A/N for 2020-02-28: I am so very pleased to offer up this chapter to you. Much of it is the fruit of Eeyorefan12's fine ideas. Many, many thanks to her for being so kind with sharing her inspiration and words. Many thanks as well to Chayasara for correcting my many punctuation errors and suggesting better words and phrasing. I'm grateful to have such sharp minds working on this story.

There will be at least one more chapter for this story, and maybe one more after that. Until then, happy reading!

Erin

The bitter smell of burnt vampire bodies was thick in the night air. Demetri scanned Volterra's twisting streets for clues, doubtful he would find any but alert. When the Volturi wrought justice, it was not always unopposed. It was wise to watch for vengeful mates and coven members.

"Someone's been busy." Jane sounded disappointed. She liked to watch the punishments and burnings.

Beside her in the car, Alec hummed his agreement. He liked Aro's punitive pyres, too. Of course, such large conflagrations with witnesses present were rare. Most remains were unceremoniously disposed of in the basement incinerator.

Demetri relished their displeasure, a small smirk on his lips. He enjoyed Jane's annoyance especially. She was too often indulged by Aro, and it showed. Perhaps her place as a favourite was slipping a little now that Bella had demonstrated her power. He would see her soon, and the thought thrilled him. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel in anticipation. They were returning with an efficient success behind them. Victoria and her remaining soldiers were no more. Their success rested largely on his own gifts, and he hoped Aro's approval would settle on his shoulders too.

Rounding the corner to the narrow ramp into the parking garage, Demetri punched in the code to open the door. The gate lifted, and the smell intensified, bringing with it a rancorous and rotten odour.

"Ugh, what is that?" Jane stopped breathing.

Alec looked like he wanted to do the same. Felix, dull mass of muscle that he was, said nothing. Demetri mostly hid his revulsion though his nose seemed to wrinkle of its own accord.

"What is the source of that disgusting scent?" Jane demanded of the brown-clad member of the Lower Order who'd scurried over to take their bags.

"Humans," he said softly, his eyes appropriately downcast.

"Really?" Alec's voice registered excitement.

"You're expected in the throne room," the man added.

"Obviously," Jane muttered. It was standard procedure to report to the trio of leaders first. All other business came second.

"Their Eminences are busy in the library." The quiet man's head remained bowed, likely attempting to avoid Jane's notice. "They wish you to wait for them."

Jane frowned. "Have my things cleaned quickly—after that smell is dealt with." As she walked towards the elevator, she did not bother to look back to see if the man heard her.

The others followed, Demetri trailing behind, trying to pinpoint the source of his uneasiness. Nothing was overtly wrong, at least beyond that smell—God, it was horrific. How were the other guard members tolerating it? And why? Any human that smelled so unappealing should be disposed of forthwith.

Returning his thoughts to preferable topics, he wondered how their success would be rewarded. Perhaps Aro would permit him more time with Bella. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Marcus's pronouncement of Bella's supposed bond with Edward seemed to carry significant weight with Aro.

But no matter, he thought. All things in good time, and time was something he had in infinite measure.

As the elevator doors opened, the repugnant smell only intensified.

"Eww," Alec muttered.

There were other scents that Demetri picked up, two or three of them unexpectedly familiar, and these—especially one in particular—made him growl.

Jane recognized Edward's scent, too, laughing at Demetri. "Aw, poor Demetri. Does the competition intimidate you?"

He ignored her as they glided towards the throne room, their steps slowing marginally. It was difficult to make himself keep moving, so repugnant was the odour emanating from their destination. He ignored the many new scents of unfamiliar vampires. He suspected that they were no more than ash, given the cloying odour in the hall. Why the bodies hadn't been disposed of in the furnace, he had no idea. Perhaps Caius had convinced Aro to return to the old ways when the guilty were incinerated directly after judgment was passed. He wondered what the lawbreakers had done.

Letting Jane and Alec take the lead, he watched them push open the doors and then pause.

A trio of shaking humans faced them. None of the other guards were present. A few of the Lower Order stood behind the thrones in the formation used for official meetings. It was most unusual. Something was afoot.

"What is this?" Alec whispered to Jane.

But she was too busy hissing at the three frightened people, laughing as the woman shrieked.

