Daughter of Three Suns
Chapter 24
The sands were warm beneath my body, and Daughter Sun blazed overhead, but I was cold. So very cold as I sat before the rock columns that marked where the opening to Edward's world had once beckoned with its rosy glow. Now, it was as dead and as cold as I felt inside.
Alice had been right when she said the shackle would close the opening between our worlds. When I fell though the portal, Edward's desperate grab to save me had snapped the belt that held the bag with its horrible contents. The shackle, a metal reminder of all the terrible happenings on that world, was still with him, and the door was closed. My begging and pleading to Grandmother Spirit had been ignored, even the red circle embedded in my skin no longer shone.
Dead, everything was dead, just like my mate probably was.
Mother had been the first to approach me. "Daughter," she said, sitting beside me and taking my hand in hers when I didn't react. "The women ask why you killed the being from the other world. The blood on our sands was a disturbing thing to see."
"And your sister Esme. What does she say?"
"She says it was James, her son. She is mourning its death."
"Tell Esme that I did not kill her son. I killed a traitor, a betrayer who helped keep his mother captive and prevented the son who truly loved her from finding her. Tell her she can mourn the boy who once was but not the man he became. Instead, she should remember her true son, who is now trapped forever in that horrible world."
"Bella?"
I didn't answer her, only continued to stare at the sand before me. Eventually, she rose and left.
After a while, I heard the sounds of their leaving. Victoria's injury must have been more severe than I realized because they constructed a carrier for her. I could hear her crying softly. There was the sound of shifting sand, and I knew they were covering James' body. Someone chanted the prayer of departing. Footsteps approached my back, and I heard Auntie Charlotte whisper, "Thank you for bringing my granddaughter and my sister home, Bella." I didn't respond, and she finally left.
It was quiet after they departed. Grandmother's breath blew across me, the sands shifted and sighed, animals chirped, scuttled, and slithered through the sand. Life carried on around me even though I only wished for an end.
I had not been left alone though. I sensed another waiting somewhere behind me. I hoped if I ignored her long enough she would give up and leave, but she was stubborn like me, and after a time, I called her name, "Rosalie."
My sister approached, then sat beside me. We were silent for a long time. "You rescued our women," she finally said. "And brought Esme home."
"Yes."
"That was a good thing, Bella."
"Yes, I suppose it was."
My sister moved uncomfortably beside me. I knew she had many questions she wanted to ask. "You should know that your plan worked," I told her. "Edward made a deal with Aro to trade me and all the wild shifters for the release of Esme and the women from our world. Everyone believed him, even James."
"Did you?"
"At times, I did. Aro was stubborn. Edward had to cut my skin and threaten to kill our child before Aro would agree." Rosalie's eyes widened when I pointed to the blood on my stomach. "He told Aro my scent had changed and I was pregnant. Aro couldn't resist the thought of a child from Rosalie's younger sister. One who had been trained, toughened, and shaped into the strongest woman they'd ever seen." My sister's sharp breath told me she recognized the words I quoted. "Is that how you described what you would do to me, Rosalie?"
"Bella. I'm …"
Until then, I had not looked directly at my sister, now I moved to face her. "It was right of you to train me, and I think Grandmother Spirit approved. I was the one who used that training to do harm, to inflict more pain than was necessary. And now I'm the one who pays the price."
"But you brought our women home."
I shook my head. "You don't understand. I met a drudge on the stairway. It was slow and clumsy, and I knocked it down easily. Then, I hit its hand so hard it bled. Rosalie, it was scared and crawled away from me, crying. I told myself I would only do what was necessary to free our people, yet when I found Felix stabbing Edward with one of Aro's needles, I was so full of anger and rage that I forgot my resolve. I threw a knife into its hand, then tore its neck apart with a disk. I could have knocked it out with a blow to the head, but instead, I killed it."
"He was hurting your mate," Rosalie tried to argue.
"I did worse to Aro."
