He scowled at that last question flitted through his mind. If she wanted death at his hands, it would be easy enough. His lips could be on her throat and her blood flowing into his mouth before she even realized what was happening. But, looking at her face he knew that it would not be that simple. She fascinated him too much.

“How?” was all he asked.

She did not need clarification on what he had been asking, apparently she already knew as the corners of her full lips turned up ever so slightly.

Reaching out with her free hand since he was still holding the other on which she wore the ring, she tried to smooth his furrowed brow and whispered so softly that her voice was barely heard above the slight breeze, “I have a gift.”

The letters and the woven patter had worn off of the ring so long ago that he could not remember when it had happened. As his fingers caressed the cold metal he sighed again and looked out the window once more wondering for the ten-millionth time at the fact that fate had brought her into his life and taken her away.

The daughter of the underworld and the embodiment of death on the earth’s surface made a perfect, but strange pair indeed. It was as if she had been meant for him, and he for her despite the fact that he had been born into his earth several centuries before she had.

He had been alone for so long before she had come along that he had begun to grow bored with his existence. Now, after being alone for several more centuries following her death, he did care about much anymore.

Edward was correct when he had told his sister that there was little that could surprise him, but what this Edward did not know was that when things did catch him off guard, as his bond with Bella had, the surprise was so unsettling that it didn’t affect him for just a moment, it affected him for weeks, months, years even.

He wondered if this melancholia would be his cross to bear for that long and he frowned at the thought. It had already been several months since Edward and Bella had been here and he found it unsettling how often they entered his thoughts.

There was no denying that the bond between mates was strong among his kind, but it was practically unheard of for such a bond to form when one part of the pair was still human. Of course he had heard of such things happening, but the only case any in the Volturi Coven had seen first hand was his own.

He found it rather ironic that Didyme’s gift would have been the perfect solution to assessing the situation with Edward and Bella, but then life could be ironic like that. The priestess of death could have told them the fate of this Bella. He almost smiled at the thought of how Caius would have thrown a fit if such a thing had been possible. He had always hated Didyme’s interference, but then it had become such a practical thing to utilize her gift.

Perhaps it was enough compensation to have seen the scowl that Caius had given him when his mention of Didyme had been enough to stop his plans from going forward. Truly, there was no need to spy on Carlisle coven. True, his gift had given him insight into the relationship between Edward and Bella, but it was personal experience that gave him the true insight he needed.

His experience with Didyme was enough to convince him of what would happen. He didn’t need to be a seer to know that.

Sighing, he closed his eyes again.

Didyme.