Chapter 98: A Wish Fulfilled

Jane still wanted to argue. The Volturi were nothing like the rabble outside who relied on raising newborn armies to expand their power. Their strength came from discipline, quality, and centuries of accumulated might, not disposable recruits. She was prepared to continue protesting, but before another word could leave her lips, Alec quietly caught hold of her sleeve, silently reminding her to remain calm and never challenge a leader in public.

Alec had already perceived the deeper meaning behind Caius's seemingly blunt selection. The Volturi had already lost one valuable guard, and they could not afford to lose another. If Sophie were to die during the mission, the loss to the Guard would be minimal compared to sacrificing one of their seasoned elites. Alec chose not to voice this conclusion aloud. If Jane heard it, she would undoubtedly react far more fiercely than she already had.

Aro withdrew his hand from Marcus. Through his brother's Gift, he confirmed that the bond between his beloved captain of the Guard and the foreign newborn had not yet developed into something he found unacceptable. That reassurance allowed him to relax slightly. Everything still remained within his control, although further confirmation was necessary.

"Jane. Sophie. Come here."

He extended one hand, saying nothing else. A single glance was enough to tell Jane exactly what he expected next.

Understanding immediately, Jane placed her hand in Aro's and allowed him to read her thoughts. Every conflict, hesitation, and emotional upheaval that had filled June flowed into his mind in a single torrent. Even someone as experienced as Aro had rarely encountered so many twists and turns within Jane's normally composed thoughts. The heart of a young girl... Aro, happily married for three thousand years, decided it was something he neither understood nor intended to interfere with. He respected it enough to preserve her dignity.

Without revealing anything, he released Jane's hand and gently stroked her cheek before offering praise he scarcely believed himself. "My dear, you've handled everything very well."

What he truly meant was her decision to seal Sophie's memories because she had no idea how else to resolve the situation. From Aro's perspective, it was an absolutely dreadful solution. Jane's actions had made his own task immeasurably more difficult, and he no longer expected to recover any useful information from Sophie's mind. 

Even so, he insisted on completing the proper procedure. Extending his hand toward her, he explained calmly, "Sophie, give me your hand. It will only take a moment."

Sophie lifted her head and studied the smiling man before her. His expression was gentle, his voice kind, and this was Aro, the leader whom Jane admired above everyone else. Quietly, she compared him with Marcus and Caius. 

After only a moment, she reached a conclusion. Regardless of appearances, Aro was unquestionably the most formidable and dangerous of the three. Whether she wished to or not, refusing his request was clearly impossible.

She slowly offered him her right hand.

Unlike his pleasant words, Aro's actions were completely uncompromising. His fingers closed firmly around her hand, leaving no room for withdrawal. Almost immediately, Sophie felt as though some foreign force had invaded her consciousness. The sensation sent a chill racing down her spine. Just as she was about to instinctively pull away, Aro released her of his own accord.

"Hmm... no different from the last time we met."

A faint note of disappointment crept into his voice, but it disappeared almost instantly, replaced by delighted amusement.

"My goodness. Sophie and Caius truly think alike."

Caius frowned, clearly waiting for an explanation.

Aro had no intention of concealing Sophie's intentions. Instead, he polished them into something considerably more flattering.

"She has been looking forward to crossing paths with the Children of the Moon herself. She was even planning to sneak out and search for them on her own. It seems her wish has been granted."

With everyone's assignments finalized, the guards dispersed immediately to carry out their respective missions.

The six members leaving the palace headed together toward the blood vault.

Everything had happened too suddenly for Heidi to prepare fresh human prey. They had no choice but to replenish themselves with the palace's stored blood before departing. Under the circumstances, not even the leaders were in any position to be selective.

The moment they finished feeding, Caius wasted no time. He practically seized Sophie and prepared to depart at once. Seeing this, Jane immediately gathered the other three members of her team, and both groups hurried together through the underground tunnels toward one of the palace's heavily guarded exits. The maze of passageways twisted endlessly beneath the mountain. Had Sophie continued exploring alone, she might have wandered them for years without ever finding the correct route.

The exit lay hidden beneath the statue inside a long-abandoned church deep within the mountains.

Once they emerged from the church, the two teams finally reached the point where their paths had to diverge.

Caius's first destination would be the final known territory of the Children of the Moon.

A small border town in Lithuania called Dusetos.

It lay in precisely the opposite direction from Morocco.

The night sky was darker than ink, the hour when darkness reached its deepest point.

Sophie raised her head toward the countless stars glittering overhead, hardly believing how events had unfolded. The escape she had thought had failed, interrupted by Caius before it had even begun, had somehow come true in the most unexpected way imaginable. Instead of fleeing alone, she had been chosen by Caius himself to accompany him beyond the Volturi's walls.

Life inside Palazzo dei Priori had blurred together into one endless cycle until she had lost all sense of dates and seasons. Yet simply by looking at the sky, Sophie could tell summer was almost upon them. For a brief moment, she found herself wondering. How long have I actually been living in Italy?

The next instant, something unexpectedly heavy settled around her neck. "Jane!" Alec cried out in surprise.

Snapping back to reality, Sophie instinctively reached up and touched the unfamiliar object resting against her throat. It was the golden V-shaped pendant bearing the crest of the Volturi. Jane's family emblem. The necklace she never removed under any circumstances. Now it hung around Sophie's neck.

"If you encounter some foolish vampire you can't defeat," Jane instructed with unusual seriousness, "show them this necklace. Use my name to threaten them. Then remember their faces and their names and when you come back….tell me everything."