Bella's POV

We walked back at a human pace to the throne room, and I took the chance to admire the ancient beauty surrounding us, the cool stone corridors a welcome contrast to the slightly-too-warm evening air.

My fingers were laced with Marcus', and somehow, walking that way felt natural—comforting. I missed his arm around my waist almost immediately, and now that the initial overwhelming haze of the mating bond had eased ever so slightly, my thoughts began to slow. Everything felt like a dream—vivid and achingly believable. And yet, I knew I was awake. At least, I hoped I was. If this illusion were to shatter now, I didn't think I'd survive it.

This time, we entered through the back, through a door that was intricately carved—five times smaller than the grand gates, but no less imposing in appearance.

Marcus guided us to his throne, to the right of Aro's. We didn't sit, instead remaining standing like his brothers. A few guards had returned, fewer than ten, all dressed in dark grey or black cloaks. Many of them stared openly at me. I ignored the attention as best I could, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear and fixing my gaze on the grand doors, expecting Alice and Edward to enter through them.

Still, I couldn't help the sensation that crept along my spine—like being watched by shadows with memories older than stone. It wasn't just their stares. It was something more. Something I didn't yet understand.

At last, the tall guard—Felix, I now knew—pushed open the doors and walked in with regal purpose, followed closely by the Cullens. Alice and I locked eyes immediately, and the sad, resigned smile she offered tugged painfully at my heart.

Edward looked strained. Anger clung to him like a second skin, visible in the tight set of his jaw as he glanced upward toward the brothers, no doubt reading their thoughts.

Aro stepped forward. I couldn't see his expression from where we stood, but his tone practically radiated glee.

"Dearest Alice, Edward, welcome back! I hope your rooms were to your liking?" He didn't wait for a response. "You are here because one of you plotted—and nearly succeeded—in exposing our kind to the humans of Volterra. Given today's technology, news would have spread beyond our beloved city's walls before we could intervene. We understand grief, Edward, and had already offered you a generous alternative to your suffering. Still, you chose to betray your kind. How do you plead?"

Edward stared at Aro, his face cold. "Guilty. I am ready to pay the price. I only ask that my sister and Bella be spared."

A faint gasp escaped me. His intentions were clear. He still wanted to die. My throat tightened, bile rising, and my breaths turned shallow.

"Adesso, adesso," Aro said in a tone more suited for calming a child mid-tantrum than addressing a condemned man. [Now, now.]

Patronizing much? I thought. But then again, he was over three thousand years old. Suddenly, the age gap between Edward and me felt laughable. And irrelevant.

"We have discussed your situation," Caius said, stepping in, voice colder than stone. "And there will be a price."

I shivered at his tone, and Marcus' hand began tracing slow, comforting circles against my back again.

"Tuttavia!" Aro raised a finger dramatically. [However!] "There are extenuating circumstances... Isabella, our savior, prevented your foolish act. Therefore, you will be granted a week to reflect. Your sentence is to match the life you wanted to sacrifice: a hundred years: either in a cell, in isolation, or as a willing member of our esteemed Guard." He gestured toward the assembled vampires who looked at him and Alice with a wide variety of emotions.

I did not know what to think. I did not even know how to comprehend Edward's sentence. A hundred years seemed forever to me with my human eyes. But as I looked up toward Marcus' reassuring gaze, I thought I started to appreciate that this was indeed maybe a clemency in this instance.

"Pensa bene, ragazzo," Caius sneered. [Think carefully, boy.] "The dietary requirements of our prisons may not suit your family's… peculiarities. "Vedremo quanto durerai." [We'll see how long you last.]

Edward's posture sagged. He looked utterly defeated. I wanted to speak, to argue, but a warning shake of the head from Alice held me in place.

They… Edward wouldn't drink human blood again, would he? The thought made me ill.

And the alternative? Serving in the Guard? That would mean living in Volterra… seeing me every day… with Marcus.

