Carlisle squared his shoulders and paced several steps ahead of our defensive line. I hated to see him alone, unprotected. He spread his arms, holding his palms up as if in greeting. "Aro, my old friend. It's been centuries."

The white clearing was dead silent for a long moment. I could feel the tension rolling off Edward as he listened to Aro's assessment of Carlisle's words. The strain mounted as the seconds ticked by.

And then Aro stepped forward out of the center of the Volturi formation. The shield, Renata, moved with him as if the tips of her fingers were sewn to his robe. For the first time, the Volturi ranks reacted. A muttered grumble rolled through the line, eyebrows lowered into scowls, lips curled back from teeth. A few of the guard leaned forward into a crouch.

Aro held one hand up toward them. "Peace."

He walked just a few paces more, then cocked his head to one side. His milky eyes glinted with curiosity.

"Fair words, Carlisle," he breathed in his thin, wispy voice. "They seem out of place, considering the army you've assembled to kill me, and to kill my dear ones."

Carlisle shook his head and stretched his right hand forward as if there were not still almost a hundred yards between them. "You have but to touch my hand to know that was never my intent."

Aro's shrewd eyes narrowed. "But how can your intent possibly matter, dear Carlisle, in the face of what you have done?" He frowned, and a shadow of sadness crossed his features - whether it was genuine or not, I could not tell.

"I have not committed the crime you are here to punish me for."

"Then step aside and let us punish those responsible. Truly, Carlisle, nothing would please me more than to preserve your life today."

"No one has broken the law, Aro. Let me explain." Again, Carlisle offered his hand. A father protecting his family, his children. Before Aro could answer, Caius drifted swiftly forward to Aro's side.

"So many pointless rules, so many unnecessary laws you create for yourself, Carlisle," the white-haired ancient hissed. "How is it possible that you defend the breaking of one that truly matters?"

"The law is not broken. If you would listen - "

"We see the children, Carlisle," Caius snarled. "Do not treat us as fools."

"They are not immortals. They are not vampires. I can easily prove this with just a few moments - "

Caius cut him off. "If they are not one of the forbidden, then why have you massed a battalion to protect them?"

"Witnesses, Caius, just as you have brought." Carlisle gestured to the angry horde at the edge of the woods; some of them growled in response. "Any one of these friends can tell you the truth about the children. Or you could just look at them, Caius. See the flush of human blood in their cheeks."

"Artifice!" Caius snapped. "Where is the informer? Let her come forward!" He craned his neck around until he spotted Irina lingering behind the wives. "You! Come!"

Irina stared at him uncomprehendingly, her face like that of someone who has not entirely awakened from a hideous nightmare. Impatiently, Caius snapped his fingers. One of the wives' huge bodyguards moved to Irina's side and prodded her roughly in the back. Irina blinked twice and then walked slowly toward Caius in a daze. She stopped several yards short, her eyes still on her sisters.

Caius closed the distance between them and slapped her across the face.

It couldn't have hurt, but there was something terribly degrading about the action. It was like watching someone kick a dog. Tanya and Kate hissed in synchronization.

Irina's body went rigid, and her eyes finally focused on Caius. He pointed one clawed finger at Renesmee and Demetri, who were standing side by side now, in between their mothers. A grumble rumbled in my throat.

"These are the children you saw?" Caius demanded. "The ones that were obviously more than human?"

Irina peered at us, examining Renesmee and Demetri for the first time since entering the clearing. Her head tilted to the side; confusion crossed her features.

"Well?" Caius snarled.

"I... I'm not sure," she said, her tone perplexed.

Caius's hand twitched as if he wanted to slap her again. "What do you mean?" he said in a steely whisper.

"They are not the same, but I think it's the same children. What I mean is, they've changed. These children are bigger than the ones I saw, but - "

Caius's furious gasp crackled through his suddenly bared teeth, and Irina broke off without finishing. Aro flitted to Caius's side and put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Be composed, brother. We have time to sort this out. No need to be hasty."

With a sullen expression, Caius turned his back on Irina.

"Now, sweetling," Aro said in a warm, sugary murmur. "Show me what you're trying to say." He held his hand out to the bewildered vampire.

Uncertainly, Irina took his hand. He held hers for only five seconds.

"You see, Caius?" he said. "It's a simple matter to get what we need."

Caius didn't answer him. From the corner of his eye, Aro glanced once at his audience, his mob, and then turned back to Carlisle.

"And so, we have a mystery on our hands, it seems. It would appear the children have grown. Yet Irina's first memory was clearly that of an immortal child. Curious."

"That's exactly what I'm trying to explain," Carlisle said, and from the change in his voice, I could guess at his relief. This was the pause we had pinned all our nebulous hopes on.

Carlisle held out his hand again.

Aro hesitated for a moment. "I would rather have the explanation from someone more central to the story, my friend. Am I wrong to assume that this breach was not of your making?"

"There was no breach."

