"We have something for you," Marcus said mid-afternoon of the following day. He, Aro, and Caius were fresh out of trial, and if the deep gash through Caius's robes were any indication he had chosen to get involved himself.

"Is that so?" I asked, settling into Aro's lap when he spread his arms in invitation. Said vampire buried his nose into my neck, humming in lazy confirmation.

"It's a long time in coming, I think," Caius said crisply, removing his cloak and viewing the tear in distaste. "Damn newborns."

"Felix nearly had a conniption when that newborn attacked, you know," Marcus said.

"Like he wasn't pinning another one himself. Demetri and Santiago, too," Aro said. I could feel his lips moving against my collarbone as he spoke and my heart jumped. He lifted his head to look Caius in the eye. "Though it's not like you didn't have it handled."

"He ruined my cloak!" Caius exclaimed in displeasure, ruined cloak clenched between his fist.

"It's not like you don't have more cloaks," I said, before Caius could continue his angry tirade. "But I think we've gotten a little off-topic."

"Right you are, my dear," Marcus said.

Huffing, Caius tossed his cloak over his chair and glared at Aro. "Must you keep her all to yourself?"

"You know, I am right here. All you had to do was ask," I quipped. "But let's get back to the topic at hand before this conversation gets even more horribly derailed."

"Your crest is finished," Marcus said without the grandeur that would have come if Caius wasn't about to speak again. "It's taken longer than expected, but that's because the three of us designed it together."

I had gotten rather attached to the one I had, which wasn't technically mine at all. It was Marcus's; he had given it to me on his first visit until I could get my own.

"I don't think you're getting your crest back regardless, brother," Aro said. "Our Rowan is quite partial to it."

Marcus's lips curled into a smile. "That's fine. However, I do think you will like this one." He pulled a Volturi crest out of his breast pocket. Its pendant was smaller than any of theirs, but elaborately crafted, decorated with each of the stones that my mates had on their own crests.

I nudged myself off of Aro's lap to take it from Marcus much to Aro's displeasure, as Caius draped himself over my shoulders as soon as I stood up. I took a moment to examine the crest. It was lighter than it looked and had the feminine appearance that theirs did not.

"I love it, thank you," I said, beaming at him.

"You're most welcome," Caius said, more than relaxed now. His chin was resting on my shoulder and I strongly suspected that his eyes were closed.

"Care for a walk?" Caius asked me.

"As long as Aro and Marcus don't feel too neglected for it," I said with a smile.

"Not at all, love," Aro said. "We have matters to discuss with Jane and Alec, so if you could send them in when you pass, that would be marvelous."

"Certainly, brother," Caius said. He wrapped his arm possessively around my shoulders, pulling me neatly into his side. He relayed Aro's message to the twins when we saw them standing guard outside his wing, as I had been roaming Caius' quarters when the three had found me.

We walked for several minutes in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the other's company. He only broke the silence when we stepped outside into the warm air, the sun hidden beside the fat, fluffy white clouds that passed in front of it.

"Can I ask you something?"

I glanced up at him. "Of course. Anything you'd like."

"Your father..." He hesitated before continuing. "When we first met, you didn't trust us because of what he did to you. Aro does a good job of respecting your privacy, so I don't know the full story. I want to understand. If you're comfortable with sharing."

"He wasn't always horrible," I whispered, staring at a bumblebee as it bumped against a flower. "My mom died in a car accident when I was three. I was there, I saw her bleed out, but I don't remember it. I didn't talk for a really long time afterwards, so I was held back. That's why I graduated late. He was always so angry at me. Maybe it's because I survived but she didn't. I don't know."

Seeing the pain on my face, Caius spoke when I paused. "You don't have to tell me if it's too painful. You don't have to relive this for me."

"No, it's okay. Really," I said, when I saw the doubt on his face. "My gift manifested when I was five. It was a defense mechanism, and I didn't learn how to control it for years afterward. My dad would get drunk to numb the pain, and sometimes I could hide and the shadows would protect me. I learned to pretend to be unconscious because then he would stop the beating. I guess it wasn't as much fun when I was unconscious."

