Playlist:

Meg Myers – Jealous Sea

Pardison Fontaine; Cardi B - Backin' It Up (feat. Cardi B)

BLACKPINK – Pretty Savage

Panic! At the Disco – The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty

Lupe Fiasco, Guy Sebastian – Battle Scars

Iggy Azalea, Rita Ora - Black Widow

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the words. Stephanie Meyer owns the Twilight series, and the songs belong to their respective people.

Jealous Sea

Edward had gone to the Library that night and pulled every text he could find on Fae relationships. There were frustratingly few guidelines on how Fae loved one another. The Choosing ceremony seemed to be the only societal expectation, and because those relationships weren't always romantic, that didn't even help much.

He purposely missed breakfast, but when afternoon came, he stalked into the attic determined to sleuth through Bella's home and find out all he could about Bella's relationship with these two others. When he walked up the stairs to the kitchen, he saw Bella. She looked exhausted; Lizzie was crying on her shoulder.

"- She just doesn't know how to touch you, Lizzie. She's afraid of hurting you. Talk to Alex about it. Put a few drinks in her and you'll see. You can conquer this. You both can."

Edward met Bella's eyes and felt the ice around his heart thaw just a bit. Maybe Alex and Lizzie could solve their problems, but could he and Bella? He didn't want to live without her.

When Lizzie noticed him, she stood straight and wiped her tears away. "Oh, I'm sorry. You guys must want some time together, I'll just go. I'll send the commander in as soon as I see him." She grabbed a stack of papers and reports from the table next to Bella, but she paused before she pulled away.

"Thank you, Bella." The kiss Lizzie dropped on Bella's cheek burned through him, setting his jealousy ablaze. Bella smiled gently at Lizzie and watched her leave. The air curdled as soon as the door closed.

"Honestly. Why do you Fae have to touch each other so much?" Bella shot him a scathing look.

"Yes, Edward. Thousands of years of Fae custom and culture conspired to make you jealous. Of Lizzie. I don't bitch when you and Alice embrace."

"Alice is my sister."

"And Lizzie is my friend."

They glared at each other fiercely until the door snapped open below them. Marcos took the stairs to the Attic two at a time, but he stopped like he had hit a brick wall when he noticed the tense atmosphere of the room.

"Uh…should I come back later?"

"No." Bella lifted her chin and stalked past him. "I'm done here for now. If you'll excuse me Edward, I'm off to fuck Marcos in a broom closet."

Marcos' face grew confused, but he did not protest as Bella gripped his arm, dragging him out the door behind her. Once she was gone, Edward cursed loudly and threw a clay pot out the French doors that led to the balcony.

He sighed and grabbed the broom, cleaning the shards off the patio before he sat down wearily, fixing his eyes on the throne platform casting three shadows over him.

Shit.

In the hall outside the attic, Bella released Marcos and leaned against the door for a moment, blowing her bangs from her face.

"So, were ya'll about to fight or fuck? I haven't walked into a room that tense in a while. I'm surprised nothing caught fire. And what was that about a broom closet?"

She rolled her eyes and started down the staircase to the second floor.

"Don't be nosy, Marcos. Edward has a jealous streak, and it's causing issues. Can we just focus on business right now? Has there been any word on Nhamo at all?"

"Not a peep. The Salem heiress has disappeared off the face of the earth. You have to know the probability of her being alive is very slim, Izz."

"I know that. I know. But Nhamo has a little girl, a family. She's fierce and her bloodline needs her. I don't understand how The Master could have gotten to her. She's not exactly easy prey. That's why I wanted her for the Core." Bella and Marcos made it to her office, and she sighed deeply as she sat at her desk. "What does her husband have to say? Ariam must be climbing the walls by now."

"Actually, he's handling it pretty well. He's requested to stay in command of his battalion."

"He wants to stay on the battlegrounds? Why?"

"If I were in his shoes, I'd find some relief in killing things."

"Yeah, but I've met Ariam. He's not a soldier. I'd think he would want time off to comfort his daughter." Faint suspicion grew in Bella's mind. She debated internally for a moment, then turned to Marcos seriously. "Marcos...how subtly can we check on Ariam? I want to know what's going through his head."