"Be that as it may, I will have every facet of the truth." Aro's feathery voice hardened. "And the best way to get that is to have the evidence directly from your talented son." He inclined his head in Edward's direction. "As one of the children clings to his newborn mate, I'm assuming Edward is involved."

Of course, he wanted Edward. Once he could see into Edward's mind, he would know all our thoughts. Except Bella's and mine. He strode across the snowy field, clapping Carlisle on the shoulder as he passed. I heard a low whimper from behind me - Esme's terror breaking through. Cassia approached her and nuzzled her side in a show of solidarity. He only son was up front and she risked him too.

I saw Jane smile as Edward crossed the midpoint in the distance between us, when he was closer to them than he was to us. Jane, the crazy one, who was sadistic with her powers.

Barely a second had passed. Edward was still walking to Aro. At some point Bella let out a startled laugh, I looked at her a small rumble in my throat. She needed to focus, we had once shot at this, and she can't mess it up.

Edward stopped a few steps away from Aro, this was the point of all our preparations: getting Aro to hear our side of the story. Edward's chin came up arrogantly, and he held his hand out to Aro as if he were conferring a great honor.

Aro seemed only delighted with his attitude, but his delight was not universal. Renata fluttered nervously in Aro's shadow. Caius's scowl was so deep it looked like his papery, translucent skin would crease permanently. Little Jane showed her teeth, and beside her Alec's eyes narrowed in concentration.

Aro closed the distance without pause - and really, what did he have to fear? The hulking shadows of the lighter gray cloaks - the brawny fighters like Felix - were but a few yards away. Jane and her burning gift could throw Edward on the ground, writhing in agony. Alec could blind and deafen him before he could take a step in Aro's direction.

With an untroubled smile, Aro took Edward's hand. His eyes snapped shut at once, and then his shoulders hunched under the onslaught of information.

Every secret thought, every strategy, every insight - everything Edward had heard in the minds around him during the last month - was now Aro's. And further back - every vision of Alice's, every quiet moment with our family, every picture in Renesmee's head, everything about me... all of that was Aro's now, too.

Aro continued to concentrate on Edward's memories. Edward's head bowed, too, the muscles in his neck locking tight as he read back again everything that Aro took from him, and Aro's response to it all.

This two-way but unequal conversation continued long enough that even the guard grew uneasy. Low murmurs ran through the line until Caius barked a sharp order for silence. Jane was edging forward like she couldn't help herself, and Renata's face was rigid with distress. For a moment, I examined this powerful shield that seemed so panicky and weak; though she was useful to Aro, I could tell she was no warrior. It was not her job to fight but to protect. There was no bloodlust in her.

She would be a priority, not high on the list as Demetri, because without him my family could hide. Jane and Alec were next, but without Demetri we could run and hide. I could tell my pack agreed, they too saw him as the biggest threat.

I refocused as Aro straightened, his eyes flashing open, their expression awed and wary. He did not release Edward's hand.

Edward's muscles loosened ever so slightly.

"You see?" Edward asked, his velvet voice calm.

"Yes, I see, indeed," Aro agreed, and amazingly, he sounded almost amused. "I doubt whether any two among gods or mortals have ever seen quite so clearly."

The disciplined faces of the guard showed the same disbelief I felt.

"You have given me much to ponder, young friend," Aro continued. "Much more than I expected." Still, he did not release Edward's hand, and Edward's tense stance was that of one who listens.

Edward didn't answer.

"May I meet them?" Aro asked - almost pleaded - with sudden eager interest. "I never dreamed of the existence of such a thing in all my centuries. What an addition to our histories!"

"What is this about, Aro?" Caius snapped before Edward could answer.

"Something you've never dreamed of my practical friend. Take a moment to ponder, for the justice we intended to deliver no longer applies."

Caius hissed in surprise at his words.

"Peace, brother," Aro cautioned soothingly.

This should have been good news - these were the words we'd been hoping for, the reprieve we'd never really thought possible. Aro had listened to the truth. Aro had admitted that the law had not been broken.

I saw the muscles in his back tighten. I replayed in my head Aro's instruction for Caius to ponder, and heard the double meaning.

"Will you introduce me to your daughter? And Nephew?" Aro asked Edward again. Caius was not the only one who hissed at this new revelation.

Edward nodded reluctantly. And yet, Renesmee had won over so many others. Aro always seemed the leader of the ancients. If he were on her side, could the others act against us?

Aro still gripped Edward's hand, and he now answered a question that the rest of us had not heard.

"I think a compromise on this one point is certainly acceptable, under the circumstance. We will meet in the middle."

Aro released his hand. Edward turned back toward us, and Aro joined him, throwing one arm casually over Edward's shoulder like they were the best of friends - all the while maintaining contact with Edward's skin. They began to cross the field back to our side.

The entire guard fell into step behind them. Aro raised a hand negligently without looking at them.