Above us, a bird whistled a cheerful tune. His voice cracked. "Stop. Please."

I couldn't. I was going now, talking through trauma I had spoken aloud only twice during my life: the first time to my family, the second to Bella. "Sometimes he would see through the shadows. I don't know how, maybe it was because we're related or maybe it was nothing more than luck. He was just so angry. I don't know the worst part: the physical abuse, or the fact that he made me feel like I deserved it.

"Emmett and Rosalie were the ones that found me when I successfully escaped at fourteen. An hour or so later and Carlisle and Edward probably wouldn't have been able to save me. I latched on to Rose and Emmett because they saved me, but I didn't really trust them for a long time. They may have succeeded with their human charade if I hadn't been hyper-observant."

"I'm going to kill him." Caius was trembling with rage. Wordlessly, I wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him into a hug. I wasn't sure who I was comforting: him or myself.

"No you won't." My voice wasn't firm. Just tired. So, so tired.

He inhaled a sharp breath. "Why? He deserves it. He hurt you, Rowan, for years! And worse than that, he made you think that you deserved it! That you deserved to be treated like less than human! Why are you defending a man who you mean nothing to?"

"Because he's my father. Because at least I won't be responsible for one of my parent's deaths. Because I just want to forget," I said, inhaling the scent of his expensive cologne. It brought me some comfort.

"Your mother's death was never your fault. You were just a baby! Completely innocent and helpless and yet your father blamed you for something completely out of your control. He deserves a fate worse than death." Caius's breathing was rough and uneven, and as it was unnecessary went to show just how perturbed he truly was.

"Caius-"

"I cannot let you believe that something like that was your fault, Rowan. Because it wasn't. It isn't."

I looked up, meeting his eyes. "It feels like it, sometimes."

"It's a lie." There was no waver in his voice. "I wish I could have been there for you."

"You're here now. That's what matters," I said. "Isn't it?"

"Of course. But if I would have known..." He trailed off, pressing his lips to my forehead.

"I know," I said softly.

"He will never hurt you again," Caius vowed, looking me straight in the eye. "Never."

Warm affection towards him swelled in my chest, and I looked away, feeling suddenly shy. When I looked back, he was still watching me, a gentle smirk playing on his lips. "What?"

"You are bewitching," he murmured. My eyes flickered, unthinkingly, to his lips, and I knew for a fact he had noticed. "May I kiss you, Rowan?"

I stared up at him, heart thrumming a rapid beat within my chest. "Yes."

Caius's lips were gentler than I could have imagined, capturing mine with barely-tamed fervor, his hands sliding down my sides to settle on my waist. Heat seemed to trail wherever he touched, and fireworks felt like they were exploding within my chest. He didn't push my boundaries, though I knew he likely wanted to go much further, instead parting after several moments to allow me air.

Caius smiled at me then, an expression that lit up his whole face and made him look so much unlike the vicious king he prided himself on being that I couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" He asked, pressing another kiss to my forehead.

"Nothing. You're just so different from how I ever imagined you being. Based on your reputation alone I had always hoped to never meet you," I told him openly.

"It's only for you, amore," he said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "But I am glad to have proven you wrong."

"Jane?" I asked the following day as she and Alec walked me down for breakfast.

"Yes, my queen?"

"Do you know any good places to go clothes shopping in the city? My clothes from Forks are just too warm for this weather," I said. I had a limited amount of cool clothing that was largely restricted to t-shirts and only two pairs of shorts. I needed more clothing - badly - if I was to survive in a city that regularly peaked above ninety degrees in the summer. I wished I had gone shopping with Alice like she had insisted I would need to. Why I decided not to listen to the psychic was beyond me.

"Certainly. I enjoy going shopping in the city on the occasional cloudy day. The next time the weather permits, with permission from the masters, I will take you," she said, sounding proud of herself for knowing information that could help me.

"What sort of clothes do you like to wear?" I asked kindly, curious. I had never seen Jane wear anything besides her Volturi robes, though she likely wore other things when she was off-duty.

"I prefer lighter clothing, my queen. During the summer months especially, I enjoy the warm breeze in the corridors, though the heat itself does not affect me," she told me.

