Chapter 20 – Speak of the Devil

I wake up in the morning to the smell of bacon and eggs somewhere downstairs. Unfortunately, my head is throbbing and my stomach is abnormally sensitive to the greasy stench. I can barely remember what happened in the later parts of last night, but Athenodora's voice loudly echos in my head.

"I'd burn down the castle before I let someone take what's mine."

I can't believe how dangerously transparent I was. There's no doubt in my mind that she knows there's something up with Caius, and she knows I have something to do with it. A part of me can't get it out of my mind that she never said she loves Caius, but it seemed more like she was using him for royal treatment. Thinking back to my conversation with Antonio, it seems like they're just using each other.

I shake my head. I shouldn't be caring and I shouldn't be getting involved. Caius has his wife and whatever dumb crush I have on him needs to stop.

After my moment of contemplation ends, I splash some water on my face and head downstairs to see Raphael himself cooking me breakfast.

"Do you always cook for yourself?" I ask him. I would have assumed they had some sort of chef around.

"We usually have breakfast in the grand dining hall together, but after last night I figured you'd want a quieter breakfast," he chuckled, glancing at my hands squeezing my forehead.

"The lights are spinning," I tell him, and he laughs.

"If you can't stomach this, I made some oatmeal too."

"I think I'll stick with the oatmeal, thank you." I reach for a bowl and spoon as he sets the pot of sweet, milky oats on the table.

"No problem," he says, taking the plate of eggs for himself. We eat in silence as I wait for my head to stop pounding.

After breakfast I go upstairs to pack the stuff I brought, leaving the dress on the bed. It's not mine, and I can't imagine needing to wear it again, so there's no point in taking it with me. "Should we get Emily?" I ask as Raphael helps me load the suitcase back into his car.

"Actually, I talked to Aro last night after the party ended," he starts, "We both thought it would be best if Emily lives here from now on, but I want to make sure you're okay with it too." I look at him in shock, but he continues, "Vampires hold themselves to the rule against vampire children, but there is no such rule for Nephilim. We still don't know if Emily is as uncontrollable as usual immortal children, so we plan on studying her behavior, and trying to teach her what we can here. It would remove the risk to the Volturi, and to herself. Of course you can visit her any time."

The thought of not living with my sister again makes me want to scream no, but this is a compromise I couldn't have dreamed of when I first saw Emily in the forest. "Does she know yet?" I ask.

"We sat down and talked about it last night after you went to bed. I think she's worried about you though," he smiles sympathetically, leading me back into the cathedral with his arm around my shoulders. As if on cue, Emily is peeking through the window at us coming in.

"I love you, Anna," she says softly into my stomach as I meet her arms in a numbing embrace.

"I love you too. I know you're going to be so much happier here with the other kids. The castle is so dark and boring," I laugh, feeling my eyes well up a bit. "The next time I'm here you're going to have to introduce me to your friends and everything!" She giggles.

"You better come back tomorrow!" she demands.

"You betcha I will," I laugh.

---

I have been visiting Emily every day for the past couple weeks, and it has been a blast! I wake up every morning wondering how the heck the stars lined up in my favor for the first time in my life. I've even made friends with some of the other Nephilim my age I've been at the cathedral so much. And I have to admit feeling glad for the added bonus of taking my mind off of Caius. "When is he coming back, anyway?" I ask myself, on my way to the kitchen for breakfast. I swing open the door and speak of the devil, guess who's sitting at a stool talking to Antonio?

"Piccola! We were just talking about how you'd show up around here soon!" he says with a belly laugh. Meanwhile, it's as if I'm looking at a ghost. Caius was sitting there grinning. Have I ever seen that man smile before?! But that's not the most shocking part. He was wearing clothes similar to the ones he made me promise never to tell anyone he had when I stumbled into his room that one time. A black blazer, a black button up shirt with an undone button or two more than I'd expect from typical Volturi modesty, black skinny jeans tucked into some shiny black combat boots. There was no trace of powder erasing his sun-kissed highlights and I'm beginning to wonder if I ever woke up from whatever dream I was just having. I'm suddenly ten times more self-aware of my bedhead and pajama shorts as I silently sit a few seats down from where Caius is watching my every move.

