The kick was devastatingly fast and perfectly timed. Charles poured every ounce of strength he possessed into that single blow, holding absolutely nothing back.
Sophie never had the chance to react. A powerful force slammed into her waist, throwing her completely off balance. Her footing slipped beyond the rooftop's edge.
The wind screamed violently past her ears.
Her mind, still trapped within Charles's web of lies, reacted a heartbeat too slowly before finally realizing...
She was falling.
Falling...
Below her, the plaza had already begun to welcome the first rays of morning sunlight. Somewhere behind one of the countless windows, people were likely opening their eyes for the first time that day. Vendors pushed carts along the narrow streets, arranging their merchandise as the city quietly prepared to awaken.
Golden sunlight spread across the stone square like a magnificent carpet woven for humankind.
A vampire should never touch it.
Yet Sophie could do nothing to stop herself.
She was about to fall directly onto that golden carpet.
The lie remained unbroken.
She had been ordered not to look back, and so she obeyed. Behind her was the weathered yellow wall of the tower, close enough to grasp if only she turned around.
Ahead of her...
There was nothing.
Only empty air.
"Sophie!"
Someone called her name.
The voice tore through the sky like an explosion from the void itself. It belonged to a young girl. Her naturally high voice had become sharp with panic, almost shrill, her words tumbling out so quickly they blurred together into incomprehensible sounds.
Yet it was precisely that frantic, piercing cry...
That shattered the haze clouding Sophie's mind.
And stopped her fall.
She came to an abrupt halt beside the third floor, suspended in midair. The necklace pressed tightly against her throat had been seized from behind with such force that the metal bent out of shape. The black knitted lace lining beneath it ripped apart completely, scattering into the wind before drifting gently into the waiting sunlight below.
It hurt.
The front of Sophie's throat tightened violently as the chain dug into her neck, making it difficult to breathe. Her back slammed against the tower's rough stone wall while the person gripping her necklace hurriedly but efficiently hauled her upward, dragging her back toward the interior.
The person behind her had abandoned every trace of elegance. Both arms wrapped tightly around Sophie's waist, half dragging and half lifting her back inside the tower. Only after making absolutely certain that the shadows completely concealed her body, leaving no exposed skin vulnerable to the sunlight outside, did they finally stop moving.
Even then...
They remained locked in that embrace.
The person holding her was almost exactly her height.
There were many people in the world who shared Sophie's stature.
But only one of them was this person.
Charles's lie had not yet been broken.
Sophie still could not turn around.
Her throat bobbed as she struggled to suppress the terror left by her fall. Trembling, she slowly raised one arm and gently placed her hand over the pair wrapped tightly around her waist.
Some things...
Didn't require looking back to recognize.
One trembling word escaped her lips, so fragile it nearly fell apart before it was fully spoken.
"Jane..."
That single name contained everything she wished to say.
Her voice was barely audible, but the tightening grip around her waist told her Jane had heard it. Even so, Jane remained motionless, resting her forehead lightly against Sophie's shoulder. Her warm breath brushed across Sophie's now completely unprotected neck, sending involuntary shivers racing through her body.
The necklace snapped.
No matter how durable the metal or how exquisite its craftsmanship had once been, nothing could withstand the desperate strength of a vampire whose emotions had completely broken free.
The ruined necklace now rested in Jane's hand.
Its once intricate and beautiful design had vanished entirely. Twisted into a mangled bundle of broken metal, it had returned to its original owner in the saddest possible form.
A trembling hand slowly covered a steady one.
Only after both of them gradually calmed down...
Did Jane finally let go.
She waited quietly.
Only to discover that Sophie still made no effort to turn around.
"Sophie..." Jane asked softly, genuine confusion filling her voice after a thoughtful pause. "Why won't you turn around and look at me? Are you angry with me?" Her rare patience never wavered despite being ignored. After another hesitant silence, she continued, "Do you blame me for finding you so late?"
Deep inside, Jane truly did feel guilty.
She simply refused to admit it.
To acknowledge that guilt would mean allowing a crack to appear in the unwavering loyalty she held toward the Volturi.
"I had to make sure the leaders wives were safe first," she explained quietly. "Protecting them is my duty as a guard."
The girl before her slowly tilted her face just enough to speak, every word fragmented by lingering fear. "Jane... I'm sorry. I-I broke the rules."
Jane's heart skipped violently.
"No!" she denied at once, tightening her arms instinctively around Sophie's waist once more. "You didn't expose yourself! The sunlight never touched you! I caught you before it could!"
What Sophie meant was something entirely different.
She had fallen in love with a former guard. Charles had told her Aro forbade love between guards.
That was the rule she believed she had broken.
Jane, however, misunderstood completely.
From the rising anger in her voice alone, Sophie could tell the misunderstanding had grown far beyond what she intended. She wanted desperately to explain that she wasn't talking about revealing her vampire identity...
She meant love. .
"I... I..."
The words refused to leave her mouth.
Every instinct within her rejected speaking that truth aloud.
"It's my fault..." she whispered weakly. "Not yours."
Then suddenly four solemn bell chimes echoed overhead, interrupting the confession before it could ever be completed.
When the final note faded into silence...
The two of them released each other at the exact same moment.
After ringing the bell, Charles calmly straightened his clothes. Like a black phantom drifting through the stairwell, he descended the tower with measured, elegant steps.
He looked forward to the arrival of the merciless enforcer.
She would complete the final step of the execution for him.
His enchanting voice echoed softly through the tower.
"It's been a long time, Jane."
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