Here is the next chapter! Enjoy! I'm sorry it took so long, I started another story, got caught up in school work and a summer program that took most of my day before I had to do school work. Again, sorry x( (Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except one that is going to pop up in the story. The other characters are owned by Stephanie Meyer.)

Chapter 17

One of the white winged angels growled and rushed at Aro, sending out white lightening to stop him from getting close to the Cullen's, my brothers and I. I saw Aro's hand move slightly and then suddenly, the angel was on the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. James rushed forward and shot arrow with a white sphere before he picked up the angel on the ground and came back to us. Aro caught the sphere in his hand and crushed it. I didn't know how we were going to get out of here; every exit was guarded by a black winged angel.

James looked at me and I looked at him, having a silent conversation. We knew there were two things we could do, one: try and focus our energy into one blast and bust open a window so we could fly out of here. Or two: one of us would give our wings to Aro in exchange for leaving this place. Either one didn't look to good. James and I had watched an angel try and do number one and fail, not even getting a crack in the window, only the black angel was harmed.

I looked at James and pleaded with him. He glared at me, he knew what I wanted to do, but he thought it was suicide. Finally, he nodded and went to the other white angels, telling them to get down. I sighed and straightened my shoulders before I let go of Edward's hand. He retook it and I looked up at him, it seemed he didn't want me to go. I smiled up at him and had to go up on my toes to kiss him on the cheek. He looked at me and smiled back, that crooked smile that made my heart go crazy. I looked at each one of my new family, memorizing their faces and then looked back at Edward.

My heart ached when I let go of his hand again and I stepped away from him, turning and facing Aro. I thought I felt Edward try to stop me but I was already walking toward Aro. When Aro saw me coming toward him, he smiled at me and gazed at my wings thoughtfully. I stopped a few feet from him and looked at him in the eyes.

"Aro, I want to make a deal with you." I said and he raised an eyebrow. "For both the Cullen's and the other angels, so we may leave here safely, I will give you something that only I can give you." I said, a little shakily but Aro didn't seem to notice. I cleared my throat and went on.

"But, you have to swear, give us your word, that you will not harm the Cullen's or any of the angels here when we depart. Do you accept those terms?" I asked and Aro looked thoughtful.

"That depends on what you're giving me." He said and I almost flinched, Aro had this look in his eye like he knew what I was going to give him. I took a deep breath and then looked him straight in the eyes.

"In exchange for my terms, I will give you my wings." I said and I heard a couple of gasps behind me. I didn't dare look back, afraid I might catch Edward's eyes and chicken out. Aro looked like he knew that I was going to offer him that but went on with the facade.

"What is so special about your wings that your terms are of equal worth?" He asked.

I took a deep breath and sighed. "My parents, had archangel blood in them, and they passed that trait down to me. My brothers do not have that trait, they have regular angel blood in them, and they cannot put away their wings, which is why they stay at our old home. But my genetics show that I can hide my wings as long as I wish and never have to show them." I said in a monotone voice, I hated explaining these kinds of things to people. Aro nodded and thought about it for a moment before he turned back to me and smiled.

"Well, since that is out of the way, I accept your terms and no harm will come to you, the Cullen's, and the angels. Would you like one of us to take off your wings, or do you or anyone else want to do that?" He asked while smiling. This time, I looked back and all of them looked like they were going to take me away if they got close. My eyes traveled to Edward and I felt a pain go through my chest. He had a begging look on his face, like he was trying to tell me not to do this. I turned back around and took a few deep breaths before answering Aro.

"I'll do it." I said and Aro nodded. I knew that getting your wings off was really painful, and I didn't have a knife on me, but Aro decided to let one of the guards let me use their knife. I looked down at the knife in my hand and got down on my knees. I grabbed one of my wings and held onto it. I put the knife just at the place the wings came out and closed my eyes, putting a piece of cloth in my mouth to bite down on. "Just do it quickly." I thought and sliced at the wing.

The pain came first and I didn't expect to scream out, but once I had screamed, I heard someone come over and grab my hand. I was sobbing and I turned to the person, pain and dizziness taking over me. When I breathed in, a familiar scent caught my attention and I looked up. Edward was looking at me with pain filled eyes and tears came to my eyes. I rubbed my tears away and then looked down. I almost barfed at the sight; my wing was laying there, drops of blood coming out of it.

I didn't want to ask Edward to help, but I knew I needed help getting the other. So, I looked up at him and whispered. "Can you help guide my hand to the other wing connecting so I don't mess up?" Edward grimaced but nodded. When I put my hand with the knife on my back, he guided it toward my other wing and then let go. He put my face on his shoulder and held me close.

"Bite my shoulder so you don't bite your tongue." He whispered and I nodded. I bit his shoulder and shut my eyes before repeating what I did last time. I didn't scream but I felt a little blood come into my mouth and my eyes shot open. I had bitten him really hard and blood was coming out. I looked up at him apologetically and he smiled down at me. I felt darkness come over me and I fainted.

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