⋅˚₊‧ ☾ ‧₊˚ ⋅ ♡‧₊˚

It was a quiet day. Everyone seemed to push Irina out of their minds as we went about our usual routines. Carlisle reassured us that she'd return eventually to make amends and we all seemed to agree with him. Eli was currently napping upstairs while the rest of us watched Nesmee play the piano. Everyone was fixated on watching her little fingers move across the keys, I was more entertained by the chess game happening between Carlisle and Esme. It wasn't anything unusual for us. Well until Alice dropped a vase of flowers.

Jasper immediately sped to her while the rest of us gazed at her in shock. "What is it, Alice?"

"The Volturi." I shared a look with Emmett as we all moved in closer to her. "They're coming for us. Are, Caius, Marcus, the Guard. They're all coming."

"Why?"

"What did Irina see in the woods?" Edward turned to Bella and me.

"We were just walking," Bella answered.

"Ness was catching snowflakes," Jacob commented.

"Eli was playing with Seth," I added in. "There wasn't much to see."

Something seemed to click in Edward's brain. "Of course." He uttered. "Irina thinks she's an immortal child." He turned to look at me. "And Eli too."

"But he wasn't doing anything. How could she think he's one too?" I asked him, tucking my hair behind my ears. I felt Emmett's large body come up behind me, his hand reaching out to grab mine. "And besides, Aro already knows of Eli. Why would he be a threat now?"

"Nobody expected him to grow this fast. We can only assume he views Eli the same way as Renesmee." Carlisle interjected.

"Fuck." Emmett grunted out.

"You said fuck," We all turned to look where the little voice came from and I wasn't surprised to see Eli standing in the doorway listening to us. He used a normal speed to come to tuck himself behind me, still not liking having any attention on him.

"What's an Immortal Child?" Bella looked at us.

"It's exactly as it sounds," I told her. "An immortal kid."

"Come with me." Carlisle walked into his study and none of us hesitated to follow him. He grabbed a thick book from one of his shelves and flipped it open. Once he had the right page he placed it in front of Bella as she sat at his desk. "Immortal children and enchanting. Beautiful. They're powerful. But their ages and minds were frozen in time. They couldn't be taught or restrained. One tantrum could destroy an entire village."

"I learned about them when I was with the Volturi," I told her. "They're incredibly dangerous. Aro said they were illegal in their world."

"That's right." Carlisle nodded. "But there was a time when a few existed. Humans heard and some witnessed the devastation. The Volturi had to intervene. The children couldn't protect our secret. Their creators grew attached and fought to protect them. Covens were torn apart. The Volturi deemed it illegal. And unfortunately, our cousins were some of the unlucky few who suffered."

"The Denali's mother created an immortal child?" Bella's eyes widened.

"Yes." I gasped as he answered her. "And she paid the price." I felt a shiver go down my spine as I could only imagine the pain they went through.

"But Renesmee's not like those children. Neither is Elijah." Bella stated. "They were born not bitten. She grows every single day."

"Can't you just go to the Volturi and explain that to them?" Jacob inquired.

"Aro has enough proof in Irina's thoughts." Edward dismissed the idea.

"So we fight," Jacob stated as if it was that simple.

"Their offensive guard is too powerful. Nobody can go up against Jane." Jasper informed him.

"Plus, she's not the only gifted vamp they have. Almost all of them have some power." I added.

"So you know who does and who doesn't?" Jacob asked me and I nodded. "Perfect. We have an advantage against them."

"It's not that simple Jake." I sighed.

"So then we convince them," Bella growled.

"They're coming to kill us. Not to talk." Emmett grunted behind me. I felt his body tense up and Eli shifted in between us. For a moment I forgot he was in the room and Dom seemed to notice too. He reached down and grabbed Eli's hand, gently coaxing him out of the room. I leaned onto Emmett as we watched our little boy glance at us before turning a corner and disappearing from our sight.

"No, you're right." I looked at Edward as he rambled on. "They won't listen to us. But we have friends all around the world."

"I won't ask them to fight." Carlisle crossed his arms over his chest.

"So then we won't. We ask them to witness. To see for themselves that Renesmee and Elijah are half mortal." He walked forward to place his hands on Bella's shoulders. "If we enough people knew the truth, we can try to get the Volturi to listen."

"It's not the worst idea we've ever had," Emmett commented. I smiled slightly, feeling a sense of calm wash over me. I sent Jasper a grateful smile and he nodded to me.

"We can ask this of our friends," Esme spoke softly. Carlisle agreed to the plan. Emmett and I shared a look, him draping an arm around my shoulders as we waited for the next part of the plan.

"We depart tomorrow. Esme and I will head to London first, I have a few friends there who will no doubt help us. Edward, Bella, you'll head to Alaska. The Denalis need to know what's happening. They might not believe you about Irina but it's worth a try." Carlisle glanced at each of us as he spoke. "If you know of anyone who would be willing to help us, how's a good time to get in touch."

"Clary and I will head out too. Someone owes me a favor. I think it's a good time to collect." Emmett announced. I looked at him, confused, but he just shook his head. I looked around the room at everyone. All of us were about to separate and I couldn't help but feel anxious. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jasper and Alice communicating silently, and the sight made me uneasy.

"We're all set?" We all nodded. "Good. Start packing." Everyone cleared out of the office and I faced Emmett with a frown.

"Where are we going?"

"North Dakota." He replied. "I know someone there who owes me a favor. I saved his life a long time ago and I never needed anything from him until now." He shrugged.

"This whole thing is complicated." I sighed. I moved to lean against the table, my hands resting on it as I perched slightly. "What if they won't listen to us?"

"We can't think about the what if's right now baby." His hand reached out to cup my cheek, his cold thumb caressing my skin. "Carlisle knows a lot of people. Someone is bound to say yes to him."

"You know I worry." I smiled slightly. "It's the one thing I'm good at."

"Well, worrying won't do you any good right now." He chuckled. He moved his hand to cup my neck and he brought my head to Kay against his chest. I felt the coolness of his skin through his shirt on my forehead and the temperature managed to calm me down. "We'll be fine Clare-bear. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," I mumbled. A brief flashback of our past had me flinching slightly and I knew he felt it as he let out an unneeded sigh.

"I won't let anything happen to you or Eli." I leaned back to look at him and his hands cupped my face as he forced me to meet his stare. "I swear on my life." He kissed my forehead and I closed my eyes as I let out a sigh of relief. "Let's go get our boy." I nodded and he left the room first.

I looked around the room and my eyes stopped on the book Carlisle showed to Bella. My inner bookworm was screaming at me to pick it up. It was still open to the drawing of an immortal child. It was surrounded by mutilated bodies and blood was sketched onto its chin. I knew Eli wasn't anything like that and that Irina was mistaken, but I couldn't help but doubt our plan. Everyone seemed so sure but after spending so much time with the Volturi, I knew they didn't care for reason or explanations.

We had a battle ahead of us and I could only help we'd be ready for it.