Chapter 117: The Irish Coven
Jane watched Sophie' profile as she focused intently on the road. The young woman was still nursing a trace of resentment over Jane's habit of making decisions on her behalf. Sophie and Aro could not have been more different in appearance, age, or temperament, yet Jane found herself recognizing another uncanny similarity between them. This time, however, the realization stirred no jealousy within her.
"I never expected you to appear in my life, Sophie," Jane said abruptly, her words seemingly coming out of nowhere. "Yet you defied everyone's expectations and walked into the underground palace. So... it's you. It has always been you."
Among the core members of the Volturi Guard existed a privilege known only to a select few, one that could be exercised only once during an immortal lifetime. It was tied to one of the vampire race's most significant instincts, something nearly as important as life itself.
Chelsea had once used that privilege to elevate her untalented husband, Afton, granting an otherwise ordinary vampire a status that placed him almost on equal footing with Jane and Alec. If Jane, as Captain of the Guard, were to invoke that same privilege, it would send shockwaves through the entire Guard. Yet if she chose to do so, every fear and worry that haunted her would disappear forever.
When Charles had infiltrated the palace and deceived Sophie into leaving with him, Jane had come within a breath of using that privilege. In the end, Aro's attitude, coupled with Chelsea's timely use of her emotional manipulation gift, severed her resolve before she could act. She hesitated. She wavered. Aro and Alec had both offered alternatives: wait for someone with even greater potential, or find a way to develop and strengthen Sophie' supernatural gift instead.
"But it's always been me," Sophie answered matter-of-factly, misunderstanding Jane's meaning completely. Assuming Jane was talking about their daring escape from the palace, she glanced over with a puzzled smile. "Was there ever anyone else?"
"You're right," Jane replied quietly, agreeing with her for perhaps the first time that night. "It has always been you. Only you."
In that instant, Jane made her decision. For the first time in her life, she would go against the wishes of the two people closest to her, Aro and Alec. It was a choice neither of them would approve of, yet she could no longer bring herself to compromise. It had to be Sophie. It could only ever be Sophie.
Mistaking Jane's response for agreement about their little adventure, Sophie grinned triumphantly. The remainder of the journey became even smoother, her hands steady on the wheel while maintaining breathtaking speed. Just as Felix had predicted, however, the sports car's fuel disappeared at an alarming rate under constant high-speed driving. They were forced to stop and refill the tank at least twice along the way.
To avoid passing through densely populated human settlements, Sophie deliberately chose more remote roads, even if they added considerable distance to their journey. By midday, the sun blazed directly overhead, and the light pouring through the windows caused both of their skin to glitter brilliantly like fields of diamonds. Left with little choice, Sophie parked beneath the shelter of an abandoned bridge and waited for the harsh afternoon sunlight to mellow.
"I'm sorry," Sophie said apologetically as she looked around the deserted countryside. "This route is so isolated. There isn't a decent modern building anywhere nearby."
"The scenery is lovely," Jane replied, unconcerned by the remoteness.
The hours they spent waiting for the sun to weaken passed far more pleasantly than either of them had expected. Whenever Jane allowed herself to relax and simply talk, she and Sophie discovered they were surprisingly in sync.
Since Sophie had deliberately chosen roads far away from civilization, Jane entertained herself by gathering wildflowers, grasses, twigs, and smooth stones, weaving them together into delicate little ornaments. Sometimes she simply used a pebble to sketch flower petals across the ground, refining designs that came to mind.
The flower-crown weaving skills she had learned during childhood had grown slightly rusty with time, but the muscle memory still lingered within her immortal body. Before long, an elegant floral wreath had taken shape, simple yet charming. Influenced by her late mother, Jane possessed an impressive knowledge of flowers and plants, along with a refined understanding of fabrics, ribbons, and decorative craftsmanship.
Sophie eagerly tried to imitate her, only to crush every flower and blade of grass she touched into tiny fragments. After several utterly hopeless attempts, she finally gave up, dusted the green debris from her hands, and contributed only with suggestions instead.
"How about adding some baby's breath as decoration?" Sophie proposed after racking her brain for inspiration. "The white flowers would match the pale green and soft yellow really well."
The color combination sounded tasteful enough that Jane accepted the idea, though there wasn't a single sprig of baby's breath growing anywhere nearby.
Once the flower crown was finished, Jane placed it atop Sophie' head. Delighted, Sophie hurried over to the car's side mirror and admired herself for several long moments before declaring that she wanted to keep it in the storage compartment and bring it home. She didn't even dare touch it herself, afraid she might accidentally crush the fragile flowers.
Jane, however, thought preserving such an ordinary wreath was pointless. One strong gust of wind would scatter it anyway, so she casually suggested throwing it beneath the bridge and letting nature reclaim it.
The two of them ended up debating the fate of the flower crown with complete seriousness.
After thinking it over for a while, Jane finally said, "I could redesign this as a jeweled tiara instead. The baby's breath could be replaced with tiny diamonds. Once it's finished... I'll give it to you."
Sophie immediately refused several times in a row. At the same time, she no longer insisted on preserving the original wreath, worried that doing so would make her seem desperately obsessed with jewelry.
In the end, the flower crown remained beneath the bridge.
Eventually it would wither.
Then decay.
Then return to the soil, where countless tiny organisms would consume it.
When spring came again, new flowers would bloom in its place.
Daylight slipped away quickly. By sunset, Sophie gently carried Jane back into the sports car, and together they resumed their journey. According to their plan, they would arrive at their destination before the night was over.
Beneath a moon even brighter than the night before, Sophie and Jane finally drove into the territory of the Irish Coven.
Like most vampire covens, they had chosen to settle far away from bustling cities and villages, deep within land untouched by ordinary humans. The edge of their domain was marked by an expansive marshland, where clusters of pale white mushrooms sprouted from the damp earth, stretching into the darkness beneath the moonlight.