"You think he's involved somehow? Ariam has been a commander in the Core for ages, since before you or I were even born. His loyalties have never been in question before. God help us if he's gone dark side. I think half of the nobles live in his pocket."

"He's probably not involved, but it never hurts to be sure. We've got to figure out how the Master's forces keep gaining access to the compounds. Something about this whole situation stinks, Marcos. I don't like it." Bella pinched her nose briefly.

She could feel a headache coming on. God, she needed a drink. She needed something stronger than a drink, but that was a short trip down a dark road if ever she had known one.

"I'll send someone to look into it. In the meantime, you wanna talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Yeah? 'Cause I've seen that look on your face before, and usually it ended with you disappearing for days on end and me praying you didn't overdose."

"I'm just stressed, Marcos. It happens. It doesn't help that I'm wildly behind schedule today. Alexandra and I need to have a little discussion about how she's treating her Chosen."

Alice poked her head in Bella's office door, knocking cheerily. Marcos held up a hand to stop her before she could speak and rested his hand on Bella's cheek affectionately.

"Then let me help. Come to the club tonight. You can bring Alexandra, talk to her about the Lizzie stuff. Hell, bring the vampyr if you want. You need to blow off some steam or you're gonna implode. Come on, how long has it been since you've had some fun? Let's go dancing. Real dancing, not that fancy ballroom crap you royals do."

"Marcos, I've got to-"

"A party? Bella, I want to go to a party! Pleeeeaaaasse?" Alice was bouncing in the doorway now, turning on the puppy eyes.

Bella took one look and laughed helplessly. She succumbed to Alice's eyes and Marcos' warm hand, already rearranging her schedule in her head. "Well then, dear Alice, a party you shall have! Just turn those off before someone gets hurt. I suppose we could use a break. Besides, I won't get any sleep tonight anyway. I'll have Jo keep me posted. Marcos, tell Kaedra she's coming too. Queen's orders. She's been just as stressed as me lately, dealing with all the other battle reports while I'm focused on Nhamo."

"I have to go pick my outfit! No one else is coming, right? I want my Bella-time!"

"Only if you promise not to tell Edward where we're going."

"Deal!"

Marcos clapped his hands together gleefully. "Oh, this is gonna be fun."

Edward was stewing in the Attic when the steward arrived, staring at the photo of his Bella embracing Fiore and Adeline over the desk in her old room, focused on the golden eyes of his lover. He had the secret well of the desk open, all of the pieces of Bella he didn't know scattered like shards of glass around him. The mirror shard was still missing.

"Sir." The steward held out a clean suit on a hanger, clicking his heels together. "The commander has a message for you."

Edward's eyebrows shot to his hairline. Marcos had a message for him? Was Bella okay?

"What is it?"

"The commander invites you to his club for the evening, sir. Formal dress code. He said to tell you to come and meet his Izzy."

"What?"

"I'm sure I don't know, sir."

The man hung the suit in the doorway and bowed again, leaving as quickly as he had come.

Well.

It'd be a shame to waste such a nice suit.

He might not know this stranger with golden eyes, but he could learn. He would know his Bella. With a feral grin, Edward ran a hand through his hair. If Bella was going to a club with Marcos, Edward was going too.

Backin' It Up

When Edward came through the portal between Havana and the mortal world, Marcos, Alice, Kaedra, Alex, and Bella were just exiting the door that would take them to Marcos' club. Bella was wearing the black silk dress she had worn when they had first entered Havana, and the slinky dress distracted Edward for just a moment.

Kaedra spied him out of the corner of her eye and quickly distracted Bella before she could notice him. She waved Edward into the club, pointing at the separate bar area from behind Bella's back.

"Marcos told you that you could bring the vampyr and you chose Alice?" Kaedra spoke in a teasing voice to Bella. "You are in so much trouble when your lover gets you home."

"Nah, Alice taught me the puppy-dog trick she uses when she wants to go shopping. Right, Alice?"

