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"Out and about again, I see."
The voice came as no surprise to Sage. She didn't turn around to address the culprit who tried to sneak up on her, just stared out into the city that was lit with life, families celebrating the holidays. Sage could hear the cheers from her perch atop of the castle. Snow rarely fell in Volterra, but it sprinkled down in soft tendrils, dusting the ground with pure powder. Sage caught one in her hand--watched as it didn't melt before letting it fall slowly to the ground.
"Still angry with me, little one?" Felix teased when it was obvious that Sage was not answering his remark.
A snarl fell past her lips. She resisted the urge to bash his head into the gargoyle that sat beside her. It would do nothing but amuse Felix as bodily harm was nothing to his marble skin. Instead, Sage settled for glaring at him. Rage rattled her body, still, though the fight had happened many hours ago.
Her relationship with Felix had always been strained at best. Though Sage wasn't supposed to remember him at all, Felix reminded her of her little brother, Elis, who had died centuries ago to the plague. Felix was lighthearted and made jokes and sometimes pressed too hard, but he had been one of the only ones who could match Sage's overpowering invulnerability with his overwhelming strength. Though it wasn't beneficial to have him around, Sage did not mind him all too much; not the way she minded Jane and the other puppets.
But Felix showed her that she should trust no one. That even after centuries of being holed in this castle with only the Volturi guard as her companions, there was no one who she could be vulnerable with--no one she could absolutely trust.
"Leave my sight before I annihilate you, Felix," she said, her voice calm.
Felix snorted, not moving. "Oh, come on, little one. How was I to know that Master would threaten your position on the trial because of my concerns?"
"And what are your concerns, dare I ask?" Sage asked sarcastically. "There is nothing to be concerned about. I am stronger than almost everyone here." She sent him a loathing look, to which he guffawed. She punched him in the arm, and was satisfied when his skin creaked, a grunt falling past his lips.
"That was the concern, exactly," Felix responded, his voice tight. "You are gifted. Far gifted than anyone here. If the Cullens were to catch on to the power you wielded, they would wish to 'free you.'"
Sage growled. She did not need protection, or so they wished to deem it. Although Felix was doing a good job at covering it up as protection, she understood his concern for what it was--fear. If the Volturi lost her, they would lose an asset, someone who could do their dirty work so they could remain unseen, someone who could spill blood yet never pull the trigger. Felix informed Aro of that most likely because he just didn't want to lose a sparring partner. She clenched the railing in front of her, and it broke between her hands.
