Heartbeat [Alec Volturi]

Acedia

Alec's name left my lips on shattered breaths.

My eyes shot up from the forest floor, following military boots up to the burgundy eyes of an older newborn. A woman with blonde ringlets stood where Alec should have been. She was nearer to my father and the Masters' ages than the more youthful vamps I'd seen. Her age emphasized a sterner, disingenuous piety in her aura.

"Silvertongue would like to know your decision." She picked at pristine nails, only looking up when I failed to answer. My heart pounded, so I patiently breathed in and out to ease the organ.

"My decision."

My father had lured me here; that much was evident. Our conversation alone revealed an ulterior motive beyond our familial relation.

Alec was right; this was a trap.

"Isn't it obvious?" Her tone implied irritation masquerading as indifference, as if my inability to read her mind was an inconvenience. "Join us, or let your mate die with the patriarchy." Patriarchy? Really? I assumed she meant the Volturi.

"I already told him," I snapped. "I won't betray Alec."

She twisted my words into a poorly woven web, speech rising as if in revelation, "But you might betray the Volturi." As if the two were not connected? Whatever she thought she'd cleverly uncovered indeed had no basis.

Her conduct was practiced but faintly inconsistent. Something feeble in her voice, a patois of an unpracticed regional identity, hovered at the back of my consciousness like a hummingbird. It didn't add up.

I jutted out my chin, "I would not."

Her lips primed, and a flicker of disbelief hindered her cover. Desperation crossed her face, and she gambled her single advantage, the facade slipping into a blunter approach, "Your loyalty is to your mate first and foremost, correct?"

The metaphoric hummingbird dove away as she tried to manipulate me. She went for the obvious, and I arched a sly brow. "Nice try. But I was his student first."

Her eyes flashed. "I'll take that as a yes," she sneered.

Without warning, she trapped my torso in her iron grip and catapulted us through the air.

An instant later, my feet touched the ground, and the woman gripped my elbow. The speed made my head spin, the dull pressure at the back of my head poking at me like a child before I shoved it back to take in my surroundings.

I gagged reflexively at the acrid smell permeating the air, like a cloud of chemicals invading the previously pleasant forest air. My eyes darted around for the source through the trees, landing on the smoke rising from the fire at the far corner of the clearing.

Refocusing, I identified the figures of the vampires battling through the blurred melee. Despite their speed, the newborns' numbers had significantly dwindled. Perhaps that was why they grabbed me again – they were losing... I knew better.

My father appeared in front of us, cape sweeping with unnecessary theatrics. The lady vampire pushed me forward, and he caught me by the shoulder, hissing a veiled threat in my ear.

"Your thoughts stemming from our conversations are not to be divulged." That tug that locked me in place upon my father's earlier reveal now documented the command in my head. I tried to track it, but the concept evaporated.

My father dismissed the woman, who vanished as he pivoted us around to face the clearing. A deep-seated frustration soared through me.

"Get off!"

My shout stunted the fight. The clearing zeroed in as my father stepped past the tree line and presented me with my arm behind my back and a hand near my throat, like some sort of prize.