I was surrounded by my own species for the first time in months.
I'd never stood out more.
Not that anyone was looking at me anyways, seeing as I stood between two of the most gorgeous beings any of these people would ever see. I was highly aware of the fact that I was now exclusively privy to the darker secrets that existed under my own kind's very noses; Acquainted with an entirely disparate manner of existence that humans had documented and dismissed as fantasy. If they only knew. For this reason, I was more of an enigma than I'd ever been with my condition before. Now, I'm sure that manners and social acceptable behaviour would be my biggest challenge as I was returned to the human world.
I hadn't left the castle since the 'girl's night' several months ago. So, my interactions with other humans had been limited to the few receptionists. And we already know how some of those went.
The night had ended with the twins torturing a man guilty of cheap morals and a deductively long history of despicable decisions. Jane and Alec may be considered evil in their world, but I believed true evil came through when others suffered for another's gain and purely selfish wants. Ironic, considering how I spent the better part of my young life. Though this perspective had clearly been developed during my time surrounded by faith. No matter how I'd come by it, my actions that night had been rooted in this core principle.
We had assumed his guilt, delivered justice on our own terms, and destroyed a man's life. Would that be my life with the Volturi — traveling around and delivering punishment to vampires that dared to defy Aro, Marcus, and Caius? I could understand now, after the nightclub incident, where Aro's gift would be quite useful overall. The better part of me wished I'd been able to confirm what I deduced about Travis's past crimes. Aro's gift could have determined this with 100% assurance. Surprisingly, the situation had given my not-so-better half optimistic realism on its' side this time and I couldn't find it in me to regret my role. Without even realising it, I had come to adopt the Volturi's perspective on the rule of law. This was not the only thing my time with them was affecting.
I'd grown accustomed to a life where exploration inside the stone walls was enough. Presenting me as compliant and accepting of my confinement to the Volturi's world. So much had changed over the last few months and I would occasionally be struck with an all-encompassing desire to flee the castle, sneak out as I once had and never stop running. Other times, I'd struggle with a confessional fear that it was wrong that I'd given in to this life. That I was experiencing a kind of Stockholm or Lima syndrome when my captors one day became my friends the next. I'd fought tooth and nail from the very beginning and only time had softened my resolve.
Though it made sense that I would be experiencing a mentally tainted perspective, there was a theoretical element that seemed to hold more weight as I continued to deal in the world of the supernatural. Under these circumstances, this theory may surpass the human understandings of psyche, identifying the day to day changes as rational behaviour. After all, the syndromes were based and studied according to humanity's scientific method, which I'd never doubted, but I had no idea how science would be able to comprehend the world I'd been introduced into.
I often questioned at what point I would be able to reconcile my waving of the white flag as a conscious decision and not one clouded and falsified in my own mind. Perhaps it would be when I no longer referred to the transition as a white flag. Still, this switch had occurred unintentionally, a build-up with a late warning.
Actually, it happened that night. The night that Alec and I agreed to be friends, a decision made equally on a vulnerable level and with full respect for the other. That night had opened my mind to view the Volturi, not through the lens of human morals and expectations, but as an entrance to an entirely other world. Which is what they were. After accepting Alec, I was able to also accept that though they once had blood running through their veins, vampires were a part of something new. Not better, not much different…just new.
I was still hesitant to give in completely to the life they had decided for me. Mainly because of that very aspect of it being decided for me, without my input. I was only just learning how to come to terms with becoming a vampire, to serving as a member of the Volturi's guard, and spending forever with my first genuine friends. The thing that was playing the largest role in slowing this process down was the very person who had left me open to it.
How could I make a decision (as I preferred to believe I had) like this, if it was based purely on my feelings for someone. Feelings that apparently weren't even my decision either, but rather the universe. As if the universe stood a chance against my free will. Although, I had to concede that it was putting up an exceptional fight.
And Alec…Alec.
My skin sparked, igniting the butterflies that had eagerly been awaiting the return of his touch.
