It was the white-haired Caius who broke the silence.

"What?" he demanded of Aro; his voice, though no more than a whisper, was flat.

"Caius, surely you see the potential," Aro chided him affectionately. "I haven't seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?"

"Oh, great!" Edward groaned. "He's interested in Bella…and now Jane will be even more angry with her."

Caius looked away with a caustic expression. Jane's eyes sparked with indignation at the comparison.

Edward fumed beside me. I could hear a rumble in his chest, building toward a growl. I couldn't let his temper get him hurt.

"No, thank you," I spoke up in barely more than a whisper, my voice breaking in fright.

Aro sighed. "That's unfortunate. Such a waste."

Edward stiffened.

"This isn't good," Carlisle sighed.

Edward hissed. "Join or die, is that it? I suspected as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws."

"Nicely worded," Carlisle smiled. "That could help."

The tone of his voice surprised me. He sounded irate, but there was something deliberate about his delivery – as if he'd chosen his words with great care.

"And of course she would notice too," Carlisle smiled.

"Of course not." Aro blinked, astonished. "We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you."

"Aro," Caius hissed. "The law claims them."

Edward glared at Caius. "How so?" he demanded. He must have known what Caius was thinking, but he seemed determined to make him speak it aloud.

Caius pointed a skeletal finger at me. "She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets."

His voice was papery thin, just like his skin.

"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well," Edward reminded him, and I thought of the pretty receptionist below.

Caius's face twisted into a new expression. Was it supposed to be a smile?

"More likely a smirk," Carlisle sighed. "He is the most callous member of the Volturi...he enjoys watching the punishments."

"Yes," he agreed. "But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not," he scoffed.

"I wouldn't –," I began, still whispering. Caius silenced me with an icy look.

"Nor do you intend to make her one of us," Caius continued. "Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only her life is forfeit. You may leave if you wish."

"Never!" Edward growled.

"I thought the ones that did the exposing are as liable as the exposed?" Jasper asked.

"Yes...but Edward wasn't the one that told her about us," Rosalie reminded him. "The mutt was."

"Right," Jasper nodded.

Edward bared his teeth.

"That's what I thought," Caius said, with something akin to pleasure. Felix leaned forward, eager.

"Unless…" Aro interrupted. He looked unhappy with the way the conversation had gone.

"Unless you do intend to give her immortality?"

"No," Edward groaned.

"This won't happen Edward," Alice said.

"I still don't want that to happen," Edward growled.