"Our meeting begins shortly," Marcus interrupted.
Drew looked up from the large book in her lap. She'd sprawled out on one of the many couches in the library with many books pulled for reading. She slid a bookmark in place before closing the book. She stood stretching as she did so.
"What time is it?"
"It is just after one,"
"I was reading that long?" She whispered. "I may need to be monitored in this place."
"I will make note for the future. If you ever go missing in the castle to check the library." He smiled offering his arm.
"I can sometimes be found with other people or eating."
The walk to their destination didn't take as long as she thought it would. They'd climbed two sets of stairs and followed down a long hall. They stopped in front of a large set of ornate wooden doors. They towered eight feet above them within a custom stone arch. Many figures of women were chiseled within the stone walls around them. A marble plaque held a few words she noted.
"Tana Di Psappha?" She turned to Marcus eyes widening.
"Sully's other name."
She paused letting go of his arm. She brought her hands together, taking deep breaths to calm herself. "How did that detail slip from your mind?"
"I was not aware you knew the name." He replied.
"Seriously?" She gasped. "She's Sappho! The original lover of women. How could I not know her name?! I'm sure it never escaped any observation of me, I love to read. She's one of my top ten favorite poets! It's because of her I knew I was bisexual! I came across a collection of hers when I was a young teen, it helped me make sense of what I was feeling."
"I was not aware you were a fan of her writings. I am sure she would be delighted to discuss those." Marcus mused. "She has always taken to the arts and is always happy to meet a fan."
"I'm a giant nerd with a soft spot for romance." Drew's cheeks burned.
Marcus' gaze softened. "I also enjoy a romantic epic now and then. Your love of knowledge has been noted between the three of us."
"Three?" Drew hedged. "I get you and Aro talking about me to some extent. You don't mean Caius is capable of inquiring about me? I thought he only ranted about me and all that I've either done wrong or merely about me existing."
"While he does rant, he has questioned a few things about you. Nothing too in-depth. More so questioning us on why we chose you to be one of the heads on this project, what your qualifications are. He was quite defeated learning of your education." He replied.
"Why would he doubt the fact I'm capable of my job?"
"You're quite young compared to your co-workers. He was more questioning Aro if he knew who you were before hiring you."
"I'm only slightly ahead of others in my degrees and experience. I'm nearly twenty-seven." She shrugged looking away.
Marcus approached her, catching her chin with his forefinger tipping it up to meet his gaze. "You are not a mere worker with us. Do not belittle all you have accomplished. You are a lead upon this project. Something usually given to more experienced individuals."
"I wasn't the first choice, my mentor was. Her husband got sick. She recommended me to come here." Drew blurted pointing out.
He remained smiling. "An honor, nonetheless. Whether you had applied or not. You are quite accomplished in your field. You deserve to feel the pride in all you have done."
"Thank you," she cleared her throat stepping back while wiping her hands on her pants. "Shall we meet up with them?"
Marcus offered his arm once more and lead her through the doors.
The wing looked like all the rest she'd seen today. The slate grey walls occupied with electric torches or tapestries. The ceiling was high above them, arched. A few chandeliers hung above them casting more light upon the artworks of statues, and different pieces. A few of them looked to date to ancient times, up to the twenty first century. Contemporary mixed with realistic. A few closed doors between it all.
Her cheeks burned as they passed one large oil painting. Six feet by six feet. Many nude women lounged in a celestial sky. A few had wings that were casually open or closed on each woman. Their figures were diverse, some thin with pert breasts, different shades of skin across the spectrum. Some women were rounded figures, with big breasts, laughing with no cares.
"Quite the collections…" She complimented looking forward immediately. She kept close to Marcus while they approached their destination.
A large door swung open.
Drew noticed a woman wrapped in a silk light blue robe holding the door. She was barefooted, she noticed. She scanned up the tall woman. Red eyes stared back. She looked away immediately.
A large drawing room greeted them. A few large leather couches covered in throw blankets gathered around a large fire place that was lit. Drew inhaled. A heavy scent of Cinnamon, Jasmine, and Vanilla. Her shoulders fell back, she noticed two women were lazing back on one couch across from where Marcus gestured her to sit.
"Good afternoon, Sisters. Thank you for taking the time to meet with us. May I introduce, Drew Danvers. Our mate." Marcus greeted. "Drew, Sulpicia and Athenadora."
Marcus introduced with a wave of his hand at each woman.
Athenadora, offered a lazy toothy smile. She was in a cream-colored slip dress that was bunched up near her thighs. The straps were thin, laid across her shoulders nearly falling off them. Her skin, a warm medium brown. Some cool ashy tones in her features like every vampire. She was heavier in the bottom portion, long legs bent at the knee, feet without shoes. Merlot eyes stood out surrounded by dark lashes. Full lips painted a deep brownish red gloss. Her many micro braids fell forward over her shoulders and back.