"On the menu today is a bagel with smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill sauce, onions, and capers," Antonio says, excitedly putting the plate down in front of me. It's one of my favorite breakfasts, but my hunger already escaped me, and I wish I could escape along with it. Luckily Caius and Antonio focus their attention back on each other, taking some of the pressure off me as I take my first bite of the bagel. They're speaking in Italian together, so I try focusing on picking up some words as I eat. I'm still very much a beginner, but I manage to make out a few random words here and there, names, like "Marcus" and "Anthony". They must be talking about their research trip in Washington. Coming up a lot is the name "Edward" and a lot of the word bella, meaning beautiful? The word for "love" is sprinkled in a lot, including a few times much too close in proximity to my own name... what could they be saying?

Before I know it, I'm on my last bite of bagel. I stand up, ready to thank Antonio, when Caius speaks first. "Anna, if you aren't immediately busy, meet me in the library in an hour."

"Okay," I say much too quietly, clearing my throat. I thank Antonio and rush out to my room as quickly as possible. I'm such an idiot. I scold myself, the awkwardness replaying over and over again in my mind. If Caius continues to have this much of an effect on me I might not make it out of my next meeting with Athenodora alive. The embarrassment is replaced with a pit suddenly dropping to the bottom of my stomach. Could they really have found a way to change me into a vampire?

I quickly get ready, throwing on an outfit that looks nice, but not too casual. I decide on a brown oversized sweater with black skinny jeans, ripped at the knees. I put on some black heeled boots, perfect for fall. I fix my bedhead and add some light makeup like Jane taught me. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking a bit about dressing to impress. I mean, Caius has been gone for weeks. For all he knows, I started wearing makeup weeks ago right after Jane showed me before the party.

With time flying and my hour almost up, I head out the door, trying to calm my nerves before reaching the library. But when I finally arrive and open the door, nobody's there. I find a chair and sit down for a minute before I realize I don't want Caius to come thinking I've just been twiddling my thumbs, eagerly awaiting his arrival, so I get up and browse the books surrounding me. None of the sections are marked like a normal library, so I'm reading covers here and there trying to place which genres are where. A lot of the titles are in other languages though, so it makes things a bit trickier.

Around 10 minutes have past when I hear the library door slowly creak open. I peek around the shelf to see Caius making his way in. He's holding a stack of books, which he sets down at the table I was sitting at.

"Don't you know it's rude to keep a lady waiting?" I joke, my confidence starting to return. I expected him to look at me like I was crazy, but to my surprise he smiles, again not a smirk, an actual smile.

"My apologies," he says, giving me a sarcastic bow while gesturing for me to sit in one of the chairs he just pulled out for me.

"How was your trip to Washington? Did you guys figure out how to change me?" I ask right away. There's no use beating around the bush when I already feel like I'm about to have a heart attack. He lifts an eyebrow in response.

"Are you that excited about spending centuries together, just you and me?" he jokes. I gulp. How the heck does this boy expect me to take a joke like that? I know he knows the effect he has on me. It's like he's asking for this castle to be burnt to toast.

"Maybe I just don't want to leave my sister behind in this world without me," I say, crossing my arms.

"Maybe..." he says, studying my expression. He starts to laugh after a delayed couple of seconds.

"Are you on drugs?" I whisper, eyes wide and taking in the sound I never thought I'd hear.

"You know, this trip made it clear. There's a lot I need to learn from you, and from your power, before we can turn you into a vampire," he says, suddenly serious.

"What do you need to know?" I question. He looks curiously at me.

"I'd like to know everything," he says tilting his head slightly. "Jane tells me you like a book series called 'Mortal Instruments'".

