The council chamber deep beneath the palace glowed with wavering candlelight. Seated upon the elevated dais were the three Volturi leaders, while the dancing flames stretched their shadows across the hall until they blanketed the victorious guards standing below.
Before sunset, Caius had returned with his guard.
Around the middle of March, a witness had reported sightings of the Children of the Moon in South Africa. The very night the news reached Volterra, Caius departed the Palazzo dei Priori with Felix and an elite guard.
Left behind with only Marcus, Aro sighed in amusement. "Our dear brother hears the words 'Children of the Moon' the way a vampire smells fresh blood. He simply can't wait to charge after them."
The Children of the Moon were the creatures more commonly known as werewolves, the natural enemies of vampires. During the Roman era, not long after his transformation, Caius had once suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of one and had nearly lost his life.
Ever since he, Aro, and Marcus founded the Volturi, overthrew the Romanian coven, and established their rule over the vampire world, Caius had devoted himself to hunting werewolves with almost religious fervor. After centuries of relentless campaigns, the werewolves of Europe had, at least on the surface, been eradicated.
Yet Caius's hatred remained unsatisfied, and he had long since expanded his hunt to include the Children of the Moon from every continent. Half of the Volturi's terrifying reputation had been forged through Caius's rivers of blood, while the other half belonged to Aro's cunning and political mastery.
Whenever the Volturi dealt with another vampire coven, every leader and every elite guard would participate, ensuring their authority was displayed with overwhelming grandeur. But when the target was a non-vampire species such as the Children of the Moon, Caius alone led the campaign. Among all the guards, Felix, whose immense strength bordered on monstrousness, remained Caius's most trusted subordinate.
After listening to Caius recount the details of the South African expedition, Aro immediately proposed holding a grand celebration to commemorate the victory. He summoned the Volturi's core members to announce the banquet and ordered formal invitations sent to neighboring covens in France, Malta, Greece, and elsewhere, inviting them to gather in Italy one week later. Of course, "invitation" was merely a courtesy. Attendance was expected. The Volturi had to remind every neighboring territory exactly who ruled this part of the world.
During the coming week, Heidi would undoubtedly become the busiest member of the family. She would have to prepare an abundance of fresh, healthy food worthy of serving as the banquet's main course.
By the time Demetri returned to the palace with Alec, Caius, Felix, and the guards who had accompanied them had already dispersed to hunt. Meanwhile, Aro had begun making preparations for the celebration. He summoned Jane to his private study so he could personally draft every invitation before dispatching guards to deliver them.
Originally, Aro had intended to summon the other three captains besides Felix as well. Unfortunately, the other two had both gone outside the city. Jane therefore went to meet him alone. She had no intention of troubling her master over Alec's delayed return, but if his prolonged absence interfered with their duties, she had already resolved to request a guard unit to search for him. Alec, naturally, wanted to avoid creating such an awkward situation.
Fortunately, Demetri's speed proved more than sufficient.
Jane had only just entered the study and finished bowing before Aro when another knock sounded outside the door.
"Come in."
The guard standing watch opened the door from within. The first thing Alec saw upon entering was the unmistakable relief shining across Jane's face. Demetri nudged Alec forward, and together they respectfully bowed before Aro.
The moment formalities ended, Jane hurried to Alec's side without hesitation. She embraced her twin before affectionately kissing his cheek, then lightly scolded him, "Alec, you came back far too late."
Aro smiled as he watched the reunion before extending one elegant hand toward Alec. "Alec has returned home safely. What wonderful news. On such a beautiful evening, I imagine something rather interesting must have happened during your excursion."
Aro's supernatural Gift was Tactile Telepathy.
By making contact with another person's hand, every memory they possessed became completely accessible to him. Images, sounds, scents, emotions, sensations—nothing remained hidden. Among all memory-related Gifts, he stood unquestionably at the pinnacle. Perhaps because of that, Aro had always placed extraordinary value on collecting vampires with memory-based abilities, though he had rarely found one that truly satisfied him.