Alice giggled. "We all have our little skills. I could teach you too, Kaedra."

"Oh, believe me, Kay doesn't need the help. I think she was trained in seduction from birth."

"Hey! You've done your fair share of seducing. It's that good girl vibe you give off. Boys love that shit. I notice your new boyfriend isn't lacking in the looks department."

Bella shrugged. "It's a perk."

"I'd ask if he was good in bed, but he's not jealous enough to have gotten that far."

"Was that a compliment or an insult?"

"If you do it right, it's a bit of both."

Bella glanced at Alex from under her eyelashes, noticing her friend's discomfort at the conversation. She met Alexandra's eyes. "Sex looks like whatever two people want it to. It's about trust. It's about being able to talk about it and make yourself vulnerable to another person." She turned back to Kay and stuck out her tongue. "It's not about looks!"

"Yeah, but you're still glad that Edward doesn't have a huge wart on the end of his nose." Alice chimed in, blissfully oblivious.

Kay laughed boisterously. "I could learn to like you yet, Seer."

Marcos stood up from the table they had just claimed in the crowded space. "Drinks?"

Alice grinned, taking in the room around her. The party was decadent, Fae spinning out of control as the lights strobed. They danced in front of the stage sultrily and showed off to their friends in amazing acrobatic displays. Thumping music made their eyes shine bright with aura colors, some of them eerily bright from the white powder they snorted. The sweet smell of marijuana smoke wafted thickly through the space.

"Shots." Kaedra's grin was wild. "We're getting her majesty drunk tonight, Marcos."

Alice expected Bella to object, but she just laughed. "Better get doubles. Alex always ends up challenging me to a drinking game."

"Yeah, and you always lose. What was my record last time? Fifteen?"

"Oh no. I do have stuff to do tomorrow, guys."

Bella's three Fae friends groaned loudly, but it was Alice who put her finger in Bella's face.

"No. You are going to relax tonight, Bella. No scheming, no secrets, no creepy vibes or traumatic tales. In fact, Marcos? I'm buying the first round. And the second. Get Bella something strong."

Bella rolled her eyes at Marcos, who was looking at Alice's platinum card like a starving man looks at a feast. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Remember, no -"

"Pineapple. I know." Marcos took off to the bar, finding Edward lurking in the corner. He hopped behind the counter and started mixing shots, not looking at Edward as he spoke.

"It's hard to pull one over on Izzy, lover boy. But I have my own reasons for bringing you here. You can watch all you like, but don't interfere. I don't give a rat's ass what you think of my lifestyle, but I won't have you upsetting Izz tonight. Try me, and you'll regret it. I'll deal with the consequences later."

He set the drinks on a tray and returned to the group, brushing aside the curtain with a big smile on his face. The group took the shots in rapid-fire succession, and then Alice dragged Alex to the dance floor. Kaedra turned to Bella. "So, Izz, are shots our only poison tonight? I happened to know a few dealers in the area."

"Oh? And what poisons might they be peddling, my dear regent?"

"Just the usual stuff. Nothing dangerous, you know that."

"I might be open to temptation this evening. We'll see how Alice feels about it."

"Well, cheers to that. To temptation."

Bella clinked her shot glass against Kaedra's and Marcos', shooting her commander a naughty, seductive look.

"To temptation."

Pretty Savage

Later, Bella walked over to Marcos, clutching at him with her balance slightly impaired. She grabbed the bottle out of his hand and took a large gulp. Marcos would be treating her to drinks all night to make up for his tomfoolery. How dare he sneak Edward into the club!

She was careful to give no indication she knew he was there, outwardly laughing along and ensuring her friends had a good time. Inwardly, Bella winced with every shot. Edward had never liked alcohol, but Bella was tired of being in control all the time, tired of fighting for every moment of peace. She needed to let her hair down a bit, or she was gonna lose her temper. Edward was pissed at her anyway. She may as well give him a reason to be.

She had already danced with Alice and dragged Kaedra on to the dance floor, and the more she drank the more aware she was of Edward's evaluating stare. Why shouldn't she show him how wild the Fae could be? She wouldn't hide from him anymore. He had a right to the truth.

