Troubled Blood

Chapter 4

It was astonishing how, in a week and a half, the measured and quiet life that had been going on in the palazzo had been replaced by a clutch of feverishly shifting events. This huge clod had caught up with the inhabitants unexpectedly and made everyone lose calm.

Aro Volturi was in his chambers. For the past week, he had spent an unnaturally long time in seclusion and had only left the confines of his chamber to eat and hold meetings. Everything came crashing down at once: the coming war, the mortal who posed the bigger problem, and Marcus who had agitated him with his action.

The unrest going on in another continent would sooner or later escalate into a massive conflict called war. One way or another, the Volturi knew the initiator of this endeavor. For the moment, it was a question of structuring the defense, of where to put more effort and resources. Several Volturi witnesses were in the United States and Canada looking for Arthur Fate's allies. The situation was such that there was plenty of time to prepare.

In the meantime, the lord was balancing the skepticism of the entire clan toward Estela with his own conviction that she was safe under his protection. Such protection would not last long; eventually, he would need to provide proof that her stay here was not in vain and was justified. But how to do that, he had no idea.

In the meantime, Aro had cleverly arranged confidentially closed meetings with the best doctors of Italy to find out how the girl's illness had developed. But it turned out that there was no need for further observation: the physicians were divorced and said that Estela suffered from a common type of leukemia, no different from the others. Aro clenched his fists. Then why exactly was she such a detrimental influence on them immortals? Perhaps if she were a vampire and possessed a gift that resembled something like her specialty, she would no doubt be able to establish herself in the top ranks among those who didn't put themselves on equal footing with her. Perhaps her ability in the predatory hypostasis would have been just about the detrimental effect on immortals. But Estela never became one of them, even after two bites, and that was a major obstacle.

Someone knocked timidly on the door. Aro smelled a familiar odor.

"Come in," he ordered relaxedly.

Chelsea Volturi arrived in person. A mound of silky light brown hair was gathered into a high updo that emphasized her long, snow-white neck. She was dressed, as always, luxuriously and not flashy, as any resident of the main clan should be. Restraint and coldness are its main attributes.

"Master, in regards to what happened to Marcus last week," she said excitedly, getting straight to the heart of the matter. Aro narrowed his eyes. Once again, his brother was the subject of unpleasant accidents, though nothing of the sort had happened recently. "It is becoming difficult to hold him with my power."

The Overlord rose from his chair and walked around the table. Chelsea Volturi, formerly Charmion, has served the clan faithfully since time immemorial. Her power lies in both creating and destroying emotional bonds. Aro acted strategically, asking the girl to bind him tightly to Caius and Marcus for the sake of the clan to strengthen its position in the world and subsequently become the ruling clan. Especially her gift did not go unnoticed by Marcus after a tragedy happened long ago that left a deep mark on his soul.

"What are you trying to say, Chelsea?" He asked deliberately softly. The fake politeness didn't put her at ease because she knew it was just a mask. A mask of outward contentment, of curiosity, behind which lay growing anxiety and a desire not to leave things the way he didn't want them to be. Aro glanced at his ward and casually noted that she looked much more striking in profile: the delicate curve of her chin and neat nose made her pretty and memorable.