Good Morning, Little Ones! Okay, not morning for those of us on the West Coast of the United States, but I just couldn't wait a moment past midnight to post this!

I know there are so many questions, but keep in mind: Fae cannot lie.

Okay, with that... dive in!

Thank you to Mel, Jill, and Dani!

.: 49 :.

I am nothing and everything all at once.

I exist, beyond any measure of time, beyond any plane of existence. I have become eternity.

It's peaceful, to exist in this place beyond. Quiet and tranquil. I know all that is and was and will be, and none of it matters.

Little One.

The words float through me, and in my heightened state, I feel their energy, bright and pure and warm. They are passion and exasperation and envy and pride. They are love.

Those words build universes all their own, blossoming new life wherever they can.

Little One.

Words have power, and these words hold more power than most. They speak of things lost and found, of promises not yet fulfilled. They speak of hopes and dreams and faith where once faithless. These words have changed the course of the universe herself.

Little One.

They are a call, beckoning, and before the last shreds of my consciousness slip away, those words take root in me.

It is painful, coming back together after unraveling apart, like forcing a planet through a straw. The crushing weight of being pulled back will kill me; I know it will. Those words have beckoned me from everything and nothing, and now, they will be my end.

Souls are the inverse of stars. A great everything is compacted, pressed, and packaged into a tiny, frail body, and somehow, we exist in this restricted form, when by all reason, we should be constantly exploding out.

Souls are the purest miracles the universe has managed.

My soul crushes in on itself, and when it finds my body, there is a moment, fleeting but true, where I still see everything. In that single moment, I see Edward, his eyes wide, silver glint, flashing in his fear as he hovers over me. I see him, and I know.

Sálufélagi. My soul sees his and they know each other, beyond this lifetime, beyond all lifetimes. We are one.

His words are whispering into my soul, anchoring me once again to this body, to this moment in time. My hand reaches up to his face, and when our skin touches, I'm lit aflame, bright and hot and hungry.

"I'm sorry, Little One," he murmurs, his eyes heavy with sorrow. But I understand now. I know. And there is no need for tears.

I try to tell him, but his fear and heartbreak is clouding his mind. He doesn't see it's so simple.

"I found you," I choke out, my voice rasping as if I haven't spoken in a thousand years. "I've found you."

He smiles, but it's a sad smile, full of heartache. "Yes, Little One. You found me."

I tug him toward me, needing him to understand, but before I can get him close enough, he's being yanked out of my arms. The world is dark without his light above me, and I blink, moving slowly. I feel like a thousand pounds, and every movement is agony. Someone is speaking, but I can't focus on anything but my own pain.

I manage to sit up, and it takes me a minute to realize I'm on the floor in the middle of the throne room. The Hazel King and the Viper Queen stand before me, both impossible to read, and glaring at me. It takes me another moment to realize they aren't angry; they are afraid.

The room around me looks like a bomb had been detonated, and I sit in the crater of it. I don't know what happened, or how it happened, but it doesn't matter.

"Kill her." The Hazel King speaks with a shaky voice, and my eyes meet his. He flinches from my gaze. "Kill her now! Complete the sacrifice!"

I hear his panic, but it doesn't worry me. I look around the room. The Viper Queen is gazing at me in horror and fear, and I drink that fear in like it's the sweetest of honey wines.

"Why so frightened, Little Lamb?" I ask her.

She stumbles back, tripping over her gown and falling to the ground. She catches herself, shifting to her knees.

"P-please," she cries, her hands shaking. Her serpents are gone—vaporized in my power—and my eyes focus on the ruby at her neck.

"You have something that belongs to me."

She looks up at me, then her hand flies to her throat. Even when her life is under threat, she is hesitant to part with it.

When I move, it's faster than thought. I'm beside her instantaneously, pulling the knife from its sheath at my waist. I grip her fiery red hair, yank her head back, and slit her throat. Her cry dies on her tongue as her blood rushes forth. Another slice of the knife, and her head is removed from her body. I let it tumble to the floor as I stoop to gather the necklace from the quickly pooling blood. It warms in my palms when I touch it, and a feeling like coming home washes over me. I look up, and for some reason, I'm unsurprised to see the old witch standing on the edge of the room. No one else seems to see her, but it doesn't matter. I know she's here for me.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Her eyes linger on the blood coating my palms, and I hold the necklace out to her, the ruby flashing brightly.