Once Felix had disappeared among the other cars, Alec's hand had lightly placed itself on the small of my back. He clenched his jaw as he observed the world around us, eyes burning with distrust. The hardened affect of his posture and expression could have only been triggered by our current environment. And whichever part of the environment it was, had struck an instinctual response that I was unprepared for.
Given his general preference for privacy, especially in the moments we shared (the good and the bad), the last thing I expected him to do was to display any sort of physical attention towards me. The pressure of his hand caught me off guard, mainly because it alerted me to a flaw in the conversation we'd had only seconds ago. Alec had not specifically defined what he meant by "space and time", and when I'd first proposed it, I hadn't even considered the need for specific do's and don't's of the situation.
He seemed to realise the oversight at the same time as I did, and he promptly removed his hand to respect whatever boundary we had yet to determine.
My chest felt like a blank canvas at the lost connection. My body responded to this, seeking out the return of the protective nature I'd come to rely on before I caught myself, putting my emotions in check. He took a single step, not making eye contact with me but clearly waiting until I joined him before he led the way into the station. As the crowd thickened, his hand still did not return, though he and Prosper stood on either side of me like bodyguards.
The crowd parted for them in the oldest comparison of the Red Sea. The humans did it unknowingly, unquestioningly. Though they did so at the last second, only remembering that they had legs when we were inches from bumping into them. One woman turned to her husband, only to see him staring our way. She went to chastise him for doing so when she found herself just as enamoured with the sight of the two vampires as her husband was. An elderly tutor, escorting a small group of teenagers was also caught in the Venus fly trap that these men so glamorously mimicked. So caught up, in fact, that they were unable to catch some of their students from mucking about.
All of the instincts my father had instilled in me went wild in this distracted crowd. They were a potential gold mine. I almost wanted to time myself and see just how many wallets and goodies I could snatch while they were fantasising about my travel companions. Not because I wanted to steal. Just…experiment, a little. Honestly, if I'd been unassociated with the two vampires, I would have engaged in such an activity. But there was no way Alec was letting me run around unsupervised. Still, train stations were prime spots to pickpocket and I had itchy fingers like a revived addict jonesing for a hit. No one was paying me any mind anyways. It would've been perfect.
Although I recognised the rashness and indelicacies of my father's lifestyle, it was still a part of my upbringing. No matter how decent of a person I tried to be, my first thought would always be to discover their greatest possession, how to acquire it, and how to walk away with it. I was still searching for the most valuable item in the Volturi's collection, not that they needed to know this.
A tourist stumbled in front of us as they got their first glimpse of the vampires. The obstruction of our path slowed my pace and Alec's fingertips returned automatically. They were barely touching the back of my shirt, nowhere near crossing any empty lines. He murmured an apology and looking up at him, it was clear that the undefined guidelines for this declaration challenged even the most innocent behaviours we performed on a daily basis. Behaviours that I had hardly noticed, that I craved without fully comprehending their existence.
Through the dark sunglasses, I found favour in his stare. He observed me as I did him. A world under the thick lashes that emphasised the shape of his eyes, the strength of his brow, the distinct outline of his cheekbones forever frozen in the last traces of a baby face in a young man. I pressed my lips together, twisting my wrist and stretching out in a demure, delicate manner for the slightest chance that my fingers would brush his.
"Sc…scusi." The human stumbled out and as Alec and I were otherwise occupied, Prosper stepped up to the Volturi name.
In a near hiss, he turned the man white as a ghost, "watch where you're going."
The uncharacteristic sound from Prosper's throat, caused me to turn as they scampered away. The second my eyes broke from Alec's, our fingertips found each other in an accident we had both been attempting to create on our own. With the buzz of an electric shock, we returned to each other's eyes and my heart beat firmly against my chest.
Reassured by our moment, and with a slightly heightened intensity, the touch I'd desired returned to my body. This time with a purposeful positioning as his arm crossed behind my back and secured itself with a hand on my waist. He glanced down at me to take note of any possible reluctance or resistance and I gave none, wanting nothing more than to appreciate the short period this would last. I wasn't surprised that he'd opted for a more secure and controlled position than the usual guided hand on my back. After the harmless run-in, this act was spurred as much by innocent connection as it was by a precautionary care. It seemed his desire to protect was stronger than his preferences regarding privacy.
