Liliana Montgomery Cullen Volturi was bored out of her ever-loving mind. Usually she managed to entertain herself but she wanted interaction with another person and none were to be had. The kings were hearing a rather lengthy petition from one of the Chinese covens. As she didn't speak any Chinese let alone their specific dialect, there wasn't much point for her to be in attendance. The Cullens were all either at work or school and the guard was either on duty or training. Well, nothing said they couldn't do their job in her company.

She sighed and left her office to find whichever of her personal guard was on duty for the day. When she spotted Demetri standing guard at the bottom of the steps, she grinned. "Hey, Demi."

He glanced at her with a smile and a small bow. "Good day, Mistress. How may I be of assistance?"

She rolled her eyes but refrained from saying anything about the title. "Do you want to play a video game with me?"

"I don't believe so, but thank you for the invitation." He turned away from her without so much as a blink.

Irritation flitted through her with his odd behavior and she frowned. "We could do something else. Watch a movie, sit and talk, whatever."

His smile was tight when he turned back to her. "No, thank you, Mistress. I'm on duty and shouldn't leave my post."

"What the actual fuck is wrong with you, Demetri Volturi?"

His eyes grew wide as he blinked in disbelief. "Pardon?"

"No. I don't believe I will." She turned and stomped her way up the stairs. What the hell was wrong with everyone? It was fine if they didn't want to spend time with her, she wouldn't force them. But for Demetri to pass up doing literally anything other than guarding the stairs? That wasn't like him at all.

She screamed in frustration as she stormed into her room and immediately began breaking anything she considered disposable. With everything she'd been through in the past several months, she figured she was due a tantrum. Gods knew Caius had them often enough. While she felt moderately better after her streak of destruction, she was still angry. Irritated. Devastated.

What had she done to make everyone act so differently? Had she broken some unknown rule or had they all just finally grown tired of her personality? She was obviously the youngest one in the castle. Was she just too immature for them? No, that wasn't it. She knew that but she was just desperately trying to find a reason. Maybe there wasn't one. And if that was the case, it meant there was nothing she could fix.

Without much thought she made her way to the studio and placed a large sketch pad on the easel. Grabbing her charcoal, she sketched and blended and poured her frustration, her agony, onto the page. The drawing was finished remarkably fast. While it was cathartic, it did little to ease her anger. She placed a blank canvas over the paper. Using a thick brush, she scooped black paint onto the bristles and made wide strokes on the once pristine surface. Every swipe left dark devastation behind it and eased some of the ache in her chest.

It wasn't until she heard her mates in the outer room that she stopped. As she took in her creation, tears flooded her eyes. She swiped them away and dropped her brush in the cleaner. She pulled the arms down on the sides of her easel and threw a drop cloth over the top to hide the painting. It was too raw, too personal.

She stood and watched them for a moment as they poured themselves a drink and settled around the room. They looked tired which was ironic for a species that didn't sleep. She leaned against the wall, her gaze moving between them as they sat in silence. She kept debating between continuing on as things were or telling them everything that had been happening. Her main concern was that they would order people to be her friend or that they would think they otherwise needed to fix things. She just wanted to talk to them and get their opinion. Maybe they had an insight that she couldn't see.

"Are you intending to just stand there forever, Liliana?" Marcus' dulcet tones snapped her from her thoughts and she made her way to where they sat.

She chewed on the end of her thumb as she paced the floor in front of them.

"You are making me dizzy," Caius said after several minutes.

She turned then to face them. "I need to talk to you about some things that have been going on."

That caught their attention. Aro narrowed his gaze. "That makes it sound as if it's been ongoing for quite a while."

"It has."

"And you're just now telling us?" Caius asked.

Marcus sighed. "We don't even know what she intends to tell us. Calm yourselves."

"Things have changed. My relationships with people have changed. People I thought were my friends don't want to spend time with me anymore." She paused and bit her lip before continuing. "Or they get irritated with me for no reason."

The other brothers glanced at Marcus who sighed again. "It's true. Her bonds have weakened with nearly everyone. Including us." His focus shifted to her. "Though that is mostly your doing. It all may be."

Lily felt like she'd been punched in the chest. "What?" Her voice came out quiet, weak.

"Well, what did you expect, Lily?" Caius snapped. "The common denominator in all those bonds is you. Obviously you're somehow the cause. Did you think everyone in the castle suddenly decided you weren't worth their time?"

"Yes! That's exactly what I thought because that's what happened. I don't see how you can blame me for any of this." This was certainly not the way she had thought this conversation would go.

Marcus raked a hand through his hair before dropping his head into his hands. "The only conclusion I can come to is that your constant blocking of the bonds is weakening them. I have asked you repeatedly not to do it yet you persist. Is it any wonder it would affect our connection?"

