Chapter 123: An Invitation to a Wedding

By the latter half of July, the somewhat gloomy days hanging over the Volturi had finally given way to brighter times once more.

Caius had successfully recovered the herb capable of countering wolf venom, and the antidote produced by the London research institute completely healed Jane's injury. She left the Black Room behind, returned to the Guard, and immediately resumed issuing orders in her deceptively youthful voice with all the authority expected of the Captain of the Volturi Guard. Her return marked the restoration of order throughout the palace.

The burden resting upon Alec's shoulders finally eased as well. With his sister recovered, he once again found the time to carefully arrange Jane's golden hair into elegant, intricate styles, making her already breathtaking beauty shine even more brilliantly.

The only person whose delight rivaled Alec's was Aro himself.

Like a loving father, he bent down and embraced Jane, personally confirming that she had completely recovered and returned to the condition she had been in before her injury. The outcome had exceeded even their most optimistic expectations.

A thousand thoughts raced through Aro's mind. One moment he was celebrating Jane's victory over the wolf venom, considering it a triumph for vampirekind itself. The next, he began wondering whether they had overestimated the danger posed by the synthetic wolf venom created by humans.

His thoughts immediately shifted toward opportunity.

If these wolf venom weapons developed by humans aren't actually fatal... perhaps we should allow this vampire hunter to continue operating for a while.

As long as the Volturi maintained absolute control over every source of the ingredients required to produce the antidote, every other coven would eventually have no choice but to submit. With careful manipulation, Aro could further consolidate his authority over the vampire world and elevate the Volturi to even greater heights of glory.

Unable to suppress his satisfaction, Aro laughed aloud before announcing grandly, in what he considered an appropriately ceremonial tone, "Two joyful events have arrived one after another. The first is your victory over wolf venom, a triumph not only for yourself but for all vampires. Jane, I'm delighted you've recovered in time for our second celebration. Tonight, we depart to attend Chino and Aurora's wedding."

"As you command, Master."

Jane had long since grown accustomed to Aro's sudden bursts of enthusiasm.

The Finnish Coven had sincerely invited Aro to serve as the officiant at the ceremony, an honor that delighted him immensely. In response, he enthusiastically arranged for nearly the entire Volturi household to attend, including Marcus, Caius, the two wives who rarely emerged from the underground palace, and numerous members of the household.

Everyone within the Volturi could plainly see that Aro's unusual eagerness had very little to do with the wedding itself.

His true interest remained fixed upon Aurora.

He still coveted the young vampire whose Gift allowed her to manipulate plants.

After learning they would be departing that very evening, Jane excused herself from Aro's presence and hurried directly to the fifth underground level. There, inside the reading room specially prepared for study, Sophie was diligently continuing her Italian lessons.

"Ciao."

Sophie greeted her in awkward, heavily accented Italian.

Since returning to Volterra, Jane had been whisked away almost immediately for treatment, while Sophie, having already done everything she possibly could, finally found time to resume the Italian studies that had been interrupted for so long.

"You've been hiding from me for days and only managed to learn the word Ciao." Jane kept a perfectly straight face as she praised her. "What remarkable talent. Are you absolutely certain you don't want to hire me as your conversation instructor?"

Closing her textbook, Sophie carefully put away the titanium fountain pen Jane had specially given her.

"Not for now. We made an agreement."

"You promised to respect my right to study independently."

Sophie had once suspected that her mysterious memory loss had something to do with Jane. Although Jane denied the accusation completely, Sophie refused to take any chances. To avoid history repeating itself, she had insisted that Jane was forbidden from interfering while she was studying.

Now that she had found Sophie, Jane visibly relaxed.

Clearly in an excellent mood, she strolled over and stopped beside her.

"I've got something for you. It also happens to be the perfect opportunity to test your progress."

Leaning down, she placed a hand over the notebook Sophie was about to put away.

"Open it."

Inside, neat rows of blue-black handwriting filled the pages. Every stroke was precise, deliberate, and full of quiet strength. It lacked the elegant flourish of the ornate calligraphy Aro favored, yet its clean practicality suited Jane's tastes far better.

"Are you satisfied with what you see?" Sophie asked, sliding the notebook toward Jane.

She had carried over the habit from her human life of keeping detailed study notes.

Once she discovered that a vampire's memory never faded, however, the notebook had lost its practical purpose.

Now it exists largely out of habit.

And for one additional reason.

Whenever someone checked her progress, the pages provided tangible proof that she had genuinely invested the time.

Jane carefully evaluated the notebook before reaching her conclusion.

"You're progressing very quickly. At this rate, you'll probably earn your degree before Christmas."

Sophie laughed.

"Finishing an entire degree program in only half a year. I'll probably become the greatest language prodigy this school has ever produced."

"Little genius."

Jane tossed the notebook lightly back into Sophie' hands.

"Come on. Pick out something appropriate to wear."

"I'm taking you to Finland tonight for a wedding."

Sophie caught the notebook instinctively.

"Do you have relatives in Finland?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't know anyone there... Wouldn't I just be getting in everyone's way?"

"You would," Jane answered honestly.

Sophie remained deeply intimidated by Aro.

After hesitating for quite some time, she cautiously asked, "Is Felix coming?"

Among all the members of the Guard, the straightforward giant was by far the easiest person for her to deal with.

She rather hoped someone as honest and uncomplicated as Felix would be accompanying them.

"Aro is leaving most of the Guard behind."

"He only intends to bring Alec and me."

Jane deliberately allowed a disappointed expression to cross her face.

"That's a shame."

"I thought you'd be interested in seeing Finland's northern lights... and its reindeer."

Without another word, she turned and began walking away, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Wait!"

Sophie immediately called after her.

"The northern lights don't appear until winter."

"It's July. The snow has already melted, there's no way we'll see an aurora."