The resplendent lights belonged to the city of Volterra, not to the Palazzo dei Priori.
It was scarcely ten o'clock, yet the Palazzo dei Priori was as silent as if it were already the dead of night. Only some faint sounds of footsteps and the friction of thick fabrics against the floor could be heard, emanating from the reception hall deep within the palace.
A group of vampires emerged from the darkness in an orderly and elegant manner, much like a scene from some classical Gothic movies, only more terrifying and alluring than in the films.
The guards dispersed one after another to summon the other guards who were affiliated with the Volturi but did not serve on a long-term basis. This was Aro's order; he wanted to see them before daybreak. One by one, dark shadows darted out from the various secret passages of the Palazzo dei Priori and quickly blended into the night.
"All we have to do is wait for their good news." Aro said as he gazed out at the pitch-black sky with a smile, his gentle voice like an aria. "This will be a trial that can protect our race."
Caius sneered, a bright and dangerous glint flickering in his eyes, the cold gleam of a viper baring its fangs: "It will also make those fools understand that the authority of the Volturi is unshakable, and any rebellion will only send them to their early graves."
"Seems you're itching to get started." Aro chuckled.
Before reaching the downstairs area, Caius heard the familiar sound of ancient Greek opera, undoubtedly coming from his own room. He furrowed his brows slightly. The music was a bit too loud. He clearly remembered closing the door when he left.
"Caius, what's wrong?" Aro looked at Caius, who had suddenly stopped in his tracks. Caius disappeared from the spot without a trace of expression, and in the blink of an eye, he was at the corner of the second floor and soon out of sight.
"I think he's eager to see Cassie." Sulpicia emerged from the darkness, took Aro's arm, and said thoughtfully. "But he seemed to be nervous about something just now."
Aro couldn't help but burst into laughter, as if he had heard something extremely interesting: "Haha, nervous? How many years has it been since we last saw dear Caius with such an emotion?"
"That's why I said Cassie is a miracle. It's a pity she hasn't realized it herself yet."
"Actually, there's another person who hasn't realized that she herself is a miracle."
"Really?"
"That miracle is you, dear."
...
The dark brown door was wide open, and the music seemed to have found an outlet, screeching almost piercingly in Caius's ears, like the fierce clash of swords and spears.
The moment his gaze fell on the open door, the bright flames in Caius's eyes instantly turned into pitch-black, furious flames. His thin lips were drawn into a straight line, and his voice, distorted by extreme rage, sounded eerie and terrifyingly gloomy: "Katherine, how dare you!"
The heavy wooden door let out a pained wail under Caius's rough handling. It came off its hinges and crashed heavily to the floor, sending a deafening echo reverberating through the otherwise quiet Palazzo dei Priori at night.
The guards on duty quickly ascended from the ground floor. Seeing the half-demolished door and Caius's murderous expression, they stood rigid and dared not utter a word.
"Find her for me!" Caius practically roared at the guards, startling Aro and Sulpicia, who had come over upon hearing the commotion.
"What's going on? Who are you looking for?" Sulpicia was no stranger to Caius's angry outbursts, but this time, his emotions seemed to be more laced with impatience.
"Oh, Katherine, dear." Aro tilted his head gracefully, looking at the stiff figure that had just appeared downstairs, and said helplessly. "Where have you been?"
Before Katherine could answer, everything went black in front of her eyes. She was pinned against the wall, the vinyl records in her hands scattered all over the floor. Right in front of her was Caius's face, contorted with rage, almost nose to nose with her. His cold breath sliced across her face like a knife.
Caius's face had a somewhat androgynous beauty, extremely handsome, but his crimson eyes were rather intimidating. Especially when filled with anger, Katherine couldn't help but wonder if there was some kind of monster lurking in his eyes. Otherwise, how could such beautiful eyes look at people with such a terrifying gaze, just like now.
"Where did you go?!" Caius's voice exploded in her ears. The sharp teeth beneath his bright red lips were faintly visible. He was completely out of sorts, like a cobra that had been thoroughly enraged. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the room? What, you've already forgotten everything I said so quickly? Trying to escape again? I remember telling you what the consequences would be, Katherine!"
