In his daze, Edward was oblivious to Bella weaseling her way into his embrace, and the blank, airy look that washed over Alice's face.
Finally, their future was settling. But in the most unexpected way. This strange, quiet vampire Alice's brother seemed so entranced by would be their salvation, no matter the path they traveled. She would always lead them down the safest future.
"Edward," Alice's chimed through the silence, catching Aro's attention instantly. Edward's eyes reluctantly drifted to his sister by his side.
"You need to let go," she murmured, a desperate tone grating through her delicate voice. His brows scrunched in confusion, before noticing movement against him. He looked down, finally registering that Bella has curled herself into him.
Eyes wide with panic, he looked up to meet the garnet eyes of his soulmate. The faint, beautiful smile that had graced her face slowly fell away. The devastating look of heartbreak washed over her beautiful face, venom welling in her eyes as they locked with the human girl wrapped in his arms. She bit her lip to quell her sob before stepping back into her place beside Caius.
Edward had never hated himself more.
Of course, her soft inner voice whimpered in resignation. Like she expected this outcome.
"Interesting," the old king, Marcus, murmured from his place. But he changed his train of thought before Edward could catch what he meant. He didn't dwell on it too long, desperate to free himself from Bella's needy embrace.
"Bella, please let go of me," he pleaded, his voice strained. He wanted to be furious, he wanted to yell at her for ruining this moment for him. But even he knew better than that. It wasn't her fault, it was his. He shouldn't have gotten involved with her in the first place, and now he was going to pay the price. He couldn't take it out on her.
"What?" she asked, her confused, murky brown eyes staring up at him.
"Come here, Bella," Alice came to his rescue, prying the girl off him and shifting her out of arms reach. But it was too late, his soulmate had her eyes glued to the ground, fiddling with her fingers as she waited for this torture to be over.
Her brother eyed her, curious about her sudden shift in demeanor. She was usually composed and unphased, the perfect princess. Standing strong by his side.
He did not like her like this, to see her look so uncomfortable and uneasy. Her unneeded breathes were coming out in ragged gasps as she tried to fight off her incoming panic, worrying her lips between her teeth and venom welling in her eyes as she tried not to flee from the room.
"Eva," Caius spoke gently, unusually so. "You can go."
She shook her head quickly, but still didn't look up. She missed the look of worry in his crimson eyes, worry for his sister and her sudden downturn in emotions.
"Very well," Aro's sharp voice sounded throughout the throne room. "Shall we continue?"
Aro droned on and on about the laws they had broken by allowed Bella to discover their existence, Alice desperately tried to bargain and beg, Bella kept interrupting and trying to persuade the king in spare her and Edward.
But Edward, he could only stare at his new-found soulmate, feeling the aching of her heart and listening to her devastate thoughts. He selfishly wanted to steal her away, leave Alice to save Bella's life. Show her that he could change, that he would change. He'd do anything for her already. He'd leave his family behind, incur the wrath of the Volturi if he had to, just to have her all to himself.
"Evadne," Aro called for her. "Please, go ahead."
Finally, she looked up from the stone floor and uneasily stepped forward. She avoided looking at Edward, much to his dismay. Her eyes locked onto Alice, a fierce expression washing over her angelic face.
Edward dived into her mind as she studied Alice and became mesmerized by the way her mind worked. Her power flared to life and Alice's... aura began to glow a blazing orange.
'Lies,' Evadne's inner voice chimed. 'But with good intentions, to protect.'
Edward was enthralled. She could read people, just like him, but in a different way. She could read your intentions, whether they be malicious or pure. No wonder she was a regular attendant of the throne room; she was useful to them. Although Aro could do what she did, she saved him from having to get close to potential threats.
"She's being truthful," she lied smoothly. "Bella will be one of them."
She had lied for them, covered for them. She knew it would come back to bite her later, but she needed her soulmate to come out of this unscathed, even if he didn't want her.
"That's wonderful," Aro exclaimed gleefully. "Go, make your preparations."
He waved them out of the room, Alice grabbing hold of Bella and dragging her from the room, no matter how much she protested.
Evadne stepped back to her brother's side, returning her gaze to the ground. She couldn't watch Edward leave; her heart couldn't take it.
"Edward?" Aro questioned with a raised brow, expecting the boy to flee as soon as possible.
But he could only watch Eva, he couldn't leave her. He needed her, he needed her near him, so he knew she was safe, that she was happy. He couldn't leave her like this, with her aching heart and defeated soul.
"I'm sorry, Aro," he began, but still didn't take his eyes off her. "But I cannot leave without Evadne."
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a/n: sorry for slow updates, i'm still getting back into the rhythm of writing.
