32. PRESENCE

As soon as those words left his lips, the ringing of the landline impaled the suddenly-suffocating air and my heart dipped into the pit of my stomach.

Everyone was silent. On the final ring before it would go to voicemail, Carine reached a shaking hand out to the receiver and dashed it to her ear.

"Kirill." she whispered. Jules came up behind us, her warm hand squeezing my shoulder. I noticed she was holding her breath, something I realized I was doing myself now, too. Carine put the phone on speaker, holding it up.

"Ivan's left home." Kirill's voice started on the other line. It wasn't news to us, just confirmation.

Carine threw a glance at us from over her shoulder, the lines of her face troubled.

"When?"

"This morning." I looked at the clock. It was only ten. "I only caught him when I heard the door latching into place. Please understand, we tried to stop him-"

"It's alright-"

"No, it's not, actually." Edythe jumped in. She wrenched herself from my grip and made to seize the phone. "Where is he going? Did he tell you what he was planning to do?"

"I'm sorry, Edythe." we all heard him say in a solemn voice. Edythe fell back and her eyes flitted anxiously all over the room, unable to concentrate on any one thing. I knew she was restless; knew that she was panicking but trying not to let it show. Jessamine held a hand up in front of her, palm out and facing her sister. When she did that, Edythe took a seat on the couch and lowered the receiver into her lap, letting out a trembling breath like she was trying to calm herself only I knew she was having a little help with that. I don't think she was aware of it though, or anything else in particular for that matter, either.

"We will do everything we can. He took his phone, if knowing this will bring you any comfort. That is, I feel it is safe to say that he is still holding himself accountable to us." Kirill tried in a soothing voice. Edythe, unconvinced, brought her free hand in towards her face and covered her lips - her body had completely stilled, it was like she became a statue. Instantly, Earnest sat down beside her and pulled her rigid body to his chest. It was only then at his gentle touch did she let herself ease into his arms and become more human again – as close as possible to one, at least – and she buried her face in the crook of his neck before I could get to her. Beside her adopted father, Edythe, my wife and the strongest person I know, seemed to shrink into this tiny little girl right before my eyes. She tightened her arms around him and he kissed the top of her head and started whispering things into her hair then, but I couldn't make out the words.

"Do you think he's on his way to the airport?" Carine asked in a calm voice.

"Yes, we have reason to believe so – he's packed a bag."

"Have you any idea where he is going?"

"He's headed to Europe." Arch muttered. "That's the clearest image right now." He squeezed his eyes shut and touched his temples. "But… he's not going to Volterra. Not yet, at least. I think we might be safe for now." We all let out a collective sigh of relief at that.

"That's very good." Carine touched a hand to Arch's back and brought the receiver up to her face again, still on speaker mode. "Just keep us updated, Kirill. Bring him home."

"We will try our best. You have our word."

Edythe lurched up from the couch and scoffed. "Your word?" Her red eyes were burning like oil on water. "Now where have we heard that one before?" While her voice was icy, it trembled and what stuck out the most in it was what could only be defined as fear.

"I'm so sorry, Edythe." Kirill sounded genuinely repentant, like he truly wished he could do something; anything to fix this for us a hundred times over – you could just tell he didn't like this any more than we did. He was a good person, they all were. "Please – just be careful." And then he hung up. Carine replaced the phone on its cradle and took two steps back, still looking at it all the while.

"We need to be prepared to go meet with them." she started, the "them" of course being the Volturi who were, as I understood it, old friends of hers. Maybe they'll go easier on us because of that – at least, I hoped so. Carine started up the stairs at human speed and we all followed her into her office. She was packing a small duffel bag with doctor stuff; things I couldn't automatically put the technical names to besides the one stethoscope. Three clear vials of her venom clinked against each other as she put them in the bag and then she started packing some morphine and a first-aid kit – remembering what happened at the ballet studio, I assumed those were probably for me in case anything happened – for the prospective trip as well. She zipped that all up and dropped the bag off in the back corner of the room, ready to go whenever we needed it. I'm pretty sure I speak for all of us though when I say it hopefully won't ever have to come to that in the first place. But still, how can you be so sure?