Demetri chuckled, too, and then stopped when he found himself suddenly surrounded by moving bodies falling from above.

- 0 -

The Cullens had planned for every contingency they could envision. Bella knew they had no reason to fear the handful of additional guard members that the elite few might still have with them because their own numbers were so strong and their battle strategy solid. As long as their enemy entered the throne room at the right time and everyone stuck to the plan, Alice saw a good outcome. What she had not been able to foretell was that a previously unknown variable would change everything.

From the moment Jasper gave the signal and Bella dropped from her perch with the others, she focused only on her assigned task, which was to get to Demetri as quickly as possible. She glanced to the side to assure herself that Eleazar and Tanya were on the same trajectory before returning her attention to her target. Behind her, she both heard and felt the moment that the Quileutes burst into their wolf forms, with Jacob and Leah heading to join Jasper and Alice in taking Alec down. Once that was done, a victory was all but assured. Jane's gift was powerful but was limited to only one victim at a time. The other Denali sisters were confident that they could get to her without her harming anyone for more than a moment. Getting to Alec was the key.

The rest of their contingent was already engaging the handful of guard members who had returned with Jane and her gifted companions. The Lower Order had remained near the thrones to serve as additional decoys, but now they headed for the fray, Chelsea among them. Bella knew the moment that Demetri realized that she was coming after him. He widened his eyes momentarily, then narrowed them to match the calculating expression on his face. Seeing this only served to strengthen Bella's determination to reach him. She dodged another of the guard as she flew past. Almost there. She heard Edward's voice nearby, feeding information about Felix's intentions to Emmett, Rose, and Seth as the four of them took on the fiercest of the Volturi fighters.

Bella and Eleazar reached Demetri at nearly the same time. While she hurled herself at his midsection, Eleazar launched himself over her head and closed his hands around Demetri's neck. The three of them crashed to the floor just as a piercing scream filled the air.

Bella knew that Jane would have time to use her talent even when under attack, so the screams were not unexpected. Still, she instinctively turned her head to locate the source. Although Jacob was not one of Jane's attackers, she must have seen that he was part of the force going for Alec, who remained untouched, his arms extended. Jane stared at Jacob, who writhed and howled on the floor. Bella watched with growing horror as Leah fell to the floor near Jasper and Alice, her paws and hindlegs twitching in agony. From across the room, she could hear Seth yelping in pain. Her insides turned to ice when Edward shouted the words that both explained and predicted their doom.

"The pack mind!"

And then, everything went still.

For the second time in as many weeks, Bella found herself in Felix's grip, only not so gently as before. His one arm held hers in place, and his other held her head in a way could easily become deadly.

"Werewolves," Jane hissed.

"And traitors," added Alec.

Bella had never witnessed Alec use his gift before, and now that she realized what had happened, she fully understood why Jasper had insisted they eliminate him first. Even though Edward had described Alec's power to her, it was stunning to see everyone rendered powerless. Those still on their feet stood like statues, their eyes moving but clearly not seeing and their limbs hanging at their sides as if they were afraid to move them. As Jasper had explained it, they had the ability to move, but they'd be more likely to kill each other than anyone else without their senses available to them.

Though the Cullens and Denalis had moved like lightning with their synchronized attack, none of them had ever imagined that Jane would be able to take on more than one of them or that the pack mind would become a liability. Their failure to consider it had been a costly mistake, one that had clearly provided Alec the extra seconds necessary for his "fog" to incapacitate them. As it had spread rapidly through the room, everyone but Bella had stopped moving, even the other Volturi guard involved in the battle. At the last moment, Felix had lurched away from Emmett's hold to avoid the creeping effect. When he saw that Bella was still aware and watching him, he had retrieved her quickly, using his brute force to drag her with him. She knew that Edward had been one of Felix's opponents, and she tried to find him now but was unable to turn her head, immobilized as it was in her captor's grasp.

If she'd had the ability to move and hadn't thought it might imperil her further, she would have spat on Demetri, who lay immobile under Eleazar. The Denali male had been a moment away from helping to end Demetri's life, and with Eleazar's hands still curled tightly around his neck, her nemesis probably didn't dare move even if he were able to reason out where to go.

