Twilight: Darling of Volturi (YURI/GL)

The bell tower stood exposed beneath the night sky, with nothing shielding its rooftop from the wind. It was the tallest structure in the entire city. From its summit, one could overlook the endless sea of terracotta rooftops rolling beneath the darkness, while the scent of centuries lingered in the ancient stone. Below, the massive bell had already tolled three times, each solemn chime echoing through sleeping Volterra.

The bell ringer, completely unaware of his fate, finished what would become the final duty of his life. Stretching lazily, he turned toward the stairwell, intending to sneak downstairs for a few more hours of sleep before dawn.

Instead, he walked straight into a strikingly handsome man cloaked in red, whose red eyes glowed unnaturally in the darkness. His body radiated a deathly chill, and when they collided, the man's chest felt as hard as polished granite.

At three in the morning, every law-abiding resident of Volterra should have been deep asleep, following the ancient rhythm of the town. Outsiders were forbidden from entering the bell tower. A red-eyed stranger had no business being here.

"Y-You..." The second syllable never escaped his lips.

A hand clamped around his throat with terrifying force.

Speech vanished.

Then...

So did his breath.

With a sharp crack, his neck snapped cleanly.

Charles walked to the edge of the tower and looked toward the horizon. The darkness was already beginning to retreat, staining the eastern sky with soft shades of violet. Having lived in Volterra for many years, he knew exactly what that color meant.

In less than an hour, the sun would rise above the horizon and bathe the city in brilliant gold.

Any vampire still outside...

Would have nowhere left to hide.

This bell tower stood directly above the Volturi's underground stronghold, concealing the greatest secret in the vampire world. Should any vampire expose themselves after sunrise, the enforcers would inevitably arrive to administer judgment.

Charles was confident.

No matter how powerful a newborn might be...

No newborn could withstand Jane and Alec fighting together.

After silently concealing the bell ringer's corpse, Charles leaped effortlessly from the tower and slipped into the palace basement. Moving through familiar corridors, he pressed against a section of stone wall until a concealed door swung open with barely a whisper.

Waiting patiently behind it was a girl draped in a red cloak.

The instant Sophie saw him, her face blossomed into a radiant smile.

Anyone looking at her now would immediately conclude the same thing.

The girl had fallen hopelessly in love.

Earlier that night, Charles had briefly suspected his gift had somehow failed. But now, seeing the adoration shining in Sophie's red eyes, every trace of doubt disappeared. His gift had worked perfectly. She still remained trapped inside the illusion of love, sincerely believing that she had fallen for him.

Only Charles himself knew...

Just how difficult this sweet-looking little lady truly was to kill.

"Sophie," Charles said gently, extending his right hand toward her with effortless elegance. "I checked outside. There's no one there." He smiled warmly, inviting her forward. "Come. Take my hand. We have to leave now."

Sophie hesitated for a brief moment before placing her hand softly into his.

They had promised each other...

A Romeo and Juliet-style escape.

Charles continued weaving one tender confession after another, every romantic word laced with supernatural deception, tempting her farther from the Volturi until refusing him became almost impossible.

The moment their hands met, Charles immediately pulled her forward.

Sophie instinctively noticed something strange.

His palm is unusually warm.

Far warmer than it should have been.

It felt as though he had only recently touched a living human.

Remembering how casually Charles liked invading other people's personal space, a flicker of annoyance surfaced inside her. She frowned slightly before speaking in a serious tone.

"I'm reminding you again," she said after a short pause. "You are absolutely not allowed to remove the necklace around my neck. Jane gave it to me."

"Of course, Princess."

Charles accepted the misunderstanding without hesitation.

If she discovered the truth, explaining his real intentions would become far more troublesome.

"I simply think..." He deliberately hesitated, pretending to search for the proper words. "...this choker... ah, no, this necklace... its color is a little too dark. It doesn't do justice to your purity." His voice softened into affectionate admiration. "Princess Sophie, you are the sun, the stars... the gathering of every light in this world."

Under the influence of his supernatural Gift, Sophie's attention shifted immediately.

She burst into bright laughter.

"Good. At least you recognize that." She puffed her chest proudly before grinning. "Come on then! This princess has to go bring light to the world!"

Holding her hand, Charles led her out through the hidden doorway and into the Volturi's forbidden hunting grounds...

The main district of Volterra.

The grand palace halls are now open to tourists during the day.

In truth...

Throughout the entire night...

Charles had never once intended to remove that ridiculous necklace.

Every opportunity he searched for is an opportunity...

To snap her neck.

….

After leaving the palace, Jane and Alec headed straight for the elevator, questioning the Guard stationed outside.

"Have you seen Charles?" Jane asked without wasting a second.

"No, Jane. Alec." The gurd answered immediately, without the slightest hesitation. "No one has used the elevator tonight."

Alec stepped closer.

A single breath is enough. He caught Charles's scent lingering faintly on the guard cloak.

Turning toward Jane, Alec lowered his voice.

"Sister..." he murmured. "Charles knows this guard’s name. We won't get anything useful from him."

Charles's gift required only one condition...

Knowing someone's name.

Unfortunately, the guard assigned to the elevator tonight happened to be someone Charles had known for years.

