A/N – All Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Recap:

I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on my Jake. I loved him, I loved him so much – of this I was certain. But what was this strange other feeling that was stealing in like a burglar in the night, trying to steer me down a different path? Jake was my soulmate, my warmth, my sunshine. He was my everything. I so desperately wanted to be with him again. But now, I couldn't explain it, but I wanted something else too.

With a jolt, I realised I was starting to waver. And to my horror, I realised it was towards Drago.

Renesmee POV

I couldn't sleep. The horrible realisation that had dawned on me this morning had me so wound up in knots that I just wanted to cry. I wanted my Jake. But I also wanted Drago. No, I didn't want Drago – I just didn't not want him. Ugh… does that even make sense? God, I'm so confused. What's wrong with me? I didn't love Drago – of that I was certain. But the squeezing in my heart was unbearable. I felt as if I was stuck between two worlds, and afraid to walk away from either one.

I got out of bed and walked over to the window. Katerina stirred when she sensed me move. The woman must have a motion detector set up in her brain or something.

"My Lady…?" she asked, starting to get up.

"Go back to sleep, Katerina," I said, motioning to her to lie back down. "I'm just going to sit here by the window for awhile."

Katerina watched as I dragged a chair over to one of the windows. When she saw me settle into the chair, she lay her head back down and not long after I recognised the sounds of her sleeping. I turned my attention back to the window and looked out through the bars and into the clear night sky. There were two and a half moons hovering behind slivers of silver cloud. I thought they looked like eerie ships floating in the black ocean of sky. I could hear the guards shuffling around in the courtyard below and the rhythmic rise and fall of Katerina's rested breathing. Other than that though, there was complete silence. I thought it was strange that everything was so quiet – almost like the calm before a storm – but hey, everything was strange here. Hell, we were in a completely different dimension – who was I to say what was weird and what wasn't?

My gaze dropped from the sky over to the mountains, to where my Jake was. I felt the empty ache pull at my chest and the hot tears start to sting the edge of my eyes. How could I ever face him again? I didn't even know for sure whether my Jake lived or died, and already I was wavering towards someone else. To make matters worse, it was towards the one who had orchestrated the attack that had left him bloodied and broken, and then had kidnapped and imprisoned me. I wondered if maybe I had fallen victim to Stockholm Syndrome, but that would have just been too convenient an excuse. I had no defence. I was just an unworthy, undeserving, faithless girl who wavered towards the nearest man the first time I was apart from the one who was supposed to be the love of my life. I hated my cheating heart. I hated how it made me feel. And most of all I hated myself.

I looked out over the mountains again. The empty ache in my chest still tugged towards it, but it was so fuzzy. I felt the hot tears spill over, and quietly I wept. Tears of remorse for being so weak, for betraying the one who was my life and soul, the one who should have been my one and only - My Jacob, who loved me unconditionally and unwaveringly. How could I ever face him again?

I continued weeping, silently cursing my faithless heart.

.

.

.

Jacob POV

We stole silently through the forest, making our way to the castle. A few of Drago's scouts had been caught spying on the village and a few more were caught trying to break through Merlin's barrier. We had captured and imprisoned them, so they couldn't go back to their master with news of what was afoot.

All around us, the sounds of the forest were eerily quiet, as if its inhabitants could sense that something huge was about go down. And yeah, I guess it was.

Yesterday when I'd made Merlin tell me everything his research had uncovered, he shared some very useful new intel about the prophecy and the legends which we were able to incorporate into our plan of attack. Nothing of the new information was too much of a surprise though, except for the history Merlin revealed between him and Drago.

When the old vamp had first told us about the prophecy, he'd let slip about facing down Drago again. I remembered the bitterness in his voice when he had talked about his enemy, and I was painfully conscious of the fact that he had tried to hide it. At the time though, I had decided that pursuing an answer then and there probably wasn't going to do much good. But we were at a crossroads now, and I needed to know as much as possible if I was going to bring down the fucker that had dared to kidnap my girl.

"There's more going on here than you're letting on, Merlin," I had growled at him yesterday. "Tell me everything, and this time don't leave anything out. Especially all the stuff that went on between you and Drago. The vibes I'm picking up are more than just the usual good-guy bad-guy antagonism – This is personal. "

"Very well," the ancient vampire had sighed, shifting uncomfortably. "I have not shared this information before – Firstly because I am not proud of my role in creating the situation that has led us to become mortal enemies, and secondly because I did not believe this information to be necessary to our planning. But you are right - To understand what drives your enemy, you must understand what it is that has shaped him into who he is." And so Merlin began his tale.

