Tenebrous ↠ Volturi Kings {1} ✓

014

The shrill ring of a cell phone woke me up with a start, and I was dimly aware of Aro cursing in Italian as he answered the phone. "What do you want, brother?"

I propped myself up on Aro's chest to see my clock, whose bright red numbers told me it was just after two in the morning. I yawned and rested my head back against Aro's chest, feeling it rumble as he spoke.

"Who is it?" I asked blearily.

"It's just Marcus. Go back to sleep, mia cara," Aro murmured, lightly rubbing my arm.

"Tell him I said hello," I said, still too close to sleep to remember Marcus could easily hear me still, even over the phone.

Aro chuckled. "He heard."

"Everything okay?" No one from Volterra ever called this late (or early, as it was), as they were all very mindful of the time difference.

"Fine. You need your rest, sleep now," he urged again.

"Alright," I grumbled. It would have been easy, but I was awake now and wanted to hear what I could of the conversation. Aro, hearing my thoughts, sighed at placed the phone on speaker.

"Go on, Marcus. Rowan is too curious to sleep now," Aro said, though there was a slightly amused smile on his face and I could hear Marcus chuckle at my insistence on the other end.

"Hello, my heart. Sorry for waking you," Marcus said warmly on the other end.

"Hi Marcus," I said, noticing that I still sounded quite groggy. "It's okay. I wasn't tired anyway."

There was a far-off bark of laughter on the other end, which I attributed to Caius. Marcus chuckled. "I'm sure you were wide awake. As I was telling Aro, the guard we sent out was finally able to find the Russian coven, even without Demetri's skills. They are very remote."

"Has the rest of the guard been sent to take care of the issue?" Aro asked.

"Yes, they're on their way now and should arrive within a couple hours. This should all be resolved within the next few days," Marcus said.

"Good," Aro said with a nod, looking pleased.

"Unfortunately, it means you're needed here earlier than expected," Marcus said. "Preferably by tonight."

He let out a long breath. "Very well. I'll leave in the morning."

"Sorry," Marcus apologized. This meant that Aro was leaving a day early - Thursday, rather than Friday - and I felt myself deflate at the thought.

"It can't be helped," Aro said with another equally displeased sigh. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's everything. We'll see you soon," Marcus said, before addressing me. "Get some rest now, Rowan. We miss you."

"Very much," Caius added, who had snatched the phone away from Marcus if the background noise was any indication. "We'll see you soon."

"Graduation," I agreed. Aro had informed me several days ago that with all three of them leaving Volterra in June for my graduation, they would be unable to visit again until then. It was important that they still hold a full court to keep appearances not only for order's sake but also for my own safety.

"And we're already preparing for your stay," Caius said. "We want you to like Volterra."

"I'm sure I will," I reassured him, my attempt to stifle a yawn not going unnoticed by Aro.

"You can always talk to them tomorrow, bellissima," Aro said. "For now, please try and rest. It's late."

"Early," I said with a teasing smile. "But you're right. I'll call you both tomorrow."