A/N: As always, huge thanks to LyricalKris and theladyingrey42. They make all things better. Also, thank you to all that have been reading and reviewing. As you know, I read every one and have loved seeing what you think of this little story of mine. And here it is...the Talk.
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28
Edward leans against the stone, watching her face as I'sabel turns back to look over the town below. Her eyes scan over the buildings and revelers, but her focus seems far away.
He wants her to explain, wants to know why she didn't help him, why she turned her back on him. But he is also afraid of what her answers might be. Has she not been thinking about him in their time apart? Does she feel that seeping warmth when her skin touches his?
Her silence seeps into him, cooling the heat that had started to build as he thought of her touch.
"I'm sorry." He backs away, not wanting to disturb her and definitely not wanting to hear her reaction again.
"No," she says loudly, her voice cutting through the dark. "Stay, please. I just never thought I'd have this conversation and it's difficult to know where to start."
He looks at her and sees the sincerity in her eyes and...could that be fear? "Perhaps at the beginning."
She looks at him, her brown eyes sparkling in the torch light. "Yes, I think that is as good a place as any."
Mirroring his position, I'sabel leans on the wall with only her face turned toward him. She watches her hands as she rubs them over her leather pants, as if trying to dry them against the material. She takes a deep breath and meets his eyes once again. Suddenly she huffs and smiles. "This is silly. Why am I frightened of you?"
Edward has to smile in return. "I have no idea."
She takes another deep breath and begins. "Well, our first interactions, as you well know, weren't very friendly." She gestures between the two of them. "But there was still an energy between us, a connection, no matter how tenuous, that had been established. I couldn't not follow you."
"So you changed into the crow?"
She nods, eyes flicking toward the darkened sky briefly. "Yes. And I tried to question my motivations, tried to deny that I wanted to make sure you were safe. Tried to deny what I already suspected."
"That we are mates," Edward says, a small smirk on his face.
"Don't push your luck," she responds, but her smile belies her harshly delivered words. "But yes, I had already recognized some of the signs. But after the attack, I knew."
Edward sighs, trying to keep his anger in check. She knew and she's known for weeks. All of his doubts, his fear, all because she didn't tell him.
"You have to understand, Edward, I didn't want it to be true. But after I healed you by myself, after I brought you back from the Other's touch, I knew there was no alternative. Even without us knowing it, a true mate's touch is stronger than anything the Others can do."
"So, you knew then?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you say something? Why couldn't you just tell me?"
Her gaze hardens minutely, and she turns completely to face him. "As I recall, you weren't so happy with our arrangement or my requirements of you. Do you think you would actually have listened to me or believe me if I had said something immediately?"
Edward hesitates, knowing what he wants to say, but realizing it wouldn't be the truth. He would have liked to have known this before the night that she spent curled into his body, before they met the Ainmhithe, before she made him leave without a word. But, she's right. He wouldn't have believed anything she had said.
Not that he didn't believe that vampire mates knew each other at first sight, but she isn't a vampire. Then again, neither is Alis.
He refocuses on I'sabel, realizing she's still waiting for an answer from him. "No, you're right. I wouldn't have believed you."
"Plus, I didn't believe it entirely myself. I was deep in denial." She looks up at him sheepishly. "An Ainmhithe cannot be mated to a vampire, you know."
"I wasn't aware there was a rule."
She sighs again. "Seems we were breaking many rules."
Edward smiles, and reaches a tentative hand toward her face. She doesn't flinch, just watches his hand approach with a look bordering on expectation. He pauses when he remembers that he's still a little angry that she never said anything, that she knew what they were but let him be thrown out of the Ainmhithe camp anyway. "But why didn't you say something later?"
"Honestly, I was going to tell you, especially after that night." The blush that rises to her cheeks makes him almost forget his irritation. Almost. "But then we found my tribe and I... Well, I didn't."
"But why?"
"My father forbade me to."
Edward freezes, not even breathing as his mind races through all the implications. Through gritted teeth, he asks as quietly as possible, "Your father did what?"
"He forbade me to tell you or to talk about it at all."
Edward feels like he is only repeating himself, but he knows he's getting closer to the truth, closer to the true reason they've been apart. "Why?"
She sighs and clenches her fist at her side. "During the Council meeting they questioned everything about our journey and how we met. I told them about your Oracle and how you found me and your plan to find the rest of the Ainmhithe. I may have left out a couple of details."
"Like the Others' attack and you healing me."
"Yes. I knew what it meant, and I knew what they would think about it. You wouldn't have gotten their help, you would have been banished."
Edward looks at her and notices the sorrow in her eyes, but he is still confused. "But that happened anyway."
"Yes, I know. The Round Fire is a strange and amazing place, and there are still things I don't understand about the rituals that take place there. Those that sit around it are bound together by ancient magic to aid the Council in reaching the best decision. But I should have foreseen what would happen if I joined that meeting. I should have known that there was more to it than just a strengthened bond between the participants."
Edward does reach forward then, running his fingertips softly over her tight fist, wanting to smooth away the anger and hurt he sees in her eyes. The muscles in her hand relax slowly, and he tries to not smile as the familiar warmth slides up his arm. "What happened?"
"The Council members tricked me. The older ones can use the Fire to see what is behind the words of the speaker, almost like mind reading. They could see the gaps in my story and filled them in for themselves. An argument started the likes of which I've never seen. Many of the tribe members were horrified by what they saw in my mind. To them, vampires are only the enemy. We did have a few supporters who saw that you were different, knew you were different, but they couldn't persuade the rest."
