-MAISIE-

I could have eaten my words. I've only seen his eyes golden. An hour ago, that had been true. Now, I was gazing at those golden eyes, nodding at Jasper to push him through his hesitation. Caius, I had quickly learned, was not a patient man, and he had already made it clear that either Jasper would bite me, or Caius would.

This 'demonstration of the truth' was set to play out, and it would play out on our terms.

"It's okay," I whispered to him, pushing away the waves of dread and terror rising in me. My thumb smoothed the lines between his brows. A flip of my opposite wrist, an offering. "It's okay. Just do it, okay? I want you to do it."

I knew what was coming, and yet I still wasn't prepared when Jasper lifted my wrist to his lips. He pressed a kiss against my raging pulse first, an apology before the burning bite when he sunk his teeth in. An acidic tug as he drew my blood into his mouth and swallowed, and then a pain that put Jane's psychological powers to shame.

Alec robbing Serena of her senses had been a mercy indeed. The influx of Jasper's venom was like getting hit by a train. It stole my breath, leaving me frantic and gasping, burning hot but fast. When Maria cut me, it had been a slow spread of fire. Drinking venom had been similar…but this was instantaneous, a spontaneous combustion that was raging across my chest, down my legs, in the soles of my feet, everywhere in a matter of seconds.

Even in my ears, the fire roared and raged, but I could hear my high-pitched screaming through the flames.

The fire pulled back just as quickly as it spread, raging backward along the path it had forged. A leaden chill was left in the absence of flames, receding and concentrating until the pain was contained in Jasper's bite. My very bones felt frozen in the absence of that fire.

Rational thought came back to me as the flames ebbed and died away. I had slumped once again under the pain, but as the tiled floor swam into focus before my eyes, it became clear that Jasper hadn't caught me this time. My knees ached in protest when I pushed myself up, having collided harshly with the floor when I fell. Blood—mine, this time—stained the tile in the shape of my handprint. I don't know how I managed to catch myself from pitching face-first into that tile.

Once I was righted, I realized Jasper hadn't caught me because he no longer stood beside me. I spun on the spot, searching for him, but it was soon obvious he wasn't in this stupid meeting hall anymore.

"Where did you take him?" I shouted. "Where's Jasper?"

He was not the only missing person. Alec and Serena were no longer behind me; Jane was missing from her seat on the steps next to Caius' throne. A cold hand on my shoulder made me jump, but the grip only tightened, fingers digging into my skin and forcing me to turn so that I was nearly nose-to-nose with Aro.

His smile was nauseating, muted red eyes shining in his amusement. That cold hand trailed down my arm, tightening again at my wrist. He lifted it to his own mouth.

I nearly crawled out of my skin at the feel of his tongue flicking over the wound Jasper had been forced to afflict my skin with. There was a small second burn, entirely dull compared to what had come before it, and then the bleeding stopped altogether.

"For all that you consider him to be a gentleman, Jasper seems to have neglected to clean up after himself and close the bite." He was seated on his throne once more in a blur of motion, dabbing almost daintily at his lips with the sleeve of his cloak. Not that he had gotten any of my blood on his mouth. I guess he was really trying to drive home his sentiment.

"Where is Jasper?" I demanded again, forcing as much ire and acid into my voice as I could manage even as I felt my head go dizzy in the aftermath of the venom. I wouldn't have dared to try to walk, lightheaded as I was, but Aro must have noticed my wavering. He beckoned me forward with an elegant flick of his wrist.

"Come, child. Kneel."

Walking forward took considerable effort. Doing as he asked and kneeling on the lowest step of the dais was nearly impossible; I had to hold on to a higher step lest I go face first instead of to my knees.

Another graceful wrist flick and the hall began to empty. "Go, my sweets. This portion does not concern you. We would have a private word with Maisie."

All around us, vampires in robes of various shades of gray and black dutifully filed through the massive doors at the back of the hall. Aro smiled pleasantly as they went, nodding at their obedience. Caius was smug on one side; even now, Marcus betrayed no deeper emotion than his blank expression. Nobody spoke again until the doors clicked shut behind the droves of Volturi guard members.