We listened, as Merlin recounted how Drago had demanded a tribal chief's daughter be promised to him as recompense for some trespass the villagers had unwittingly committed against him. Around this time, Merlin had also made his way to the Americas, having learned that Drago was the prophesied Last Great Tyrant. He had tracked Drago to the outskirts of the village where he had learned of the fate that was to befall the chief's daughter. He had told himself to stay on-mission, and that the comings and goings of the locals were of no consequence to him. But he had, despite his own resistance, fallen in love with their chief's daughter and in doing so had made her people his own. They had planned to run away together. But they feared the wrath that would be visited upon the villagers once Drago learned what had happened. Knowing the role that Drago was destined to play in the final war, Merlin knew that he couldn't risk leaving his business unfinished.

And so Merlin had lifted part of that world into this one and formed this realm, taking with him the villagers who wished to follow. He knew that Drago would pursue them, and once he was sure of his enemy's arrival he had sealed the pathway between the two worlds and then drawn down the Veil, suppressing all that was magic. So while the Veil existed and Drago was trapped here, Drago was just a warlord. But now that it had been lifted, he had his powers back, and he was once again a powerful sorcerer.

"Why didn't you just kill him?" I had growled at Merlin. "Why go through all this drama? Why let it go on for almost two thousand years when you could have just put a stop to it?"

"Do you not think I have tried?" Merlin cried in exasperation. He suddenly seemed more tired and drawn than I had ever seen before. "I have tried, every which way, and so many times. I am fairly certain Drago cannot be killed. He is a being more ancient that any I have ever encountered. His power draws its source from one that is said to be older than time itself. We have fought before, and we matched each other blow for blow. While he had his powers, he was my magical equal. But while the Veil was drawn, I was as powerless as he. And so we have danced precariously around each other for millennia, handicapped by our circumstances."

"So why did you do all this?" Carlisle had asked his old friend softly. "Why did you flee with your beloved and risk all by trapping Drago in this world with you, suppressing all your powers and leaving yourselves as defenceless as he? Why give up all the riches you could have had, instead for this simple existence? And why stay on here even when she had passed away so many lifetimes ago?"

"After a while," the ancient vampire had whispered sadly, "the jewels no longer sparkle, and the gold no longer gleams. All that's left that is worth anything anymore is the love of one woman. And once she is gone, all you can do is protect what she held dear. And so I stayed and protected her people – my people."

And with that, Merlin had finished his tale. So now we knew that Drago couldn't be killed. Well, at least not while he still had his powers. But if the Veil were to be drawn down again, we were pretty much back to where we started. Fuck. So if we were gonna have to do this powers and all, was there was there really no way to get rid of him once and for all?

If, as I suspected, Drago saw this as a rematch of the conflict that had taken place all those centuries ago, his will to win would be all the more stronger. He had lost the first time. His pride was unlikely to tolerate a second loss. I had originally thought that the whole thing with Merlin's woman had just muddied the situation, but now I realised I was wrong. It actually made this whole mess so much clearer. It also went a long way to explaining why Drago was messing with the imprint. In his twisted mind, he was drawing parallels between getting the girl and winning the war. In some ways though it was more true this time around, because of Nessie's role in the prophecy. But last time, Merlin taken Drago's woman away and then emasculated him further by taking away his powers. And now the fucker wanted payback.

We'd spent most of the night scenario planning, using Alice's powers to help with working what would and wouldn't work. I hadn't slept much, and I should have been exhausted but the adrenalin that was coursing through my body had me on high alert. This fight was a long time coming, and I was going to give it I everything I had.

We slowed as we came to the edge of the forest. The first slivers of dawn were just creeping over the horizon as we gathered at the forest edge at the perimeter of the castle grounds.

I wondered for a moment whether it was such a good idea to launch into this so quickly. I mean, yesterday I'd been all gung-ho to move on the castle but now that we were actually here, I wondered if everything was bedded down as well as I thought. Maybe we should have given ourselves a bit more time to refine the plan. No, no way. It was now or never. Nessie needed me. And I needed her.

The plan was relatively simple: weaken the enemy, bait them, and then attack. I guess we were about to find out how good my battle strategy really was.

Now that we'd arrived, I realised that was the closest I'd been to Nessie since she was taken. I took a deep breath, and reached out to her through the imprint bond.

And then for the first time in days, I felt her. Clear as day, I felt her.

.

.

.

Renesmee POV

I was awakened by a sudden pulling in my chest, as if the connection I had to Jake had abruptly snapped back into place. All the uncertainty of the last few days dropped away, and I felt like myself again. I could still feel the dry tracks of last night's tears on my cheeks, and guessed that I must have cried myself to sleep in the chair. The first fragments of dawn were just starting to break on the horizon, and it occurred to me that that was how my heart felt - Like the cloudy seas I had been lost in had finally dissipated and the light was finally starting to break through.