…

The next few weeks passed by in a hazy blur. The skies changed from gray to blue and back again, like it couldn't make up its mind but it all looked the same to me anyways. I passed by Arch in the living room and saw the dark purple circles under his eyes as he stayed looking out that same window by the piano. He did this day and night, concentrating on someone miles and miles away and monitoring his every move. I couldn't imagine how exhausting that must've been for him.

"I don't know what he's doing." Arch muttered as I came up to his side.

"Ivan?"

"Yes. He's just wandering… wandering…" he squeezed his eyes tighter together, like it hurt.

"Where?" I asked, my voice a shaky whisper.

"He's been mainly sticking to the places with the thickest forests – Sweden, Finland, Spain, France. He's been to them all. He's just drifting, like a ghost." I thought about that. I couldn't imagine what he was going through; how it must have felt to lose the love of his life; his mate. I tried thinking about what it would have been like if we switched places but I couldn't do that without feeling as if my insides were being wrung out, maybe like my body was getting torn apart limb by limb and set on fire while I was still conscious. Feeling like your heart's getting ripped out of your chest while it was still beating.

It hurt me far too deeply imagining such an agonizing tragedy and desperately, I shook my head so hard it throbbed, as if doing that those horrific thoughts couldn't touch me. No, I still couldn't hate him even if he really did want to get back at us; avenge Lauren's death. Would I have done the same thing?

But he was threatening my family. That was the difference.

"I won't let him!" I shouted out, slamming both my hands hard into the hood of the piano.

"Beau." It was Jessamine. I didn't even hear her come up behind me. She pressed the palm of her cool hand firmly to my back and when she did that, I saw my fists slowly unclenching, the tension released with nowhere else to go - for now, at least.

"We won't let anything happen to you guys, I promise. Just leave it to me, Beau." Arch turned towards where I was standing, his eyes firm; resolute. He looked from the clock to the calendar on the far side of the room and his face softened, a small, tired smile on it now. "Instead, have you forgotten what day it is? You really need to get up to my sister ASAP." He lifted a hand in the air and motioned to the staircase. The day? I wondered to myself, screwing up my eyes.

And then it hit me – it was Valentine's Day.

Crap.

I totally forgot. That's not good. Not good at all.

I turned on my heel and ran at top speed to the bottom of the stairs but felt someone catching me by the shoulder. I turned around just in time to see Jessamine flipping her blonde hair out behind her.

"Don't go into this empty-handed, Beau. Gentlemen would never do such a thing." she gently chided and held a short bouquet of red roses tied with some ribbon out to me. I took them from her and bowed my head in gratitude. "Thanks, Jess." I whispered and hurried up the stairs. When I got to our room, I didn't even knock and just burst in through the door.

"Edythe!" I didn't realize I was breathless from the sprint I'd apparently broken into on the way here until after I said her name. I saw her there from across the room sitting on the bed, her beautiful, troubled face looking out the windows. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her crimson eyes were raised to the sky, like she was hoping, and her hands were clasped tight in front of her, like she was praying, the tops of her fingers touching the delicate point of her chin. Her trembling lips, anxious, were parted in the slightest. There was something about her melancholy expression which made my heart thump loudly in my chest and clench up on me and before I knew it, my feet were moving on their own and I was down on my knees before her. I presented the bouquet of roses to my wife and helped her to take them, folding her fingers around the cool green stems so we were holding it together.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Edythe." I kissed her hand. She pressed her lips together and fought against a smile, like she felt bad about being happy at my gesture on a day like this.

"Thank you, Beau. But I'm just so worried, I can't – I can't-" her voice came out a choked sound and she let out a trembling breath. I put a finger to her lips.

