Tenebrous ↠ Volturi Kings {1} ✓

020

"Thank you, Felix," Marcus said, helping me out of the car.

"Your bags have already been taken inside as requested, and Jane and Alec are waiting inside as instructed," he said, clasping his hands behind his back and standing ram-rod straight. When the kings weren't looking, he sent me a playful wink. I grinned at him.

"Ah, Jane, Alec," Aro said once Felix had opened the door. The twins were standing on the other side, their faces unreadable masks. "How good it is to see you. Rowan is here, see?"

"My queen," they said in unison, bowing their heads in an unmistakable gesture of respect.

"Alec and Jane will be your guard while you're in the castle," Caius informed me.

"Good to see you again," I said, giving them a genuine smile. I felt that the kings were going a little overboard, considering I hardly felt like I would be in danger within the castle, but I didn't mind getting to know my guard a little better.

"It's good to see you as well, my queen," Alec said, giving me a small smile in return.

"Demetri and Felix will be serving as your guards as well. However, so long as you're with one of us, your guard is unneeded," Aro added, which the twins took as a clear order to leave, turning sharply on their heels and disappearing with a swish of their cloaks. "How about you get some rest, and in the morning we'll give you a tour?"

"There's no way I'll be able to sleep now! However, I would love that tour," I said, and seeing Aro's skeptical expression, gave him the same look that I had seen Edward use many a time to get his way with Bella.

Needless to say, it worked like a charm. "Oh, alright."

The castle was beautiful, a fact that I hadn't been able to appreciate on my first trip, which is why I wished that I hadn't begun to get sleepy after only touring the first floor and half of the second. I leaned against Caius as we walked, a fact that he accepted with only the smallest told-you-so smile. Once Aro caught on to my exhaustion, he insisted that I rest.

"We will show you the rest tomorrow, mia cara, I promise, but for now you must sleep," Aro said. "I'll escort you to my room, as it is closest."

"Is it?" Caius asked, raising a pale eyebrow. "Because I am quite sure that-"

"Mine is closest," Marcus finished.

I rolled my eyes. "You all are insufferable. I thought I had my own wing?"

"It's still under construction," Caius told me, looking displeased. "It should be complete before you leave here again."

"Just take me to whoever's room is actually closest, then, and I'll swap rooms every so often." Marcus looked smug, as his wing was indeed closest - one corridor over and through two large, wooden doors.

"Why the hell do you have such a big bed? You don't sleep." It was easily king-sized and while I could appreciate the irony there was still no reason for it.

Aro chuckled. "For you, love. We wanted to make sure you had somewhere to rest."

Caius snorted, and even though I suspected that the beds were most certainly not for sleeping, I was too tired to really care. Instead, I kicked off my shoes and flopped down on the comforter with a sigh. "Goodnight," I said, my words muffled by the bed.

I heard Caius let out a true laugh this time, and I strongly suspected it was his fingers that combed gently through my hair. "Goodnight, love. We'll leave you to rest."

"Until morning, mia cara," Aro said, giving my fingers a gentle squeeze.

"Marcus, you staying?" I asked, cracking my eyes open to see that he was the only one of my mates that still remained in the room.