Edward looked at each of the Kings, his gaze lingering longest on Marcus and me. Then he bowed his head. "Thank you. I will think carefully."

He turned and walked away, Felix behind him.

I exhaled slowly, only now realizing I'd been holding my breath since Edward looked at us.

Alice remained, standing alone in the cavernous chamber where my life had changed forever just hours ago.

"You are welcome to stay with us while your brother reflects on his decision, dear Alice," Aro said. "You too may join us, should you wish to stay by his side… and Isabella's."

"I will think on it, Master Aro," she replied politely, her use of the title clearly pleasing him.

"Mi domando… cosa vedi con quella mente preziosa?" Aro said, stepping forward in a blur. [I wonder… what do you see in that precious mind of yours?] "Sei pronta, cara?"
[Are you ready, dear?]

She offered her hand, and he took it eagerly.

I held my breath. Again.

Alice's eyes closed. Her expression shifted rapidly—too quickly for me to name any emotion before it vanished.

"Breathe, beloved," Marcus' voice murmured by my ear with a soft chuckle, breaking me out of my spiraling thoughts.

"I can't," I whispered. "Why is it taking so long?"

"I believe your Alice has one of the most fascinating minds he has ever encountered. He's usually finished in half the time."

"Great." I laughed nervously, trying not to think about the memories she might be sharing. Some conversations I'd rather keep buried…

"Oh! Che meraviglia! Che mente affascinante hai, dolce Alice!" Aro finally exclaimed. [Oh! How marvelous! What a fascinating mind you have, sweet Alice!] "I thank you for showing me its wonders. You will return to us soon, of course." His smile was full of triumph.

Alice inclined her head respectfully, and Aro laughed, satisfied.

Just like that, the room seemed to exhale. Guards moved in hushed murmurs. Caius and Aro returned to their thrones—but Alice remained rooted in place, her eyes locked on mine.

"Come, dearest," Marcus said gently. "Let us find somewhere quiet so you may speak with your sister."

In a blink, Alice was beside me, wrapping her arms around me so tightly I nearly stumbled. I clung back, the world blurring into the velvet of her shoulder.

"Alice," I whispered, my throat burning. "I missed you."

"Shh. It's okay now. Everything's going to be okay." She rocked me gently, a whisper of comfort. "Oh, Bella, sweetheart…"

Without a word, she slipped her arm around my shoulders, keeping me close as we followed Marcus through the quiet corridors of the Volturi palace.

"Alice, I can walk," I murmured half-heartedly.

"I beg to differ." Her smirk was fleeting but real, and the laugh that followed—it was light, wind-chime soft, and for the first time in days, I breathed.

Marcus came to a stop before a pair of intricately carved doors and pushed them open. Inside, firelight flickered over old stone, the scent of moss and woodsmoke wrapping around us like a memory. He crossed the room and opened the shutters. Golden light spilled across the floor, gilding everything it touched.

"Sit," he said quietly, motioning to the cushions near the hearth.

I sank into them, pulling Alice down beside me. Marcus settled behind me, arms wrapping around my waist in quiet reassurance.

Alice stared into the fire for a moment, then turned to me.

"Bella, I didn't see it. I didn't see him."

"You didn't see this coming—me and Marcus," I said softly.

She shook her head, her voice fragile. "No. And if I had... I think I would've changed something. Maybe I shouldn't have seen it. Maybe I wasn't supposed to. But it doesn't matter anymore." She turned to face me fully. "I need you to know—I will never leave you again. Not like before. I'm so sorry."

I reached for her hand, fingers curling tight. "It's okay," I whispered. You're here now. That's what matters.

Her voice turned fierce. "Even if the future goes dark—even if the path makes no sense—I'll be there. That's not a vision. It's a promise."

I nodded slowly. "Okay. Good."

We stayed that way for a moment before Alice spoke again.

"So… are you going back to Forks?"

Marcus responded, his voice calm and assured. "Bella wishes to complete her education. This will give her time to say goodbye to those who must never know."