"Father stopped the proceedings and announced the final decision. When we left the Council meeting, I was not to speak to you or communicate with you in any way. Then, and only then, would the Ainmhithe help you. If I did, I would be cast out from my tribe, banished." I'sabel tips her head forward and her long hair hides her features.
Edward slowly lifts his hand, fingertips brushing her hair from her face. He's so close to the truth, so close to having nothing between him. "But he broke his word," Edward says softly, cupping her chin and lifting it, finally seeing her face and her eyes shining with tears.
"Yes, but he had already trapped me. If I spoke, if I tried to tell you, then I would lose everything."
He steps closer, her body heat pulsing into him like some living thing. "You wouldn't have lost me."
I'sabel stares at him for a long moment, her gaze clear and steady. "At that time, I wasn't so sure. Could you feel the same pull toward me that I did toward you? Would you abandon me as well once our deal was broken?"
Edward pauses, recalling the moments when she exited with the Council, the moment of the betrayal. "At first, I saw the shock on your face. You didn't think Char'l was going to say no." He steps into her, his body a mere breath from hers. "What hurt was that you turned your back on me, that you left me."
"I know that now," she says, looking up at him. "And I am so sorry for ever turning away from you."
I'sabel raises her hands, her fingers sliding along Edward's jaw and into his hair. Heat like he has never felt spreads through his body like wildfire, and he can finally feel her. Wrapping his arms around her, he presses their bodies together completely. Her gaze never wavers, the grip of her hands doesn't loosen.
"Yes, Edward. Please."
He slowly lowers his head, her eyes sliding closed as he nears. The first brush of his lips on hers is like rain falling on a parched desert, it's what he's been waiting for, yearning for, for so, so long. As her mouth moves against his, he pulls her tighter against him, wanting to feel everything. Her nails scratch against his scalp and her lips part, her tongue slowly sliding against his lips, and then finally he can taste her as he opens his mouth. He shudders as her tongue slides against his, and he finally understands how a mated vampire feels.
His world has been concentrated into the small space around them; he smells only her, tastes only her, feels only her. Nothing else in the world matters, because she is touching him, kissing him. Something in his chest expands, and he feels lighter and freer than he has since he emerged from his transformation. Within this small, intimate moment, everything has changed.
All too soon their kisses slow and stop, but they don't move apart, and Edward can feel her smile as her lips move against his. One of her hands is pressing against his spine and the other is wrapped around his shoulder. He slides his hands down to her waist, feeling her tremble beneath his touch and knowing it's not from fear.
That she is just as excited and enthralled by this as he is.
She sighs, backing up a few inches and placing her hands on his biceps, but not letting go. He stares down at her with a certain trepidation, like she may disappear again at any moment.
"This feels like a dream," she whispers, looking up at him with shining eyes.
He caresses her face, smiling when she leans into his touch. "Then I hope to never wake." Leaning down once more, he presses his lips to hers for one more moment, knowing their peace will not last, that his duties call to him.
I'sabel straightens as he leans back. "You must go."
"I don't want to, but yes, I must."
"Your people need you."
Edward holds her body to his, his arms seemingly unable to release her. "Yes, but I need you."
"I'm not going anywhere. And the Ainmhithe will need me as well."
Edward cringes slightly as he recalls her promises to him before, but so much has been acknowledged between them now. This time he knows she will keep her word. "Duty always calls, doesn't it?"
"As Protector you have a great responsibility to your realm." She steps back and lifts her hand to her heart and then touches his chest. "As your mate, I will help you in any way I can."
"That gesture, you did that with Anj'la at the camp. What does it mean?"
"I sometimes forget that your vampire eyes miss nothing." She sighs. "It's a sign of love and respect. Anj'la and I are very close, and we would do anything for each other."
Edward gazes at I'sabel, another piece of the puzzle falling into place. "You sent for Anj'la during the night. You gave her the medallion and the scroll."
She nods, her shoulders sagging. "I didn't know the way the Council would vote, but I had my suspicions that their anger and prejudices ran deep, so it was a precaution I took. If I was wrong, then she would have just returned it to me. But I was not wrong."
The last vestiges of any worries he had about her slip away as she reveals her plan. "You kept your word to me. You risked yourself to help my people."
"Even though you were unaware, I couldn't have left my mate defenseless."
"But you also couldn't walk away from your tribe."
The pain in her eyes is evident, and Edward regrets the words as soon as they leave his mouth. But they are the truth. She chose them over him.
She takes a deep breath as if to steel herself. "I was confused, and I didn't know what I was giving up, not truly. When you were forced to leave the village, I was... detained. When I finally awoke, they said it was for my own good."
He can't stop the growl in his throat or the way his fingers tighten into fists. "They hurt you?"
"You have to understand, Edward. They thought they were protecting me from your mind games. They told me that if you were truly mine, no matter the obstacles, you would return to me."
Edward feels as though the wind has been knocked out of him. How could he have believed that I'sabel would break her word so easily? He realizes that they both had been victims of their own prejudices and beliefs, ones that have been fostered by those they loved and trusted.
From now on, he will make an effort to share his thoughts with her, even if they seem inconsequential, and they will face their problems as one. "Now we're both here together, and nothing, no age-old prejudices or the will of your father, will keep me away from you."
I'sabel smiles at him and gives him a small kiss on the cheek before turning toward the stairs, toward their responsibilities. She grasps his hand and interlaces their fingers. "Come, Protector. Let's set things to rights."