It occurred to me then that being my bodyguard inside the walls of Volterra was much different than being my bodyguard in the real world. I knew as well as anyone, better actually, that living in the world was full of risk. I'd been extraordinarily lucky in the castle, in a controlled environment where I received only the occasional bumps and bruises was nothing. I could bleed in the real world — that is, the possibility was currently at a higher statistical probability than in Volterra. Simple accidents were a regular occurrence and sometimes, these injuries drew blood. Bloody incidents happened more than they probably should have. Unless I saw the blood, I'd never notice a paper cut and if I scraped my knees, I'd see it when I checked for injuries before I went to bed. It was routine. It happened quite a bit. Not disastrously — more, casually.
I no longer had the option to bleed casually. Now that I knew the world had vampires and that I was going to be surrounded by them for the foreseeable future. Accidents and injuries were possibilities that I needed to be aware of for the next few days. Living cautiously was a lot less fun, but I suppose in this case, it would keep me alive. Perhaps I should've been wrapped up in bubble wrap and shipped to the Cullens instead.
Prosper muttered something in Italian. He didn't appear to be struggling much with the temptations surrounding him, but the way Alec checked in with him had me second guessing this conclusion. Agreeing with whatever was said, Alec tightened his hold on me, guiding us away from the thicket of people with Prosper obediently following behind. Said people, were too busy eyeing the two men up like eye candy to clear out of the way and ended up getting tipped at the last second. We no longer stopped for them.
My waist was released once we'd reached an empty area with travel benches, much less trafficked than in the middle of the station.
He placed me in front of the individual seating against the wall beside us, releasing my waist. Despite the comfort that had been returned to us both, it seemed the feeling wasn't strong enough to override the radiating negativity that had continued to surround him as we'd made our way through the throng of people. Which only seemed to translate into a souring mood, solidifying a temperamental Alec as the dominant feature driving his behaviour for who knows how long.
Though I'd previously been able to pull him from these negatively fuelled emotional states, if given the time; this time, I seemed to not be enough to distract him from sinking deeper into it. Jane often had spells like this, though the only thing to do for her was to simply wait out the fit. I grimaced at the possibility that we'd have to just endure Alec's moodiness, with no way to help him speed through it and no way to avoid the sharpness of his tongue during the process either.
Alec reached into his pocket and casually pulled out a shiny, black phone. I did a double take, never imagining such an object to be in his hands. Or that he would even know how to use it. He glanced at the time and slipped it back into his jacket.
"Wait here," He ordered, though I'm not sure whether it was intended for directing me to stay put or as an order reminding Prosper of his place below Alec. It was for me, it turned out, as he sent Prosper a dark look for his next thought. "Don't lose her."
"I'm not a thing."
Alec grunted, leaving us and cutting to the front of the long line of the front desks — to retrieve our tickets most likely.
"What climbed in his egg salad and died?" Prosper shrugged. I sighed and leaned back against the wall, drumming my fingers against it behind my back. "I will never understand why he is so rude to you."
Prosper shook his head, but didn't look at me. His military persona had returned in full with the setting and further solidified the soldiered code both men were exuding. His eyes zipped across the humans milling about around us. "You are his mate." He spoke softly, choosing his words with a careful intelligence. "Losing the woman he loves would be his purgatory. He sees me as proof of this." Because of Elizabeth.
Love. It wasn't the first time someone had mentioned the word in a conversation related to Alec and me. It was the first time, however, that I stopped to actually process what it meant in practice and for a long term consideration. I struggled to push it away. I had enough emotions rolling around in my head waiting in line for their turn to be contemplated. There was no way I was adding in another complicated variable. Even if it was an obvious one to consider. I managed to shove the idea of love, forcefully and with unnecessarily roughness, to the back of the line. Not now — but soon, I reminded myself, remembering that Alec and I had just started and been interrupted in a very related conversation.
As complicated as we were, I couldn't imagine being separated from Alec as long as Prosper had been from Elizabeth. Not like this.
