Chapter Text
Volterra was a beautiful little town in Tuscany, Italy. I loved the warm climate even in winter and the beautiful landscapes. It was a dream come true to live here. It was definitely a great luck for me, as a witch. Witches normally avoided Volterra. It was vampire territory. And not any vampires, but the Volturi Coven. The literal royal vampires. Since my family worked with the Volturi coven for centuries, it was my luck. I started this job with the Volturi Coven only recently, about one month ago. They lived without a witch for decades, until they decided it was time to need magical help after all. The Romanian Coven had a sorcerer on their side and they were not friendly, as someone told me. My great grandmother had been the last witch in charge in Volterra. She had died before I was born, but my grandmother used to tell me her stories.
I stood on the terrace outside my little workshop and sipped my tea. I wore simple jeans and t-shirt, a light blanket over my shoulders against the chill. There was a lemon tree across a small pond. It was lovely, I couldn't wait for summer to come. But spring had just started and it was some way to go still, before it would get warmer.
My little workshop had been my wish before I had started my job here. I wanted to work on my self made potions and lotions still, despite being away from my family. We owned a small bookshop, my aunt, my grandmother and I. We sold books and coffee and also my self made witchy things. I started to produce them here and simply sent them back to England. It was a bit more work, packing and sending it, but it was worth it.
There had not been any chance I could have gone back to England after I arrived in Volterra. Not that I couldn't have rejected the job. Everyone made it perfectly clear that I could have said No. But the moment I stood in front of the three vampire kings, a mate bond formed. And not any mate bond, but they imprinted on me, all three of them, at once. And even when mate bonds were extremely rare, everyone knew that you could not separate mates.
I heard a soft knock at the door and looked around as the door opened. A vampire stood there, a young man with short dark hair and a serious face. He was dressed in a kind of uniform suit, standing stock still, hands behind his back, a silver Volturi crest on his chest. Everyone here was so serious and posh, like at a royal court. I chuckled to myself. It was a royal court, so what did I expect?
I knew the vampire's name was Demetri and he was part of the elite guard. I went closer.
“Good Morning Demetri”, I greeted him, stepping inside and throwing my blanket on a chair. I drank the last sip of tea.
“Good morning, my Queen”, Demetri answered and I nearly spit out my tea. I was here for one month now and still didn't get used to people calling me Queen.
“I am not your Queen.” I placed the cup on the nearest table.
Demetri looked at me questioningly: “You are the Masters' mate.”
“That doesn't make me Queen”, I protested.
Demetri raised an eyebrow: “I think it does.”
“I would prefer you called me Edda.”
He looked at me as if I had grown a second head. “That would be very inappropriate. The Masters wouldn't permit it.”
“The Masters do not have a say in how I will be addressed.” I tried to sound strict and if a vampire could blanch, I think he would be right now.
“I....”
“How about Miss Prewett. That's my name. You don't need to use a title and it's formal enough.”
Demetri thought about it, and he was kind of cute, leaning his head to one side.
“All right, Miss Prewett.” He said my name questioningly, and I nodded.
He smiled then: “The Masters await you in the great throne room, Miss Prewett.”
I smiled back: “Of course, Demetri, please lead the way.”
The castle of Volterra was a beautiful place. I simply loved it.
The great throne room was a circular hall out of marble stone, with marble pillars and statues all around. The ceiling was very high, centering in a dome with light coming through windows above. Across the main entrance was a dais, on it three thrones.
I had seen paintings of this room before, but it was something very different to stand in it yourself. And it was totally different when there were vampires inside. I remembered the first time I stepped through the big doors, all eyes were on me. And it was not because I was human, that I had all their attention, but the fact that all three vampire kings, Aro, Marcus and Caius, imprinted on me the moment they laid eyes on me. It had been chaos, a lot of confusion from the guards, since the kings were kneeling at my feed. I fainted once, because of the over stimulation of creating 3 imprints in one go, waking up in the arms of Marcus, holding me close and crying bloody tears.