If Katherine hadn't been caught red-handed, she would have stiffened her neck and hurled insults back at him. Unfortunately, she was extremely guilty now. Coupled with the unexpected loss of control in Caius's emotions, she opened her mouth and only managed to reply after a long pause: "I... I didn't. I just went to get something."
Aro and Sulpicia watched for a moment, then left with infuriating smiles, not the least bit worried that anything would happen to Katherine. The guard looked at the door in his hands and decided to follow Aro's lead and leave to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
"Get what?" Caius held onto Katherine tightly, not giving her any room to move, and asked menacingly.
"Records." Katherine stared at him with wide eyes. "I couldn't understand what you were playing at all, so I went to the room from this morning to get a few."
She tried to make her voice sound convincing, but the combined effect of guilt and fright made her slightly trembling voice sound more like the grievance of being scared.
Caius was slightly taken aback. Only then did he notice the scattered vinyl records. The murderous aura around him subsided somewhat, but he still didn't let her go. "Couldn't you have just asked someone else to get them for you? Why did you have to go yourself?!"
Katherine opened her mouth and, after a long pause, blurted out: "It was just a few steps away." Not everyone was like you guys, lording it over others and loving to boss people around.
Forgive her. She really wasn't a good liar, especially under Caius's seething glare. Katherine couldn't move and could only glare back at him with a stiff neck. Anyway, they were both vampires, so they didn't need to blink. So what if he was fierce? Her eyes were bigger!
After a strange standoff, Caius finally let her go. Katherine quickly took the opportunity to bend down to pick up the records, avoiding looking at him. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things, but just now, there seemed to be more impatience than anger in Caius's eyes, as if something extremely important to him had suddenly disappeared.
Katherine had experienced that feeling before. When she couldn't find something really important to her, she was both angry and impatient. And when she turned around and saw it in a corner not long after, she probably looked just like Caius did just now.
She suddenly, for no reason, remembered Marcus's words. Forgive him for taking Caius's side because he really hoped Caius could get what he wanted, which was extremely important to Caius.
But, but this conclusion was too terrifying. Katherine tried to find a reason to convince herself. Finally, she figured that perhaps it was a matter of age. They say there's a generation gap every five years. Well, the gap between her and Caius was like the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. So it was normal that she couldn't figure out what he was thinking, just as she really couldn't understand the music Caius was playing.
After comforting herself, Katherine looked up and found Caius frowning and staring at her in silence. She immediately panicked. Did he know what she had just done?
She saw that the lingering anger in Caius's eyes, which had never really subsided, flared up again because of her involuntary step backward. However, the next second, he forcibly suppressed it, leaving only the impatience between his brows still evident.
Was he... trying to control his temper?
Before Katherine could finish thinking, her shoulder was grabbed and she was dragged forward forcefully. Caius's voice rang out stiffly in her ear: "Once you've got them, go back."
The classic opera of ancient Greece continued, lamenting the outcome of the war with great sorrow, mourning the once-glorious land that had been trampled by the enemy, and accusing the gods of abandoning them. The rich and deep voice of the singer became the only sound in the overly quiet palace, eulogizing the passionate emotions that had traversed history.
The dark brown door lay desolately on the floor, announcing the end of its "career". Katherine didn't need to guess to know who had done it. Besides Caius himself, who would dare to destroy the door of his room?
She suddenly felt a bit grateful to Marcus. If he hadn't stopped her stupid behavior in time, it wouldn't have been the door lying here now.
The classical music came to an abrupt halt. Caius reached out and pulled a record from Katherine's arms, "Yesterday Once More", a cheap and vulgar pop song as common as dust.
He frowned but still put the record on. Soft and soothing music immediately flowed out, gentle and beautiful.
Katherine held the remaining records and asked with great caution: "Where should I put these?"
Caius replied coldly: "Put them wherever you want."
