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I FORCED MYEYES - FROZEN WIDE OPEN WITH SHOCK - to move, so that I could not examine too closely the oval object wrapped in tendrils of shivering, fiery hair

Edas in ain Swift and coolly businesslike, he diso to him - I could not make my feet respond; they were bolted to the stone beneath the for any evidence that he had been harmed My heart slowed to a healthier rhythraceful as ever I couldn’t even see a tear in his clothes

He did not look at me - where I stood frozen to the cliff wall, horrified - while he piled the quivering, twitching limbs and then covered theaze as he darted into the forest after Seth

I didn’t have time to recover before both he and Seth were back, Edith his are chunk - the torso - in his mouth They added their burden to the pile, and Edward pulled a silver rectangle frohter and held the flae fire licked rapidly across the pyre

"Get every piece," Edward said in a low aside to Seth

Together, the vampire and the olf scoured the ca small lumps of white stone into the blaze Seth handled the pieces with his teeth My brain wasn’t working well enough for e back to a form with hands

Edward kept his eyes on his work

And then they were done, and the raging fire was sending a pillar of choking purple toward the sky The thick sincense, and the scent was unco

Seth ain, deep in his chest

A smile flickered across Edward’s tense face

Edward stretched out his ar the long row of dagger teeth, and buainst Edward’s hand

"Nice teah

Then Edward took a deep breath, and turned slowly to face me

I did not understand his expression His eyes were as wary as if I were another enemy - more than wary, they were afraid Yet he’d shown no fear at all when he’d faced Victoria and RileyMy mind was stuck, stunned and useless as my body I stared at him, bewildered

"Bella, love," he said in his softest tone, walking toward erated slowness, his hands held up, palms forward Dazed as I was, it re that he wasn’t armed

"Bella, can you drop the rock, please? Carefully Don’t hurt yourself"

I’d forgotten all aboutit so hard thatin protest Was it rebroken? Carlisle would put me in a cast for sure this time

Edward hesitated a few feet from me, his hands still in the air, his eyes still fearful

It took ers Then the rock clattered to the ground, while my hand stayed frozen in the sahtly when my hands were empty, but came no closer

"You don’t have to be afraid, Bella," Edward murmured "You’re safe I won’t hurt you"

Thepromise only confusedto understand

"It’s going to be all right, Bella I know you’re frightened now, but it’s over No one is going to hurt you I won’t touch you I won’t hurt you," he said again

My eyes blinked furiously, and I foundthat?"

I took an unsteady step toward hi?" I whispered "What do you olden eyes were suddenly as confused as I felt "Aren’t you afraid of ered forward another step, and then tripped over soht me, and I buried my face in his chest and started to sob

"Bella, Bella, I’m so sorry It’s over, it’s over"

"I’ out Give htened aroundto hi him - his chest, his shoulder, his neck - every part of hiain

"Are you okay?" I demanded between kisses "Did she hurt you at all?"

"I a his face in my hair

"Seth?"

Edward chuckled "More than fine Very pleased with himself, in fact"

"The others? Alice, Esme? The wolves?

"All fine It’s over there, too It went just as sot the worst of it here"

I let myself absorb that for a moment, let it sink in and settle in my head

My fa afterto be fine

But I couldn’t coood nehile I was still so confused

"Tell me why," I insisted "Why did you think I would be afraid of you?"

"I’ain - for what? I had no idea "So sorry I didn’t want you to see that See me like that I know I must have terrified you"

I had to think about that for another minute, about the hesitant way he’d approachedto run if he moved too fast

"Seriously?" I finally asked "Youwhat? Thought you’d scared ood; a voice couldn’t tre a snort It sounded impressively offhand

He put his hand under my chin and tilted my head back to read my face

"Bella, I just" - he hesitated and then forced the words out - "I just beheaded and dismembered a sentient creature not twenty yards from you That doesn’t bother you?"

He frowned at ood, too Very blas�� "Not really I was only afraid that you and Seth were going to get hurt I wanted to help, but there’s only so much I can do"

His suddenly livid expression made my voice fade out

"Yes," he said, his tone clipped "Your little stunt with the rock You know that you nearly gaveto do, that"

His furious glower made it hard to answer

"I wanted to helpSeth was hurt"

"Seth was only feigning that he was hurt, Bella It was a trick And then you!" He shook his head, unable to finish "Seth couldn’t see what you were doing, so I had to step in Seth’s a bit disgruntled that he can’t clai?"

Edward nodded sternly

"Oh"

We both looked at Seth, as studiously ignoring us, watching the flaness radiated from every hair in his fur

"Well, I didn’t know that," I said, on the offense now "And it’s not easy being the only helpless person around Just you wait till I’ on the sidelines next time"

A dozen e amused "Next time? Did you anticipate another war soon?"

"With my luck? Who knows?"

He rolled his eyes, but I could see that he was flying - the relief was htheaded It was over

Orwas it?