I opened my mouth to speak first but was silenced by a ferocious growl from Caius. I felt myself pale in fear instead, mouth shutting immediately. Aro simply raised his hand to still any other protests I may have planned. "Jasper is fine, my dear. He's paid his dues as far as we are concerned. No harm will come to him, sweetling. He's simply been removed for your own safety. He has improved his self-control considerably in recent decades, it's true, but he's far from an infallible young man."

Caius must have grown bored with his brother's penchant for speeches. "Do you understand your condition now, or are you as daft as you seem?"

"I…don't think I understand." My apparent daftness angered Caius. He was crouched in front of me in the blink of an eye, framing my face in frigid hands that felt like the confines of a grave.

"Stupid girl," he spat at me. "You are a hybrid. The immortality you so feared to choose for yourself has already been chosen."

"But…" My interruption was silenced by Caius tightening his grip on my face, cheekbones threatening to break under the pressure.

"Can you not see it? We orchestrated all of it, stupid girl. All. Of. It. Irina was sent with the very purpose of manipulating you to ingest her venom. You humans do so love the idea of choice, and we took that from you without your knowledge. Jasper is not the only fallible member of the Cullen coven; Alice's visions have never been absolute, and the future is so easily manipulated once you know how. We have been watching you, through Irina, for months."

My surprise must have shown on my face. Caius laughed, the sound all malice and no humor. "Yes, it has been that long. We had so hoped that either of you insufferable masochists would make the right decision, but you both preferred to torture yourself and the other. Letting yourself wither and die? Jasper refusing to make you see the sense of the matter? You should be exalting Marcus for his leniency, for the affliction of his senseless compassion, that he so vocally advocated for hybrid status for you rather than a full turning."

"There's a high likelihood she wouldn't have survived a true turning, Caius. She had already consumed venom, however briefly, and was considerably weakened in her tolerance for venom. The rewriting of DNA in a true turning would have killed her, most like. Only the slow absorption and bonding of venom to her regenerative cells would hold. Killing her would make this whole evening moot, would it not?"

It was the most I had heard Marcus speak, but it was obvious he had been a prominent voice in prior conversations that involved me. My eyes swung wildly between the three of them, lighting on each of their faces as my mind tried desperately to process what had been revealed to me.

"As we had already remedied your mortal status, we agreed Jasper might be spared…so long as he admitted responsibility of his undesirable choices and fulfilled our test of obedience. You'll heal quickly, it is true, but you will also carry the scar of his obedience long beyond this day." Aro sounded amused with himself.

I didn't notice I was crying until Caius ripped his hands from my face, disgust coloring his features as he dried his palms on his cloak. He backed away from me, incredibly offended by this display of emotion.

Aro sighed as if the events of the night had been exhausting and harrowing on him. "I have a final question for you, Maisie Daisy."

Acid rose in my throat at his use of my father's nickname for me, but I forced my expression to stay just as passive as Marcus'. I would not give them the satisfaction of the reaction they were looking for. "Then ask."

Finally, a reaction from Marcus. His eyebrows shot up as he looked down his nose at me, commenting, "So petulant."

"Yes," Aro giggled. "It seems to be her base character trait. But I've seen a reckless selflessness in her, as well. She's the heart of a martyr."

He leaned forward again, pinning me under his ruddy gaze. "Maisie, dear, you understand that there are other humans who know the secret of our kind. Far too many for my liking. One is that brother of yours, the one you love so. But we've got a foolproof solution, don't we, sweet girl? I need you to say it. I need my brothers to hear it, Maisie. Would you trade a life to save another?"

"Yes," I said immediately, truly, desperately. But I shouldn't have. I should have paid attention to Aro's wording.

He did not ask me if I would trade my life, which was how I interpreted his question in that fleeting second before I gave my answer. Of course I would give my own life. If I was being honest, I had a bad habit of offering my life, especially for Gunner. And I would have done so gladly again…had that been Aro's intention.