"We'll get her back." He gave me a sad smile.
"This, I know." He concurred, demonstrating unwavering faith in an unlikely future. To satisfy my curiosity, which he knew me well enough to know was growing, he answered my earlier question. "He grows tense around the humans." Prosper explained further, glancing through the crowd for Alec as he did. Though he didn't seem particularly worried that said vampire would overhear. "The twins do not particularly care to spend long periods of time around them, not that any of us do." He swallowed, reminding me that his thirst was an increasing factor in our current environment. I opted not to bring it up, reasoning that this would likely make it more difficult for his control.
I turned my gaze in the same direction, searching for a glimpse of the boy somewhere in the crowd. "But, I'm human."
Prosper nodded. "That you are."
Huffing, I mocked the concept of vampires and mates woefully, albeit with a small inner conflict. "So, without the stupid mate thing, he'd hate me. That's promising. What an excellent system." I was was splitting my attention between Prosper and my absentminded scanning of the station, waiting for Alec's walk to emerge from the crowd. It wouldn't be hard to spot him— he charmed half the room by merely existing. There was sure to be a few signs before we had a chance to lay eyes on him.
"You do realise," Prosper's voice thickened, his tone much more serious. Though, he didn't seem to mind not having my full attention as he shared only half of his. "Your mate-ship was as sudden to Alec as it was to you, if not more. Having a mate — let alone one that is a human and his blood singer… As important as you are to him," he trailed off.
I became nervous to ask him where he was going with this topic. The shared similarities with our most recent discussion of Alec had an interesting taste. Like the sweet before the burning spice of a pepper.
"In truth, Saffiya. I do not know how he manages." My attention was returned to him. He spoke with the echoes of a cracking voice in the background, but the breaks did not lessen his words. He was unyielding in his admission. "My Elizabeth is my everything, but I do not believe she nor I could withstand all that Alec has with you. The bloodlust is too engrained, too altering."
"Prosper…" I started, but paused, replaying what he'd admitted. I tried to reframe his wording for it to make sense, until I had to accept that he had said exactly what he meant. If he and his mate — his Elizabeth — were in Alec's position, he believed he would have killed her by this point. It had always been clear to me that he adored his mate, with all his heart. But, if a love that strong wouldn't make it, I struggled to figure what could make Alec and I's situation so different? Prosper didn't seem to have an answer either. He just posed the questions, and he always had a way of making me see Alec's side in a way that no one else had been able to.
Prosper shook his head once more. "For all his faults…" Alec broke through the crowd and I could feel an unresolved tension release from my body at the sight. His eyes landed on me, checking me over for damages as he always did. As if he actually expected Prosper to have actually lost me.
He landed in front of us, he informed, "our train is behind schedule." He and Prosper continued, but their conversation became side notes to me as Alec's arrival was timed perfectly with Prosper's words. Either Alec didn't notice or he chose to ignore me as I gazed up at him, almost dazed by the perspective that had been shared with me. Whether I was fully aware of it before this, I wasn't positive. The idea was still hazy and a familiar echoing guilt for the complications I'd added into our situation began to rise in my chest.
Prosper said something about a newsstand before he disappeared from my peripheral view.
"It is impolite to stare." He would know.
I blinked, "everyone else is staring."
"Yes. Because they are led by baser desires." He pointed out, attempting to fluster me with the implication that my reasoning may not be much different. I scrunched up my face in response, but I was too focused to fall into his trap.
"That's not why I'm staring."
"Pray tell, cara mia." A small smirk graced his lips, the first real crack in his cranky attitude.
I had a witty comment at the ready, but I held it back to take him in once more. His modern attire had been particularly dashing in the castle, but now that we were among the same era's wardrobe choices, it was different. Somehow better, perhaps due to the direct comparison of being surrounded by so many bland and normal people that were nowhere near his calibre. Of course, he had the vampire beauty and grace, but it was more than this. There was no doubt that he was gifted with features that superseded the appearance of any other boy I'd ever met, with or without the vampire traits.