"And the story?"

"A scholarship to a university in Athens," Marcus said. "But she never arrives. An accident—final, tragic. That is what they will believe."

"It'll work." Alice's brow furrowed. "But… you'll go with her, won't you?"

"To be apart would be like trying to reject the bond," Marcus said without hesitation.

Alice shuddered. "Excruciating," she whispered.

"I'll call Carlisle tonight," she said, rising to her feet. "See what he thinks."

She bent and gently squeezed my shoulder. "I want to stay longer, but I think you're overdue for rest. I'll come back in the morning—if that's okay?"

The question was for both of us.

"Go see your brother," Marcus said, soft but commanding. "He'll need you to help him see reason. And come back soon. My mate needs her sister beside her."

The way Alice's face lit up at his words—pure, quiet joy—was enough to melt something tight in my chest.

"Good night, Master Marcus. Bella."

And just like that—she was gone.

Marcus' POV

As the doors closed behind Alice, I felt Bella's body tense.

"Are you alright, beloved?" I asked softly.

"You… you called her my sister," she said, shifting in my lap.

She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear again, and I reached for her hand, pressing a tender kiss against her knuckles. Her heart stuttered slightly at the gesture, and the sound of it made something ancient and possessive stir in me.

"It is what you are to each other," I said. "Just as I call Aro and Caius my brothers. It is not blood that binds us, but something deeper. Alice is bound to you by love, by history, by shared pain. She is your sister in every way that matters."

A soft smile curved her lips, and I felt her relax, drawing comfort from the words.

After a moment, I asked gently, "You mentioned that they left you. Will you tell me what happened?"

She went still, but after a pause, she began to speak. Her back was still pressed to my chest, and her eyes were distant, fixed on the dancing flames as she recounted the pain she'd endured.

I didn't interrupt. I let the silence stretch between us, let her voice rise and fall like waves over a stormy sea. And inside me, fury brewed.

The boy—that boy—had wounded her in a way that was utterly inexcusable. She had been drifting, barely surviving. He had shattered her.

The century of punishment I had thought to lessen suddenly felt… far too lenient.

In my mind, I imagined a thousand ways to make him suffer—every breath a torment, every moment a reckoning for what he had done. I knew he would hear my thoughts if he looked for them. I hoped he did. Let him tremble.

"This is why he was never your mate," I whispered when her story ended. "He left you when you were most vulnerable. He gave you a family and then tore it away. No true mate would ever survive inflicting that kind of pain on the other half of their soul."

I turned her toward me and gently brushed away the tears that had slipped down her cheeks.

"You will leave your human life behind," I told her. "But you will never be alone. Not now. We will protect your loved ones. Watch over them from afar. Their happiness will be safeguarded—for your peace, and for their own."

She didn't respond with words. Her exhaustion had caught up to her, and I gathered her into my arms. She nestled into me, safe, warm. A moment later, she whispered:

"Thank you."

We held onto each other, a comfortable silence between us as I felt the tension slowly release in her warm and soft body and then, finally, she slept.

I held her for hours, content to simply exist with her in that perfect, quiet moment. But eventually, I knew I had to go. With great reluctance, I laid her gently on one of the sofas and whispered:

"Dormi, amore mio. Nessuno ti farà del male." [Sleep, my love. No one will hurt you.]

I stood for a moment longer, watching the flickering firelight dance over her peaceful features—a flame that didn't burn, soft and powerful.

Then I slipped into the corridors, seeking my brothers.

A/N

Look, I am back again :) Thanks to the Easter holidays 🐣

To everyone reading, following, reviewing, and sharing love—thank you.
Your support, whether it's a like, a comment, or just returning for the next chapter, keeps me smiling and writing. Truly. ❤️

✨ Let's talk: how do you feel about Edward's sentence—justice or mercy? I'd love to know.

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Until next time, mes chers lecteurs.
🔥 – Ada