Drew's cheeks burned hotter, the longer she watched the woman before her. Her heart slammed into her chest. A heaviness entered her head. She tore her attention away towards the other woman.
Sulpicia, was the definition of Goddess. In a silk lilac colored slip dress and over gown of matching color, sheer muslin. Her dark auburn waves were pulled away from her face, falling over her shoulders to the small of her back. Olive skin toned, with cool undertones. Thick brows framed her merlot eyes. High cheekbones in an oval face. Cupid bow lips, with a thicker bottom lip.
Drew's bottom lip fell. She did her best to stifle her gasp. They were descendants of Aphrodite. That or this was the Goddess' true form. There was no other choice, she was sure of it. If she hadn't been sitting, she'd have fallen to her knees. Begging to be shown mercy. Did she want mercy? She would service both women before her, worship the ground they walked on. Made sure to truly idolize each Goddess in the way they deserved.
A throat cleared from beside her.
She looked to Marcus. He looked to his sisters. Drew swallowing thickly. She blinked a few times trying to get it together. She'd been staring.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for meeting with us," she mentally kicked herself.
Athenadora offered a wide toothy grin. She sat up, stretching herself over the table and distance between them, she offered her hand. Drew took it without hesitation. Small sparks zapped her skin, as cool fingers caressed hers. Athena leant down placing a kiss to the back of her hand, never breaking eye contact.
She was warm all over, it radiated down her chest, into her core. while butterflies erupted in her stomach. The scent of vanilla became stronger. Could she remain here forever? She mentally sighed.
"The pleasure is all ours. How could we possibly pass up the chance to meet our future sister. It isn't every day a new coven member joins us." Athena purred.
"Indeed, our brothers do you little Justice when they told us of you. You are quite the beauty. Isn't she Athena? It is too bad we didn't see her earlier. I'm sure the pleasure may have been more imminent." Sulpicia gave a hearty laugh.
Athenadora allowed Drew to take her hand back. She held it close in her lap. Both women were eyeing her as if she was a snack. She straightened her posture trying her best to fight the growing desire for them. She needed to remember why she was here… why was she here if not to worship them?
"Athena," A sigh interrupted her.
Drew looked over to Marcus, his brows drawn together. Work! She was here because of the bodies found in the ruins of their old home…
The only bodies she wanted to discuss though were the ones dressed in silk across from her. Their flesh was luminous in the warm lights of the drawing room. They were relaxed in their stances, lashes batting at her, lazy grins across their face. What would it be like to lay beneath them? They were cold to the touch like the others, but they were still soft, rounded as most women were. She wanted to find out what it would be like to lay in their glory and kiss each inch of them. She would follow their curves, to her target areas, she'd do her best to bring them to higher heavens as they deserved.
"Athena, please, I request you stop trying to seduce my mate." Marcus' words were ice down her back.
Drew snapped her wandering eyes away from the women. She squeezed Marcus' hand. It was like being splashed in the face with water. Her eyes widened, face burning. This is what he meant by seductive nature?! She gulped. She'd been all too willing to fall to her knees and do as they bid. She dared to look to Marcus for the third time. His merlot eyes darkened as his pupils dilated focusing on her.
Lord above, how willing am I to fall for the beauty of all women. Drew mentally sighed, shaking the fog away. They were dangerous.
She was in a fresh relationship and committed to two others. How easily she'd nearly thrown that away. She hardly knew the men granted, but she wasn't going to dive into another's bed. She believed in fidelity. She barely knew how to be with men, but she'd made a promise to herself. She would try.
"Peace brother, we mean no harm to her." Athena offered a fuller smile. "Merely a test, she's quite strong. Since she is unmated in the full sense, it was an opportunity to test the bond. It is a marvel the bond still has quite the grip on her."
"I ask you, to refrain from testing her without warning. As we've discussed sisters." He warned.
"Alright Marcus we shall." Sulpicia interrupted placing a hand on Athena's knee. "I believe you had a few questions for us, Doctor?"
"Uhm, yes, I do… Thank you for your time. I'm sure as Queens you are quite busy." Drew sat forward gathering herself. "Did Marcus or Aro say what it is I do for work?"
"We were given a rundown yes," Athena assured.
"Okay great. Well, we are excavating one of your old manors, as hired by Aro. We came across some human remains within the basement while we were working. Four sets to be exact. I had a few questions on who they were, how they exactly ended up in there. If either of you have any information at all about them. It would be helpful."
"Straight to the point." Athena chuckled.
"Dearest." Sulpicia shot her a look. "Tell us, about these bodies a bit. It has been sometime since we occupied that manor. Time can trickle away the memories if deemed unimportant."
