There mysterious girl

Chapter 7

The medication Carlisle had given her was too strong. Bella swayed as Caius led her through a maze of stone corridors until he finally swept her off her feet and carried her bridal style. She glared at him, although her heart wasn't really in it. She had been one stumble away from an accident, which, in a castle of vampires, could spell trouble.

"If you fall and bleed it might create problems," he explained, although he was smirking as he said it. Apparently, they'd been having the same thought. "Beheading the entire guard is something we would do for you, amore mio, but it would create so much red tape. We don't exactly have a Human Relations department in the castle."

Bella laughed at his joke- a single sound that escaped her without her permission. It had been so long since she'd laughed, she realized. Caius smiled too, the action transforming his normally scowling face.

They reached an arched pair of double doors, flanked by two vampires who held them open as they passed through. They ascended a very tall tower, up a flight of stone stairs that seemed to have been carved into the wall itself, spiraling upwards.

They came to a circular landing at the top of the tower, with four doors leading in different directions.

"These are the family quarters, amore," he explained. "Aro is there," he pointed to one door. "Marcus," he pointed to another. "Mine," he pointed to one more. "And yours has only just been finished."

The smell of drying paint reached her as he carried her through the last arched doorway. She would have time to properly appreciate this room tomorrow, she thought. The room spun as he laid her down on something incredibly soft. She felt him slip her shoes off, the mattress dipping as he eased down beside her.

"Do you need more medication?" he asked. "Carlisle sent some."

Of course he did, she thought. She shook her head, the motion making her even dizzier.

"I shouldn't have taken that second pill to begin with," she slurred.

Caius had cajoled her into taking the second pill during the flight, which had affected her almost instantly.

"Mmm," he hummed. "You must take better care of yourself, my love. What would we do without you, angel?"

Her eyes grew heavy, and Caius reached out to stroke her cheek with impossible tenderness.

"Sleep, amore," he murmured, and she drifted off.

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.

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Aro waited until Isabella was in a deep sleep before he entered the room. Caius was lying beside their mate, his body wrapped protectively around her. Marcus had been right. Caius had been subdued at long last. Even the guard had been abuzz about this possibility- speculation running amok in Caius's absence. Aro had no doubt, however, that his brother would be more ruthless than ever with both their guard and enemies alike- just to disprove this new rumor. The thought brought a hundred diplomatic nightmares to mind.

Aro noticed the plate of food had sent laying uneaten on a tabletop.

"Don't wake her," Caius warned. "She slept fitfully on the jet."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Aro replied, ghosting over to her bedside.

He stared down at her, equal parts amazed and smug that she was within his reach at last. Time and fate had taken their sweet time delivering her to them. In the process they had subjected themselves to the horror that was Sulpicia's madness, Athenadora's betrayal, and Marcus's millennia long depression after Didy had been murdered. But none of that mattered now, he supposed, as long as they had found her at last.