Tenebrous ↠ Volturi Kings {1} ✓

022

"The fact that you cannot track Rowan when she is employing her gift is troubling." Marcus had his fingers steepled together, deep in thought. "We were hoping to rely on your gift should all else fail."

"As long as only her mind is shielded, I can still track by scent," Demetri said, his hands clasped neatly behind his back.

We were in the throne room, where Demetri had taken me to inform the kings of the blind spot in his gift as soon as court was through. Aro had ceded his throne to me, and was perched on the arm of it as he processed this new information.

"I have no intentions of hiding myself from Demetri," I said, gaining identical looks of worry from each of my mates.

"Just because you have no intention of doing so does not mean that it may not be, at some point in time, necessary. Or that you may lose control and do so subconsciously," Caius said, long legs carrying him back and forth in front of the three thrones. "This makes Demetri's failing all the more troubling."

"Okay, first of all, that's never happened," I pointed out. "Second of all, none of this is Demetri's fault."

"None of us are blaming Demetri, love. We're being realistic. It's not outside the realm of possibility," Aro said. "You could not control your gift when you were young and it hid you as a byproduct of your fear."

"And there's the crux: when I was young, before I learned control. I have control now."

Marcus leaned back in his throne. "We are not saying you do not, tesoro. We are simply examining every possibility. You will understand in time. You are still young, and optimism is bright in you. We do not have such a luxury anymore."

I remembered Didyme and was silent. In his wake, Demetri spoke. "I can work with her, see if it would help. Perhaps with practice this can be remedied. At the very least, growing familiar with her scent will make tracking her all the more easy."

"It is the best option we have for the time being," Aro ceded, though he did not look happy. "Does Rowan's gift make her completely invisible to you, or is it a different sort of effect? Young Edward described her hidden mind as murkiness rather than as nothing at all. Perhaps that can serve as an indicator to her presence."

"I know that I did not sense her. But I will certainly observe further when the opportunity is next presented," Demetri said.

"We would expect nothing else," Caius said, finally settling back down in his throne and closing his eyes. Despite the fact that vampires could not get headaches, he rubbed his fingers against his temples. I suspected it was stress.

"Thank you, Demetri. You are dismissed," Marcus said.

Demetri nodded and strode off, exiting the court room through a side door that I hadn't noticed until now. With his leaving only myself and my three mates still remained in the room. All three were wearing expressions of varying degrees of stress or worry.

"What an interesting gift you have, my dear Rowan. I did not consider the effect it would have on Demetri's gift," Aro mused.

I sighed, letting my head to fall against the back of Aro's throne with an audible thump. It didn't really hurt, but I saw all three vampires grimace. "Look, you can just say that my gift is troublesome. I know that's what you're thinking."

"That most certainly is not what we're thinking," Marcus said.

"Your gift has saved your life, it is the opposite of troublesome," Caius said. "We're not mad at you for something that is out of your control. We are just concerned about the implications that Demetri's shortcoming may have."