Chapter 88: The Pitiful Little Thing

The sealed tunnels held dust that had lain undisturbed for centuries. Vampires drifted through them so swiftly that they seemed less like living beings than ghosts gliding across the darkness, leaving nothing behind but fleeting shadows.

By the time Alec arrived at Fabio's quarters, he discovered that Jane had already beaten him there. She had stormed into the reception area ahead of him and taken Fabio away before he could intervene.

The Italian woman behind the front desk, her dark bronze skin noticeably pale with fear, hurriedly bowed in greeting. Alec had no patience for formalities. Cutting her off before she could finish, he demanded, "Where did they go?"

"T... toward the blood storage..." she stammered.

Before the last word had fully left her lips, only a ghostlike black blur remained where Alec had been standing.

When Alec reached the entrance to the blood vault, he found that he had arrived too late yet again. The guard on duty reported that Jane and Fabio had taken several bags of stored blood before leaving for another destination.

"Which way?" Alec demanded sharply, his red eyes narrowing.

The guard nearly froze under the pressure. Within the Volturi Guard, offending those who served directly under the leaders was no different from courting death itself. Swallowing nervously, he answered truthfully, 

"Jane took them personally. I... I don't have the authority to ask how they'll be used. Besides, since last month she's often taken blood bags for the newborn under her supervision. It's... actually quite normal."

That single statement immediately gave Alec the missing piece of the puzzle.

Very few people knew that Jane herself had stopped eating in the dining hall. Aside from Alec, who had personally witnessed her taking blood from the storage room back to her territory, almost no one knew the truth.

"Supervising Sophie" has become the perfect excuse. Whatever mysterious reason Jane had for avoiding Chelsea and Marcus recently, the lower-ranking guards still saw only the same untouchable, cold, and prideful commander they had always feared.

Earlier, Alec's concern for his sister had clouded his judgment. Now that he forced himself to calm down and combined everything the blood vault guard had told him, Jane's destination became painfully obvious.

She had brought Fabio with her because she needed his assistance, yet there was no chance she would reveal the real purpose of her actions to one of her subordinates. If she had openly taken blood bags in front of him, then there was only one possible use for them. They were meant for the newborn.

The answer was unmistakable. In the span of a heartbeat, Alec had already deduced where they had gone.

They were with Sophie.

So... after enduring it for nine days, Jane finally came up with a solution.

"Rather than torment yourself, torment someone else instead. Clever girl," Alec murmured with an amused smile. He hurried off, eager to witness the spectacle. Had time not been so pressing, and had the matter not involved Jane herself, he would have dragged Demetri along just to enjoy watching Sophie suffer.

By the time Alec arrived, the heavy brass door beside the glowing light rod stood wide open. The intricate carvings upon it remained as exquisite as ever, making the plain brass nameplate engraved with Sophie seem almost embarrassingly modest in comparison.

He had knocked on this door before.

Sophie had never once invited him inside.

Jane, however, moved through the place with effortless familiarity, as though she had long ago claimed the room as somewhere she belonged.

Perhaps Demetri was right, Alec thought. Girls really do become close in ways men never quite understand.

The moment he stepped inside, Sophie' scent overwhelmed the room. It lingered so thickly in the air that it almost felt like a territorial warning, urging every visitor to leave immediately. Entering another vampire's domain was normally an act of extreme danger. Of course, the Volturi were the exception. If they chose to set foot inside someone else's territory, then it was the territory's owner who was expected to lower their head and quietly endure it.

Beneath Sophie' lingering scent, Alec effortlessly picked out Jane's familiar presence.

Following it, he quickly located both his sister and Fabio. The tall vampire appeared to be in considerably better condition than Alec had expected.

"Alec?" Jane clearly hadn't anticipated her brother's sudden arrival. She shifted slightly, leaving an empty space beside her and silently gesturing for him to come closer.

Fabio immediately lowered his head into a respectful bow.

The punishment he had endured in the Judgment Hall a month ago had left behind no resentment whatsoever. Under Chelsea's gift, his loyalty had become absolute.

Besides, as a guard with only modest talent, serving beneath someone as powerful as Jane granted him a status that most guards could never hope to achieve. A measure of pain, a few harsh punishments... they were simply the price of privilege, and Fabio accepted that exchange willingly.

"Sister, I was actually looking for you."

Alec stepped closer, instinctively lowering his head to kiss Jane's cheek in greeting.

Jane subtly leaned back.

Almost immediately afterward, she seemed to realize that the movement had been strangely out of place. As though trying to smooth over the awkwardness, she casually asked, "Has the Master assigned a new mission?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Alec halted his movement and smoothly withdrew, pretending nothing unusual had happened.

"No. Mine can wait." He paused before glancing toward the curled-up figure at the bottom of the bath. "You should deal with... your current problem first."

His gaze lingered below.

In his mind, the trembling little figure hidden beneath the water could only be the source of Jane's recent troubles.

"Should I pull her out?" Alec volunteered immediately.

"I can do it as well," Fabio quickly offered, eager to prove himself.

Jane, however, merely raised the blood bag in her hand, silently stopping them both. Her red eyes rested upon the tiny figure curled into herself at the bottom of the pool. She looked impossibly small, and it was obvious she had already reached the very limit of what she could endure.

To think... I've spent all these days avoiding this tiny creature.

Jane inwardly sneered at herself, disgusted by the fear and hesitation she had allowed to take root.

"Fabio," she said calmly, "carry out the task I assigned you when the time comes."

Before Fabio could even answer, Jane tightened her fingers.

The fragile blood bag burst apart in her palm.

In an instant, the sweet fragrance of fresh blood exploded through the room.