It was to known for a witch to build a mate bond, let alone to three people at once. I had never heard of this. The castle was shut down for days. They wanted to make me their Queen immediately, but I was scared and asked for more time. So we decided to keep it quiet and that we stick to the original plan, me becoming the Volturi Witch. I could live with that. I knew about imprints. I knew we couldn't be far apart, at least not at first. So I stayed in Volterra.
I walked through the castle now next to Demetri. By now I knew the way, at least to my workshop, the kitchens, the two throne rooms, the garden and the private quarters of the kings and mine. They wanted to give me a whole wing, but I refused vehemently. I then had a choice of multiple apartments and I chose one close to the kings' quarters. It was the smallest, but since I was close to them they allowed it. And I had a nice view onto the little town of Volterra.
We came around a corridor with a reception desk on one side and I greeted Gianna, a young beautiful woman who stood up and curtsied to me.
We arrived at the big doors and a guard opened them, bowing. Demetri led the way inside and I followed.
The three kings' eyes found me immediately and I looked from one to the others. Caius was on his throne, sitting there with his head leaning against the back. Blonde long hair fell around his very handsome face. I knew he had been in his late 30s, when he was turned a vampire. He still looked young. Aro stood in front of his throne, hands clasped together in front of him. His black hair held back from his face. He was sinister looking, crimson eyes always searching. Marcus was next to him. He was the tallest, with auburn long hair and a smile on his face. I smiled back at him and he inclined his head.
In front of them were two vampires of the elite guard I recognized as Jane and Alec, they were siblings and were often together.
When we came closer, Demetri bowed low to the kings.
“Miss Prewett for you, Masters.”
Demetri couldn't say anything else, because Caius had him in the air by his neck. I stumbled and stopped a few feet away.
“How do you address my mate?” Caius hissed. Demetri stuttered: “She didn't want to be addressed by her title, Master.”
Caius head whirled around to me. He let Demetri fall, who landed on his feet and stumbled backwards. Jane caught him.
Caius came closer and I took a step back. I knew his reputation of being the most brutal king. He stopped immediately, though, lowering his head.
I knew vampires could smell emotions and I guess he could smell my irritation and caution.
Aro stepped towards Demetri and took his hand. I also knew that Aro had a special power, tactile mind-reading. He could see all the thoughts you ever had with one touch. I had not let Aro touch me yet. When he let go of Demetri he turned to me.
“Edda”, he started. “I understand you don't want the title of Queen.”
I looked from Caius to him. “And we talked about it before. And I thought I had been clear and I think you could also just ask me and not prefer the thoughts of someone else.”
I don't know if anyone dared to speak with the kings this way. The guards looked at me wide eyed and in fear. Caius looked up and grinned, so I addressed him: “And I don't want anyone to be punished on my behalf, please.” That made the grin disappear from his face. He scowled.
Marcus came closer to me. “I think we all have to get used to each other. I apologize for my brothers, mio caro.” When I looked up in protest, he held up his hands: “You cannot stop me using pet names for my mate, la mia piccola strega.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Marcus grinned and winked at me. I smiled up at him. He was by far the most charming man I ever met.
Aro cleared his throat: “Well, Edda. I apologize. Of course you are right. I will advice the guards that they address you informal from now on.”
“Thank you, Aro.”
We smiled at each other. Even Caius looked up again and I saw his lips twitch. I could imagine it was not easy for them, having a witch as a mate. I would never become a vampire, that was not possible. As a witch, I was simply immune to their venom. And I had much to learn about the life in a vampire coven.
“So, let's get to work then”, Aro clapped his hands. “The Romanian Coven is plotting something.”
He led us all up the dais to a small side entrance, along the sides of the thrones, into a little room. We gathered around a table with a map and some books and papers. A candle stood in the middle of the table and I flicked my hand to light it. All eyes were on the candle for a moment.