"Yes?" I say amused. That's not even close to the kind of information I expected him to need. He pushes the stack of books he came in with toward me. "My books!" I exclaim finally recognizing them. "But why do you have them?"

"I was curious, so I read them last night after I got back."

I smile-cringe, knowing he's going to have the same opinion as Jane thanks to the "unrealistic vampires".

"I hear there's a movie too; I suppose you've seen that?" he asks.

"Actually I haven't yet!" I exclaim. I guess life just got so busy I haven't gotten around to it. Caius slips something out from behind the books. It's the DVD!

"Well, after the laughable descriptions of the vampires in the books, I'm ready for a comedic visual." Does he mean what it sounds like he's getting at?

"Don't tell me you want to watch this movie, Caius. If you do I will think you got possessed by some wacky spirit in some random American graveyard."

"If you want to watch it, I have the biggest screen in the castle back in my room. You still remember where that is, right?" he asks, eyebrow cocked, completely ignoring my accusation.

"I want to watch it..." I admit. He knows he has a hold on me.

"Great, come by this evening at 8 then. Dress... comfortably," he smirks, looking my new change in style up and down. I'm lucky it's so dark in here because the sudden blood rush to my cheeks is at least partially hidden.

I don't even remember the walk back to my room, my mind was stuck in the depths, swimming in "what the heck"s with a sprinkle of "Am I crazy?!" and "Is HE crazy?!" I close my door and flop onto my bed. That exchange was... not normal. It was more than just a joke. I was too flustered to even point out HIS sudden change of style. Shaking my head, I get ready for my Italian lesson with Antonio. Maybe he can shed some light on Caius's sudden change in attitude.

---

"You must know what's up with Caius," I stare pointedly at Antonio without as much as a greeting when I enter the kitchen again. He just laughs, and jokes that I better keep paying attention to his lessons if I want to understand their secret conversations.

---

After my lesson ending with me getting nothing in regard to Caius's sudden behavioral changes, (and trust me, I practically begged) I head out on a search for Jane, who I find in her room. She hears me coming and lets me in before I even have the chance to knock. "I've never actually been in here before," I realize, looking at the paintings gracing her walls.

"Welcome," she smiles, book in hand.

"Have you heard from Caius yet?"

"Hmm, I know he got back today with the others. I haven't heard what they discovered, if anything."

"He's acting... weird," I say in a whisper. I'm paranoid that his hearing is good enough to hear me even here on the other side of the castle. Jane looks up and pats a seat next to her with her hand.

"How so?" she asks.

I tell her everything that happened in the library and she gives me a knowing look. "Well, it seems as though you have a date tonight," she says nonchalantly. My eyes widen.

"Is this not a shock to you?" I ask, "What am I supposed to do?!"

"Please," she laughs, "You could tell anyone in the castle what you just told me and they'd say they saw it coming."

"But, he's married..." I remind her, "to a woman who would make my life, and everyone in the castle's life hell if she found out."

"Well, you better ask him about that tonight," she says, as if it was such an easy solution.

I leave Jane's room scratching my head more than I was entering it. Sometimes it feels like everyone in the castle knows something I don't. I mean, they always do anyway, but I'm feeling it more and more today now that it's something that involves me. I get back to my room and immediately start prepping myself for a short trip to see Emily before I have to get back to dress comfortably for my movie night. I lay out a simple oversized white t-shirt and classic Adidas 3-stripe leggings with solid black fuzzy socks. Admiring my choice, I thank Jane in my mind for forcing me to go on our monthly shopping trips. If it weren't for her, I'd have nothing but Hello Kitty pajama bottoms. Actually though, I'd be funny to see the look on everyone's face if I walked around the castle in something as ridiculous as that. My focus is broken when I get a knock on my door telling me my ride is here. At least Emily's going to be excited to hear this story. I gotta admit, it'll sure be nice to have at least one normal reaction from someone I unload this to for once.