Now, even Marcus was against her. Her gaze found Aro to see him watching them all with dark eyes and a grim expression. "I'm not blocking the bonds, Marcus. I only blocked my emotions flowing through them. It wouldn't affect the integrity of the bond."

"You can't know that," Caius argued. "It's not as if we've ever encountered anyone with your power before."

Lily huffed out a breath and grasped her hair in both hands. She gave a little scream of frustration. "I blocked the bonds themselves for seven years and our connection was still strong."

"Then what did you do?" Aro suddenly asked, his voice quiet. "What have you done to all of us?"

The pain in his words had tears pooling in her own eyes. She tossed her hands up in frustration before storming off to her rooms. She needed some space before she said something she couldn't take back.

The brothers sat in silence for several minutes after their mate walked off, all lost in their own thoughts. They weren't stupid. Regardless of their mate's unwillingness to talk about it, they'd noticed the changes. Marcus knew the moment she'd put the block on their bond, but frankly he was tired of having to constantly ask her not to shut them out.

Likewise, Aro knew that she was keeping memories from him. He couldn't sense the block but he could see the empty spaces in her day. But if she didn't want to share, he wouldn't force her. And Caius...well, all he knew was that her light had dimmed and he hated it. They'd shared their worries with each other and had come to the conclusion that Lily was the center of whatever was happening.

"Are we wrong?" Caius asked.

Marcus leaned back and shook his head. "I don't see how we can be. It has to be something to do with the effect she has on the bonds. It's not just us. It's literally every bond she has save one. She must be the origin."

"Save one?" Aro asked, jealousy woven in his words.

Marcus hummed in agreement. "I suspected it was her bond with Jasper Whitlock. That was confirmed yesterday when they were on the phone. Their bond is as bright as ever."

Caius' frown deepened. "What's different with him?"

"I don't know and I have a feeling if we asked her, she wouldn't either." Marcus pinched the bridge of his nose as if to stave off the headache that would never form. "I don't know how to fix this."

"For now, give her time. She will come to us eventually," Aro said sounding far more sure than either of his brothers felt.

***

"So how long are you going to keep hiding in your rooms?" Sebastian asked. "Not that I care, but we're beginning to get dirty looks from the kings when we enter your rooms."

Lily shrugged. The guards had been her only companions for the last three days. Sebastian and Jane more than the others. At the moment, all five of them were lounging around her theater room talking while a movie played in the background. "They know where I am if they want to talk to me. It's not as if I refused them."

"What is this fight about anyway?" Jane asked before taking a sip of her smoothie.

Lily shook her head. "They blamed me for something that's not my fault is all."

"Couldn't Aro just read you?" Demetri asked with a frown.

She cleared her throat as she felt tears welling up. "I don't think they trust me because of my block."

There was a long stretch of silence before Sebastian broke it. "But you're their mate."

She merely hummed in agreement and turned back to the screen with feigned interest. The guards exchanged a look but said nothing further on the topic. At least not to her.

***

Lily was making her way through the castle at human speed. It was the first time she'd been out of her rooms in a week. Her presence had been requested for a trial. When she arrived in the throne room, she was surprised and slightly disappointed to find a throne of her own in place. It sat between Caius and Aro, though she supposed when things got back to normal she could switch with Aro if she wanted to be near Marcus. All the thrones looked the same after all. She sat the trial, cast her vote, then left without a word to her mates.

"How much longer do you anticipate this silent treatment lasting?" Aro asked from behind her.

She stopped and turned to face him. Unsurprisingly, the other two accompanied him as well. "As far as I am aware, my room has not moved. You could have come at any time."

Marcus smiled. "We thought it best to give you some space."

"Your actions in the throne room were childish," Caius snapped.

Both of his brothers sighed and Lily had to bite her lip to keep the smile from her face. Instead, she shook her head and rolled her eyes. She turned from them to continue her journey only to find herself with her back pressed against the wall. Caius' hand held her chin as he scowled at her. "What have I told you about rolling your eyes at me, little one?"

"Have I mentioned that I absolutely do not give a fuck?" She shoved him and he stumbled away from her. "Still a newborn. Still stronger than you."

She continued toward their rooms and when Caius moved to follow, Aro's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Don't do something you'll regret, brother. She's not worth it."

Marcus went absolutely still. "What did you say?"

Aro glanced to him with an arched brow. "Don't do something you'll regret, it's not worth it." The words lifted in question at the end as he didn't see what the issue was.

Caius shrugged off his brother's touch and the three of them made their way to their offices, giving their queen more time. And giving themselves more time to contemplate a way to fix this mess.