Marcus stood with his usual bored expression, still as a statue. He could stay like this forever. As a matter of fact, he would stay like this forever if it weren’t for Aro and Casius. If he could, he would stand here till his already paper thin skin and glazed eyes became more and more brittle looking and he became less and less human. He could stay like this forever and think of her.

Didyme.

Even the name was like a locked away secret, locked deep in the empty chamber that had once been his beating heart. The name was sacred, like a prayer, and his brothers knew better than to mention it out loud. No one mentioned her name out loud. It was best that way. They did not even deserve to think her name, much less speak it.

Standing there he closed his eyes and attempted to block out the feelings he got through his “gift.” Even though they were not I the same room, his gift reached out like tendrils across the distance of the building. He could feel the love between siblings that Jane and Alec had, and almost smiled as he noticed yet again that one felt more affection than the other. Poor Alec, he would never see what a monster his sister truly was.

There was the deep-seeded love and passion between his brothers and their wives. These were the feelings he tried to block out more than any other. It made the emptiness, the loneliness, seem more real and somehow more permanent. The connections he felt between mates were both a blessing and a curse.

It was a blessing because for a few fleeting moments he could remember what he had felt with his own wife: the love, the passion, the irresistible desire to be with her and have her near. It was a curse because he knew that he would never have that for himself again.

The truth of the matter was that he had loved Didyme more passionately than any connection he had sensed…until recently.

He let his mind wander to the young vampire Edward and the strange little human girl that had come to them a short time ago. He had let the façade he presented to the world slip for just a moment when he had sensed the connection between those two. He remembered the thoughts that had gone through his mind at the moment he felt them, “So strong! How is it possible…?” The mind-reader had assumed that he was thinking of the connection between the vampire he called his sister and himself. He had not corrected this assumption and had let his mind wander to boring, mundane thoughts again. He would not let his mind wander and reveal his thoughts to this Edward although the urge to think of iher/i after feeling such a strong bond was almost irresistible. It had been several days since their visit and now he could let his mind wander to the places it wanted to again.