me I'd never have use of my legs, never," a wounded pause "...walk again." Travis' hand paused abruptly, having returned to the curve in my waist. I flinched as his fingers dug into my back. In the exact same place I'd told Jane to target.

"My life, my dreams..." I tensed away from the touch and he let me escape just long enough to turn me around and bring me back into his chest. He chuckled darkly as we came face to face. A superior grimace of satisfaction filled his face as he revelled in his win. "My future. Gone — all because some little brat couldn't take a joke."

I spit at him.

Travis froze and I'd hardly processed my mistake before his hand was wiping the offending liquid from his face. I waited as he inspected his hand, before his attention made its' way back to me.

"You little," he snarled, teeth protruding and darkness rising at a deliberately human pace. His attempt at intimidation saved me, just in time for the appearance of his handler.

"Ah, ah, ah." A willowy voice drifted into our conversation from behind me. "Patience, Travis. She is not our final objective—"

A spitefully sharp tone spat back. "Maybe not yours —"

"Not. Yet." Travis gave what sounded like a quick growl, but turned his back on me.

As grateful as I was for the stranger's timing, the familiarity between the men made it short lived. Now free, I spun around to face the voice, which had taken up residence at one of the bar stools in the back of the lounge car. As to when he entered the small room, I had no idea. I'd still have thanked him, if his very presence hadn't set off a bajillion alarms in my head.

"So," in a blur, the figure joined us. Under the harsh lighting, the man looked like he'd gone a few too many rounds with the blush in the powder room. A formal, but simple black pant, dress shirt, and coat stood out immensely against his skin, though it lacked any identifying patterns. My eyes flew down from the pale golden grey of his hair as he began to circle me. He inspected me methodically, with a clear establishment of predatory intentions. A lacklustre smile graced his features. "This is the mate of a Witch Twin..."

There it was again. That word — like a nickname: Witch. It was almost endearing, affectionate, as it was hissed out of the man's mouth. I knew better than to think it was anything but sincere loathing.

"Do you know who I am, human?" I responded with a scowl that did nothing to phase him. I had no idea who he was, despite his expectations. "My name is Vladimir."

He earned a flash of recognition in my eyes and I responded immediately. "You're from the Romanian coven..."

Without hesitation, he corrected me impatiently, "I AM the Romanian coven." I held my gaze, taking my turn to analyse him in his brief vulnerability. This seemed to amuse him and he encouraged me to "go on."

Though I was half sure this was some kind of trick, I hadn't much choice in the matter. "I know you once ruled the vampire world until the Volturi defeated you. That when you tried to reclaim your power, you gathered an army and rebelled..." I trailed off, unsure of how specific to get. The white haired man waved at me to continue. So, I did. "and lost."

Vladimir nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving my form. Alec had been right to fear this.

"Did he tell you of my brothers and sisters that he left helpless to slaughter?" He didn't wait for me to respond, riling himself up all on his own. "How he isolated and struck down my mate? How he laughed when he heard my screams, my pain at his hands."

I stayed silent, fixing him with a resentful stare. Of course, I hadn't been given these details. They didn't surprise me, but I'd be lying if I were to claim that Vladimir hadn't unnerved me a little. His description didn't sound like a war. With Alec's gift, he made it seem like an extermination.

"It has been fifteen hundred years and the agony of losing my mate has not lessened." He didn't seem to care if I contributed or not, lost in his own rallied, pity rant. "In all this time, we have waited for one of those brats to find a mate." Vladimir didn't need to say it. An eye for an eye seemed only rational in his version of the story. He would only be returning the favour.

The Romanian savoured his story's climax. "That you were human...it is almost too perfect."

"When you and Alec," Vladimir spat Alec's name and I had to bite my tongue to keep from lashing out. "Left Volterra, I made sure to collect my creation." I followed his gesture to see Travis pouting angrily away from us. As soon as he saw me looking, he bared his teeth once more in another warning. I only stared back, until Vladimir continued. "Still human and you have inspired the very same abhorrence in him that I've had for a millennia."

"It's pathetic." My brain screamed at me to keep my mouth shut. Travis' current lowered status, however, encouraged me. I could feel that familiar anger building up and in my faulted nature, I elaborated. "He blames me because we held him accountable for something he chose to do." Vladimir had to hold up a hand to stop Travis from tackling me. Only, he didn't expect my next angle. "You and your mate willingly went to war. I'm assuming she knew the costs—"

A hand slammed down on my mouth. I truly expected him to attack me, but I could see the anger build and manifest into a simple upward curve of the corners of his mouth. Satisfaction.