Fuck it.

Bella met Edward's eyes for the first time all night as she leaned in close to Marcos' ear, almost embracing him. "So, are you gonna ask me to dance?" she purred at her commander. Marcos' pupils dilated with desire. Whatever her commander was scheming, she could always count on Marcos' dick being louder than his brain.

"Oh, yes. Yes, I am. Isabella, would you care to dance with me?"

Edward's eyes heated with anger, but he didn't move from his barstool. His face grew dark and vampiric, and it looked good on him. Bella smiled wickedly at Edward before she took Marcos' hand. "I thought you'd never ask. I love this song."

They made it to a clear spot on the dance floor, and Bella turned her attention to her dance partner. She let the alcohol cloud her senses as she threw her hair over her shoulder. When Marcos crowded close, she shoved him away playfully and began to circle him.

He treated her to a wild grin before darting forward, sweeping her into a tango hold. Bella went with it, grinding her backside into Marcos' pelvis and swaying with him to the beat. She tracked Edward as he watched them through the beaded curtain, shock on his face. Marcos shoved her this time, and she broke from him, turning and stalking him across the dance floor. They were attracting a crowd.

Kaedra came up behind Bella, reaching around to cover Bella's back, and Bella threw her head back onto her regent's shoulder as Kay dug fingernails into her hips. The beat slowed, and in response Bella dropped low with Marcos and Kaedra, swiveling her hips as she rose back to standing.

Edward could hardly tell where Bella ended and her friends began. Kaedra rucked up Bella's dress, revealing even more leg as Marcos touched his forehead to Bella's. He stood firm, dipping Bella low as Bella twined her leg around him and leaned back. Kaedra ran her hands into Bella's hair, pulling Bella's head back further to show off the long line of her neck.

It was like watching them have sex. It was obscene, somehow made worse because Bella knew he was watching. Edward held on to his control by his fingernails for the length of the song.

When the song ended, a Fae man approached the group to rain down compliments. The man had a joint tucked between his lips, and Bella plucked it from his hold and took a long puff before returning it. She curled her head into the man's shoulder in thanks, kissing his cheek. Marcos looked incredibly pleased and immediately produced his own stash, passing Bella a pack of hand rolled cigarettes. Kaedra rolled her eyes and dragged them off the dance floor, heading back to the table.

Bella took a detour on the way there, walking over to a group of Fae who were snorting white powder. They grinned at her approach, welcoming her easily into their circle. Someone handed her a pen cap full of cocaine with a mocking bow that made her laugh. Bella challenged Edward with her gaze as she rubbed the powder over her teeth and sucked on her thumb.

Bella actually sat in Marcos' lap at the table. Even Alice's eyes were wide before his sister laughed her surprise and turned back to Alex, winking.

"Damn, ya'll sure do know how to party! Where did you learn to dance like that, Bella?"

"Bella is an amazing dancer." Marcos leered, twining his hands around Bella's hips to reach into his pocket. "She used to work the clubs in Miami."

"Don't get snarky with me, Marcos. I'm not near buzzed enough to put up with that shit. Tell me that's not reggie."

"Please. You pay me too well for me to smoke that shit. This'll get you where you wanna be." Marcos snapped his fingers at the end of a long cigar that sparkled when he lit it. "You want greens?"

Bella looked considering, before she glanced towards where Edward stood from under her eyelashes, a challenge in her eyes. Edward tightened his grip on the barstool and felt the metal snap under his hands. "I don't want to cough my lungs up, if that's what you mean."

Kay set down a tray of shots on the table. "Just shotgun it, Marcos. You know Isa's a wimp when it comes to smoking."

Marcos shrugged and took a long inhale. Bella leaned her head back towards him.

Marcos' lips met Bella's.

The Good, The Bad, and the Dirty

Edward doesn't remember telling his body to move, but he was suddenly throwing Marcos across the room. Marcos crashed into a table and stood, casually brushing glass from his shoulder.

"I was hoping it would come to this. You wanna fight, vampyr? I promise not to freeze you helpless in your tracks. Your first punch better be a good one."

