The first thing I did when I returned was go to my Grams. The sight of me, alive and well, brought her to tears—overwhelmed with joy that I had survived and that we hadn't needed to fight the Volturi after all. I couldn't bring myself to tell her about the vision or Aro's demand that I be turned into a vampire. Seeing her so happy that I was alive was enough for now. I would tell her at some point...

Back at the Cullens', we gathered in the forest with the Denali clan and the rest of the family. The other covens had already returned to their own lives after we thanked them for witnessing and offered to fight for us.

"How does this work?" Kate's voice echoed in the air as we observed Emmett circling around with a bag of salt before she cocked her gaze to meet mine.

"Once Emmett finishes, I'll pour her ashes into the circle and start the spell," I said softly, my gaze drifting to the crisp yellow page of the Book of Shadows, which I held open. When I first opened it at the Cullens, it had magically flipped through the pages until the page of the necessary spell was found.

"Are you sure it will work?" Tanya asked, her voice laced with concern, through her eyes sparkled with hope at the thought of bringing their sister back. "They didn't seem very fond of us." She referred to the Salem Thirteen.

"Can you blame them?" I replied quietly. "They were burned by vampires, and I'm honestly surprised they're willing to help us at all."

"Done," Emmett announced, setting the bag of salt aside and brushing his hands together. The salt circle he had created was a medium size—not too large, but certainly sufficient for our purpose.

Bella approached, cradling the vase that contained Irina's ashes. I closed my Book of Shadows with a decisive slam, and we exchanged our items. I took a moment to inhale deeply before stepping cautiously toward the salt circle. As I crossed the line and moved to the centre, I felt the weight of everyone's gaze upon me.

I carefully opened the lid of the vase, feeling the cool metal against my fingers. As I tilted it upward, the fine ashes of Irina began to cascade from the container, drifting down like delicate grey snowflakes. With each gentle tilt, more of the ashes escaped, creating a small mound on the ground beneath me. The soft, powdery substance gathered higher.

Once the vase was empty, I turned and approached the salt line, stepping over and passing it to Edward, who stood nearby. Renesmee was close by as well, prompting me to kneel down and offer her a warm smile.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" I asked softly, and she nodded in response. I extended my hand to her, and she grasped it without hesitation, fully aware that she was about to play a vital role in this moment. I stood, as we approached the salt line, and we both turned to face the mound of ashes.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet, crisp scent of nature surrounding me. As I steadied myself, I focused on opening up to the energy I needed to channel. A surge of power washed over me, reminiscent of the night Renesmee was born.

"La cendre à l'os, de la chair à la vie," I initiated the spell, and in an instant, the salt circle ignited, flames dancing brightly in front of us. On the opposite side of the circle stood one of the Salem witches, who gave me a brief nod of acknowledgement. With a graceful upward wave of her hand, the ring of fire surged higher, enveloping the circle in a mesmerising blaze. The energy coursing through me intensified, fuelling my magic.

"De la cendre à l'os, de la chair à la vie," I continued with the incantation. "From ash to bone, from bone to breath. Rise once more, defy death!" I projected my voice, each word growing louder as I spoke. The flames surged higher, forming a towering wall of fire that enveloped us completely.

As swiftly as the wall of fire had appeared, it dissipated, revealing Irina standing before us within the salt circle, fully formed in flesh and bone. She stood before us in the same clothes she had worn on the day she was burned. As Irina took in her surroundings, her eyes flickered with confusion.

"Irina?" Tanya called out, stepping closer to the scorched salt line, her voice laced with both hope and trepidation. Hearing her name called by a familiar voice, she quickly spun around on her heels, coming face to face with the others.

"Ho-how..." she stammered, struggling to grasp how she was still alive. Before anyone could respond, Kate and Tanya rushed toward her, enveloping her in a tight embrace. Happy that their sister was back with them.

A smile tugged at my lips as I watched the exchange, feeling a sense of comfort in knowing I had done something good before giving it all up. Tears welled in my eyes as the reality sank in, now that the fear for our lives had passed. The weight of everything hit me like a brick wall. I held myself together, refusing to let the others see me completely fall apart.

"How can we ever repay you?" Tanya's voice pulled me from my thoughts and back to reality.

I locked eyes with her, glancing between the three of them. "Be there for one another," I said with a smile, knowing that nothing was more important than family.

"We will never forget what you did for us," Kate added, probably keeping her word as they will not die anytime soon, and neither will I.

I nodded slightly before turning back toward the Cullens. Just as I was about to take a step, Irina spoke up. "I'm sorry," she said, prompting me to turn back to her. "To all of you," she said, her gaze shifting to the Cullens, landing on Renesmee and her parents. "I never meant to... I should have just come back and talked," she confessed, her voice heavy with defeat. Sorrow filled her expression as she reflected on the consequences of her actions.

"We forgive you, Irina," Bella declared, choosing to extend her forgiveness. A flicker of hope brightened Irina's expression for a moment as if Bella's words carried immense weight for her.

I felt a surge of happiness knowing that Kate, Tanya, and the rest of their coven had Irina back with them...

Sometime later, I found myself standing on the balcony just off the kitchen. I wrapped my arms around myself, the cool night air settling in as darkness had fallen. The snow still clung to the grass below, though it was slowly beginning to melt.

I inhaled deeply, letting the sweet, earthy scent of the forest fill my lungs. With my eyes fluttering closed, I felt the pulse of nature all around me—the soft rustling of leaves in the breeze, the quiet whisper of the trees swaying above, the distant trickle of a stream somewhere in the woods. Every plant, every blade of grass seemed to hum with life.

A sharp ache gripped my chest as I thought about it—the moment when all of this would fade. The connection to nature would all slip away when I was turned. I'd miss it more than I could put into words—the hum of life that had always been part of me would be gone. Leaving me hollow, and lost...

Before I could control it, tears began to trickle down my rosy cheeks, soft sobs escaping my lips. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold them back. My breaths became erratic, and there were uneven gasps as the weight of everything crashed down on me. Thoughts swirled in my mind, each one more overwhelming than the last. How would I cope with this new reality? How would Grams deal with losing me to this? The questions piled on, suffocating me, pressing against my chest until I felt like I could barely breathe. The enormity of it all—the loss, the fear, the uncertainty—was crushing, leaving me trembling.

My tears kept flowing, blurring my vision as my legs gave way beneath me. Just as I began to collapse, before I even hit the ground, I found myself wrapped in a strong embrace. Instantly, I knew—it was Emmett. His arms cradled me, holding me together as I fell apart.

"I got you," he whispered softly. I pressed myself as close to him as I could, seeking comfort, hoping it would ease the pain, but it didn't. The ache remained, deep and relentless. "I got you," he whispered again, but my tears wouldn't stop, nor would the wails of grief and heartache. They poured out of me, unstoppable, despite his comforting presence.

"I'll always have you," Emmett's words hung in the air, their truth undeniable. I heard them, let them sink in, but still, I couldn't stop the tears as they dribbled into the crook of his neck.

I had no idea how long I cried in his arms; it felt like an eternity, my tears relentless. Nothing he could say or do would make the situation any easier. I couldn't run, because the Volturi would slaughter them all. And if I surrendered, I'd be burned at the stake. All I wanted was to live my life with Emmett.

He was the only thing that made the thought of becoming a vampire bearable—the very kind that had burned, drowned, hanged, and tortured my kind for centuries. The thought of becoming one repulsed me, though I could never admit that to him.

What would I even turn into? What will I become...

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