On a rocky bank near the waterfall, Alec stared in stunned silence at Jane, who was soaked from head to toe. She walked toward him, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind with every step.
"Jane... you..." Alec began before trailing off, unable to imagine what had happened before she came to meet him. "Aro assigned us a new mission. Sorry... I didn't realize you were..." He paused awkwardly before finishing, "...busy."
Water streamed from Jane's disheveled blonde hair. Her carefully braided hairstyle had been utterly ruined, the braid hanging loose while damp bangs clung messily to her forehead. Even her eyelashes were dripping wet, making it difficult for her to keep her eyes fully open.
Alec stepped forward, gently brushing the wet strands away from her face before wiping the water from her cheeks with the dry sleeve of his cloak. When he had finished, he cupped her face in both hands and examined her carefully before asking with genuine concern, "You do remember you're supposed to take your clothes off before taking a bath... right?"
"It was just a little accident. Don't worry about it." Jane deliberately avoided his eyes instead of answering the question directly. Changing the subject at once, she asked, "You said Aro gave us a new assignment. What is it? Is it urgent?"
Seeing that she clearly had no intention of explaining herself, Alec didn't press the matter. Instead, he relayed Aro's orders. "Aro said that the invited covens will begin arriving in Volterra over the next few days. To keep some of the more troublesome ones in line, he wants the Guard to strengthen our patrols and temporarily expand the territory we cover. We need to make the necessary arrangements before they arrive."
"Are we still going hunting tonight?" Jane hadn't fed for several days. The familiar burning sensation in her throat had already become impossible to ignore. No amount of cold water could extinguish it.
"It won't interfere," Alec replied. "Besides, we need to feed before those covens arrive anyway. Master Caius also scheduled an additional training session for tomorrow. It'll take place in the forest outside the city."
Because Aro had ordered the patrol radius expanded, the forest that once lay on the border had now become part of the Volturi's temporary territory.
Remembering that it was the very forest where Sophie had been transformed, Alec casually suggested, "You could bring Sophie along. Treat her as a reserve member of your guard. Master Caius won't mind training a few more newcomers."
The moment Jane heard Sophie's name, her hand unconsciously clenched into a fist.
"What is it?" Alec noticed immediately. He gently took hold of her hand, carefully prying open each tightly curled finger before drying the water from them one by one. Wet hands always felt unpleasant. "Did Sophie make you angry?"
"She isn't capable of that," Jane answered stiffly. "She was just... a little disobedient. I've already taught her a lesson."
"A lesson?" Alec looked unconvinced. "I thought you couldn't bear to use your gift on her."
No one understood Jane better than he did. She genuinely enjoyed watching the agonized expressions of those suffering beneath her gift. More often than not, using it noticeably improved her mood. Yet judging by the irritation still lingering on her face, she didn't look at all like someone who had just vented her frustration on another person.
Jane stubbornly insisted otherwise. "I was about to! It was your stone that interrupted me! I was worried you'd wait too long and start worrying about me, so I came to see you before I even had time to change my clothes."
It was a small lie.
She concealed the one weakness she wasn't willing to admit, even to her twin brother.
Ever since she had allowed Sophie to use her strange ability on her, the most agonizing memory she had carried for a thousand years had begun to fade ever so slightly. Jane's Gift of Pain had been born from the unbearable torment she experienced before her transformation, when she and Alec had nearly been burned alive. She hated everyone.
The world had been unjust.
People had been cruel.
Jane had always believed every one of them deserved to suffer exactly as she and Alec once had.
An eye for an eye.
Pain for pain.
Only then could the scales be balanced.
Only then.
Yet Sophie, that newborn vampire who kept forcing Jane to break her own rules, had somehow reached the deepest source of that hatred. She had shaken the very foundation upon which Jane's beloved Gift of Pain rested. In that fleeting moment, Jane had felt something she almost never experienced.
Fear.
She had been afraid that she might lose her Gift forever.
That was why she had fled.
Fortunately...
Her fear had proven unfounded.
The hatred remained.
A vampire's memories were eternal, after all.
The moment she left Sophie's side, every painful memory returned exactly as before. Her Gift remained just as powerful, just as terrifying.
There was, however...
One very small aftereffect.
Whenever Jane stood before Sophie, the desire to make everyone else suffer became noticeably weaker. She no longer needed to inflict pain upon others to quiet the turmoil inside herself. Simply being near Sophie brought her a sense of peace greater than the satisfaction she had ever gained from unleashing her Gift thousands upon thousands of times.
Jane reluctantly admitted it.
Sophie had become...
A little different.
Only a little.
For now, that tiny change remained within Jane's ability to tolerate. Besides, Aro thought highly of Sophie. Sooner or later, she would become a member of the Volturi. There would be plenty of time afterward to teach her loyalty and obedience.
"I used to throw stones to greet you all the time too," Alec remarked with a smile.
Whether he truly believed Jane's explanation or simply chose not to question it further, even he wasn't entirely sure. Taking her hand, he gently led her back toward the palace.
"All right, Jane. Thanks for coming to meet me so quickly. Let's get changed into some dry clothes first."
His sleeve was soaked now.
The water from Jane's face and hands had all been wiped onto it.
Once they changed into clean clothes...
It would be about time to leave for their hunt in Florence.
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