Chapter 87: A Silent Standoff

The room was sealed in absolute darkness.

Heavy curtains shut out every trace of light and wind, blurring the passage of time until it became impossible to tell day from night. Sophie wore nothing more than a thin silver-white silk slip dress as she curled herself into the bottom of the bathing pool. 

Cool, living water flowed ceaselessly around her, its gentle current muffling the sounds and scents of the outside world, quietly embracing the young vampire who was desperately trying to flee from her own instincts.

After losing every sign of human life, remaining perfectly still for hours, or even days, suited a vampire surprisingly well.

The last fragments of Sophie's reason had become too fragile for her to pay attention to the world beyond the water. She no longer knew how many sunrises and sunsets had passed since the day she began her self-imposed hunger strike. The Volturi made no attempt to interfere. They understood better than anyone that the agony of resisting one's own nature was punishment enough.

The burning thirst and the craving for blood intertwined into a torment unlike any other. It began in her throat before slowly spreading throughout her body, then deeper still, until it seemed to scorch her very soul. Behind her tightly shut eyelids, the blackness swallowing her irises continued to spread. When the final thread of sanity finally snapped, that would be the moment she violated the greatest taboo.

...

Time never paused for the will of a single person.

Far away in Naples, Aro was enjoying himself immensely.

Using Aurora's upcoming wedding as an excuse to search for the perfect gift, he had taken the opportunity to become acquainted with many promising young figures in Europe's art world. The immense wealth of the Volturi allowed him to spend extravagantly without hesitation. 

After identifying several exceptionally talented artists, Aro quietly began investing in their futures, purchasing work after work until the newly acquired collection became so extensive that two guards had to transport it back to Palazzo dei Priori ahead of schedule.

Works of art demanded far greater care than ordinary cargo. Because of that, Felix was immediately ruled out as a courier. Instead, Aro assigned Demetri to oversee the shipment personally, while summoning Fabio, who had already spent nearly a month leisurely wandering Naples, to assist him.

Traveling day and night without pause, the two finally returned to Volterra.

Even after only ten days away, the ancient city felt wonderfully familiar. The joy of returning home filled Demetri from head to toe as he passed through the hidden passage beneath the abandoned church and reentered Palazzo dei Priori. After calling over several guards to organize Aro's newest acquisitions and store them according to category inside the vault, he calculated the timing with satisfaction. He had arrived just in time for Heidi's freshly prepared feast.

Demetri immediately headed for the dining hall.

Chelsea and her mate, Afton, had already arrived. Hand in hand, they gazed into each other's eyes with effortless intimacy. Chelsea's position within the Volturi was unique. The cloak draped across her shoulders bore the same rank as those worn by the leaders themselves. As a result, even Afton, whose own abilities were thoroughly average, enjoyed a status equal to Jane's and Alec's simply because he was Chelsea's lifelong mate.

To be honest, many of the guards secretly looked down on the man. In their eyes, he possessed little strength of his own and had earned his position only through Chelsea. Unfortunately, vampire mates were absolute. Love could not be broken or reassigned. If anyone deserved blame, it was Aro for discovering Chelsea too late. Otherwise, perhaps he could have separated them before the bond became eternal.

Among vampires, nothing ranked above one's destined mate.

Even sharing a meal, something that normally violated vampire possessiveness, was permitted only between bonded pairs.

Standing some distance away from them was Alec.

By himself.

His black cloak nearly blended into the stone wall behind him as though he had become part of the castle itself.

Since the meal had not yet begun, Demetri walked over with a grin. "Hey, Alec! You look terrible. And where's Jane?"

The twins were practically inseparable. Something as enjoyable as feeding was never an occasion they experienced apart.

Seeing his old friend again softened Alec's expression somewhat. The two exchanged a familiar palm slap and fist bump before Alec finally sighed. "You never should've convinced Jane to supervise Sophie again. Ever since the day you left, something's been wrong between them." He frowned, frustration creeping into his voice. "I asked Jane what happened. She actually refused to tell me."

Even Demetri blinked in surprise.

"Whoa... seriously?" He threw both hands dramatically into the air. "My condolences, brother. You've officially fallen out of favor." Then, placing a solemn hand over his chest, he bowed theatrically. "I sincerely invite you to become my little brother instead."

"Get lost."

Alec punched him lightly on the shoulder before muttering bitterly, "It's all Sophie's fault. Before this, Jane and I never kept secrets from each other."

It sounded suspiciously like the troubles of adolescence.

Demetri had been transformed at twenty years old, making him mentally more mature than Alec. Half joking and half sincere, he tried to comfort him. "Girls keeping secrets from each other is perfectly normal. Just like the jokes I make with you aren't the same ones I'd use around Jane or Sophie." He shrugged. "You monopolized Jane for centuries. She never really had a close friend besides you. You'll get used to it."