The doors suddenly flung open, jolting me out of my thoughts. The suddenness of the movement surprised me, and I had only time to take half a breath before I realised that Drago stood only inches from me. His face was dark with anger, and instinctively I took a step back. I had never seen him this angry before. He scowled murderously at me, and for a moment I felt the icy shudder of fear as it shot through my veins.

"What have you done?" he thundered, his eyes ablaze with fury. I took another step back. Katerina got up, hurrying over.

"My Lord…" she began, but was silenced by a resounding slap that sent her tumbling to the floor.

"Drago, stop," I cried at him, as I scrambled down to Katerina to make sure she was all right. "Was that really necessary? My God, what kind of monster are you?"

"You," he glared at me through narrowed eyes. "What have you done? I was so close to success, and now the connection is broken. How did you do this?" He turned around and glowered at Katerina, "Did you help her?"

"No, no, my lord,"Katerina whimpered, "I would not dare to cross you. I have done all that you asked."

"The connection has snapped back," he gave her a murderous glare. "She could not have done this on her own. You must have done something wrong."

"Excuse me," I pointed out, my fear taking a backseat for the time being. "I don't really appreciate being talked about in the third person when I'm standing right here. What the hell are you going on about?"

Before Drago could answer, I heard a thunderous crash, followed by shouting from the courtyard below and the clanging of weapons just beyond the walls of the castle. He turned abruptly and left the room, leaving me standing there dumbfounded. What the hell had just happened? Then I realised that Katerina was still there.

"Okay Katerina," I turned around to her. "You better tell me what Drago was going on about, and then we're sorting out what's going on outside. Talk."

.

.

.

Jacob POV

The wolves moved silently into place around the perimeter of the castle. Edward and Emmett stole into the castle to execute the initial stages of the plan. Quietly they disarmed the sentries, one by one, so that the alarms couldn't be raised and we would retain our advantage of surprise. At the same time, Merlin began using his powers to remove the ground from the foot of the fortress walls so as to weaken its foundations.

Once the sentries were disarmed, Edward was to give us the signal to attack. We waited with bated breath, the tension hanging heavily in the air. The adrenalin coursing through my body gave me a heightened clarity and alertness, and I almost felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. We continued to watch, as the dirt beneath the fortress walls continued its silent, gradual movement out of the wall's base.

As we waited, I reached out to Nessie through the imprint bond again. Yes, I could still feel her. The pull in my chest tugged towards the Northern wall of the castle – that must be where she was being held. Maybe it was the closer physical proximity to her, maybe it was something else, but this was the most distinct the connection had felt for days. And it was absofuckinglutely awesome!

I saw something shimmer in the sunlight and flash of bronze sweep past the top of the fortress wall, and realised it must have been Edward. I directed my thoughts to him, indicating that I sensed Nessie's location to be around the North side of the castle. He stopped and nodded his acknowledgement, and then signalled that all the sentries had been disarmed and captured.

With a final sweep of his arms, Merlin scooped a massive chunk of ground from beneath the fortress walls, and they came crumbling down with a thundering crash.

We had caught the enemy completely by surprise. With the fortress walls gone, the archers had no high ground from which to launch their arrows, and so they were forced to shoot from the ground which was far less effective. A throng of soldiers surged forth from the castle gates, but we were ready for them. We had placed most of our forces to attack from the East, so that the sun was at our backs and would impact our enemy's line of sight and give us the advantage.

They rushed at us, and with a resounding roar we went forward to meet them.

The centre of our battle formation was left deliberately weak to invite the enemy to attack there, allowing us to envelop them when they took the bait. And waiting behind our apparently weak centre was a tactical reserve of more fighters to take them down. This formation had two benefits - by placing the equivalent of the infantry in the centre and the cavalry on the wings, we could prevent the centre from being outflanked; secondly, once the battle turned and the enemy started to retreat, the 'cavalry' could move forward and cut them down. Merlin also raised a windstorm to confuse the enemy with dust, and combined with the battle formation and the sun at our backs, one by one Drago's soldiers were swiftly dealt with. It all happened so fast, to the human eye it would have just been a massive blur. We avoided hurting the soldiers as much as possible, instead trying to capture and imprison them in the cages that Merlin had created using his power to, as Emmett had described it "make shit out of thin air."

We were almost done when I heard a sound that made everybody stop dead in their tracks. It was like a cross between a sickening snarl and a deafening crack of thunder. The air around us reverberated, and I spun around to see where it was coming from. I looked up to the central tower of the castle and sucked in a deep breath.

Perched on the tower, its wings splayed angrily was, literally, the biggest fucking dragon I'd ever seen. And man, did he look supremely pissed.