New Dawn

Italy

THE TRIP WAS PURE TERROR. CLINGING TO DAD, I never knew when Jane would send one of us to the floor in an unbearable pain. When we finally came to the gated city and into a secret passage way to the Volturi's home, they took Dad away from me.

Jane snatched me up by the arm and threw me down a different hallway. Stumbling, I tripped and fell on my hands and knees. The skin broke and my blood oozed out of the wounds. "Daddy?" I reached out for him with thick tears in my eyes.

Dad struggled against Demetri's and Felix's hold on him. He hissed, "Don't touch her."

Nahuel moved to my side and helped me back to my feet, "Jane. Don't be so cold." His words were hard and threatening.

She laughed, "I don't take orders from you." Her smile brightened.

It felt as if I had bursted into flames. Pain pulsed throughout my body and I collapsed onto the floor and curled into a ball, holding back my screams.

"Enough." It was Aro.

The pain vanished. Nahuel was kneeling over me, brushing back a strand of hair, "Follow me." He scooped me up and placed me back on my feet.

Looking around, I scoured the room for my dad. But he was gone. It was just Nahuel, Felix, and myself. My heart ached. I needed to find my family, needed to see them one last time.

Nahuel snatched up my hand and pulled me down the hallway, "Hurry. You'll see them soon." He encouraged.

My feelings for Nahuel were a little strange. There was good in him, I could see it. But I knew I couldn't trust him. He lied and betrayed me and my family. I knew without a doubt he would do whatever was needed to protect the ones he loved – even if that meant destroying lives.

Pulling my hand free from his grip, I shifted away from him but continued to follow him. Felix hissed and shoved me forward. Felix had no good left in him – the Volturi had sucked the human out of him. He was the monster humans feared.

Nahuel looked down at me with sadness in his eyes, "I'm sorry."

Felix moved ahead of us and pulled open a cell door. His voice was hard, "In here, both of you."

Nahuel positioned himself between Felix and myself. Felix shoved Nahuel into me but Nahuel was able to catch me before I fell over. He wrapped his arms around my waist and stood me up in front of him in the small cell. The door slammed shut and we were alone.

Moving to the other side of the cell, I looked down at the ground. "Why are we here?"

"This is where Aro has been keeping me. I guess you could call it my room." He awkwardly took a seat on the floor beside the door.

Following his lead, I sat on the hard floor, "What's next?"

"Sit on the bed." He pointed to the corner where a small bed stood, "Make yourself comfortable."

"I'm fine here."

"Okay."

There was a short moment of awkwardness.

"So are you going to tell me what happens next?"

He sighed in frustration, "I don't know."

"How do you not know?"

"Look. It's not like I came running to the Volturi with a plan. They found me and Huilen after killing my sisters. All I know is that I have to do what they say or Huilen will die." His eyes filled with tears and glossed over before burying his face into his crossed arms, which were propped up on his bent knees.