Chapter 108: A Promise in the Black Room

The Captain of the Guard had no obligation to personally oversee the Black Room. After all, the endless screams of newborn vampires were enough to drive anyone to the edge of madness.

For Jane, however, losing her value and becoming unable to serve the Volturi was a fate even crueler than being reduced to ashes. The mere thought of others looking at her with pity, sympathy, or regret filled her with a fury so intense that she wanted to burn the entire world to the ground. 

After turning the matter over countless times in her mind, she had reached the only conclusion she could accept. Even if her injured leg kept her from carrying out missions, she could still use her gift to discipline the newborns confined within the Black Room, easing the burden on the other guards. As long as she could still be useful, she refused to become someone who needed protecting.

Alec walked reluctantly toward the exit. If he insisted on staying, it would only be an insult to Jane's pride. As he passed Sophie, he reopened the stone door and, despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on his face, spoke with surprising gentleness. 

"Are you leaving? You're free now. Go back to your room, change into clean clothes, read a book... do whatever you like." Beneath the twins' cold exteriors lay a stubborn commitment to their word. Just as Jane often repeated the Volturi creed, The Volturi never grant criminals a second chance. Once Alec gave his word, he would always honor it.

The restriction had been lifted.

Sophie' gaze wandered between Jane and the open doorway. Surprisingly, she felt none of the tension that usually accompanied an important decision. It was as though they were discussing something utterly ordinary instead of deciding whether she would stay or leave. In the end, she said nothing at all. Her silence became her answer.

"Very well." Alec gave a faint nod before continuing, almost absentmindedly. "I'll be leaving to carry out another mission. We're desperately short-handed lately. Master Aro is still in Greenwich studying the weapons we confiscated, and Caius personally led a squad back to London. The destination is the same werewolf territory you investigated." His eyes never left Jane for even a moment, and without realizing it, he spoke to Sophie as though she already belonged among them. "At the moment, only Marcus remains behind in Volterra."

He finally looked toward Sophie properly. "The Moonheart Grass you brought back has proven incredibly valuable. Thank you... sincerely." Since Moonheart Grass could neutralize werewolf venom, there was no longer any doubt. Jane's wound had indeed been poisoned by werewolf toxins. Time was pressing, and Alec could delay no longer. Forcing himself to tear his eyes away from his sister, he spoke solemnly. "This time, I owe you my life, Sophie. I promise you one favor. As long as it doesn't violate Volturi law, I'll do whatever you ask."

Taking advantage of the fact that Jane was facing away from them, Alec silently mouthed a final sentence that only Sophie could see.

Take good care of her.

The stone door rumbled shut behind him.

Alec was gone.

Jane had intended to wait until everyone left before unleashing her gift upon the caged newborns, allowing agonized screams to once again echo throughout the Black Room. Instead, one troublesome person had stubbornly remained behind.

"Get out!" Jane snapped, her usual composure nowhere to be found. "Or are you planning to stay here and experience what burning alive feels like?"

The sudden outburst startled one of the newborn vampires in a nearby cage, who erupted into a savage howl. Almost as though she needed to prove something, Jane immediately seized upon the unfortunate distraction. With a single glance, the ferocious screams abruptly transformed into silent convulsions. The newborn collapsed to the floor of the cage, completely unable to move.

Then, as though discovering an outlet for everything she had been suppressing, Jane turned toward the next cage.

And then the next.

One after another.

Like someone calmly extinguishing candles with a breath, she silenced every newborn in the room through pain alone. Before long, the entire Black Room fell into absolute silence. For the first time since arriving here, Sophie found herself using the word quiet to describe this place. It was likely a silence the Black Room had not witnessed in centuries.

There was no one left for Jane to vent her anger on.

No.

There was still one.

Strictly speaking, only two rational people remained inside the room.

As the lone observer, and although the comparison felt terribly disrespectful, Sophie couldn't suppress the thought that Jane looked frighteningly similar to a serial killer who had just finished stalking her victims.

And Alec actually thought I was the one qualified to take care of her?

"You're still not running?" Jane's voice grew colder. "Fine. Then you're next."

She began turning her head.

"Don't look at me!"

Sophie vanished from where she stood, darting behind Jane's chair in a blur before crouching low enough to avoid meeting her eyes. She tucked herself tightly behind the backrest like a frightened child hiding from punishment.

"I found Moonheart Grass!" Once she was certain she had reached a safe position, all the frustration she'd been bottling up finally burst free. "When it blooms under the full moon, the werewolf venom in your wound can be cured! And yet you and Alec both attacked me. One used black mist, the other threatened me with your gift. Demetri even dumped me into the Black Room without giving me a pair of shoes! You... you never used to treat me like this."

As she felt Jane shift slightly in her chair, Sophie instinctively crouched even lower.

"Don't look at me!" she protested stubbornly. "You're not allowed to look at me!"

She sounded almost petulant.

What puzzled Sophie even more was the word used to that had slipped from her mouth without thinking. When exactly was this "before" I'm talking about? Most of the time she had spent with Jane remained wrapped in the dense fog of her missing memories, as though she had lived through it all while suffering from severe Alzheimer's disease.

To her surprise...

Jane actually stopped moving.

The chair became still.

A moment later, an icy hand slowly reached backward around the side of the chair with uncanny accuracy until it found Sophie' soft hair. Jane's fingers rested lightly against the top of her head without moving any farther, saying nothing, simply remaining there.

"Moonheart Grass only blooms once each year," Jane said quietly. "It flowers on the full moon either just before or just after Midsummer Night. If we miss this year's bloom..."

She never finished the sentence.

A crippled vampire who could barely walk would become the laughingstock of vampire society.

Especially someone as proud as Jane.

If she truly had to endure another entire year before the next flowering, she had already made her decision. She would confine herself to the Black Room, never setting foot outside again, taking responsibility for controlling every newborn imprisoned there until the following year's full moon finally arrived.

Feeling Sophie' other hand gently wrap around her own, Jane let out a quiet snort.

Almost awkwardly...

Almost embarrassed...

She finally admitted the truth.

"I wasn't going to use my gift on you."

The fierce threats...

The murderous expression...

All of it had been an act.

She had only wanted to frighten Sophie into leaving.

"Really?"

Hearing Jane's promise, a mischievous spark quietly lit up in Sophie' eyes.

An undeniably bad idea had just occurred to her.