Author's Note: This chapter has some bloody parts, not very descriptive or anything, just a warning.

Ellie

I was going to die. But it had worked. Liam was safe, and Bella was alive. I was going to die. But I was going to die happy.

The shapeshifter's paw slammed into me, sending me into a tree. There was a crack. It felt like one of my ribs. But the pain wasn't awful. It was already healing. One of the beauties of being Fey. I wondered briefly if jumping off a cliff would actually kill me, or just make a mess. I decided that it depended on how high the cliff was.

Instead of attacking me again, the shapeshifter turned to Bella. Why? Why couldn't he just kill me? I knew that he, at least, would do it quickly.

Several of the vampyrs were moving towards me. No. I was not going to die like that. I was not going to die drained of blood. Of all the stupid ways to go…

I shifted my stance, getting ready to fight. The vampyr who had tried to talk me out of hurting Bella was in front, with his hands raised in front of him.

"We aren't going to hurt you." By the Nine Fires, why was my life so hard? Why couldn't these people just react like normal people? If someone had even pretended to kill Ryan-

No. I would not think of him. I would die on my feet, and maybe take someone with me. Maybe the stupid mind reading vampyr. The world would be better off without a vampyr, especially a mind reading one.

"Carlisle, I don't think she's going to listen to anything you say." The mind reading vampyr was extremely annoying. Didn't he have anything better to do than read my mind? On second thought,-

No. I was getting distracted.

"Stay out of my head." I began to walk towards the vampyrs. If I could just get the mind reading one. I thought of Dai and Ira, my thirteen year old self watching in awe as they dispatched an Earthen with such grace and speed, that even among the Dark Elite, arguably the best fighters on the planet, there were gasps of awe.

I snorted. I had at least one broken rib, my ankle was still sore, and there were bruises under my eyes from lack of sleep. I had lost at least ten pounds in the past few months, and I couldn't remember when my last meal was. Saying I wasn't in top form was an understatement. A vicious bunny rabbit might pose a threat at this point.

"We just want to understand." The vampyr moved closer to me. My knives were somewhere, probably being inspected by a curious vampyr or shapeshifter. Forget the bunny rabbit, a mosquito with a vendetta would do the job.

"I don't think there's anything to understand. I think you'd need a heart." Why was I running my mouth? Couldn't I ever shut up? And why was I making comments about their species? I knew that those ones hurt the most, especially when they were based in fact. I sent a message to my mouth to shut up. "And you'd need to know the word 'loyalty'."

Was I suicidal? I didn't think so, but my mouth was going to get me killed in a messier way than needed. The big vampyr, the one that looked like he could lift a mountain and not be inconvenienced in the least, laughed.

"I like her."

"Of course you would, Emmett." I hadn't noticed this vampyr until now. He had blond hair, and enough scars up and down his arms to suggest that he was either stupid, or the most dangerous person here. I tried to focus on him, but my attention kept slipping. My mood had gone from violent to amiable.

Wait. I pushed, and my violent mood was back. He was manipulating my emotions! Nine Fires, why couldn't I catch a break? I concentrated, and finally, I could focus. I noticed a small vampyr with spiky black hair. She was standing next to Bella. There were a few more shapeshifters than I had previously thought. I scowled.

"That goes for you as well." I was well and truly annoyed. According to the legends, vampyrs were deadly enough without magic to boot. They were one of two things that had frightened Ryan. My mind stopped, and I wanted to scream. I couldn't see the people in front of me, all I could see was a mangled body, and blood, so much blood. I wanted to stop breathing, stop smelling his heart's blood on the stone floor, but my lungs were pumping air. There wasn't any air. All there was in the room was the smell Ryan's heart's blood, and the sight of his mangled body.

Something slammed into my stomach, feeling like a brick wall. I was blank, my emotions on lockdown. I wasn't going to move, wasn't going to talk, wasn't going to think. I didn't trust my own mind.