"Get Demetri, Alec," Jane commanded.

Alec moved towards him, uncurling Eleazar's fingers and yanking Demetri out from under his weight before leading him to Jane's side. Bella wasn't sure how temporary Alec's gift might be, but it appeared that it was still completely under his control.

Freed of Alec's influence, Demetri scanned the room, taking in the unmoving bodies and then directing his glare to Bella.

"Where's Aro?" he demanded.

Bella did not reply.

"Where. Is. Aro?" Jane's anger was almost palpable.

The truth would only enrage them further, and things were bad enough. Bella remained silent as she considered her situation

"Fine. We've played this game before. We can play it again. Kill one of them, Demetri." Jane looked towards the Cullens.

"With pleasure."

But Demetri didn't move to the Cullens. He walked towards the members of the Lower Order, who hadn't quite reached the battle but, like the Cullens, were senseless and still.

"You seem to favour my servant more than me," Demetri said. He yanked an unresisting Erastus towards himself by the hair, putting his lips to her friend's neck.

No!

"They're dead!" Bella blurted out, hoping to forestall Demetri. "They're all dead and burned."

Demetri let Erastus go, shoving him back into the small semicircle.

Bella watched as anger distorted Jane's face, a frown warping the young vampire's lips into something sinister. "Even the guard?" Her eyes moved to Chelsea's inert body, standing beside the Cullens.

"All of them," Bella said firmly. She could at least make it clear that there would be no one else coming, no matter what happened now.

Jane scanned the entirety of the room. "All of them," she repeated softly. For a brief moment, Bella thought she saw something like sorrow in Jane's expression as she continued, like a lost child, to let her gaze drift around the throne room. The moment was short lived. Jane straightened her shoulders suddenly as if she had come to some decision.

"The penalty for their treachery is death," Jane pronounced. "Demetri, kill them all. And you will begin with your would-be mate."

"No." Demetri's voice was firm as he eyed Bella. "Not her. She's my price for helping you."

Bella's stomach became a block of ice.

Jane huffed a breath in and out. "A wasted price, a woman who hates you, but as you wish."

"It is only a matter of time before that changes," Demetri said as he walked towards Bella.

She tried to flinch away when he ran his fingers down her cheek but was prevented by Felix's iron grip.

"Any vampire's will can be bent in time—we've proven that for centuries." As Demetri pulled his hand away, he glowered at the small number of the Lower Order. "They've helped them, certainly."

"Obviously." Jane looked to the Cullens and the Denalis. "But our former servants are far less likely to kill us where we stand, and we may have need of them later. Get on with it. Then finish the wolves. Alec and I will make sure no one resists."

Bella was frozen in place even though Felix had loosened his hold enough for her to watch the proceedings. Warned against any further struggle by Felix's strength, she watched as Demetri walked towards his first target: Edward. Demetri turned his head to her and smiled. Of course he would begin with her mate. He wanted her to be forced to watch.

No, she thought. No. This is not happening.

She'd been able to protect Erastus before. She'd protected Marcus from Jane. She'd been able to expand her shield as she walked through the halls. Why wasn't it working now?

With Edward's back already to her, Demetri grasped him by the hair but did not turn him. "Would you like to say goodbye?" Demetri asked her. His tone was artificially civil.

She nodded. She would agree to anything to give herself time to try to rescue Edward. She willed her arms to bubble, for that second skin to lift itself and spread and protect her family.

Nothing.

Demetri tightened his grip. "Quickly, my Bella."

As it always did, the endearment made her boil with rage. She welcomed the feeling, waiting for her gift to manifest itself and free her mate.

Still nothing.

She felt the panic as it rose up within her. Was this it? Was this the way her world ended?

In the centre of the room, Jane prowled around the Quileutes, still in their wolf forms. The childlike vampire was inspecting the massive bodies. "I see no reason why beheading them will not work." She almost seemed to be speaking to herself. "They're made of flesh. We'll burn them to be certain."

Had they come all this way to fail? A voice inside Bella was screaming No, no, no! Her gift remained dormant, protecting only her. She was useless. Useless! Panic, rage, frustration, and shame—she was consumed by them all.