Naturally, such a perfect Gift carried its own burden.
Whenever the memories he viewed contained suffering, Aro experienced that suffering himself.
He had once read Jane's memories. The agony of the flames that had haunted her soul for over a thousand years had been transferred into his own consciousness in perfect detail. Even now, the memory of that pain remains deeply unpleasant.
Execution by fire was every vampire's greatest nightmare. Merely reliving it through another's memories was enough to make even immortals beg for mercy. Unless absolutely necessary, Aro rarely chose to read Jane's thoughts. Alec, by contrast, was much easier. Unlike his sister, he did not carry an endless nightmare within him.
Before completing his transformation, he had unconsciously blocked out the agony of the flames through his own Gift. Since the twins were almost never apart, whenever Aro wished to examine their memories, he habitually chose Alec instead.
Just as he had done countless times before, Alec respectfully extended his hand to his master.
Aro clasped Alec's hand gently between both of his own.
The memories unfolded.
Beginning that very morning, a guard presented the police report. Alec decided to investigate the suspected vampire attack. He and Demetri reached the crime scene. Alec descended the cliff, followed the trail to the river, dived beneath the surface, lifted the enormous boulder, and then the memories abruptly skipped ahead to the moment Demetri found him.
"Oh... how fascinating." Releasing Alec's hand, Aro smiled thoughtfully. Viewing the memories from an observer's perspective allowed him to notice details Alec himself had overlooked.
"Alec, whoever you found beneath that boulder must have done something rather unpleasant to you."
Alec quietly returned to Jane's side and reassuringly slipped his hand into hers. The twins instinctively clasped each other's hands. Aro's ambiguous choice of words immediately put Jane on guard, and her fingers unconsciously tightened around her brother's hand, as though afraid he might disappear again the instant she let go.
Murmuring to himself, Aro paced several thoughtful steps across the room before stopping. "One moment you were beneath the river in broad daylight. The next, you were standing in a forest at night. That missing span of time still exists... only it has been compressed into something impossibly small, like an entire painting reduced to a single drop of pigment." He suddenly appeared beside the twins and leaned forward slightly. "What do you think, Alec?"
"A memory-related Gift," Alec answered honestly. "At first, I'd forgotten why I'd even left the city. Only after speaking with Demetri on the way back did portions of my memory gradually return, and every piece I recovered involved Demetri."
Aro shifted his gaze toward Demetri, silently seeking confirmation. Demetri simply nodded, verifying that Alec had spoken the truth.
Alec continued, "But there's still a section that's completely blank. I've tried countless times, but I simply can't recover. At that time, only that unfamiliar vampire and I were present. I should still remember that person's appearance, scent, even the sensation of touching them, yet no matter how hard I try, I can't access any of those memories."
Aro gently stroked Alec's cheek with unmistakable affection. "Do not worry, my child. We shall find this vampire, bring them back to our home, and slowly unlock the memories that were stolen from you."
Returning to his desk, Aro picked up his quill once more and resumed writing the invitations without pause. "Jane, Demetri, will the two of you accompany Alec and help him find this mysterious Memory Locksmith?"
Jane accepted immediately. Hatred had already taken root in her heart toward this insolent vampire. Once they captured the culprit and Aro had finished questioning them, she would gladly employ her favorite methods to ensure that person would never again distinguish between day and night.
Having received their orders, Jane was about to leave with Alec and Demetri when Aro suddenly remembered something.
"One moment, Jane."
She stopped at once and turned back. "Yes, master?"
"Fabio," Aro said thoughtfully. "It has been quite some time since I've seen him. I hope he doesn't feel neglected." A broad, theatrical smile spread across his face before he continued warmly, "When you bring this Memory Locksmith back, remember to invite Fabio as well. Two vampires possessing similar Gifts gathered beneath one roof... what an intriguing prospect. I wonder which of them will prove superior. Our Fabio or this mysterious Memory Locksmith?"
The warmth gradually vanished from Aro's smile, leaving only cold anticipation in his red eyes. "I look forward to finding out."
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