"Hold on Didn’t you say so what exactly it had been before - as I going to say to Jacob? My splintered heart throbbed out a painful, aching beat It was hard to believe, almost impossible, but the hardest part of this day was not behind me - and then I soldiered on "About a co to nail down the schedule for Sa to be close?"

Edward’s eyes flickered back to Seth, and they exchanged a loaded glance

"Well?" I asked

"It’s nothing, really," Edward said quickly "But we do need to be on our way"

He started to pull me into place on his back, but I stiffened and dreay

"Define nothing"

Edward took my face between his palht? I told you that you had no reason to be afraid Trustto hide the sudden terror - how much more could I handle before I collapsed? "No reason to be afraid Got it"

He pursed his lips for a second, deciding what to say And then he glanced abruptly at Seth, as if the wolf had called hi?" Edward asked

Seth whined; it was an anxious, uneasy sound Itwas dead silent for one endless second

And then Edward gasped, "No!" and one of his hands flew out as if to grab so that I couldn’t see "Don’t -!"

A spas with agony, ripped fros

Edward fell to his knees at the exact sa the sides of his head with two hands, his face furrowed in pain

I screamed once in bewildered terror, and dropped to my knees beside him Stupidly, I tried to pull his hands from his face; my palms, clammy with sweat, slid off his marble skin

"Edward! Edward!"

His eyes focused on me; with obvious effort, he pulled his clenched teeth apart

"It’s okay We’re going to be fine It’s -" He broke off, and winced again

"What’s happening?" I cried out while Seth howled in anguish

"We’re fine We’re going to be okay," Edward gasped "Sam - help him -"

And I realized in that instant, when he said Sa of hi the the pack plural

I’d burned through all ed, and Edward caughtto his feet, me in his arms

"Seth!" Edward shouted

Seth was crouched, still tensed in agony, looking as if he meant to launch hiht horeat head froe wolf stared into Edward’s agonized eyes for one long second, and then he straightened up and flew into the trees, disappearing like a ghost

Edward cradledthrough the shadowy forest, taking a different path than the wolf

"Edward" I fought to force the words through my constricted throat "What happened, Edward? What happened to Sao back to the clearing," he told ood probability of this happening Earlier this h Sam to Seth The Volturi decided it was time to intercede"

The Volturi

Too much My mind refused to make sense of the words, pretended it couldn’t understand

The trees jolted past us He was running downhill so fast that it felt as if ere plu out of control

"Don’t panic They aren’t couard that usually cleans up this kind oftheir job Of course, they seem to have timed their arrival very carefully Which leads me to believe that no one in Italy would mourn if these newborns had reduced the size of the Cullen fah his teeth, hard and bleak "I’ll know for sure what they were thinking when they get to the clearing"

"Is that e’re going back?" I whispered Could I handle this? Ipoint

"It’s part of the reason Mostly, it will be safer for us to present a united front at this point They have no reason to harass us, butJane’s with theht ere alone soht teuess that I’m with you Demetri, of course, is with her He could find me, if Jane asked him to"

I didn’t want to think that naly exquisite, childlike face in e sound ca to be fine Alice can see that"

Alice could see? Butthen where were the wolves? Where was the pack?

"The pack?"

"They had to leave quickly The Volturi do not honor truces olves"

I could hear et faster, but I couldn’t control it I started to gasp

"I swear they will be fine," Edward pronize the scent - they won’t realize the wolves are here; this isn’t a species they are familiar with The pack will be fine"

I couldn’t process his explanation My concentration was ripped to shreds byto be fine, he had said beforeand Seth, howling in agonyEdward had avoided my first question, distracted e - just clinging byblur that flowed around hiain "Before When Seth was howling? When you were hurt?"

Edward hesitated

"Edward! Tell me!"

"It was all over," he whispered I could barely hear him over the wind his speed created "The wolves didn’t count their halfthey thought they had them all Of course, Alice couldn’t see"

"What happened?!"

"One of the newborns was hidingLeah found hi She engaged him alone"

"Leah," I repeated, and I was too weak to feel sha to be okay?"

"Leah wasn’t hurt," Edwardsecond

Saasped Him, not her

"We’re almost there," Edward said, and he stared at a fixed point in the sky

Automatically,low over the trees A cloud? But it was so abnornized the thick column of smoke, just like the one at our campsite

"Edward," I said, ot hurt"

I’d heard Seth’s agony, seen the torture in Edward’s face

"Yes," he whispered

"Who?" I asked, though, of course, I already knew the answer

Of course I did Of course

The trees were slowing around us as we ca moment to answer me

"Jacob," he said

I was able to nod once

"Of course," I whispered

And then I slipped off the edge I was clinging to insidewent black

I was first aware of the cool hands touchinghtly into my wrist

Then I are of the voices They were just ahurew in volu up a radio

"Carlisle - it’s been five minutes" Edward’s voice, anxious

"She’ll come around when she’s ready, Edward" Carlisle’s voice, always calm and sure "She’s had too much to deal with today Let her mind protect itself"