But as she looked at Edward, still held in place by Demetri, she watched in astonishment as he moved his body under his own power, slowly angling himself in Bella's direction. As he lifted his head and faced her, she was struck by the realization that he could still see her, even if his own eyes could not. Alec may have taken Edward's senses, but he could not keep him from reading the minds around him; he could still see and hear Bella through the eyes and ears of their enemies. Even though he might be aware that his life was about to end, he'd elected to turn to her, to make sure that she was the last thing he faced in this world. She was as sure of this as she was of the reason for his choice; it was love.

The thought overwhelmed her. If this was the end to her very short second life—because there was no way she would continue without Edward—then this was the end. She loved him, too, with everything she had. Even though she believed deep down that she'd never been good enough for Edward's unwavering devotion, she loved him. He'd been right to want to keep her human and to try, sometimes unwisely, to protect her from this nightmarish world, but her foolhardiness had led them all here, to die when they had been so close to success. She had been offered the world, and what had she given in return? What could she give even now?

She wondered if Edward had heard her somehow. Although his eyes were unfocused, they were fixed on her. Stunned, she watched as his lips moved, silently forming the words, "I love you." Then he smiled his endearing, ridiculously lop-sided smile, and all the guilt she'd insisted on hanging onto dropped away.

"I love you," she whispered back to him, for he had given her the answer she sought. Clearly, there was nothing to forgive for him, no sins for her to atone for. There was nothing left here at the end of everything but the love they shared. Freed of her perceived transgressions and useless self-blame, the shackles of her uncertainty fell away, and she fixed her gaze on Edward's, willing her thoughts to reach him so that in his last sentient moment he would know what she felt for him—how deeply she loved him.

The sound of Jane shrieking broke her from her reverie. A whirl of motion in front of her caught her eye.

Edward had ducked out of Demetri's grasp and was speeding towards her.

Felix's grip tightened, and Bella was forced to move backwards with him as he shuffled toward the door. Edward threw himself at Felix's shoulder, bringing all three of them to the floor. Bella jerked herself free and flipped over to help Edward pin Felix. She inwardly cheered Edward on as his teeth tore into the man's neck, and together both her mate's hands and her own wrenched Felix's head from his shoulders.

Jacob's panicked howling drew her attention next, and she realized she had dropped her shield at a crucial moment. The wolves were no longer protected. Jane stood at the far end of the room, again focusing her stare on the large wolf. In the space between Jane and Bella, Alec's body lay in pieces. Tanya, Rose, and Esme stood over him, looking fierce and triumphant.

Emmett and Jasper each had a hold on Demetri. Alice sat on his shoulders with her arms wrapped around his head. If she hadn't been snarling, the positioning would have looked like a comical party game.

Focusing, Bella thought of Jacob and how much she loved her friend. She imagined her protection spreading over his body and Seth's and Leah's. The howling stopped. Opening her eyes, she focused again, using the same technique to cloak everyone in the room except for Demetri and Jane. Without her gift, Jane's size and relative lack of fighting experience made her as helpless as a kitten. It became apparent that Bella was not alone in this realization, because Jane had snatched Erastus, whipping him around so that he leaned awkwardly back against her, her teeth at his neck.

Demetri was completely subdued and had tilted his head to the side in a gesture of surrender, at least for the moment. Alice left her perch on his shoulders and dropped to her feet beside him. Emmett and Jasper did not loosen their holds. The few remaining Volturi guard in the room had not resumed fighting, looking instead for guidance that was not forthcoming.

"We'll let you go, Jane," Carlisle said, watching her carefully as he approached, "if you leave without harming anyone."

What?

"No!" Edward's voice was a low growl.

Bella whipped her head towards Carlisle, catching her own attention just in time before it slipped and left them unprotected again.

"Is this the same deal you offered my brother?" Jane asked, her voice shrill with anger.

Bella watched the woman's hands tighten on Erastus's head. She willed her power to do more than just protect him from Jane's gift, knowing it was pointless but desperate to save her friend.

"She is at our mercy, Edward." Carlisle said.

"She has a hostage." Edward's gaze was locked on Jane. "She also has no intention of surrendering to us. There is no need to offer any quarter."

