Heartbeat [Alec Volturi]

Instinct

"Caius says you self-sabotage." 

Jane found me an hour later in front of a blank wall, my hands and knees covered in chalk.

She didn't ask.

"How kind," I drawled, thoroughly out of patience for such a topic. "Shall I add it to his list of insults?"

"It was not an insult."

As far as I was concerned, if Caius said it, it was intended to bruise the subject's ego.

Jane cooed, seeing my mood had fallen even lower in her absence. Her mood was considerably better, and I thought it best not to question her about the incident earlier. She held out her hand and pulled me from the carpet, keeping hold of my pinky finger as she proceeded to walk us out of my room, past my guards, and guide me through the halls.

Percy and Talib gave us an appropriate distance, enough to offer the impression that they were unable to hear every word we said. Even so, I doubted they were listening. The two did not seem as keen to gossip as their colleagues.

It occurred to me then that Alec likely addressed the twins' privacy when he 'hired' the two guards. It was the sort of detail Alec would have considered with extensive scrutiny. Even behind closed doors, my guards would be privy to the siblings' existences in a way no one else ever had. If Jane resented the arrangement, she expressed the exact opposite.

Jane's hand slipped from mine as we reached the courtyard. It was simple—a garden path for walking, green grass surrounding the stone like a lawn. Stone benches were spaced equitably throughout, and a single tree stood elegantly, with branches perfect for climbing. That was one thing I would certainly never be moronic enough to do here, even if I loved it in my previous world. I had hardly been to this part of the castle, and it slipped my mind that the outside even existed most of the time.

My friend watched my face as the gloominess lifted and contentment settled in its absence. She nodded, smugly proud of her idea. I laughed, pulling her to sit with me on the grass in the center of the courtyard.

She joined me in a showy and false reluctance, glancing to see the other two waiting casually in the doorway. Her hand went to her hair as if she wanted to undo her tight ballerina bun. But doing so would influence the way my guards saw her, so she refrained and chose to make me her doll. Not that I minded. The air was cool, and the sun was hidden, but it was fresh. Light and new.

Still, it was warm, so I removed my adopted jumper for safety's sake. Jane watched me curiously, before giving a gentle tug on my hair when I was done. She still acted as if nothing had changed, and as upset as Alec was with me, I now understood my actions would have an impact on the others as well. But Jane never hinted at any disdain or consideration for the event. I nibbled at my bottom lip before asking, "why aren't you mad at me?"

"Not mad," she agreed patiently as if she had been expecting the question. "Frustrated by the circumstances, yes."

"What circumstances, exactly?"

A soft sigh left her from behind me, the breath she took when she was contemplating something that mattered to her. "You are very thoughtful and well-versed for your age, but easily influenced. It has been a long time since any of us have been around, well, someone like you."

"Like me, how?"

"Uninhibited."

I rolled my eyes, glancing up at the sky. "Self-sabotaging, uninhibited – talk about an ego boost." Jane snorted, her favourite response of the day, before tapping my forehead. I obeyed, sitting back up so she could continue to play with my hair. "Are you going to tell me why Caius thinks–"