"Hey, hey, hey. We still have today." She fell into my waiting arms and I just held her there on the floor, stroking her back. She was still holding the bouquet and when she pulled away slightly to look at me with those big, beautiful eyes of hers, I took a single rose from it and slid it in behind her ear, letting her curls fall over its slender green stem to anchor it in place. She laid the rest of the roses down on the bed and squeezed my hand. I pulled her in towards me and brushed a kiss on her lips, catching the back of her waist in the crook of my elbow and we stood up together as one. She pulled her lips from mine in a final, lingering kiss and walked over to where her vintage record player stood, an antique brass horn coming up from the top which still shone despite its age and the faded gold sheen it was tinted with. Taking a vinyl music record down from the shelf beside it, I watched as she locked it in place on the turntable. She wound it up and turned it on, though I'm not really sure how that worked, I've only seen these types of record players in old movies. The one thing I did know though was that there wasn't any music one minute and the next there was, the soft, delicate lilt of piano keys starting up then the gradual sound of trumpets, horns, and saxophones crackling to life and filling up the entire room. Edythe was still looking down, and the saddest smile tugged up at the corners of her lips. Seeing my wife like that, I cut across the room in two long strides and wrapped my arms around her from behind, pulling her right to me. She turned her head a little to look at me better and I leaned down, guiding my lips to hers. The music swelled. And then, looking right into those beautiful eyes of hers I asked, "May I have this dance?"

She nestled her cheek against my chest in an affirmative "yes" and wove her fingers through mine. My feet moved with hers as we waltzed around in tiny circles, swaying to the gentle rhythm of the music.

I'll find you in the morning sun

And when the night is new

I'll be looking at the moon

But I'll be seeing you.

It was an old song, that much I knew. I closed my eyes, concentrating on the melody and how light Edythe felt in my arms. I was about to ask her the name, but she beat me to it.

"I'll Be Seeing You". I've listened to it every Valentine's Day since it came out." She pressed her body tighter to mine. "It was right around war time; World War Two I believe, and many boys my age – my human age; the age which I was turned – were going off to fight in it. I met a young soldier on the street once while accompanying Carine to a house call in the area. He'd just been freshly drafted. He was very sweet – handsome, too. He kind of looked like you." She laughed a little. I made a face – I wasn't sure if I was liking where this was headed. "He quite fancied me, you know." She chuckled.

"Huh. Big surprise there." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Well, I didn't return his feelings, of course – I couldn't. Not while you were going to be somewhere out there waiting for me one day." She showed me a soft smile and touched my cheek. "I hadn't known him very long, but he was a good friend. He was also a lover of music, that one. We'd briefly talk about our tastes when we passed each other by on the sidewalk – he was a clerk for a local merchant, so he was always occupied nearby."

I lifted and spun her round when the music swelled. We twirled and twirled around the room together and by some sort of miracle I wasn't tripping over my feet nor stepping on her toes. I thought about what she was saying; wondering what that boy could have meant to her.

"Might I ask his name?"

"It was Anthony." She smiled a little to herself. "Before he left, he introduced me to this song. Subtle, right?" She laughed once, then was quiet again. "It was about missing someone far away; thinking of them."

She hugged me just a little bit tighter.

"There was so much loss of human life in that time period but I couldn't allow myself to dwell on nor be affected by it and I rode it out, like one would wait for a storm to pass." She inhaled a sharp breath and shut her eyes tight, like it physically hurt her somehow to recall the memories. "Being vampires, it didn't concern us – at least, it wasn't supposed to – but I felt that tremendous loss of human life with every fiber of my being and could only rejoice along with everyone else when it had come to an end. We were living in New York at the start of the war you see, but by the time it ended we'd already moved away, and I never got to know what became of my friend." She shook her head. "I like to think he came back home safe and sound to his mother and father, married the love of his life, settled down and had kids. He might even have grandchildren; great-grandchildren for all I know." She sighed and looked up at me, her deep crimson eyes shiny. "But I'm just getting started now. With you." She pressed her hand to the side of my face. "I must say, Beau Swan, you've kept me waiting." She let out a silvery chuckle and caressed my cheek with an upward stroke of her cool satin finger. Our steps fell back in time with the music and we were making gentle circles with our feet again. "I had no one to dance with to this before. And so, year after year like clockwork, I would put on my best dress and just twirl around my room like a child, alone, imagining I had someone waiting for me on the other side of the world, thinking of me. A part of me wanted that with all my heart and while I so often declared otherwise, I don't think I ever truly did lose hope. And then I met you." Her voice got all soft and light as she said those last words into my chest. "You were worth the wait." I could feel a lump forming in my throat - to hear about how lonely she felt for all those years and what exactly I meant to her... it only made me fall deeper in love with her, something I couldn't even fathom was possible because I already loved her so completely.

