Twilight: Darling of Volturi (YURI/GL)

Six bags of whole blood.

One more than usual.

According to Demetri, an ordinary newborn was allowed to drink at most three bags a day. The restriction wasn't about scarcity, but control. A newborn possessed terrifying physical strength, and once one lost control, even the Volturi Guard would find it exponentially more difficult to restrain them. Sophie, however, had already become something of an exception.

Five bags were normally enough to satisfy her overwhelming thirst. As the cold blood slid down her throat, the agonizing burn inside gradually faded, extinguished by each swallow. Most newborns suffered terribly during this stage, driven half-mad by bloodlust, but Sophie had crossed that dangerous period with surprising ease. Aro believed it was one of the hidden advantages granted by her mysterious dark gift.

The sixth blood bag, however, carried a different meaning.

Jane had increased her ration without explanation.

The last time Jane had deliberately allowed Sophie to drink extra blood had been before her first spar with Felix. Among vampires, receiving additional blood before a mission was a silent custom. It meant preparing for battle. For a newborn, six full bags of blood were enough to march out and wipe every pirate from the Caribbean if necessary.

At her current strength, Sophie had already become one of the Volturi's greatest combat assets.

If she truly encountered an enemy tonight...

It would be difficult for that enemy to make her suffer.

As the brilliant evening sun finally disappeared beneath the horizon, something stirred inside Sophie's mind. The instant of her own death flashed before her eyes. The empty spaces within her memories slowly filled themselves in, restoring pieces of the life she'd lost so abruptly at only twenty-two years old. Yet one section remained completely blank.

Everything connected to Irene...

Was still missing.

The thunderous roar of the waterfall swallowed nearly every surrounding sound, but Sophie's heightened vampire senses caught something the rushing water could not conceal.

A trace.

A scent.

An unfamiliar vampire.

An intruder.

The instant she realized it, Sophie lowered her body into a crouch.

Her red cloak was far too conspicuous. Without hesitation she slipped it off and laid it aside. Her small frame naturally lent itself to concealment, and she had absolute confidence that she'd spot her target before the intruder ever noticed her.

Beyond the curtain of mist, a vague silhouette wandered into view.

The scent belonged to none of the Volturi Guards.

Whoever it was...

They were an outsider.

The stranger walked with astonishing ease, almost lazily, as though he'd merely stepped out of the banquet to take a leisurely stroll through the master's private garden. Either he was absurdly confident...

Or he had wandered here by mistake.

Unfortunately...

Among vampires, the latter was impossible.

Trespassing upon another vampire's territory was an unmistakable act of provocation. Unless the intruder immediately withdrew, every instinct etched into a vampire's nature would demand only one response.

Drive them out.

Or kill them.

The area around the waterfall still carried Jane's scent.

It lingered thickly among the drifting mist, wrapping around Sophie like an invisible cloak, silently reminding her exactly how she was supposed to deal with an intruder.

The tiny matchbox rested securely inside her pocket.

Sophie silently steeled herself.

Looks like... tonight I'll have to perform a guard’s duty.

I'll have to kill an invading vampire.

Every lesson she'd memorized, every technique she'd practiced, everything had been waiting for a real battlefield. Had Sophie glanced at the surface of the nearby water, she would have noticed something startling.

Her red eyes were overflowing with murderous intent. For a fleeting instant, they looked almost identical to Jane's whenever she unleashed her Gift.

Most vampires delighted in battle and slaughter. Among them, the Volturi stood at the very pinnacle.

During Caius's special training sessions, she'd been taught how to estimate an opponent's position solely through line of sight. Every Volturi Guard mastered that skill.

Sophie waited patiently and silently. The intruder wandered farther inside, casually looking around as if admiring the scenery, and even bent down with genuine interest to pick a flower blooming beside the stream.

His entire back was exposed. His blind spot was enormous.

Now.

The crouch she'd maintained became the perfect launching posture. In the blink of an eye, Sophie vanished from where she stood, her speed so overwhelming that only an afterimage remained.

She appeared directly behind the intruder before his fingertips had even brushed the flower's petals. Her powerful arms immediately wrapped around his waist.

Felix had specifically taught her this technique. Her arms weren't long enough to lock around an adult's ribcage, so she should always attack lower.

Aim for the waist.

Then squeeze.

She obeyed perfectly. As Sophie tightened her embrace with all her monstrous newborn strength, the man's lowest ribs shattered one after another, followed by his spine.

The series of sickening cracks echoed through the valley. Almost simultaneously, the intruder released an agonized scream so astonishingly beautiful that Sophie couldn't help being momentarily surprised.

Someone can scream that beautifully? Then how pleasant must his normal speaking voice be?

Unfortunately, he would never get the chance to demonstrate it.

The broken spine instantly robbed his body of all strength. He collapsed into a limp heap, hanging uselessly in Sophie's grasp, and she casually threw him face-first onto the ground.

Older vampires healed far more slowly than newborns. That gave Sophie plenty of time.

She grabbed both of his arms, twisted them behind his back, and forced them high into the air. Then she planted one foot directly atop his shattered spine and pressed down hard, again and again.

She deliberately kept crushing the damaged vertebrae faster than the venom inside his body could repair them. The man's wrists were too thick for her small hand to grip comfortably, so without hesitation, Sophie clenched all five fingers together and crushed both wrists.

Bones splintered. The joints collapsed into mangled pulp, held together only by skin and muscle.

Now, even though it was still a little awkward, one hand was enough to hold both wrists firmly. Her left hand restrained his arms, while her right foot pinned his spine.

Every point of leverage worked together flawlessly. The intruder couldn't resist at all.

Fighting alone is much easier than I imagined.

He was astonishingly weak.

Compared with Felix...

No.

Compared with most ordinary Volturi Guards, his close-combat ability wasn't even worth mentioning.

Once everything had been secured, Sophie finally freed her right hand.

Time for the last step.

"Ah... p-please... spare me!"

Even while begging for mercy, the intruder struggled desperately. His entire body had been rendered useless, and only his head still retained enough mobility to turn toward Sophie.

She didn't even bother looking at his face. Instead, she calmly reached into her pocket and pulled out the small matchbox Jane had given her.

Lighting a match with one hand proved slightly awkward.

Next time, maybe a lighter would be more convenient.