Chapter 80: A New Guardian

Demetri was genuinely puzzled when Jane came to see him alone. The moment he opened the door and found the blonde girl standing outside, he couldn't help but pause in surprise. Jane rarely visited anyone without a direct order from Aro, much less by herself.

"By the Master's command," Jane informed him coldly, "you will assume responsibility for Sophie's guardianship from today onward." She paused for only a heartbeat before adding in an unmistakably firm tone, "And I require one thing from you. You are not to kill her."

Demetri had no intention of refusing. He had been transformed two thousand years before Jane and possessed more than enough experience training newborn vampires. After a brief nod, he asked, "What position will Sophie hold in the Guard from now on?"

Different ranks demanded different methods of training. Those destined for the Volturi's inner circle endured the harshest discipline, while those assigned to more peripheral duties received far less demanding instruction.

"She won't be staying with the Guard." Jane hesitated almost imperceptibly before continuing. "Teach her how to survive on her own as a nomad. Teach her how to claim a suitable territory, or how to join a smaller coven if necessary." Her red eyes remained as calm as ever. "Just make sure she doesn't die out there."

"Understood. Leave it to me." As the Volturi's greatest tracker, Demetri spent more time traveling than most members of the Guard. Teaching someone how to survive beyond Volturi territory was second nature to him, hardly worthy of concern.

With the transfer of responsibility complete, Demetri assumed the meeting had ended and prepared to see Jane out.

Jane, however, remained standing squarely in the doorway.

"Is there something else?" Demetri asked first, sensing she had not come merely to relay orders.

Jane awkwardly looked away, pretending it was only an afterthought. "There's... something I need your help with."

Demetri's interest was immediately piqued. A grin tugged at the corner of his lips as he leaned casually against the doorframe. "Now that's unusual. You usually only deliver Aro's orders. I don't think I've heard the word 'help' come out of your mouth in several hundred years."

"Less talking."

Demetri knew better than to push his luck. If Jane truly lost her temper, he would be the one paying the price. Raising both hands in surrender, he chuckled and relented. "All right, all right. Tell me what you need. If it's within my power, I'll do it."

After making certain no one else was nearby, Jane lowered her voice and rapidly explained what she wanted him to do.

By the time she finished, Demetri looked thoroughly troubled.

"Jane..." He carefully considered his wording before speaking. "You know perfectly well how my gift works." He smiled helplessly, trying to decline as tactfully as possible. "It doesn't exactly cover... that sort of thing."

Unfortunately, Jane had no intention of accepting his refusal.

"I require you to do it," she declared stubbornly. "I don't care what method you use."

Demetri could only sigh in resignation. There was simply no reasoning with Jane once she had made up her mind. Crossing his arms over his chest, he accepted the troublesome request with a long-suffering expression before asking, "Fine. Which task comes first?"

"My favor."

Jane answered without hesitation.

"Alec's mist knocked Sophie unconscious. She'll need fresh blood after she wakes up." Her tone softened ever so slightly. "Training can wait."

The mention of Alec's black mist immediately caught Demetri's attention. His gaze swept over Jane from head to toe until it settled on the faint bite mark circling her wrist. His brows lifted almost imperceptibly. Sensibly choosing not to ask any questions, he merely smiled.

"Sounds like things got rather intense."

….

During the final days of May, Demetri officially took over Sophie's training. Instead of confining her to the Volturi's territory, he began introducing her to the vampire world that existed beyond Volterra.

It was a world overflowing with chaos and brutality. There were the scattered remnants of the ancient Romanian coven, survivors who had fled for a thousand years. There were the Southern American vampire lords who endlessly created and destroyed newborn armies by the hundreds. There were even eccentric "vegetarian" covens who rejected human blood entirely and survived on animal prey instead. Compared to that vast, unforgiving world, the order maintained by the Volturi seemed almost miraculous.

Whenever Sophie looked up toward the palace's glass-domed ceiling, brilliant Italian sunlight poured through the transparent roof, piercing the darkness beneath the earth. It illuminated everything around her while remaining forever beyond her reach. That light had become something she could never again embrace openly.

Demetri noticed the longing hidden in her eyes.

He didn't know who had told Sophie that she would be leaving the Volturi in a year's time, but whoever it was had clearly romanticized the truth. They had turned exile into freedom, allowing Sophie to look toward the future with unnecessary hope.

Because of that, Demetri constantly advised patience. "Use everything the Volturi can offer you," he would remind her. "Learn everything you can while you're still here. The more you gain now, the easier your life will be when you're finally on your own."

After transferring Sophie into Demetri's care, Jane behaved as though Sophie no longer existed. She neither sought her out nor asked after her again. Yet, somewhat unexpectedly, she also revoked the arrangements for Sophie's death certificate, allowing her to retain her legal human identity.

After suffering through the consequences of not understanding the local language, Sophie asked Demetri if he could help her find someone to teach her Italian.

When Jane learned of the request, she unexpectedly intervened in person.

Rather than hiring an ordinary tutor, she personally arranged for Sophie to enroll in the distance-learning undergraduate Italian language program at the University of Bologna.

Demetri couldn't tell whether such a program had already existed at Italy's oldest and most prestigious university, or whether Jane had simply demanded that they create one.

Regardless, Sophie's Italian lessons officially began without incident. The month of May passed peacefully.

On the first day of June, an unusually gentle rain fell over the ancient city of Volterra. Arriving together with that rainfall was an invitation addressed to the Volturi. It had been sent by the Finnish coven.

As the head of the family, Aro personally opened the envelope and withdrew the elegant invitation card from inside. His eyes immediately lit up with delight as he announced the news to everyone nearby. "Chino and Aurora are getting married."

Losing one guard had hardly dealt a devastating blow to the Volturi. Chino's departure might only prove temporary after all. Anyone entering or leaving the Palazzo dei Priori could plainly see Aro's fascination with Aurora. Not with Aurora herself, but with her extraordinary dark gift of manipulating plant life.

Given Aro's remarkable ability to persuade talented vampires into joining the Volturi, it seemed entirely possible that Chino would one day return from Finland accompanied by his new bride. When that day came, the golden V emblem would once again adorn both of their cloaks, strengthening the Volturi even further.

For the moment, however, Aro faced a more immediate concern. He needed to prepare a wedding gift worthy of demonstrating just how highly he valued both Aurora and Chino.