"Yes," I tell her.

Her eyes lift to mine. She looks the same as she did in my visions, though I sense a heaviness around her that fills the room.

"You've seen the truth," she says, her eyes fixed on mine. Perhaps she can still see the eternity lingering there.

"I have," I acknowledge.

She tilts her head to look around the room. Everyone else is frozen, and I don't know if she's somehow cast a spell upon them all, or if we are simply speaking in a moment outside of time.

"You know my story?" she asks, her eyes flickering back to me.

My jaw tightens. "Yes."

Her eyes move from my face. "So you've seen the horrors I've done."

I take a deep breath, then another. "I saw the mistakes you made," I say slowly. I want to be furious with her, rage at her foolishness, but even I know there is more to her story than what has been shown on the surface. I sense her energy and magic and the blood shared between us.

"You have plenty of mistakes ahead of you," she says, shifting on her feet and meeting my eyes again.

I swallow hard.

"No. I won't. Not now that I'm awake."

Her smile is thin and fleeting. "You can't stay this way."

At this I pause.

"Your journey is only beginning," she murmurs. "Bella has only begun."

I take a careful breath. "Why?"

"Because you are cursed."

My heart stutters in my chest. "Cursed?" The word is heavy on my tongue, my mind reeling with the implications. "How? Who did this to me?"

She shakes her head before I'm even done speaking.

"Not even I know the answer to that."

"What must I do?"

Her sad eyes flicker to Edward.

"Thrice reborn will you appear," she murmurs. "Three chances to find him." She pauses, glancing at me. "Three chances to discover the truth."

I shake my head. "But I know now. I found him!"

She tilts her head. "The curse you are under is greater than any magic I know of," she says, softly.

"I can't lose him again."

"It won't be long until you find him again," she offers. "Not even the stars above could keep you from him."

I swallow hard. "Will I remember?"

She smiles sadly. "No."

My heart constricts. "I need more time with him."

She reaches out, one hand stroking his shoulders, and I swear I feel her touch as well. "You'll have it."

"But not like this!" I shout, tears burning my eyes. She looks at me.

"We are never who we were."

Anger swells in me, and she turns her gaze on me. "Take heart. Yours is a love that will rewrite the stars again and again."

I open my mouth to speak, but with a smile at me, she disappears, leaving me feeling hollow. The moment she's gone, the room surges back to life, everyone reacting to the violent death the Viper Queen has suffered.

"Bella!"

It's the third time he's said this name, and I look up at him. I love him with a love that is more than love, and now I must do what that old witch never could. She sacrificed her child to free her love, but she didn't understand. Sacrifice is not a punishment, nor is it a price to be wagered. Sacrifice is a gift, and it's a gift I give now, willingly.

"Kill her now!"

I feel the Hazel King's command, and I know he's calling upon the bonds of fealty. Edward steps toward me, his eyes wide, terrified as his body begins to betray him. I don't flee; instead, I step toward him.

"Run," he whispers to me, his eyes pleading.

"I release you," I whisper, taking another step toward him.

"Little One, please," he begs.

"With the power of your true name," I murmur, stepping toward him again. He's fighting against his body, knowing that as soon as he's close enough, he'll try to kill me.

"You don't know my true name." He cries, his voice frantic.

I smile.

"I sacrifice a love beyond all love," I murmur, taking the final step toward him. I'm in his range now, and he reaches for me.

"Little One." He groans. His hands fist my shoulders, and I feel him fighting himself, even as his hands inch toward my knife.

"I'll find you again, my Love," I whisper.

His fingers grip the blade in my hands, and I feel it slicing into my belly just as I whisper into his ear the only word that has ever mattered.

His eyes go wide, and he staggers back, falling to his knees as the power of his true name overcomes him. I can hear the Hazel King screaming, screeching something, but it doesn't matter, because he knows. Edward knows who he is now, and that knowledge burns in his gaze when he meets my eyes.

"I'll find you again," I whisper, falling to my knees in front of him. The Hazel King moves, and I see his sword swinging above his head. It glints in the air, shining bright before it comes down on Edward.

My scream is lost to time and space as this life ends.

Okay, hit me with it, but keep in mind there is an epilogue tomorrow.

Also, if you're part of my FB group, make sure to tune in tomorrow for some major news and updates!