Aro cleared his throat. I stood between him and Caius, Marcus next to him, Demetri, Jane and Alec on the other side. Aro showed us a map. He pointed at a point close to Bukarest.
“Here's their headquarter, a manor house with lots of estates around it.”
“What are they plotting, brother?” Caius asked from my left.
“I do not know yet. I saw in a rogue vampire the thought about something hidden in Romania, but nothing specific.”
“You think is has something to do with their sorcerer?”, I asked.
Aro looked at me: “We need to find out more. Demetri, you will scout in Romania, but keep underground, no exposure.”
Demetri nodded.
I looked at the scout vampire. “Maybe I can do an anti-detection spell on Demetri. Even if people saw him they would not know who he was.”
“You can do that?” Demetri asked amazed, but lowered his gaze, when he realized the stare from the kings.
I chuckled: “Well, I will try. If you're lucky it works.”
Demetri smiled sheepishly at that. I heard Marcus chuckle. Aro was laughing: “If you wouldn't be so against formalities, my lovely mate, we would be one guard less.”
“I just don't want to be above others. I was raised to see others as equal.”
Caius shifted next to me and he took my hand. It was the first time one of my mates touched me skin to skin. I shivered instantly and the whole room fell silent. I turned to Caius, while he raised my hand to his lips and kissed it. I just stood there, mesmerized.
“You are never like others, my sweet mate. You are far above all of us.”
I shivered. Caius crimson eyes held me captive. His other hand came up to touch my cheek and I felt like a rabbit in front of a fox. I forgot to breathe, while his face slowly came closer to me. When his nose nearly touched mine, I closed my eyes and my breath came in short puffs. That's when I realized something.
“Your skin is warm”, I whispered. I felt Caius' breath on my face, he inhaled deeply, then he seemed to realize what I had said.
“What?”
“Your skin feels warm”, I repeated. I opened my eyes to see his very close. I could see different points of gold and black in his red eyes. They were so beautiful. His expression changed from lustful to astonished. He started to caress my face.
“Can I...?” I heard to my left and Marcus stood there, his hand outstretched to me. Caius took a step back, so I could reach out to Marcus. The moment his hand found mine I gasped: “Yours too.” He smiled and came even closer. He was so tall I only came up to his chin. I thought it was a perfect height and I stepped into him and put my arms around his torso, my face nestled on his chest. He smelled wonderful and I closed my eyes. “You are warm, too.”
“What does that mean, Marcus?”, Caius asked. Marcus had his arms around me now, one hand in my hair, rocking me lightly, pressing his cheek onto my head. “I think it's because of the bond. It's a very strong bond. We are mates, of course the mate-bond makes it comfortable for all of us to touch,” he rumbled and I remembered Marcus had the ability to see bonds between people. I squeezed him before letting go. He stepped back and smiled down at me.
I looked around. The guards were nowhere in sight and Aro stood at the door, looking at Marcus, Caius and me. Longing was clearly visible on his face.
I swallowed. I knew if I touched Aro, he would see all my thoughts and memories. I didn't know if I was ready for this already.
“Aro”, I breathed and he nodded at me, stepping closer.
“I understand, il mio fiore.”
“Give me a bit more time, please.”
“Of course”, he whispered. He showed me his hands and I realized he wore leather gloves now. “May I?”
I nodded and he was taking my hands immediately. Then one hand came up to my face, caressing my cheek. He was so gentle and I leaned into him.
He started to whisper in Italian and what I believe was Greek. He came close with his face, but never touched me. I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against his clothed shoulder.
“You are the best thing that happened to us in our whole existence”, he whispered and I wanted to answer, but then I felt other hands on my shoulders and my back. The kings surrounded me and I leaned back into the arms of Caius. Marcus had stepped closer, too and so we stood there in an embrace, all four of us. I had never felt so protected and cherished before.