The silence in the chamber was absolute for a fraction of a second, broken only by the frantic, thrumming heartbeat of the human. Then, Jane moved.
She didn't turn her head, her crimson eyes locked on Reina's. Her voice, cold and sharp as a shard of ice, sliced through the heavy air. "Leave us. Now. Take that and dispose of it." The command was absolute, a dismissal that brooked no argument.
Heidi moved fast, a blur of motion as she seized the terrified man. The massive door swung shut with a soft, definitive thud that echoed in the new, profound quiet.
They were alone.
Jane's severe expression melted away, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated hunger. Her cool hands came up to frame Reina's face, her thumbs stroking the impossibly smooth skin of her cheeks. The possessive, desperate need from the throne room had returned tenfold, a tangible force radiating from her.
"Mine," Jane breathed, the word a vow and a claim all at once. She leaned in, her lips parting, her intention clear. She was going to kiss her, to taste her, to finally indulge in the connection that had been humming between them since the piazza.
But Reina's hands came up, gently capturing Jane's wrists. She didn't push her away, but she held her there, creating a breath of space between them. A flicker of confusion, then hurt, passed through Jane's piercing eyes.
"Jane, wait," Reina said, her voice softer now, the vampiric authority gone, replaced by a vulnerability that was entirely new. "I… I sent them away, but… not just for that."
Jane stilled, her head tilting. Her predatory focus was entirely on Reina, waiting, analyzing every micro-expression on her face. "Explain."
Reina took a steadying breath, though she no longer needed air. The gesture was a ghost of her humanity, a comforting echo. "I wanted him gone because I couldn't do it. The look in his eyes… the sheer, animal fear. I felt my thirst, a terrible, burning need, but the thought of extinguating that life…" She shook her head, her newly crimson eyes wide and earnest. "I couldn't. I don't think I ever will be able to kill an innocent human, Jane. The act itself feels… wrong."
She searched Jane's face, looking for understanding, for condemnation, for anything. "I wanted you. I meant what I said. You're the only thing I truly crave. But I needed them gone because my failure, my… weakness… that is for you alone to see. Not them."
The confession hung in the air. Reina had just admitted a fundamental incompatibility with her new nature to the one vampire whose entire existence was built on power, control, and a ruthless adherence to a predator's laws.
Jane was silent for a long moment, her expression unreadable. Then, a slow, devastating smile touched her lips. It wasn't a smile of cruelty or mockery, but one of deep, profound fascination. She brought one cool hand up and traced the line of Reina's jaw.
"Oh, my love," Jane murmured, her voice a silken whisper. "You think that is a weakness?" She chuckled, a low, thrilling sound that vibrated through Reina's core. "It is a miracle."
Reina blinked. "A miracle?"
"You have just been born into this life. Your thirst should be a raging, uncontrollable fire, burning away every shred of who you were. Yet here you stand, perfectly controlled, not by force of will, but by the purity of your heart." Jane's thumb brushed over Reina's lower lip. "You have not lost yourself. The core of you, the essential goodness that called to me across a crowded square, remains utterly intact. It is the most powerful thing I have ever witnessed."
The relief that washed through Reina was so potent it felt like a new sense. Jane wasn't disappointed. She wasn't angry. She was… awed.
"But… the Volturi… " Reina stammered.
"You posses incredible control," Jane stated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You, my soulmate, possess a control I have never seen in a newborn. You chose me over instinct. That is a strength Aro himself could never comprehend." Her eyes gleamed with a possessive pride. "You will never have to hunt that way if you do not wish it. The world is full of blood, Reina. We will find a way that suits the beautiful, merciful creature you are."
The last of the tension drained from Reina's body. She leaned into Jane's touch, a soft sigh escaping her. The trust she had placed in this dangerous, beautiful being was being rewarded in ways she couldn't have imagined.
Jane's smile turned wicked, a spark of her familiar mischief returning. "Now," she purred, her voice dropping to a husky register that promised everything. "Where were we?" She closed the small distance between them, her body a hair's breadth from Reina's. The electric hum of their connection intensified, a current of desire that was both emotional and intensely physical.
"You said you wanted to taste me," Jane whispered, her lips ghosting over Reina's. "An intimate gift, reserved only for mates. A sharing of essence, of strength, of… pleasure." The word 'pleasure' was a caress in itself. "But such a gift requires something in return."
Reina's new senses were overwhelmed by Jane—the scent of frost and ancient stone, the cool aura of her skin, the captivating darkness in her eyes. "What?" Reina breathed, her own desire coiling tightly within her. "What does it require?"
Jane's tongue darted out to wet her own lips, her gaze flickering down to Reina's mouth and then back up, holding her captive. "It requires trust. And absolute focus on the sensation. It is not like the brutal taking of a kill. It is… an art." She leaned in, her mouth hovering just beside Reina's ear, her cool breath sending shivers down Reina's spine. "Your first lesson. Let me show you how to make me… tremble."
She pulled back just enough to look into Reina's eyes, her expression a mix of challenge and seduction. "Your teeth, my love. They are weapons. But they can be so much more. You must be exquisitely precise. You must use them not to tear, but to…"
Her sentence was left hanging, a deliberate, tantalizing tease as she tilted her head, offering the elegant, marble column of her throat.