"What the hell, Edward? You can't just assault him like that!" Bella was standing up from the table, swaying slightly. Smoke poured from her mouth as she spoke.

"Hey asshole! I'm talking to you." Marcos flashed towards him, and Edward blocked his punch but missed the follow up, a ripple of earth that threw him off balance. Marcos shoved him to the floor.

"What did I tell you? I could spark you up in an instant, bloodsucker, and I'm getting really sick of your attitude."

"Better make it fast. I can rip your spine out of your throat before you blink."

"Stop! Jeez, you two can measure dick sizes later." Bella shifted to stand between them, but Marcos shoved her out of the way. Bella stumbled.

Edward lost it. He grabbed Marcos by the hair and bounced his head off the table as he swept his feet out from under him. He threw the commander away from where Bella had fallen and flashed closer with his arm raised. Marcos responded by hitting Edward with a sharp jab of psychic force, knocking him backwards into his sister before he could land the blow. Alice wrapped her hands around Edward's arms, and Bella regained her footing in time to throw out her hand, freezing Marcos where he stood.

The room was hooting and hollering as people cheered them on. Out of the corner of his vision, Edward saw his father step into the room. All of them froze, startled by Carlisle's sudden appearance. Carlisle immediately flashed between where Marcos struggled and Edward growled, looking beyond shocked.

"Exactly what is going on here?"

Bella squinted at her vampire father, her disorientation clouding her expression. "Carlisle? What the fuck, Marcos, how many vampires did you sneak in here?"

Edward's father spared him a disappointed look before he turned to Bella. "Josephat sent me. It's urgent. Nhamo and Ntombi have been found. Ariam was holding them in their home."

Battle Scars

Well, that'll sober you the fuck up.

Bella couldn't help her callous thought as she stalked through the castle to the medical wing. Fuck. Fuck, this was gonna be bad. She shot a desperate glance at Edward, who looked startled before his gaze softened with concern. It gave her the focus she needed.

When they opened the doors to the medical wing, Edward doubled over and braced himself against the door frame, going impossibly pale and holding his breath immediately. Alice flashed to her brother's side, but Bella didn't stop walking. She threw open the privacy curtain and felt her own breath stop.

Nhamo's consumed eyes were wide and panicked as she struggled against Josephat. There was blood everywhere. Carlisle was hunched over Nhamo's shattered leg, trying desperately to staunch the flow of blood by physical means.

But none of that is what made Bella freeze in her tracks. Bella felt her eyes grow wide as she took in Nhamo's consumed ones. Nhamo's aura was a ghostly silver.

She felt the glitch come to life around her.

Adeline's glittering silver aura gleamed through her consumed eyes as she struggled against the chain around her neck, reaching desperately towards where Bella was chained to a tree. Firelight from the torches gleamed against the trees, throwing long shadows.

The younger Bella's eyes were on Addy, a strange serenity on her face. Her unscarred back lay bared.

"Please. Please, no. Ma belle, please. I'm not worth this, I can do it. I'll do it instead, just don't. Master, please. Don't do this."

Black eyes gleamed.

There was a moment of darkness, and then Edward heard the crack of a whip.

The glitch shut off in an instant, and Bella retched.

Edward could barely focus through his bloodlust until the echo filled the room. He stumbled when the fountain of blood exited Bella's mouth; he shoved his bloodlust down and embraced her anyway.

"Bella, Bella. Breathe. I'm here, you're safe."

Bella took a shuddering breath, clinging to him to stay standing. When she snapped her eyes open, they were a fierce gold. Bella drew herself to stand tall.

"Josephat, don't you dare sedate her. Where is Ntombi?"

Nhamo shoved Josephat out of the way and shifted, ignoring the damage to her shattered leg. She gripped Bella's shoulders, shaking her wildly. "My Queen! You can help me; you can help her. Please, don't let her go to the other-side. He has it, Husband. He has the means to heal her. You can do it, you're strong enough. You must get the air blessing from him. Please, it will save my daughter's life."