The deep burgundy of his turtleneck stood out brazenly from his pale skin and the awe of the look became more prominent in glances between the lightweight fabric and his eyes. It was a wonder how I ever managed to look away from him. He swallowed, drawing my focus to the top of his turtleneck, the cut of his jaw and the definition of his Adam's apple. An image flashed through my mind and my lips parted with a small intake of air, embarrassed to even consider the pursuit of the fleeting thought.
My unabashed inspection of his overall form had his eyes flashing with a roughish inspiration.
"Like what you see, then?" With this comment, he received his desired response as I quickly turned my stare into an unimpressed glare. It was almost as if the audacity of both suggestive statements was only just hitting me.
I decided not to dignify the taunt with a response. "Humans would worship you like gods if they knew about vampires." He found a little amusement in the suggestion. "Why is secrecy so important to the Volturi?"
He sighed as if wishing I'd asked something different before slowly reaching for my arm to guide me onto the bench. He leaned against the side of it as I continued to study him. "Humans are simple-minded, yet a distinct few demonstrate the potential to greatly impact the world with their inventions or ideas. Ideas of government have destroyed civilisations throughout history. Inventions in science and war threaten the same. In ignorance, we maintain our food source and they live their lives none the wiser.
"Before the Volturi, and the covens that led before us, there were those that proved vampires do not bode well for the survival of humanity." And therefore, their food, but he didn't verbalise this factor. "Helen of Troy, would be a titular example."
"Helen of Troy was a vampire?" I exclaimed and his head turned sharply to see if anyone had heard me. He rolled his eyes, his bitter mood still present underneath the pleasant distraction of our banter. "Whoops."
I took advantage of the continued, brief respite in his negative mood to connect this information with the current events. The man they'd captured, Zafir, had said his leader sought to reveal vampires to the world. In relation to this, I posed, "so, Razin…"
Alec's eyes hardened at the mention of the growing threat. They'd been so careful not to speak about Zafir or what he had revealed in the throne room - besides the obvious, of course, around me. Nor had I been given information about the various missions the guard had been sent on. From missions requiring small groups to ones that needed a larger collection of guard members, there was a lot more happening behind the scenes. Now that we'd been sent away for purposes involving this rebellion, I figured I was owed at least a bit more detail. Apparently, Alec agreed.
"Only desires the revelry, the worship of a reveal to the humans." His lips drew back in a silent snarl. "So far, we have determined from his followers that he shows little concern for the inevitable end of such a reign, nor for the dangers it poses to our survival when it does end."
"You've all been searching for his followers, then? For information?" He nodded, "his followers are recruiting, creating new vampires, and none have known his exact location. He has stayed one step ahead of us from the start."
The Masters had chosen not to take Zafir's warnings seriously, which resulted in the loss and kidnapping of members of their guard. Their pride led them to underestimate such a brazen enemy at first and this Razin had counted on their prideful behaviour, apparently still continuing to play into it.
"Which is why Aro is inviting vampires to the castle…" I filled in my assumption and he nodded to confirm my guess. I hesitated, feeling small as I dared to ask, "will it be enough?"
"The rebels are only causing minor inconveniences. Any true attempt to directly attack the Volturi would be counterproductive to his cause. Jane and I have defeated greater challengers than this trickster." Trickster…the choice of word was odd on its own, but it hinted to Alec's thought process on more information that I had yet to learn. "There is nothing to fear."
I put my chin in my hand and stared off into the crowd, my thoughts lining up one by one.
There were so many elements in place, possibilities and dangers that a faceless enemy presented. So, if Alec and Jane were enough to protect the Volturi on their own, it seemed irresponsible to separate the twins, their greatest weapons, just to keep me safe from their guests. I'd been given believable explanations, but there had to be something else that wasn't being revealed to me yet. Jane had made a point to promise I'd be safe on this trip, but what did it matter where I was when the twins were strongest together? That was most important, was it not?
He ran a hand through his hair and I decided it was best not to question him further on the topic just now. After our last conversations, I don't believe he intended to keep anything else from me. There was time. But, I had one more question I needed to ask him.
"Alec?"
He lifted his head to indicate he was listening, though his eyes remained on the world around us.