"It is strange...your heart. It beats patiently, without alarm." The statement was made without intention, but as a displeased acknowledgement. "Do you not fear death, human?"

He talked too much, I decided. Vladimir continued without an answer, but refusing to provide him with one was only feeding his vengeful excitement.

"Alec," he spit his name once more, like sour candy, "knew the costs as well. Though I assume he never expected his greatest weakness to be a human." I tried to swallow, my throat growing tighter as the words processed. Vladimir leaned in to me, his accent thick. "Your mate will die for you, tonight." I could physically feel my heart pick up speed. A dark and slimy kind of smile formed on his face as he exclaimed,

"There it is."

I was an idiot.

Travis grunted in the corner, and although Vladimir did not acknowledge the interruption, he seemed to get the message. After all, I was only step one of what seemed to be a much larger plan.

Folding his hands behind his back, Vladimir's placid disposition returned. "Call your beloved. He's been away far too long, don't you think." I didn't agree out loud.

"Can't," I remarked spitefully. "Your little sidekick broke his phone."

This pleased him more than I would have liked. "No matter. Perhaps, a more reliable method."

I planted my feet stubbornly, glaring at him. If he expected me to scream or cry out for the missing vampire, there was no way. He could do whatever he liked. I wasn't calling Alec to his death.

Vladimir's hand took hold of my chin and tightened as I tried to pull away. When he was sure I had gotten the message, he stroked a finger across my cheekbones. He swiped so near my eye that I was forced to blink several times in recovery. He commented woefully as his hand released me, "such a pretty face."

I was getting ready to spit in his, when I caught the slightest change in his eyes. It was instantaneous. I checked Travis's as well, which had substantially darkened as well. Then, I felt it. A single tear-like run of liquid on my cheek.

Unintentionally, I reached up to brush it away. Vladimir had turned to Travis, putting a hand on the younger vampire's chest and mumbling much too fast for me to catch.
In a trance, I glanced down at my hand. A single colour was prominent on my mixed skin. The liquid scarcely smeared on my fingertips, but it was all that was needed for the Romanian vampire's intentions.

Red.

Immediately my hand returned to locate the source. I found it on the corner of my eye and pressed down on the bone underneath the fragile skin. It didn't occur to me that in the presence of vampires, I should be well past dead until Vladimir stepped aside, allowing Travis direct access to me.

I was under the impression that self-preservation went out the window when it came to human blood. Apparently, it wasn't quite so black and white as I was trying to convince myself of. Whatever threat Vladimir finished whispering to Travis, enabled the man to appear at my side and secure my willingness without drinking me dry. Though, he stood on the side opposite my cut. Apparently, he believed that it made a difference.

It was no use to resist Travis's hold, though I made sure to try and stomp on his foot in my brief attempt. I relented my glare to Vladimir, whose eyes had returned from their brief descent into dark. My voice like a child's as I accused him, "you scratched me."

The train made a deafening rumble, as if voicing the rage of a tsunami crashing into the shore. It filled me with an emptying dread. I couldn't breathe. Spots of black blurred my vision and I was forced to lean into Travis to keep my balance. The sound echoed in my mind and I gasped for air.

It wasn't until Travis hummed into my ear, "this is going to be so much fun," that I realised the sound wasn't coming from the train.

~•~•~•~

A/N: Y'all can thank Love . Fiction .2021 for the update ;)

Yes, this chapter is short. I was so against cutting this chapter in half for so many reasons. But I needed to get it out and down, or I think I'd be stuck for several more weeks. So, it is not perfect, but it is what I have right now.

But, we also found out what happened to Travis! Pretty guessable, but will play a large part in Saffiya's growing understanding of the Volturi and the vampire world. I had a different version of the reveal that I preferred, but couldn't get out. Hopefully this version wasn't too plain for y'all.

Hit me with your thoughts and questions. I'm having trouble identifying the source of my own critiques, so any insight you guys have might really help me smooth out and pick up on things that I missed. Not just in this chapter, but previous ones as well as they've built up. So, if you'd like, please either review here or feel free to PM me.

I promise to respond to comments from the last chapter on the next one!

Ro

P.s. I still really hate leaving author's notes b/c I make them so damn long, but I love to connect with you guys and let you know why I left you on such a HEAVY FREAKING CLIFF HANGER. I mean shiz nuts. Never the intention, of course. The next chapter is pretty close, but I'm hoping that seeing your thoughts will help me pinpoint what's going on w/my brain :)

Also, check my profile for any updates when I haven't posted in a while.