Nhamo knelt at Bella's feet, still bleeding from the wounds all over her and shaking. Her silver eyes were fixed on Bella's. "My lady, have mercy. I will give you my service, my ."

Josephat was approaching with a needle that glowed a weak blue, but Bella held up a hand to stop him, her focus completely on Nhamo. "Tell me. Why does Ntombi need the air blessing?"

"She is dying. Husband casts on her, over and over. He steals her brilliant mind from her. My Ntombi is gifted with power over water and wisdom beyond her years. Her magicks care not for her young age, and fly through her veins like a bird in the sky. My husband has caged her, seeks to Bind her to himself for the Master's use. Please, your majesty. Save her." Nhamo clutched at Bella's hand, bowing her forehead over it. Her words grew soft, whispering: a chant. "Save her, ma belle. Save her."

The glitch was momentary, lasting only a heartbeat.

Adeline's green eyes were large and pleading in her dirty and desperate face. "Save her, ma belle. Save her."

Bella snapped her fingers at Josephat as her golden eyes began to bleed black. She snarled as she shoved Kaedra out of the way and rushed the healer, knocking the needle from Josephat's grip and putting one hand around his neck. Jo stayed calm as she lifted him off the floor and pulled him in until he was inches from her face. The threat of impending death was written on Bella's features. She growled her words. "Where is Ntombi?"

"She is in the next bed. She cannot be saved, Isabella. She is dying."

Bella removed her hand from Josephat's throat like his skin burned her, her eyes flashing as his feet hit the floor. "Like hell she is."

She snapped a turn and stalked past Marcos and Kay; her words were rapid fire. "Kaedra, make sure all of the defenses are enabled and Ariam's access is changed. Hunt him down. Marcos, put together a team. Put Alexandra on it. I am taking care of this personally. Find him." Her face was almost inhuman in her feral rage. "I will have his head."

Marcos snapped a salute and Keadra bowed before they rushed from the room. Bella drew aside the curtain between the beds much more slowly than she had before, dread making her movements hesitant.

The girl couldn't have been older than four or five. She was cherub cheeks and dark skin and tiny in the large bed. Orange circles dotted her cheekbones and danced a line down her forehead. Long eyelashes lay softly against the child's cheeks. She was pristine; she looked like she was sleeping.

Bella waved a hand and revealed the child's aura, showing him the hidden wound. Black bled into the vivid orange like poison through veins, viciously swirling in violent patterns. Edward felt instinctual horror at the sight, snarling low and constant in his chest.

When Edward ripped his eyes from the violence, Bella was looking at him with consumed golden eyes, black stains running down her cheekbones. He couldn't place the look on her face, and he swallowed hard.

"She's a fighter. Her magick is strong, that's why she expressed it so young. Ariam doesn't have what it takes to consume her spirit. It doesn't matter. She will die long before he is able to Bind her to himself or the Master."

Her voice was soft, and her eyes went back to Ntombi, fixing on her aura. There was a long silence as Edward stared. The blackness faded from Bella's eyes, her strange and violent expression fading to tremendous grief. The compassion and empathy on Bella's face arrested his full attention.

God, please. I never want to look away from her.

Bella flashed to Edward's side and stroked Edward's face from temple to jaw. She gripped his jaw when she reached it, gently turning his face from her to force him to take in Ntombi's viciously warring aura.

"This is the cost, Edward. This is what my people face every day. Even while I was running, but more since my return. Every day that I was falling in love with you, every minute I spend in your company, this is the cost. The only reason Ntombi is still alive is because of Nhamo's interference. I know the cost, Edward. I've always known it. Do you think I have always wanted to love you? Do you think our love doesn't hurt me, sometimes? There were days when I wished I had never laid eyes on you."

Edward turned his eyes back to Bella, reaching up to take her hand in his. "Is now one of them?"

"No. I can't even feel it anymore, since I saw you in the sun in Volterra. I can't even wish not to love you, anymore."

"This— this is what your aura looked like, when you panicked in the garden."