"Two sets were mummies. The oldest is perfectly preserved mummy. Estimated back to 2500 BCE. The second one, is partially decayed, from approximately 400 CE. The skeletons are from the 1400's and 1500's."
"Yes… I believe I remember that" Athena cooed. "Sully, you remember when Amun tried to teach us how to mummify a body?" Athena cooed.
Recognition sparked in Sully, who nodded. "We'd been so fascinated with the Egyptian coven when they'd come to convene with us. We'd tried to mimic the practice, however the first few attempts failed. I don't think we made a successful one."
"That second one, decayed must've been the first try. I hadn't realized we'd kept it. I thought we'd returned the complete mummy back to Amun after the whole craze died down." Athena mused.
"I cannot recall. Corin," Sully called.
In a flash a woman stood before them. She had auburn curls tied back over her shoulders. Bright crimson eyes, she was a tall willowy woman. A strong square jaw and straight nose. Tanned skin the same shade as Sulpicia.
"Yes Mistress?" A melodic voice asked.
"The mummies we had displayed a few hundred years ago. Did we return them to Amun? Or were some used in the trade and sale?" Sully questioned.
Corin stood up gazing into the distance momentarily. "My records indicate four mummies were sold off for medicinal purposes in the late fifteen hundreds. One pristine one was kept as display to the buyers… This one was the oldest mummy. Acquired from Amun. It was placed into storage."
"What of the partial one?" Athena asked.
"Our full supply had been used. Our records indicate all was sold. It seems that one must have not been used as thought or disposed of properly."
"Thank you," Sulpicia waved her off.
Corin flashed away as quickly as she came.
Drew blinked a few times. So, she'd been right. They were involved in the mummy trades across Europe. Four full mummies in fact, completely gone and most likely consumed. Her stomach sank. It was the down side of history. Humans had done some things not all were ethical. She wasn't here to judge.
"The skeletons, one older man and one younger boy. They were placed in the same area." Drew pushed herself to move on.
"The older man, broken knee?" Athena questioned.
"Yes," she hedged. She hadn't mentioned the injury.
"His Christian name was David. He was a cleaner for our home and served in the kitchens of our human staff. We were investigating reports of vampires enslaving humans, and completely disregarding our secrecy laws. We'd intercepted a caravan of humans in Portugal. They were part of the groups in question. We'd fed upon the humans in charge of the slaves. We could not consume all of course, we'd only brought six guards with us. A few ended up spared. David was one of those people. He didn't understand any of it. He had a heart attack in his middle years age fifty something. He was a good man." Athena recounted.
"David was a good man. In the time he worked for us, he'd earned our respect. He worked hard and learnt Italian eventually. We'd wanted to change him, but he declined each time. We'd wanted to honor him. We'd been moving around at that time and wanted to keep him in one location. We'd need to confirm his year of death with our own records." Sulpicia added.
Drew sat in silence for a few minutes.
He'd been a slave. While Italy never contributed to the majority of the Slave trade of the time, by proxy they never stopped it. Slavery from Africa to Europe existed since Rome. She'd known this. To see the women before her to have freed him. He'd served with them until his obvious death. Time would come for all humans she knew. To actually put a name to the body. It was not his original name, but a name he grew to know. It was more than she could have hoped for. It was unfathomable previously to find someone who'd known them.
She took a few slow breaths. "The next was a young boy, barely over eleven. Time of life would've been the fourteen hundreds. He had cracks in his chest. Also stored with this man."
"A child?" Sulpicia hummed tapping her chin. "We've steered clear of those for a long time. Especially since the laws went into place children were to be left alone unless dying. No changing them."
"I cannot recall a child. There were a few plagues on going. Disease. Many vampire visitors in the time to the manor. We held many parties. Someone may have stashed their victim. I'll take a look for the records. That is concerning." Athena added.
"That was all, I had about the bodies in the home. My next question is what would you like done with them? We've got them in the morgue currently. They are technically your property." Drew spoke up.
"The decomposing mummy can be placed in the furnace I am sure it is unpleasant. The boy, bury him in the cemetery with David. We will place a name plaque upon it to honor the man as we had planned. The boy has kept him company this long. Allow them to rest together. If you would like I can bring you the books of the parties and guest lists written out by Corin. She may be a walking computer but even she is fallible to forgetting. She writes down every event." Sully explained.
Drew nodded making mental note. "Will do, now the mummy? Shall we return it to Amun? He has a display currently doesn't he, here in Volterra. I can have it arranged the mummy can be returned to where it belongs."
"Yes, I like that idea. You are quite considerate young one to the dead."
"They were people once, colonization led to a bit of trade of sacred items." Drew shrugged. "I believe in the reconciliation of what our ancestors did. Returning people to their places of rest is for the best. While we may not have known the morality of it then, we do now."