"Do you think Elizabeth is still alive?"
A line appeared between his brows, softening as his hardened eyes met my naive ones. Perhaps I wasn't looking for a truthful answer, just one that would provide some hope for the time being. Just enough to get us through this part.
Alec's face softened and he lifted a hand to gently brush a strand of hair off my cheek. The palm of his hand returned to my cheek, the move clearly aimed for innocence yet held much more than that. I leaned into his touch, my eyes nearly fluttering closed but not wanting to completely sever the connection flowering between us, emotions high but in sync. He seemed to be savouring me, our moment set in the middle of a busy station.
His eyes flickered over my shoulder and he nodded. "For his sake, I believe she is." He returned his attention to the crowd and with that, the conversation was ended.
I was still staring at him when Prosper returned, a plastic bag in one hand and a gossip magazine in the other. I raised my eyebrows at the purchase and he scratched the back of his head. "Crossword," he explained and I let it go, not quite as entertained by his answer as I'd hoped.
Only a few minutes later, the same woman that had snapped at me outside the station approached our near empty section of seating. She was clearly a mother, now holding a baby with her two young boys walking next to her, as they settled in to a bench directly across from us. She barked a direction at the children to behave before sitting down herself. The oldest boy had settled in with a book, while the middle child played with a tiny airplane.
It did not take long before I decided that the kids were just as terrible as their mother. The eldest was still reading his book, excluded from my distaste on the account of being terrifically monotone. His younger brother was still flying his airplane. The adventurous tale of which, had apparently reached the climax as the boy eventually began running circles around their seating area with the toy in hand. His airplane noises were basically raspberries and I'd been scowling at the child long before his stupid baby sibling woke up and started screaming.
Now that it had, the middle child's germ spreading would have been a boon as the monster of a newborn increased the volume as it sang a horrendous tune. The mother lazily tried a few things, but nothing soothed the little bugger and she seemed to just give up. Which was even more infuriating.
Alec was intently scanning the crowd as he sat on the arm of the bench Prosper and I shared. Prosper was casually focused on his crossword and had already filled in almost every word. There were scratches of notes scattered across the rest of the page in what appeared to be multiple languages. I'd contemplated why he'd dropped the soldier stance until I realized he hadn't scratched his throat once since he'd started the puzzle.
While all of this was well and good, neither vampire seemed to give a damn that this baby thought it was Whitney freaking Houston.
"You both literally have super hearing, how is this not killing you?"
I looked at Prosper, clearly getting no sympathy from Alec. Prosper, however, simply shrugged and tried to bury himself back in the puzzle. He was still trying to distract himself from his slowly increasing thirst, though he continued to nod when Alec checked in nonverbally.
He must have been somewhat controlled at the very least, because he answered me. "I did not take you for a kid hater," he commented with slight humour.
"They're sticky. And loud." I sent another glare to the middle child across from us as he blew raspberries in the air and jumped onto a seat to mimic his plane. "And they ask too many questions." Both Prosper and Alec had quick reactions, exchanging looks of shared amusement, though they tried to hide them from me. "What?"
Prosper didn't falter, "you may have a tendency to also ask an array of questions at once."
"I do not!" Prosper shrugged to escape my wrath, though he failed to hide the growing smile on his face.
"67." Alec spoke up, his focus back on the crowd.
"Huh?"
"67. It is the highest number of questions you have asked me in a single day."
I scoffed, "what's your point?" Alec smirked. "Oh, stuff it."
The baby's cries subsided and I threw myself back against my chair dramatically. "Thank god."
Except, it wasn't done. It started a whole new round of unsettled cries not a moment later. My reaction was immature and unnecessarily dramatic, but I couldn't help myself. The baby had driven me to the brink.
"Okay, that's it!" I shoved myself up from the hard bench, ready to lay into the worthless mother of the monstrosity she considered a child. Both vampires beside me grabbed my arms and pulled me back into my seat before I could get far. The family didn't even notice my outburst.
I ripped my arms away to cross them over my chest. "Lucky baby." I grumbled.