"That's nice, Jane. I'd love to see your wardrobe sometime."

She blinked at me. "Perhaps. What will you be having for breakfast today?"

"A smoothie, I think. I'm not very hungry."

Breakfast passed without incident, and during our walk towards the library we ran into Demetri in the hall. "Jane, Alec, I was sent to find you. The masters need you in court and approved me as Rowan's guard until they are finished."

"Very well. My queen," Alec said, inclining his head at me. Jane did the same before they disappeared, leaving only a blast of warm air behind them.

"How are you today, my queen?" Demetri asked easily, walking beside me as I continued on my way to the library.

"I'm good, Demetri. You?"

"I am well," he said. "Where are we headed?"

"The library."

"In that case, we should probably have turned right at the last hall," he said, eyes crinkling in amusement.

"Laugh all you want, but to be fair all these hallways look the same."

He squinted around. "To a human, I suppose they do. Here, I'll show you a shortcut."

"I thought we had to turn around?"

"Not for this," Demetri said, leading me forward and stopping in front of an elaborate tapestry with the Volturi's crest.

I stared blankly at him. "Ah, yes, I can see how this is a shortcut."

He chuckled, pulling the tapestry away to reveal a door. "I can understand now why Alec and Jane are rather fond of you. I'll admit I was skeptical at first, considering your affiliation with the Cullen coven. You don't seem so high and mighty as the rest of them."

"Careful, that's my family you're talking about. Secret corridors?" I asked curiously.

"My apologies. They are secret corridors of sorts. It's a way for our human staff to pass without running into any, shall we say, unfortunate circumstances. The higher guard uses it on occasion to travel quickly from place to place without interruption by lower members."

"Neat," I said, welcoming the cooler blast of air from the inner hall. "So these are everywhere throughout the castle?"

"In most places. You can't travel from one end to the other without leaving them at some point, but they go through most of the castle," he said, leading the way through the musty tunnel. It was a shortcut of sorts, but not a spectacular one - it shaved off, at most, two minutes from the walk. My favorite part was the dark.

"These are so easy to disappear in," I said, feeling the shadows tugging at me. They swirled around me as I allowed them, pulling me to them in a familiar embrace.

Demetri stopped dead, turning in obvious confusion. He took a deep inhale. "Rowan?"

"Right here," I said, dropping the shadows that had gathered around me like a cloak. "Sorry."

"Interesting." He stared at me, evidently perplexed. "It was like you weren't there at all. I couldn't smell you or hear you."

"That always happens. Some gifts don't work on me when I'm hiding either, like Edward's and Aro's," I told him as we emerged in the library. "Does it extend to your tracking?"

"I didn't think to check. Can you disappear again?"

"Sure." The library wasn't quite as dim as the hidden hall, but it was still relatively easy to slip into its shadows. Demetri stilled completely, looking as tense as a coiled spring as I slipped unheard and unseen to his other side.

"I can't track you at all," he said aloud, looking shocked.

"I'm not surprised," I said, dropping the shadows from around me.

He jumped nearly a foot at my appearance at his other side. "Don't do that!"

I laughed at him. "Jumpy, much?"

"The masters are going to freak out when they find out I can't track you when you're hidden," Demetri said, leaning against a bookshelf as I walked leisurely down the row. "I think they were counting on my gift working, even if some of the others don't."

"Can you track Bella, then?" I asked curiously.

He shook his head. "No. I could by scent, but it's much slower going."

"Then no wonder you can't track me either. My gift is defensive, like hers."

"Can you hide more than one person?"

"No, and that isn't for lack of trying. When the Cullens learned about my gift, that was the first thing we tried - once they got over the shock, of course."

He smiled. "Your gift can be rather unsettling. It's like you melt out of nothing."

"So I've been told."

"Just try not to hide too much, alright? It's critical that I'm able to track you if something happens. I'm not saying anything will, as you're perfectly safe here, but it's better that I tell you now."

"A hope for the best, prepare for the worst type of thing?"

Demetri nodded. "Exactly."

Edited 4/19/2021