𝘖𝘉𝘚𝘐𝘋𝘐𝘈𝘕 ° 𝘈𝘓𝘌𝘊 𝘝𝘖𝘓𝘛𝘜𝘙𝘐

[17] WEAK

WEAKNESS WAS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.

In many ways, weakness was what you made of it; that much Rory had learned was true in every case. Strength was the same as well. Strengths and weaknesses aren't really opposites as one could easily become the other.

Saving Bree Tanner had totally been a Rory Reyes move—utterly reckless and only pulled off by pure chance. She had hope for the young girl, despite dragging her further into the immortal world probably indicated the opposite. She had an uncanny feeling saving Bree would prove to had been the right choice in the end.

"Buongiorno!" Rory nodded briefly at the passing guard, expecting her to continue on her way.

The curly-haired woman had stopped though, bowing her head slightly before speaking once Rory realized she carried a message. "Donna Aurora, Don Alec is awaiting you in Ballroom number three," she informed her in strict Italian.

Rory had her vampire skills to thank that it was easier to slip back into the native tongue of the country. "For what?"

"Practice."

Practice? The masquerade—it was in a few weeks.

It was crazy how fast time had caught up to her. So much had happened since Aro had proclaimed a ball would be held. Before they had left for their mission, she had been fitted for her gown, but had yet to see the final piece.

Rory's eyes widened. "Oh, I had nearly forgotten. Thank you..." she stopped, regarding the guard sheepishly, "I never got your name before?"

Most guards never went out of their way to introduce themselves to her or straight up avoided speaking directly to her. The Volturi had never pretended to be a family. They'd always been exactly what they are. It had just taken Rory too long to see it.

The guard looked taken aback at the question. "Imani."

"You think this will be fine to wear?" Rory gestured to the ivory-colored silk slip dress that she had found in the luggage she had left on the jet during her mission. The hem barely skimmed the ends of her finger tips, and paired with the patent-leather ankle boots Alice had bought her, her legs felt incredibly exposed. Not her usual formal designer dresses she used to dress in, but it felt more like her.

"Yes," Imani looked amused, "It will do." There was a small pause before the guard spoke again, warmth filling her voice where there wasn't any before. "The waltz may seem difficult at first, but he is the best. Alec and Jane were well-trained."

There was a missing name tacked onto the end of that sentence and Rory knew exactly whose it was.

"Right, well, thank you very much, Imani." Rory flashed a bright smile at her and bowed her head back politely before heading down to the ballrooms. Because there were multiple.

On the furthermost side of the castle was the Grand Hall. It was where the masquerade would be held in just under a month—on the Autumnal Equinox. Where she would be formally introduced to the immortal world as a member of the Volturi guard. No pressure.

Like the rest of the castle, the Grand Ballroom had been built for immortals, for the Volturi, the walls were engineered to dampen sound which made eavesdropping less of an issue with so many vampires in close proximity. Though, most vampires preferred to limit their hearing anyways—it was your own fault if you heard anything you shouldn't.