"Yes. If I am Bound, it will turn black in its entirety. Then, I will be nothing but an empty shell, a slave to his whims. He will wear my face, but I won't be there. I'll be trapped between this plane of existence and the next, trapped between life and death. At least, I will be until the Nothingness comes for me. I can fight it off for a little while, there are ways. But they are costly, and I will succumb eventually. I will be annihilated, completely deleted from existence." Bella looked exhausted for a long moment, and Edward felt horror sink into his bones.

He turned his eyes back to Ntombi. This child would face that fate as well. Suddenly, Edward's heart broke for this young girl who shared Bella's demons. "Is there nothing to be done?"

"For her there is. Ariam is not the Master, his power cannot hold her captive. She is too young to survive his attempt. She will die. The only thing that can save her now is the blessing. The air blessing raises the dead."

"But not for you. It couldn't raise you from the Nothing."

"No. The destruction will be more complete than that. Death is simply the journey to a new plane, to the other-side. It is a mercy to those who face the Nothing."

Edward's emotions warred within him for a long moment before he spoke, pulling Bella into an embrace. "Don't make me stand by and watch this, Bella. Don't make me stand by and watch you fall. I see the cost. But you're worth it, Bella. My Bella, you are worth it to me. Let me fight for you. Let me fight to stop this from happening to you or to your people." He waved his arm towards Ntombi, pulling back to look in Bella's chromatic eyes. "You said you could do anything for me. Let me make my choices. Let me fight to save you like you will fight to save her."

Bella stared at him for a long moment, despairing and blank-faced, before something soft overtook her gaze and her eyes faded back to melted chocolate. "Edward. How am I supposed to say no to that?"

"You're not. You mustn't. Please don't"

Bella took a deep breath. "Okay, Edward. Let me show you how I fight for my people."

Black Widow

When Bella entered the council chamber, she stood in shock for just a moment at the sight of all the Cullens, sans Carlisle, at the table with her regent and commander. Alex stood behind Marcos, determination on her face.

Marcos started before she even closed the door. "He's in the Badlands."

Bella flinched. "Tell me we haven't lost him."

"Not yet, he's still in the Borderlands. We've got problems though. There are reports of a battalion in the area - Tomas' men, they serve under Erik. And Shades."

"Fuck. It had to be Shades."

"Shades?" Emmett enquired.

Kaedra explained. "They're cursed creatures, the souls of the Ipswitch line that the Master consumed. They are connected to him telepathically. They're shapeshifters and can be nasty buggers in a fight."

"We'll need an unmonitored portal, a way to shift to the Borderlands that Tomas can't trace."

Kaedra's words were overlaid with Marcos' demand. "We'll need to gather soldiers, go to battle."

They both looked at Bella, but it was Jasper who spoke. "Two problems, two groups."

Bella's eyes gleamed at her vampire brother. "Divide and conquer. This is why I play chess with you, Jazz. I know a guy who can get us to the borders. A safe portal into the Master's domain. Well, I mean not safe, but I know what it will cost, so that's basically the same thing. Marcos, how did you get Edward to the club without me knowing?"

"I shifted him partway through the portal, within the Void. I couldn't do it for more than one person and we can't shift to the Borderlands, the portal guards won't allow entry to that territory. Anyway, I don't think the cast would work for a battalion."

"I can make it happen; I think I know how the beetles have been gaining access to the compounds. Keep it at about a hundred people. We'll have the element of surprise. Alex, take Jasper and Emmett and prepare the soldiers; gather in the Arena. I'll drag you through once our group makes the deal with Chen."

"Chen?" Marcos' face went pale. "Oh, God. Please no."

"Deal with it, Marcos. He may be shady, but he's not our enemy. Well...most of the time."

"Josephat will have to stay behind to treat Nhamo and Ntombi. We'll need a medic."

"I will gladly serve that role. Nhamo will recover." Carlisle had just entered the room, wiping blood off his hands.

Rosalie spoke. "I want to be with Ntombi."

Alice chimed in. "I'll stay with Nhamo. Esme can come with me."

"Ask Lizzie for anything you need." Alex met their eyes seriously.

"Well." Bella clapped her hands together. "What was it you said, Alice? We sure know how to party. Let's go get a blessing."