The stillness ended almost as quickly as it began. I had successfully saved Bella, but only by certainly signing the death sentence for myself as Felix now had his sights set on me instead. My courage failed and I shrank back, feeling as I did when I was seven and cornered by my father with the knowledge that pain would be shortly incoming.
But Felix had barely moved when he was knocked aside, perhaps by the person I least expected. It was Caius that stood over him, snarling, one foot planted firmly on Felix's chest. "No!"
"Extraordinary," Aro breathed, red eyes fixated on me as he descended slowly down the steps. I noticed that Marcus was now standing too, his head tilted curiously as he studied me.
Caius released Felix with one last growl, and no one dared speak or even move as the three kings regarded me with something close to reverence. They had me cornered, and I took an involuntary step back, reaching for what little shadow remained. It wasn't enough to hide me, however; it was only the shadow that had remained from the journey into the throne room that had kept me hidden before.
Aro halted when I retreated. His voice was soft, gentle even. "No need to fear us, mia cara. I take it you are Rowan from young Edward's memory?"
He certainly didn't sound angry at my sudden appearance. I slowly nodded, not entirely sure I trusted myself to speak.
"Extraordinary," Aro murmured again, as Marcus touched his hand to Aro's. I realized he must have been sharing some insight. "Truly extraordinary."
My eyes darted towards Alice, who Demetri still held back, and Edward, who looked close to relieved. I still didn't understand what was happening, why the three Volturi kings were staring at me like I was precious treasure, why I instinctively trusted them despite the fact that they were the most dangerous vampires I had ever met.
I was human, a human who knew their secret. They would kill me, that was almost certain, and my heart rate shot up at the thought.
"Aro," Edward said slowly, almost hesitantly. "You're scaring her."
An unreadable expression crossed Aro's face, and he took a step back. Surely he was angered now, if he wasn't before. I clenched my fist hard enough that my nails dug into my skin, trying to prevent myself from trembling. It worked, mostly.
It was Marcus who spoke this time. "You are in no danger from us, my dear."
I opened my mouth, wanting nothing more than to ask in no uncertain terms what the hell was going on, but my voice died in my throat and I snapped my mouth shut without saying a word.
"Look what you've done now, Aro," Caius hissed, looking irritated.
I took another, skittish, step away. Marcus sent both of them a look. "Peace, brothers. Join the other Cullens if you wish, my dear."
He waved for Demetri to release Alice, and I quickly made my way towards her. Her face was troubled but unsurprised, and I realized that this must have been what she had seen during our desperate run to reach Edward and Bella.
"What do we do with the girl?" Caius demanded of Aro. I was uncertain of who he was referring to: Bella or myself. I edged closer to Alice, trying to reign in my spiraling emotions and instinct to flee - but no, the thought of running was a sour one and I stood in a sort of limbo, pinned in place by my own conflicting wills.
Edward sent me a single, nervous glance; he had no doubt picked up on my distress, but he didn't speak. Alice reached out and squeezed my hand, and I remembered her promise that she had made me long ago. "You honestly don't think I'd let anyone harm you, do you, Rowan? Because I promise I won't. You're safe with me, with us."
"I feel killing the girl would cause our Rowan considerable distress," Marcus said softly. "Her tie to Bella is quite strong."
I did a mental backpedal. Our Rowan? What did he mean, our Rowan? What made him think he had any sort of claim over me? And why, despite all reason, did I not mind the term?
"If only it was Edward's intention to give her immortality," Aro said with a sigh. His eyes darted towards mine, which were scared, pleading, bouncing between him and Bella like some sort of rhythm.
"Bella will become one of us," Alice said suddenly. "I've seen it. I'll change her myself."
Aro stretched out a silent hand, and Alice gave my hand another, final squeeze before stepping forward, pulling off one of her gloves and placing it into Aro's hand. My gut churned uncomfortably at the action. The unidentified feeling made no sense, but things had ceased being logical from the moment I threw myself out of the shadows and into Felix's crosshairs.
"Mesmerizing. To see what you have seen before it has happened." Aro released Alice and stepped to Bella, reaching for her face. My jaw clenched at the gesture as Bella, uneasy, shied away from his hand. "Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal, Isabella."
"And what shall be done of our mate, Aro?" Caius spoke, the attention of the kings coming to rest upon me once more.