Rosalie studied my face for a moment. I wondered what she saw there. "Is he dead, too?" she asked.
"He was still alive when I left him, but I don't think he lasted much longer. My long knife was in his thigh and a throwing knife through his hand. I could have left him there. He was no threat, and Edward said they were all dying, but my hatred was an overwhelming thing. I threw a disk into the front of his calf. It buried itself here, deep into his bone." I rubbed the front of my leg showing my sister where the disk had gone. Her eyes widened, and I knew she realized how painful it would have been. "Then I used my fist to hit his face with all the strength I had. I felt the bones around his eye shatter."
My sister shuddered at my description, and her faced paled. I looked for signs of disgust on her face but saw only pity.
"I told myself Aro deserved the pain because of what he had done to so many others, but the truth is that I enjoyed hurting him. It was the same with James. I was happy to see him die. I've caused great harm. Now, a man's blood stains our sands, a woman has no basherter, and a mother mourns her child. My soulmate is hurt and alone on a world I can no longer reach, and Grandmother Spirit has hidden herself from me." My hand rose to rub the metal ring in my skin that had changed to a dull, dark red.
I shifted my body around until I was facing the stone columns again. Rosalie sat beside me. Nothing was said for a long time.
Finally, I broke the silence between us. "You were all here waiting when we came through. How did you know to come?"
"Alice."
"Ahh." I nodded. We were silent again.
"Rosalie?"
"Yes."
"When you and Emmett go away to the other rock islands, is it so he can shift to his man form in the darkness of the caves there?"
I didn't think she would answer me, but then she said, "Yes."
"And Laurent? Can he shift if he is away from the sunlight?"
"Yes. Emmett and Laurent can shift, but I don't think any of the other basherti can do so. I've never heard any of the women talk about their mates shifting except at the Anamnesis."
"Can you share ecstasy with him when he shifts, or is that only at the Anamnesis?
My sister laughed softly. "We share ecstasy."
I glanced over at her and shared her smile. "But no babies?"
"No babies," she replied. "I think the herbs have something to do with that, but I don't understand everything."
"I'm glad Emmett can be a man when he wants to. I'm glad you can find joy in his arms. Edward and I … We …" But I could not go on. My throat was clogged with too much sorrow. "Tell Emmett his friend was happy for him."
"Emmett knows," Rosalie said. "He's been listening."
There was a rustle of wings overhead, and Emmett landed in front of me. I opened my arms, and he hopped onto my lap. His great golden eyes stared into mine, and I felt his sadness. Somehow, I knew he mourned his friend, too. Leaning forward, he rubbed his head against my cheek, trilling in despair. I wrapped my arms around him, laid my head against his, and began to cry. Great wracking sobs shook my body as I cried and screamed and mourned for all I had lost.
…..
Later, when I was drained dry and devoid of feelings once more, I opened my eyes to see my sister crouching before me.
"Before we left, Alice told me to remind you of what she said."
"When I left for my Metanora?"
"No, it was in the caves after the ceremony. She said it was the last thing she told you. Do you remember?"
"Yes." I nodded. "I remember."
Rosalie stood. Emmett was once again in the air above us. "Are you ready to come home now, my sister?"
"No. Not now." I shook my head and looked up at her. It was then I noticed the slight swelling in her stomach. "You're with child again."
"Yes." Rosalie slowly ran her hand over her baby. "My third daughter. Please tell me you'll return in time for her birth."
"Maybe," I answered. "But I make no promises. You should go, Rosalie. Your daughters will be missing their mother. And their father," I added with a glance toward Emmett.
Rosalie nodded. She picked up her walking staff. "May Grandmother Spirit grant you peace," she whispered before turning and walking away.
I sat, staring at the columns before me and thinking of Alice's final words.
"A great sorrow, a price to pay, and then everlasting joy," she had said. A small spark of hope flickered to life within me.
.
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AN: Thank you for reading and reviewing.