"By rights, as the last remaining member of the ruling class, everything has been left to me." Jane's tone was only slightly less autocratic than before as she appealed to Carlisle. "It should all be mine."

"Ours," Demetri said, putting strong emphasis on the word. Bella realized that only Emmett stood watch over him now and that Jasper and Alice were sidling closer to Jane and Erastus.

Jane spared Demetri a look. "You would be useful, certainly, Demetri, so long as you are afforded the same offer by our . . . subduers." She returned her gaze to Carlisle. "Is he?"

Edward growled again.

"Demetri's fate has not yet been determined, " Carlisle said, not directly contradicting his son's sentiment.

The wolves were also inching closer and closer to Jane, tightening the circle of threats.

Jane hissed at them, her teeth still perilously close to Erastus' throat. It was clear, as Edward had already informed them, that she had no intention of conceding.

"Enough." Eleazar started toward Jane. "Release your hostage, Jane, or we will not negotiate further."

Bella wasn't sure if it was Eleazar's words, Jasper and Alice's approach, or the wolves moving ever closer that caused the misstep, but Jane suddenly shifted her grasp on Erastus, giving him an opportunity to break free. In desperation, Jane lunged again for her hostage, but Alice and Jasper were suddenly on her, wrestling her onto her knees before the two of them fiercely ripped her apart. Bella saw a member of the Lower Order hurry forward carrying a lighter and realized that it was Jane's former servant.

As everyone's focus was on Jane's destruction, a commotion from where Emmett stood with Demetri made Bella startle. Whipping her head in their direction, she saw Demetri heading her way. "If you will not be mine, you will not be anyone's!" Demetri growled and lunged for her. He was only a fraction of a second away, his clawed hands about to close around her neck, when the velocity of Erastus's body hurtled into him, the two of them landing several feet away and giving Bella the moment she needed to regroup.

She watched in horror as Demetri smacked Erastus to the floor and brought his mouth to the man's neck. She didn't know who was screaming, "No!" She only knew that she was running towards Demetri, trying to understand how Erastus's head could be so far from his body. At the same moment, she spotted Emmett coming from another direction, clearly heading for the same target. She was only dimly aware of Edward flashing past her, intercepting his brother and clearing her path as she sped forward, unable to think of anything but that this monster, who had made her life a living hell for so long, had just destroyed her gentle and beloved friend.

Flying at Demetri, she landed on his back, her teeth crunching into his foul neck and ripping it open. Again and again she tore at his flesh while he screamed in pain and frustration, and with each bite, her mind flicked through the cinematic horror show that had been Demetri's treatment of her, Edward, and Erastus. Her prey was helpless to counter her frenzied actions, fueled as they were by her newborn strength and months of suppressed rage. She continued her frenzied assault on his body even after she had detached his head, tearing and biting until no limb remained attached to his torso. When she had finished shredding the remnants, she stood over her handiwork and growled, looking around her for a new challenge, another creature upon which to wreak her vengeance.

Her awareness of Edward's presence rose slowly, increasing as her rage faded like a receding tide.

"It's all right, Bella," Edward said, his tone soothing and soft. "It's over. They're all gone."

She swept her gaze over the room, verifying Edward's words for herself. She saw the members of her new family, their friends and hers, all some distance away, all unmoving and looking at her with wary eyes. The only exceptions to this were her brothers, who both wore approving smiles.

"They're gone," she repeated.

"We're safe." Edward stepped closer, carefully easing himself to her side.

"Safe." She repeated this word also. It was as if pieces of herself were coming back together, as if she'd split apart in the act of destroying Demetri. He had broken her before, and it felt as if he had done it once again. Forcing herself to look back at the pieces of Demetri's body, she whispered, "I did that."

"Yes, you did." Edward's tone suggested he was much prouder of her than she felt at the moment.

The peace that she'd thought would come with Demetri's destruction was nowhere to be found. In its place was the horror of the deaths of so many she had once called friends.

Edward finally reached for her, and she went willingly into his arms as he pulled her close. "It's all right." He laid a kiss against her hair.

It was not all right.

But the man she loved was holding her, and they were both alive, and she could begin there.

DISCLAIMER: S. Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended. But gosh I'm grateful I get to borrow all these characters so often :-)