No one besides Bella and myself seemed remotely startled at this sentence. His words sunk in and finally, I spoke. It wasn't close to eloquent - it wasn't even polite - but it burst out unbidden regardless. "Your what?"
"Your mates." It was Alice who spoke. "That's what I saw, when we were coming here. I was too focused on Edward to see what would occur if you came."
"And a good thing you didn't. You would be very sorry for trying to hide our mate from us," Caius said coldly. Aro hissed lightly.
"I'm your mate? All three of you?" I clarified. It did clear some things up, such as why Caius had reacted so violently to Felix targeting me. Still, it was an intimidating thought.
"Yes, dearest. It is unusual, certainly, but not unheard of," Marcus said gently, voice warm. He scared me the least out of the three kings - despite his vampiric nature, he had a vulnerable air about him, like a hawk with a broken wing. Though I wasn't exactly scared of Aro and Caius. Wary was perhaps a better term because the three together made me feel like I was wrapped in some sort of warm, protective cocoon.
It reminded me of the one clear memory I had left of my mother, a haze of trust and happiness and warmth. I shouldn't feel safe around them, I shouldn't, but I did, and that was proof enough of their claims. Regardless, they would keep me here. Hold me here far away from the Cullens, my family, against my will. I asked them about this, even though I was all but certain of their answer.
"Will I have to stay here?" I whispered. I didn't want to, however much the place felt like home. Not yet.
Aro looked torn, glancing at his brothers. Marcus' face was troubled, rather than conflicted, and Caius' was impassive, the only indicator of his thoughts being the worried gleam that flashed in his eyes.
"Come here, mia cara," Aro said warmly, stretching out a hand. He saw my hesitance. "I just want to get your thoughts, your reasoning behind wanting to leave us."
I didn't want him to see, I didn't want him to know of the horrors of my past and what haunted my dreams at night. I was struck by the fact that I didn't want him to see because it would cause him distress. I wanted to be hidden in darkness, but he would not be denied and I had no other choice. I placed my hand into his startlingly soft - but still icy cold - hand.
He looked surprised. "I see nothing. You never said Rowan was immune to your gifts as well, Edward."
"She's not, usually," Edward said cautiously. "But I can never hear her when she's hiding."
Aro released my hand from his grasp, and I missed the contact almost at once. Was this what having a mate was? Yearning for their touch, the feeling of home that they brought? If so, perhaps it wasn't so bad. I recalled the loving relationships of the Cullen couples. Those weren't so bad. Why should mine end up being any different? Still, everything was different. My future with them was impossible to say.
"Hiding. You're referring to her gift, I assume?" Aro asked.
Edward nodded. "Yes. But her silence is different from Bella's, like murky darkness rather than nothing at all."
"Fascinating," He murmured, before seeming to realize what Edward had stated - that I had directly, deliberately hidden my thoughts from him. I very nearly shied away when he reached out to wrap his hand around mine again, thoughts flashing towards the dark memories of my father, how he'd track me down in the darkness, grow far to close and backhand me hard enough that I would fall to the floor.
I woke at night with my cheek still stinging.
Aro dropped my hand as if burned, and I realized too late that I must have slipped my guard. He had seen my thoughts, felt my fear, knew the association of my father that I placed upon nearly all men, and for a moment I saw a flash of hurt cross his face. I didn't have to try very hard to connect the dots as to why - I had all but likened him to my father, after all. But it wasn't like I could help it. Self-preservation was something that was alive and well within me.
"No, we won't hold you here, not against your will," Aro said softly, tucking his hands behind his back. "You may leave with the Cullens and Bella, of course. But we will be visiting. You are our mate, after all."
I nodded slowly, and this seemed to be an acceptable response to him. "Thank you."
His lips quirked upwards into a slight smile. "Of course."
"If anything happens to her under your guard, anything at all, I will rip you all apart," Caius snarled at Edward and Alice.
Marcus placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Peace, Caius. You are all free to go, we will not keep you here any longer. Demetri will show you out."
Edward nodded, and I glanced back at the kings once more before the door was shut. Their red eyes were all trained on me, full of fear that they hadn't displayed before, and I was finally able to nail down what emotion I was feeling as we left the castle.
Guilt.
Edited 4/16/2021