Infinite Bliss || Volturi Kings

|5| CAIUS

Eliana had never run to charge her phone so fast in her entire life. Even if she was to stay in Volterra for an extended period of time and she was supposedly as safe as she could be, even the thought of having all contact to the outside world permanently cut off unnerved her to say the least.

Just as she was about to unlock it, someone knocked on the door. Startling her, she dropped her phone onto the floor with a surprisingly loud bang and opened the door to her room.

"Um . . . hello? Can I help you?"

The woman standing at the door, her hair a flawless platinum blonde with full red lips and red eyes, beamed at her. "Hey, I don't think we've met yet." Her energy continuously bright, she held a hand out. "I'm Corin. I work in the guard here."

"Oh, okay, hi," Eliana replied sheepishly as she took her hand, "I'm-"

"I know who you are, Eliana," she interjected with a laugh. "I was sent to find you by Master Caius."

"Caius?" She repeated. For a moment, it was as if she felt her heart skip a beat.

Corin nodded affirmatively. "That's right. He's in his wing as we speak," She abruptly grasped her hand firmly and began to drag her away from the safety and solitude of her room, "so let's go."

"Wait, um, Corin!" Eliana quickly interrupted, though her pace didn't slow. "Can't I at least, you know, change?"

She motioned to the clothing she was wearing, i.e. a pair of ridiculously short shorts and a sweatshirt that covered said shorts completely. She could feel the chill of the draft against her bare legs and shivered.

"No," she replied plainly, "you're already running three minutes behind schedule."

"And whose fault is that?" Eliana challenged.

"Okay, I'll admit, that's my bad," Corin confessed, "but it would be better if we're not any later than we already are."

"I didn't realise Caius runs at such a tight schedule," she noted.

Corin briefly glanced back at her. "Don't let it get to you. While what I said may be true, he has a tendency to be lenient towards those he cares about. That being said, it would make things easier if you could walk just a little faster."

At this point, Eliana had almost broken into a full sprint in an effort to keep up. "This is as fast as I can go," she replied.

"In that case . . ." Within the time in which she'd blinked, she found herself held horizontally in Corin's arms. "This should save time, I hope you don't mind."

Eliana sighed exasperatedly and relented, leaning sideways against her shoulder. "I don't care anymore."

That seemed to be enough confirmation for Corin to take off into the distance. Eliana squeezed her eyes closed as the sound of air rushing past her ears almost deafened her. There was a reason she absolutely hated being transported in this way, even if it did save so much time in the long run.

She only counted 3 seconds before she was placed down on her feet without much warning. She staggered to the side and reached out for Corin's arm for support, the latter of whom grinning happily at her.

Corin knocked on the door only once before she vanished faster than Eliana could even comprehend. Sudden anxiety and regret bubbling up inside of her, she crossed her arms defensively over her chest and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

She didn't know much about any of her three supposed "mates", but Caius was the one that was most elusive to her. While Aro was practically an open book, from what she'd seen, and Marcus she'd been told a little about by Carlisle before, the only knowledge she had on Caius was that he was harsh, calculating, brutal, and feared by every immortal that walked the planet. No one wanted to be on Caius' bad side—death was a better option in that instance.