Katherine finally chose to place them beside the gramophone, constantly comforting herself in her heart. Judging from Caius's reaction, he probably didn't know what she had just been doing. Otherwise, she would be doomed by now.
"Are you planning to stand there until that record wears out?" Caius turned his head and saw Katherine standing motionless in front of the gramophone, and said displeasedly.
Katherine then snapped out of it. She hadn't walked a few steps before Caius grabbed her and pulled her to sit beside him, her body stiff. Caius's long, cold fingers twined around her long hair, gently touching her cheek, and he said somewhat casually because he was enjoying himself: "We're going to Venice in a few days. Have you ever been there?"
As for Caius, who had been on the verge of strangling her one second and could then murmur in her ear like a lover the next, Katherine had attributed it to the age difference, so she no longer dwelled on his attitude. Even if he showed up with a bouquet of roses now, she wouldn't be too surprised.
She answered honestly: "No, I heard it's very beautiful."
Compared to his attitude, his occasional touches were the most terrifying. Katherine didn't dare to dodge. She was afraid that her shrinking back would make Caius turn on her in an instant. The touch on her face was like a venomous snake constantly licking her with its tongue.
Caus snorted with disdain: "What's so beautiful about it? It's just a city full of water." In his eyes, perhaps even the imperial palace couldn't compare to the Volturi... Although it did seem that way.
The evil capitalism!
Katherine tried to defend Venice: "But there's the sea there." Caius tilted his head, reached out and turned her face towards him, stroking it lovingly, smelling the only scent he could detect on her. His silver hair slid down along his perfect facial lines, and his face in the shadow was exquisitely unreal: "You like the sea?"
"Ah, yes." Katherine replied somewhat unnaturally, trying her best to suppress the strange feeling in her voice caused by this eerie stroking.
Although she didn't want to admit it, this pervert was really charming. If some other unsuspecting woman was stroked like this by Caius, her legs would probably go weak. Katherine's legs were a bit weak now too, but not for that reason.
She had touched her own face before. Was it really that nice to touch? Katherine was now more certain than ever that Caius must have a skin hunger disorder. She even wondered if everyone in the Volturi had been touched all over by Caius...
This was too brutal!
"When are you going?" Katherine resisted the urge to bite him and asked.
Caius looked at her, a stunning smile tugging at his lips as red as blood, with his usual wickedness, his ruby eyes shining with a thousand lights, and his voice gentle: "Do you hope I'll leave right now?"
Somehow, seeing Caius's spine-chilling gentle smile, Katherine's warning nerves, which had been on the verge of collapse due to the high-intensity tension all along, suddenly sprang back to life. The venomous snake was smiling and flicking its tongue at her. One wrong word and blood would be spilled on the spot.
She bet that if she said yes, when the sun rose the next day, pieces of her body would be hanging from the various spires of the Palazzo dei Priori, fluttering in the wind against the morning sun.
Realizing this, Katherine averted Caius's gaze and said almost to herself: "You're going there for something, right?"
The venomous snake grunted in agreement, his fingers brushing across her chin: "To deal with a few reckless fools."
She really didn't know which unlucky guys had provoked the Volturi. Katherine suddenly felt quite sorry for them.
"Do you want to go with us?" Caius's voice gave no hint of joy or anger.
Katherine looked at him in surprise. She hadn't expected him to ask that. But on second thought, she had no combat experience at all. Caius surely wouldn't be willing to take her along. Although going out would increase the chances of escape, she still couldn't control her instincts very well. If she got into trouble and was caught, it would be all over. She had met Marcus this time. What if she met Caius next time...
Katherine shook her head with difficulty: "I don't want to go."
Caius seemed quite satisfied with her answer. "Really?"
"Really."
She knew this damn sly and cunning venomous snake was testing her!
Caius lowered his head and, without warning, kissed Katherine's forehead: "It'll be over soon. Sulpicia will be with you."
Katherine stood there like a wooden statue, her brain freezing up the moment she felt the strange touch on her forehead.
Such a cold kiss.