"Excellent! As I said, Jasper has paid his dues, so he is exempt from this list. He has already earned his life being spared by rising to Caius' challenge of the demonstration. Now, if we eliminate Jasper from the list, that leaves your brother, Gunner—such an unusual name; the human girl, Bella, and the human woman…Emily, I believe her name was. There's no evidence of other humans being privy to vampiric existence, at least in either yours or Jasper's minds, and we will be taxing the two of you to keep it that way."

A pointed look at me, invisible daggers pressing into my skin until I nodded in understanding. Still, I did not understand that it was not my own life he was asking for in exchange.

"We are all in agreement then? Excellent."

Aro did not ask me if I would trade my life to save another.

He asked me if I would trade a life.

That wording was damning. When Aro rose from his throne and made a slow descent to the second-to-last stair, looming over me, I closed my eyes and waited for the end of my life.

Aro's touch wasn't meant to kill me, though. Gently, he raised my chin and bid me to stand. I did so, and he tenderly turned me. "Open your eyes, child."

Jasper came through the doors first. He was disheveled, but otherwise none the worse for wear. I was thankful for this, for his hair all askew and his shirt rumpled and wrinkled, but I couldn't contain my gasp when he drew near enough for me to see his face clearly.

Drinking my blood had altered his eyes, of course. My hybrid status had little effect in delaying the consequences here. Where once golden, his eyes now shone red beneath his furrowed brow.

This fact, arguably miniscule in all else I had learned that night, brought on a fresh wave of tears. Jasper ran his hand along my cheek in a comforting caress once he reached me, pressing a reassuring kiss to my mouth. I could taste the tang of my own blood on his lips.

"Do not look away from this," he cautioned me. The hard set of his features had not softened whatsoever upon our reunion. "You must watch, Maisie. Looking away will only make it worse."

His hand slid beneath the curtain of my hair, resting gently along the back of my neck in reminder. I swallowed, hard, and nodded.

Though I had seen Serena earlier, I hadn't committed any thought as to why she was here in Volterra. Not until she was brought back into the hall, Alec holding her tightly by the arm. Maysun and Jennifer were marched in as well, each escorted by members of the Volturi guard. I looked to Jasper for clarification, but he only shook his head.

"We owe them this much, Maisie."

From behind us, Aro's voice rang out, excitement clearly coloring his every word. "Three human lives spared, three lives in payment!"

Only then did the intent sink in. I tried to turn back, to argue, but Jasper's hand on the back of my neck was a cold reminder. He tightened his grip, a low, dark noise emitted from his throat stopping me in my tracks.

This has been a game to them. This is all a game.

"Oh, do not fret so, dear Maisie. It was not your answer that signed the death warrants of these girls. Their father did that years ago, treating his children like broodmares with the intent of siring a vampire-human hybrid legacy. But that just will not do, will it?"

Alec and the others forced Joham's daughters to their knees. They were pale despite their olive skin, blanching white, but silent. Maysun's pretty face was swollen and bruised. Serena had not yet healed from Alec's bite, nor had he sealed the wound as Aro had sealed mine. Her blood still dripped, vibrant red on white, along the tile.

Jennifer, though, was the one that would haunt me. She stared straight at my face, her gaze boring a hole into my cheek. Though I looked at each of them in turn, I could not bring myself to look Jennifer in the eye.

There was more than the fear her sisters displayed beside her. Unadulterated hate like I had never known radiated from Jennifer, and the brunt of it was directed at me. Not that I could blame her.

I could only blame myself.

"If anything, sweet child, you have given their deaths purpose. They will die knowing their lives were not given in vain, but rather for humans who will one day wither and die themselves. Alec? You may begin."

I did not look away, just as Jasper had bid me. He was a rock beside me, not even daring to breathe, red eyes focused ahead. I forced my own to stay forward, too, even when Alec sunk his teeth into Serena's neck.