But Alec knew this wasn't the same.

He hadn't witnessed what happened personally. Heidi had only seen the beginning.

According to Heidi, Sophie had fled the dining hall, and Jane had chased after her.

After that...

No one knew what had happened between them.

Then, for nine straight days, Sophie locked herself inside her room without coming out. Other newborns had done similar things before, so no one found it unusual. The worst outcome usually involved choosing to burn themselves to death. What truly disturbed Alec was Jane's behavior. During those same nine days, Jane had deliberately avoided everyone. She refused to enter the dining hall altogether.

As commander of the Volturi Guard, every movement Jane made attracted attention throughout Palazzo dei Priori.

Yet no one dared question her, whether openly or in whispers behind her back.

Only Alec worried in silence.

He visited Jane's private territory several times under the pretense of checking on her. To his astonishment, whenever she needed to feed, she chose blood bags from the cold storage instead of joining the others. She carried them back to her territory and drank them alone.

It made absolutely no sense.

No matter how much he thought about it, Alec couldn't understand what Jane was hiding from him.

After discovering this, he quietly examined her neck, wrists, and every exposed inch of skin, making certain no fresh wounds had appeared on her body. Only then did he breathe a little easier.

At least Sophie had apparently kept her promise not to attack again.

A shame, Alec thought coldly. I almost had an excuse to kill her.

With Aro still away in Naples, there was no one capable of reading Jane's thoughts. Left with no other choice, Alec confronted his sister directly and demanded an explanation.

The truth was simply too embarrassing to admit.

Jane dodged the question at first, evading him at every turn. Eventually, realizing Alec refused to give up, she blurted out the first excuse she could think of.

"I've been irritated just looking at people lately!"

Which might as well have meant, I don't want to talk about it.

In the end, Alec was the one who relented.

If he continued pressing her, he'd only make things harder for Jane.

From careful observation, he eventually realized Jane wasn't avoiding everyone equally. She mainly stayed away from Chelsea and Marcus. The rest of the guards didn't matter. Whenever she couldn't avoid official duties, she handled Guard affairs exactly as she always had.

That meant...

Whatever the problem was, it remained under control.

Using his own authority, Alec quietly suppressed every curious glance and idle rumor within the Guard, protecting both Jane's supreme position and the cold, untouchable image she had cultivated for centuries.

But when it came to Jane herself...

He was powerless.

Among the Guard, Demetri was perhaps Alec's closest friend. Even so, Alec revealed only that Jane had begun keeping secrets from him. Everything else remained locked away.

Naturally, Demetri assumed it was nothing more than a minor disagreement.

Leaning close enough that only Alec could hear, he whispered conspiratorially, "Someone came back with me this time. Guess who."

Alec's mind worked almost instantly.

"It could only be Fabio."

Aro had traveled with Demetri, Felix, and one personal bodyguard. If Felix had returned, he'd already be in the dining hall preparing to feed. The bodyguard would never leave Aro's side.

That left only one possibility.

Fabio.

"Genius!" Demetri praised enthusiastically.

Alec immediately thought of Fabio's Gift, Memory Compression, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Trying to seal Jane's memories won't work. If Fabio gets within arm's reach of her, she'll burn him until he forgets his own name."

"What kind of nonsense are you imagining?" Demetri waved dismissively. "Just pick a few faults with him, then ask Jane to discipline him with her burning Gift. Listening to someone scream their lungs out is guaranteed to improve her mood."

Alec's face darkened.

"Demetri."

His voice dropped several degrees.

"Don't joke about Jane."

Before Demetri could reply, noisy voices echoed from beyond the great bronze doors.

Demetri flashed a grin full of gleaming white teeth and stepped aside.

The hunt had begun.

Fresh, dark red blood surged from newly opened veins. The warmth of living human bodies intensified the irresistible fragrance until it became almost intoxicating.

After enjoying a satisfying meal, Alec casually tossed aside the lifeless body of the young man he had fed upon.

Then he began seriously considering Demetri's suggestion.

When they were human, Jane had merely been proud. Whenever danger appeared, however, she always stood in front of the physically weaker Alec, shielding him like a guardian. After becoming vampires, she awakened the terrifying Gift of burning agony. Aro, fascinated by its power, frequently ordered Jane to torture prisoners. Over the centuries, hearing the screams of criminals slowly became something she genuinely enjoyed.

The guardian had become the executioner. Alec had spent centuries pretending not to notice that transformation. Yet if tormenting others truly brought Jane happiness, then he was willing to become an accomplice to cruelty.

His decision was made. He would go have a talk with Fabio.