"Morally we have always greyed. It was business, never personal." Sulpicia dismissed. "However, in this case, do as you feel doctor. Aro advised us, to accommodate you to our abilities."
"I don't want to overstep or do what displeases you either. Please don't burden yourself for my curiosity or benefit. If we have permission to move these without issue to you, we can. There is some jewelry down in the labs if you want these brought to you, to see if you want them at all?" Drew offered.
"If it burdened us, sweet one, we would have refused to meet with you." Athena assured giving a toothy grin. "If they are in good condition yes bring them by. If not donate or do as you see fit, please."
"Thank you for your time. I can take care of it all immediately now with the direction."
"Did you have any more questions?" Sulpicia raised her brow.
Drew bit her bottom lip. She looked to Marcus who gave her a nod of encouragement.
"One last. Are you really, the poet Sappho?" Drew questioned.
Sulpicia laughed. "Yes, indeed I am."
"That is so cool! Your work is absolutely breath taking. Do you remember a majority of your works? Many of them were destroyed." Drew blurted.
"I do, maybe one day I can recite them for you."
"I would love that." Drew beamed.
"Mistresses, Heidi has a meal for you." Corin flashed back into the room.
"We shall take our leave then, thank you sisters for your time. I will have Demetri retrieve the archives once Corin has acquired them." Marcus stood bowing his head to them.
"Thank you, and it has been wonderful to meet both of you." Drew copied Marcus.
Athena followed suit, she rounded the table, taking hold of Drew's hand. She bent laying a kiss once more to the back of her hand. Drew blushed meeting her gaze that had darkened looking up from under thick lashes.
"Athena," Sulpicia warned. "A pleasure as well. I am sure our paths will cross many more times to come."
Sulpicia took her hand next and pressed a kiss to it. She winked as she let go.
Drew gulped stepping back, a soft smile upon her face. Marcus pressed a hand to her lower back. She allowed herself to be guided towards the exit to the hallway. Once they were outside of the women's chambers she turned to Marcus.
"Are you alright doctor? Your heart is threatening to exit your chest." He asked while examining her.
"I'll be fine." She dismissed. "They're really something. I get now what you meant by seduction."
"Athenadora is one of the gifted members of our coven. The embodiment of a siren." He agreed.
"That's exactly it! She could've told me to dance into a watery grave and holy moly I would've." She chuckled shaking the woman's image from her mind. "I promise though I'm not going to ever cross that line."
"We trust you, amore." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "What would you like to do now?"
"What time is it?"
"Just after five."
"I should probably head home. Would you walk me to the exit? I don't trust myself to exit here safely."
"Of course." He offered his arm to her. They barely made it two steps when another flashed into view.
Caius stood in his usual suit with his signature twisted snarl in place.
"Brother, are you a thick-headed fool? You bring our mate into that den of pure temptation. She is weak for the fairer sex, you know this." He snarled.
Drew flinched into Marcus. She wasn't expecting him so close to them.
"You place her in danger being in there. How can you be so careless?" Caius stepped into Marcus' face.
A growl escaped Marcus he dropped her hand.
"I trust her, that is how brother. She was in no danger." Marcus sneered.
"Our sister has the ability to seduce anyone. You think she is infallible?"
"Can you not talk about me as if I'm not in the room? Said person is right here. Which may I remind you is exactly what I am. I am a person, not some piece of property. You suggesting as much is sexist and racist." Drew interrupted.
Caius focused immediately on her. His eyes darkened. Brows tightened. He balled his hands into fists. "It is their responsibility to keep you safe. I am very aware you are a person. You are however a human. They are to keep you out of harm's way. We are to protect you. Do you have any idea how easy it is for us to kill you?"
Drew opened her mouth to snap at him but stopped. She crossed her arms. He'd said called her their mate. They were to protect her. He considered her, his mate.
"You said 'we' and 'our'," she smirked.
Caius stared. "Your point?"
"You consider me your mate. You Caius Volturi like me." Her grin widened. "Caius Volturi has a crush."
"Do not get a head about you, woman. It has been a well stated fact, to my displeasure, you are my mate. For some cruel reason the Fates thought it best to bind us. Do not think it means anything." He dismissed taking a step back.
"You say that, but you've subconsciously accepted it as fact. It is one thing to be told the fact, but the language you use. You are acknowledging our bond. You're beginning to feel the bond. Nice."
"Why are you happy about this, you hate me as much as I you." He eyed her over.
"Because this makes irritating you so much more fun. This is another level." She laughed. "I'm going to absolutely enjoy torturing you. Prepare yourself old man. Grasp your pearls now, this has so many new opportunities to it."
"Gods above smite me now…" Caius growled before disappearing from their sight.