She screamed, at first. Then she was unable to, for all the blood choking her as it streamed from her mouth. Alec gave a quick twist of his head, eliciting an awful, wet tearing sound from Serena's skin. When she slumped forward, he let her fall slack to the ground, thick, dark blood pooling all around her.

Her sisters were quick to fall in the same way.

The Volturi prided themselves on image, I soon learned, which is how I found myself in a massive, antique sitting room while the great hall was being scrubbed of blood and vacated of bodies. When we were first led from the hall, I could not stop shaking.

Witnessing three murders will do that to you. Jasper more or less carried me up the stairs.

Faux concern led Aro to have a shawl and hot lemon water brought up to me, and a fire built in the hearth.

These tasks were carried out by a woman with inky black hair and chocolate brown eyes. I held the cup she offered me between my palms, squeezing the china to keep my hands from shaking. I was chilled, it was true, a deep, icy pit having taken residence in my middle.

"She's human," I commented when she left the room.

"Ah, very astute. Indeed. She is working to prove herself worthy of joining us. If not…well, she hails to us from outside Volterra, so she is expendable by our rules." Aro explained from across the room. He had bid Jasper and I to sit in luxuriously plush armchairs before a massive, solid oak desk while he perused floor to ceiling bookshelves.

Caius stood sentry beside one of the large windows, overseeing the disposal of Joham's daughter's bodies. Marcus, of all things, was warming his hands beside the fire. All three of them had shed their cloaks in this more private setting, revealing expensive suits in muted, dark colors beneath.

Aro's lithe, pale hand alit upon a book bound in deep green leather. He pulled it from the shelf, whirling on his heel and proffering it to Jasper. "Shall I translate, or will you?"

Methodically, Jasper took the old tome from Aro. Still, Aro hovered, cracking open the book in Jasper's hands to the exact page he wanted us to read. Or, well, for Jasper to read. Like the book we had at home, it was written in Latin.

"Apologies. Many of the books that have survived the test of time are written in Latin, you see, because it was so en vogue at the time. Latin was considered a prestigious language, as only learned men of the time were able to read it. Earlier accounts, in more ancient languages, have perished."

Neither of us responded. I watched Jasper as his eyes roved over the pages. His red eyes, still so shocking and foreign to see in his handsome face. I wouldn't lie, the ghoulish hue accentuated his feline movements and the scars littering his skin. It was all too easy to see why he was considered such a formidable force of Maria's army.

"Speaking of," Aro continued, not deterred by our lack of response, "I'll be wanting that book of yours for our private collection. We'll consider it small compensation for the trouble you've put us through."

Small compensation. As if four people hadn't died, if you counted Joham, who had been executed before we arrived in Volterra.

Jasper took my hand, running my fingers beneath a line of text that had no meaning to me. Well, no meaning until he whispered the translation to me.

"Drinking the blood of a vampire will grant one's person eternal youth and life, save for demise through bodily harm."

"Dated language," Aro amended. "The term 'blood of a vampire' refers to venom, of course."

"Why destroy the hybrids?" Jasper asked. "Surely they carry no threat, not against a full vampire. Especially not against the considerable force of the Volturi guard, as carefully cultivated as it is."

It was a question I was pondering myself, though I hadn't found my voice to frame it. Rather, I turned my hand under Jasper's so that our palms were flush together, and I could twine my fingers with his. I clung to him, earning a reassuring squeeze in response.

"Hybrids tend to…not uphold secrecy, over time." Marcus informed us mildly. His calm tone was undercut by Caius' sudden outburst.

"They flaunt their immortality, their ability to blend so well with humans. We true vampires know better and separate ourselves from human masses, but hybrids do nothing to conceal their youth. They needed culling, lest the whole herd fall."

Aro crossed the room, laying a hand on his brother's shoulder. Jasper pulled me closer to him, into his own chair, so that he could fit me against his side.

