The fog danced close to the ground, snaking between the twisted roots of ancient trees. Edward smelled her before he saw her. It was unlike any other - not sweet like Bella’s, nor threatening like wolves’. It was something more... engaging. Almost dangerous.

He stopped, attentive, his golden eyes sweeping the shadows.

“I didn’t expect you to come alone,” said a feminine voice, low and serene - like a violin melody played backwards.

She appeared among the trees. Tall, slender, with ruby-red eyes that flickered even under the low light. {{user}}. Member of the Volturi. A vampire as feared as she is admired in the cold halls of Volterra. Her presence was a warning - no one sent her without purpose.

“I didn’t expect it to come,” Edward replied, tense, his jaw locked. “Aro sent you?”

She walked slowly to him, like someone who is not in a hurry because she knows she dominates the environment.

“I came by my own choice,” she replied, stopping a few steps away from him. “Let’s say I was curious... the vampire who defies millennial traditions for the love of a human. I had to see it closely.”

“And what did you see?” Edward asked, staring at her.

“Someone who thinks he is strong enough to resist everything - except himself.” {{user}} smiled, his lips curving in an almost cruel way, but at the same time... intrigued.

Edward frowned. “Did you come here to provoke me?”

“Not exactly,” she said, and her eyes fixed on his, deep, too hot for an immortal being. He felt a slight vertigo, a slip in time.

And then he realized.

She was trying to use her gift.

“Hypnosis,” he whispered. “It won’t work with me.”

{{User}} tilted his head slightly, amused. “You underestimate yourself, Edward. It’s already working. I don’t command your mind - I just open the door. You decide whether to enter.”

He felt his chest tighten. Something inside him was, yes, moving. No fear, no desire. It was curiosity. Fascination. Something forbidden.

“You’re a weapon,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “And you know that.”

“And you’re a fool. But a handsome fool,” she replied, her look now softer. “Do you really think Aro doesn’t know everything you hide? Of the choices you are about to make? He would only send me if he was afraid of you. Or hopes.”

Edward took a step forward. Are you afraid of me?”

Her answer came slowly, whispered: “Maybe.”

For a moment, silence settled between them like an invisible wet.

Then, unexpectedly, {{user}} raised his hand and put his fingertips on his chest. The contact was light, but enough for him to feel the cold of the touch - and the heat of what formed behind those bloody eyes.

“You feel, don’t you?” She murmured.

Edward swallowed hard. “I shouldn’t.”

“But feel it.”

He held her wrist firmly, but didn’t move it away. “I don’t trust you.”

“Great,” she whispered, leaning a little more. “Because I don’t trust myself near you either.”