Her hands came up behind my ears and moved in to stroke my face. Her eyes, happy and sad all at once, met mine, and her lips pressed so tight against my own, like she thought I would disappear, but I didn't, and I never would. I needed her to know that. The record played on until the music faded out, but we stayed that way, holding on to each other for the longest time.

…

Dad was leaving for Lake Chelan with Bonnie in just a couple of days, meaning the day Ivan was originally supposed to leave home was drawing near. Because he was already gone, my biggest fear now was that when that day came, he'd miss Lauren too much and do something crazy. Ivan was still undecided as far as Arch could see for now, but there was no sign of him anywhere at all near his family's home and we were in constant contact with Kirill. Twice they've gone to find him, once in Austria and once in Russia, the country of the three brothers' birth, but to no avail. He refused to come home and eluded them, and all we could do now was just hope and pray that he would change his mind. We passed the days anxiously, trying our best to act like everything was normal. Finally, it was March 4th. I promised Dad that Edythe and I would see him and Bonnie off and we started getting ready. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Edythe arranging the new scarf she and Arch had bought together around her beautiful neck, pulling her bronze curls out and over the fabric so it flowed out behind her like a waterfall, covering up the back of her shoulders. She looked at herself hard in the mirror and let out a breath, her troubled eyes unfocused on the image in front of her.

"Hey." I came up behind her, resting my hands on her shoulders and giving them a squeeze. Her fingers covered my knuckles, keeping me right there.

"Come on, we better hurry." She moved to the door, pulling me along behind her.

My stomach growled super loudly just then and Edythe laughed.

"Goodness, was that a bear I just heard?" Her eyes opened wide and she did an exaggerated once-over of the entire room, putting a hand to her chest so I could tell she was making fun of me. I gave her a look but really, I was just happy to see her smiling again.

"Kidding." She laughed. "How about some breakfast?" I threw my free hand over the side of my neck just like the first time she stayed over at my house and gasped, my eyes flying open. Her smile was instantly replaced by a deep, angered frown and her eyes narrowed very aggressively at me just then. A slow grin spread easily across my face and I let out a sort of wheeze of a laugh, silent - her expression was totally priceless. She dropped my hand and crossed her arms over her chest, turning from me with her head held high, pretending not to see me as she started down the stairs.

"Aw, come on, just admit it - you know it was funny. Then and now." I coaxed, clasping my hands behind my back.

"Is that the wind I'm hearing?" she asked all innocent-like, still ignoring me. Her steps quickened so I couldn't keep up with her anymore. She was already clear out the door by the time I was on the second landing and I almost fell flat on my face as I missed the second-to-last step, but then there was this cool whoosh of air and suddenly I was upright again, Edythe holding me up by the back of my gray sweater. I turned to look at her. She shook her head, biting back an amused smile. "You totally had that coming." After making sure I was steady on my feet, she continued down the stairs. I really was hungry though, so I wanted to ask again about food. Before I could even say it out loud, she held up a breakfast sandwich in a little Ziploc bag for me to see, all ready to go. I couldn't help but smile as I followed closely behind her this time, grabbing her other hand as we walked out the door together.

…

"Hey, kids. Thanks for coming." Dad greeted us.

"Wouldn't miss it." I showed him a smile and he returned it, snapping his fingers and heading back into the house a moment later.

"She'll be in good hands, won't she now?" Bonnie came up to me and motioned to Jules, who'd come along with her earlier, looking me square in the eyes.