"What Caius says is true. Though hybrids pose no physical threat, the threat of exposure is equally formidable. Our dear friends Maysun, Serena, and Jennifer perished this night for similar reasons. In his quest for a dynasty, Joham had opened his daughters to human paramours as well. He was reckless and sloppy in his methods, killing too many humans too quickly in far too small an area."

Aro's exposition would have continued undeterred, I was sure, had I not interrupted.

"How could you know so much?" The question came as much of a surprise to me as it did the others. Jasper stiffened beside me while Caius glared and Marcus turned his back to the fire to look at me.

"Joham, Maysun, Serena, Jennifer…" I continued. "How did you know about them before our coming to Volterra?"

Aro, at least, recovered from his surprise, chuckling before providing his answer.

"Why, sweet child, Irina was far from stupid. It sems you have underestimated the bonds of siblings, despite being so close to your own brother. The Denali sisters talked, of course, and Irina learned much about your escapades. Other information she gathered herself."

My mind immediately wandered back to the day Irina had ambushed me on my run in Alaska. She hadn't been threatening me. She was warning me.

Irina had been a spy for the Volturi, and we were all too stupid to see it.

I looked down at my lap, pleating the hem of my dress between my fingers, trying desperately to keep my composure.

"Amazing what a little sentimentality will blind you to, is it not?" Aro goaded, though Jasper didn't rise to it. Irina had been considered family by the Cullens. She was family to Kate and Tanya.

Would we have seen it plainly had Irina been a threat, an enemy, outright?

"So Joham was killed for siring his children through human women, attempting to continue experimentation with partly vampiric beings through his daughters, and more recent exposure for being 'sloppy'. That logic tracks, but why kill the daughters? We were under the impression when meeting them in South America that Joham's daughters were not consenting to his use of them."

Jasper's question was just as amusing as my own, eliciting another bark of laughter from Aro.

"Nahuel is the only child of Joham's who goes against his ideologies. We will be checking in with him after our business is finished here, but our hope is that this assumption is correct, and he will be spared. We hope to learn from him. Male natural born hybrids are a considerable rarity; never have we encountered one. As for Joham's daughters… well, they held no intentions to put a cease to his methods after they found success with the youngest girl."

At that, my head shot up. I was met with Aro's sickening smile. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. Come with me to the wives' tower and you shall see."

The wives' tower, as Aro had named it, required another journey up several flights of stairs. These stairs were dotted with young vampires, eyes preternaturally red and bright, practically glowing from their faces.

I knew them for what they were immediately. Newborns. Their presence wasn't lost on Jasper, either. His grip on my hand tightened as we moved among them.

At the top of the tower, we were ushered inside a decadent room. Castle walls were hung with thick tapestries. My feet sunk into plush rugs carpeting the floors. A fire roared in the hearth, making the air of the room muggy and thick thanks to the insulation of all the fine fabrics strewn about.

It did not escape my notice that there did not appear to be any windows in this room. Or, at the least, they were covered with tapestries. Aro bid us to follow him through the antechamber into an equally, if not more, opulent bedroom.

Jasper had to duck to avoid hitting his head on a chandelier heavy with dripping jewels and candles alike. A massive four-poster bed dominated the center of the room, fine lace canopy drawn back to reveal two women sitting side-by-side. These women wore timeless dresses, but their jewelry likely would have rivaled the crown jewels of England. Heavy earrings, rings on nearly every finger, large necklaces, masses of hair dotted with loose jewels in intricate arrangements.

Each were perched on the edge of the bed, heads bent together over a cradle. One was dark-haired, the other flaxen, and both smiled sweetly when they lifted their heads and saw Aro there.

"My love," the dark-haired women greeted, red eyes shining. "See how the babe slumbers? He is a blessed child, truly."

"Yes, Sulpicia, you and Athenodora have cared so tenderly for him, I know. He has been greatly loved, but I'm afraid your parting with the child is upon you."

I would think this would be upsetting news for someone who had cared for a child since birth, as I assumed this Sulpicia and Athenodora had done, but Sulpicia only smiled serenely before bending over and reaching into the cradle.