Without the slightest mercy, Jane activated her Pain Illusion.

She intended to overwhelm Charles's deception with even greater suffering, using agony itself to shatter the falsehood.

It failed.

Even while writhing in unbearable torment...

The guard stubbornly repeated exactly the same answer.

That line of questioning is a dead end.

Although they still couldn't determine Charles's precise objective, Jane and Alec confirmed one important fact.

Charles had definitely used the elevator.

How many times?

To which floors?

Those answers would have to be uncovered elsewhere.

Suppressing the fury burning inside her red eyes, Jane pieced the clues together almost instantly.

"Alec." Her voice turned frighteningly cold. "He went to my territory."

Without another word, Alec sprinted after his sister, both of them racing through the tunnels leading toward the waterfall hidden behind the mountains.

Yet even as he ran, Alec couldn't suppress one lingering question.

"Sister..." he asked while catching up beside her. "Why would Charles go to your territory?"

As far as Alec remembered, Jane and Charles had never shared any particularly deep grudge. After receiving several painful lessons courtesy of Jane's Gift years ago, Charles had wisely learned to avoid her whenever possible. For years, they had managed to coexist without incident.

Could it really be...

That life outside the Volturi had gone so badly...

That he'd deliberately returned simply to court death?

Jane remained silent for several strides before finally answering.

"Before the banquet started..." She paused briefly. "...I left for a little while."

Another pause. "I brought Sophie to the waterfall."

There was no regret in her voice. Her intention had been to prevent ordinary guests from wandering into dangerous territory.

She simply hadn't anticipated someone with malicious intentions...

Someone who had once belonged there.

Alec immediately connected every remaining piece.

"If someone wanted to provoke the Volturi's authority," he reasoned thoughtfully, "the easiest way would be killing one of our own." His mind continued racing. "He couldn't possibly reach Lord Aro's or Lord Caius's companions. That leaves only the Guard." He glanced toward Jane. "Every guard’s cloak reflects their role and strength. He could judge everyone's abilities simply by their colors."

Jane snorted dismissively.

"So he picked the weakest-looking target. The softest persimmon. Don't worry too much, Sister." Alec smiled faintly. "Sophie isn't a weak girl."

His thoughts drifted back to the Alps.

"Remember?" he continued. "The three of us chased her for two days and two nights. In the end, she only stopped because she wanted to climb to the summit herself." His smile widened. "Do you really think Charles is stronger than the three of us combined?"

Jane's expression softened...

Just a little.

"But..." she murmured quietly. "She has absolutely no resistance to supernatural gifts ." She frowned. "No matter how weak Charles is... he's still..."

Her voice trailed off. She chose not to finish the sentence. Instead, she accepted Alec's reasoning.

"Alec." She nodded once. "You're right. Compared to when she was running around outside before... at least she's trained properly now."

During Jane's absence, Alec had faithfully reported everything happening in the training grounds. He chuckled, a knowing grin crossing his face.

"Don't get mad, Sister... Felix thinks Sophie's close-combat skills have already surpassed yours."

Jane let out a cold snort. "That's just the advantage of being a newborn."

The distant roar of the waterfall gradually grew louder.

"Sophie!"

Jane's voice rang across the valley, but only the endless thunder of falling water answered her. The outcome she feared had truly come to pass.

Even Alec no longer dared suggest something ridiculous like Maybe Sophie wandered off on her own. After all, he knew better than anyone how obedient Sophie was whenever it came to Jane.

Near the pool lay six completely emptied blood bags. Jane's heart eased ever so slightly. At least Sophie had been fully fed before leaving. She had been at the absolute peak of her strength, so if Charles had tried fighting her directly, he certainly wouldn't have escaped without suffering.

Not far away, Alec suddenly crouched beside several disturbed patches of earth.

"Sister." He pointed toward the impressions left behind. "Charles was slammed face-first into the ground. The body imprint is incredibly deep. Sophie must have hit him with tremendous force."

Jane scanned the surrounding area before calmly continuing the analysis.

"She pinned him down with her foot." She pointed toward another depression. "See how deep this mark is? She definitely crushed several of his bones."

Searching the nearby rocks, Jane finally spotted the small matchbox she had given Sophie, wedged tightly inside a narrow crack between two stones. She knelt immediately, carefully pulled it free, opened the box, and counted the remaining matches.

"...One is missing."

Alec quickly looked around.

"There aren't any vampire ashes nearby."

That was good news. The missing match hadn't burned Charles.

But...

Neither had it burned Sophie.

"We have to find them before sunrise." Jane clenched the matchbox tightly. "And Demetri... of all times... can't spare a moment."

Aro had kept Demetri beside him. The Volturi's greatest tracker was occupied with the Finnish coven, assisting the leaders during discussions regarding Chino and Aurora's future. That left the hunt to Jane and Alec alone.

Jane immediately issued her orders.

"Alec." Her voice returned to its usual calm authority. "Take the guard and search the mountain territory. It's too large for one person."

She looked toward the palace.

"I'll search the palace itself."

Alec nodded without hesitation.

"Understood."

Jane's red eyes turned colder than ice.

"When you find Charles..." There was no pause this time. "Kill him immediately."

The bell tower had already sounded its third chime.

They had less than one hour remaining.