Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [178]
Just half a minute ago, Jasper had said the words himself: Not even when they were hunting the immortal children The immortal children-the unmentionable bane, the appalling taboo
With Irinas past, how could she apply any other reading to what shed seen that day in the narrow field? She had not been close enough to hear Renesmees heart, to feel the heat radiating from her body. Renesmees rosy cheeks could have been a trick on our part for all she knew.
After all, the Cullens were in league with werewolves. From Irinas point of view, maybe this meant nothing was beyond us
Irina, wringing her hands in the snowy wilderness-not mourning Laurent, after all, but knowing it was her duty to turn the Cullens in, knowing what would happen to them if she did. Apparently her conscience had won out over the centuries of friendship.
And the Volturis response to this kind of infraction was so automatic, it was already decided.
I turned and draped myself over Renesmees sleeping body, covering her with my hair, burying my face in her curls.
Think of what she saw that afternoon, I said in a low voice, interrupting whatever Emmett was beginning to say. To someone whod lost a mother because of the immortal children, what would Renesmee look like?
Everything was silent again as the others caught up to where I was already.
An immortal child, Carlisle whispered.
I felt Edward kneel beside me, wrap his arms over us both.
But shes wrong, I went on. Renesmee isnt like those other children. They were frozen, but she grows so much every day. They were out of control, but she never hurts Charlie or Sue or even shows them things that would upset them. She can control herself. Shes already smarter than most adults. There would be no reason
I babbled on, waiting for someone to exhale with relief, waiting for the icy tension in the room to relax as they realized I was right. The room just seemed to get colder. Eventually my small voice trailed off into silence.
No one spoke for a long time.
Then Edward whispered into my hair. Its not the kind of crime they hold a trial for, love, he said quietly. Aros seen Irinas proof in her thoughts. They come to destroy, not to be reasoned with.
But theyre wrong, I said stubbornly.
They wont wait for us to show them that.
His voice was still quiet, gentle, velvet and yet the pain and desolation in the sound was unavoidable. His voice was like Alices eyes before-like the inside of a tomb.
What can we do? I demanded.
Renesmee was so warm and perfect in my arms, dreaming peacefully. Id worried so much about Renesmees speeding age-worried that she would only have little over a decade of life That terror seemed ironic now.
Little over a month
Was this the limit, then? Id had more happiness than most people ever experienced. Was there some natural law that demanded equal shares of happiness and misery in the world? Was my joy overthrowing the balance? Was four months all I could have?
It was Emmett who answered my rhetorical question.
We fight, he said calmly.
We cant win, Jasper growled. I could imagine how his face would look, how his body would curve protectively over Alices.
Well, we cant run. Not with Demetri around. Emmett made a disgusted noise, and I knew instinctively that he was not upset by the idea of the Volturis tracker but by the idea of running away. And I dont know that we cant win, he said. There are a few options to consider. We dont have to fight alone.
My head snapped up at that. We dont have to sentence the Quileutes to death, either, Emmett!
Chill, Bella. His expression was no different from when he was contemplating fighting anacondas. Even the threat of annihilation couldnt change Emmetts perspective, his ability to thrill to a challenge. I didnt mean the pack. Be realistic, though-do you think Jacob or Sam is going to ignore an invasion? Even if it wasnt about Nessie? Not to mention that, thanks to Irina, Aro knows about our alliance with the pack now, too. But I was thinking