Had I not seen Jennifer only a handful of hours ago, I would not have believed she was the baby's mother. Cheeks flushed pink, little eyelids fluttering with dreams, Sulpicia presented the baby as if it were her own. But there was Jennifer in the pointed chin, the upturned nose. Would her hazel eyes be looking up at me if the baby woke?

"Impossible," Jasper murmured beside me. "Joham said his daughters never carried children to term."

"They never carried a vampire's child to term, no. This babe here is mostly human…to borrow a term Maisie has used for herself. Only a fourth vampiric, if my math is correct."

"He's an angel is what he is," Athenodora cooed, leaning over Sulpicia's shoulder. She ran her finger along the baby's profile, making him give a small shudder in his sleep.

"Why spare him?" I asked. "He's not very big. He can't be more than a month old. Why let Jennifer have him at all if you intended for her to die?"

Aro tutted at my question, shaking his head. "Have I not proved merciful this night, dear Maisie? I certainly thought so. We would not knowingly snuff out innocent life. This child, like his biological uncle, is unprecedented in our world. We would learn from him, as we intend to learn from Nahuel."

"You would raise this child?" Jasper asked, voice tight. "Many children have perished in these walls in decades past."

"Many immortal children, which are strictly forbidden by our laws. It is my hope that this boy's parents will teach him to mind. Alas, it will not be myself and my dear Sulpicia raising the babe."

Sulpicia rose. She was a small woman, around my own size, and her long skirts swirled around her legs as she walked toward me.

Ava had been born when I was twelve, more than old enough to help with a younger sibling. I had spent my high school years babysitting for extra money. Though my arms felt heavy and numb, they cradled the baby instinctively when Sulpicia pressed him to my chest.

"No…" Jasper's voice cracked over that singular word. "You can't mean…"

"Oh, but I do! Maisie retains many of her human qualities, it is true, but conceiving and birthing a child will never be one of them. When venom is absorbed in the human body, it binds to regenerative cells, forcing them into stasis. Injured or damaged cells will mend themselves, its true, but this stasis renders all female reproduction null and void. You have not yet been a hybrid for a full month, Maisie, so it is not remiss that you may not have noticed this change. Think of this child as a gift, in place of that loss."

The baby nuzzled against me, burying his face against my chest. He was warm, as his ruddy cheeks had hinted, and heavier than I had thought. His little chest rose and fell with the cadence of his breaths.

"He will learn humanity from Maisie, and embrace his vampiric side through you, Jasper. Carlisle will be thrilled, I have no doubt, to become a grandfather of sorts."

Jennifer's face just before death surfaced in my mind. I saw again that pure, acidic hatred shining from her face. Aro had said it was not my fault she and her sisters died, but I knew that was wrong. Joham and his daughters likely never would have been found by the Volturi were it not for me.

So, yes, Jennifer had died because of me. Now I held her golden-haired son in my arms.

Had Jennifer ever even held her baby?

Jasper was trying to argue with Aro, but I hardly heard a word either was saying. Readjusting the baby in my arms, I ran a finger over his dusting of hair.

"We'll take him."

That stopped both of their arguing. Two pairs of red eyes focused on me; one set jubilant, the other wide with shock.

"Maisie…" Jasper tried to begin, but I shook my head.

"Jasper," his voice was a plea in my mouth, "I owe her this much."

A/N: I've been planning this since I decided to write a sequel to Preciosa. I hope it reads as well as I have hoped. It's honestly a little scary posting it!

Thank you for all the kind words on the previous chapter. While I do think the Volturi were underplayed in their ruthlessness during the events of Breaking Dawn, I also think a heavy dose of manipulation was missing. You don't stay in control of the vampire masses for millennia as they have without a good heaping of both traits. Hopefully I have written this chapter to do justice to this goal.

This will be discussed in later chapters, but my logic here is that Alice still sees Maisie in her visions because she is a created hybrid, not a born one. Maisie came by her vampire traits in a more traditional way than born hybrids.