"Of course." I nodded. Bonnie already knew about what might happen and though she tried to talk Jules out of coming with us, it didn't work. She was in, and there was nothing anyone could say or do that would sway her. I thought again about what Lee said, about Jules being the kind of person who'd stick with you to the end and about how I didn't deserve that kind of friend - which was true - and so I assured Bonnie in the most confident tone I could take that we wouldn't let anything happen to her, and I meant it. She nodded once, a movement so full of trust, and called Jules over to her side. Dad, who was out of the house again and loading Bonnie's car up with all their fishing gear during that little exchange, looked at just me and Edythe now.

"Take care of yourself, Dad. Catch lots of fish." I wrapped my arms around him and patted his back twice with both hands. He turned to look at Edythe then and his face broke into this giant grin.

"Wow, look at you. Could be twins." I smacked Dad's arm for that on my wife's behalf and he laughed out loud. "Kidding, kidding." He put his hands up before pulling Edythe – who didn't seem to mind at all – into a big hug.

"Safe travels to you both." She gave Dad a squeeze and nodded at Bonnie, who returned the gesture. I guess that was a good sign - she was rooting for us, too. Dad and I helped Bonnie into the car and he got in behind the wheel. The purr of the engine revving up filled our ears and we all waved them off, the smiles on our faces only fading when our parents were totally out of sight.

"Today's the day, isn't it?" Jules asked, still looking straight out in front of us down my driveway. I nodded even though I knew she couldn't see me. It didn't matter, though - we both knew it already.

Edythe's cellphone went off and she dashed it to her ear.

"Arch." she breathed. Her lips parted and her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Slow down, Arch." I could hear him on the other line. It was no surprise, then, when my wife's face fell.

"He did it, Edy. He told them. You all need to come home. Right now." The light faded from Edythe's eyes and she didn't even say goodbye to him. We all piled into the car, a heavy silence between us as the forests whipped by in dizzying shades of green on either side of us. The instant we pulled into the driveway, Edythe blurred as she flew out of the driver's seat and the car door was still hanging open when she was long gone. I ran after her as fast as I could and when I entered the house, I could hear both her and Arch talking, but their words whipped out so quick and low that I didn't catch a thing they were saying. "Would someone please just tell me what's going on here?" I huffed, catching my breath. Though Edythe's scared eyes found mine first, it was Arch who answered me instead.

"We should be expecting a letter from the Volturi soon." he whispered, his eyes hard; troubled. "I'm sorry."

We didn't need to wait long.

…

Edythe's slender fingers touched at the colorful circus-animal bedsheet we'd turned down on the crib mattress the other day and then they were busy rearranging the little toys and blankets we'd put in there, probably for the tenth time today, just to occupy herself.

"Hey." I came up behind her and gently took her wrist. She turned around and it looked like she was wanting to say something, but the words didn't come out right away. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about?" She shook her head and pulled away but I brought her right back to me, wrapping my arms around her entire body. She let out a shaky sigh and I felt the tremble of her shoulders moving up and down in my embrace and I kissed the top of her head, holding her tighter to my chest.

"I'm telling you right now, Edythe, it's going to be okay, alright? We'll bring him home and we'll see him grow up, me and you. I promise." I brought my hands up to either side of her face, trying to show her a smile and hoping my words sounded convincing enough, because I knew we had to believe in them; had to. For all our sakes. It was all we could do.

There was a knock at the door.

Carine stepped into our bedroom, soundless. The fingers on one hand were curled against the front of her thigh and the other hand, which was shaking, was extended out towards us. I took in the unmistakable red wax seal on the pointed flap of the off-white papyrus envelope and saw it was clearly addressed to the Cullens, the name written in an elaborate hand. Edythe took it from Carine and scanned its contents with dull eyes as if she was in a trance. I peered over her shoulder to read through the message printed in the very same elaborate font right underneath a black-inked coat of arms and swallowed hard even when I already knew we had it coming all along:

We request your presence.

Edythe turned to look at me with silent, pleading eyes but I didn't know what to say right then. I followed her out the door as she flew downstairs.