Alec's low voice appeared in my ear in a husky breath, "as appealing as it is to see that lovely temper directed towards someone other than myself, it would be preferable that we do not attract unnecessary attention." I tilted my head up to look at him sideways. The sunglasses both he and Prosper wore were incredibly out of place during this particularly murky day. Especially now that we were indoors. Though even this couldn't seem to hide the fact that they were extraordinarily beautiful beings walking among the living.
I glanced off to the right, where a group of girls on what must have been a school outing, had zeroed in on both Prosper and Alec. The sound of the young group giggling was prominent, despite the several pace distance separating us from them.
"Yeah. I'm the one that's out of place."
Alec followed my gaze and gifted the group a slow, but beguiling smirk at the group. All of whom erupted into another fit of giggles that got them stressfully shushed by one of their instructors.
I smiled at the innocence they displayed. They were barely younger than me. Each girl wore matching uniforms, some with their skirts rolled up at their waists to make the fabric shorter on their thighs. Their concerns for this lied with the others in their class, rather than the opinions of adults. These teenagers had fantasies that lied in daydreams and gossip I couldn't help but dwell on how much simpler my life would have been with a uniform and boarding school.
"You're going to give one of those poor girls a heart attack." I knew first hand what one look from him could do. He ran hand through his hair, messing with the locks of ebony in very movie star fashion. "You really do belong in a boy band." He was ready to offer a signature sassy remark, his poor mood forgotten, when he was interrupted.
"Alec." His eyes jumped from me to Prosper, who continued his sentence in fast-paced Italian. A muffled voice came over the loudspeaker as he switched back to English. "That'll be us."
Our fun was ended once more. Alec's fingertips returned to my lower back as we now followed the older man through the crowd in order to board our train. The throng of people differed from our first trek, now parting with the hurriedness of a wave in an approaching storm. Those that had only gotten a brief, star-struck peak of the two gorgeous men previously tried to do so now, their subtly being left to debate.
We eventually settled into a compartment, private and away from the prying eyes of the masses.
Prosper pulled a deck of cards he'd also obtained from the newsstand, encouraging me to play a few games with him. Our enjoyment at the simple fun was a stark contrast to the boy sitting across from me. He'd scoffed as if we were the lame ones when we'd tried to get him to play an admittedly childish card game with us. Though he couldn't help but add sarcastic commentary every once in a while aimed at our gameplay choices.
They were all clever remarks, and I might've laughed if there wasn't such a deliberately mean-spirited intention behind them. Jane loved to pick on him when he was like this, but I didn't exactly want to encourage him any more than I usually did.
We were soon awarded a reprieve from his negativity, to my surprise.
Once the train had reached a fair distance from the station, Alec stood and slid open the compartment door. He impatiently shared, "I will return soon." He turned right back out the door without giving space for discussion or even a brief goodbye, not that we offered one. I looked to Prosper for the answer I hadn't gotten a chance to ask.
"He is going to secure the train. We will do so after each stop."
Secure the train? Who did they think — who would even know to look for us outside the castle? "I thought no one knew where we were."
"Tis better to be safe." He muttered, with an unintentionally ominous structure that sounded nothing like him. He tried to appear focused on his next move, but he knew what was coming.
I hummed suspiciously. "According to whom?"
He paused.
"Caius."
Caius's hyper-vigilance. Jane's apprehension. The high guard's quiet acceptance, though reluctant, to rely on the Cullens. Most of the coven member's behaviours in the last 24 hours had been uncharacteristically sensitive to the unknowns of the future. Though they didn't seem to be expecting nor preparing for the supposedly imminent attack. More like, getting things in order. Preparation without an extremely pressing nature.
It was all a little disquieting.
Jane had warned me to focus on my issues with Alec before worrying about these topics that were out of my control. Not that it made a difference. Alec and I still had to finish our conversation. And while it seemed unlikely that this talk would simply flip some kind of switch to make everything okay, it finally felt like I was getting all the answers I wanted to know and he wished to share.
"Saffiya." My head snapped up to Prosper. "You should get some rest."
I shook my head, refocusing on our card game.
"Are you positive?"
"Go fish."