"Hold, my dear ones. Truly, they mean us no harm if we are peaceable."

The guard reacted to this more openly than before, with snarls and hisses of protest, but held their position. Renata, clinging closer to Aro than ever, whimpered in anxiety.

"Master," she whispered.

"Don't fret, my love," he responded. "All is well."

"Perhaps you should bring a few members of your guard with us," Edward suggested. "It will make them more comfortable."

Aro nodded as if this was a wise observation he should have thought of himself. He snapped his fingers twice. "Felix, Demetri."

The two vampires were at his side instantaneously. Both were tall and dark-haired, Demetri hard and lean as the blade of a sword, Felix hulking and menacing as an iron-spiked cudgel.

The five of them stopped in the middle of the snowy field.

"Bella. Rosalie" Edward called "Bring Renesmee and Demetrius... and a few friends"

My body coiled... I didn't want my son near them, and I wouldn't let Rose go alone. But I trusted Edward. He would know if Aro was planning any treachery at this point.

Aro had three protectors on his side of the summit, so it made sense that Rose and Bella only had two. Rose and Bella looked at me "Alex?"

I nodded my wolfy head then as if they thought together both looked at Emmett. "Emmett."

Emmett grinned. I heard another rumble from the guard as they saw the choices - clearly, they did not trust me. Aro lifted his hand, waving away their protest again.

"Interesting company you keep," Demetri murmured to Edward.

Edward didn't respond, but a low growl slipped through my teeth.

We stopped a few yards from Aro. Edward ducked under Aro's arm and quickly joined us, taking Bella's hand. For a moment we faced each other in silence. Then Felix greeted me in a low aside.

"Hello again, Bella." He grinned cockily while still tracking my every twitch with his peripheral vision.

She smiled wryly at the mountainous vampire. "Hey, Felix."

Felix chuckled. "You look good. Immortality suits you."

"Thanks so much."

"You're welcome. It's too bad ..." He let his comment trail off into silence, but I didn't need Edward's gift to imagine the end. It's too bad were going to kill you in a sec.

"Yes, too bad, isn't it?" Bella murmured.

Aro paid no attention to the exchange. He leaned his head to one side, fascinated. "I hear their strange hearts," he murmured with an almost musical lilt to his words. "I smell her strange scent." Then his hazy eyes shifted to Demetri. "and no scent", his eyes glanced over me and then looked at Bella "In truth, young Bella, immortality does become you most extraordinarily," he said. "It is as if you were designed for this life."

Aro cleared his throat to reclaim our attention. "May I greet your children, lovely Bella? And Rosalie?" he asked sweetly. This was what we'd hoped for, Renesmee could show Aro everything.

Aro met us, his face beaming. He looked at Demetri first, his eyes glancing at me, then Rosalie.

"Exquisite" he murmured "I would assume a perfect match between his parents. Hello, young one. I hear they call you Demetri"

Demetri looked back at me, and I could see Aro do the same, I nodded. Demetri turned back towards the man. "Hello, Aro" he said quietly.

"wonderful, you have her eyes" Aro held his hand out to read Demetri's mind. Demetri furrowed his brows unsure what to do. Edward reassured him. "it's okay Demetri, just take his hand"

Demetri trusted Edward, he must have known that Rosalie couldn't move as she was too focused on our son. "Perhaps if your mother did it first" he murmured looking at Rose, who knew it wasn't a question.

Like Edward she handed him her hand. And I knew, this wasn't a play to figure out about Demetri, this was about me. Everything about my kind, every interaction between Rose and I, the missing pieces of Edwards mind were filled in by Rose.

When he came back too Aro looked at me "Amarok" he murmured earning a sound of gasps throughout the Volturi guard. I heard Caius let out a his and my eyes locked with his. I didn't play into the game, but I let my muzzle scrunch up to show my teeth, before looking back at Aro.

"thank you Rosalie." he then looked at Demetri. "half-vampire; half-Amarok" he murmured. Demetri feeling braver now lifted his hand to Aro, who as if to test a theory took it like Rosalie's but let go quickly after.

"nothing" he whispered. Rosalie stepped back with Demetri, putting him onto my back. Demetri settled in his spot, watching Renesmee.

Aro turned to Renesmee "Hello, Renesmee"

"Hello, Aro," she answered formally in her high, ringing voice.

Aro's eyes were bemused.

"What is it?" Caius hissed from behind. He seemed infuriated by the need to ask.

"Half mortal, half immortal," Aro announced to him and the rest of the guard without turning his enthralled gaze from Renesmee. "Conceived so, and carried by this newborn while she was still human."

"Impossible," Caius scoffed.

"Do you think they've fooled me, then, brother?" Aro's expression was greatly amused, but Caius flinched. "Is the heartbeat you hear a trickery as well?"

"and this one carried by Rosalie, with the aid of this Amarok's venom" he said pointing to me. Caius scowled, looking as chagrined as if Aro's gentle questions had been blows.

"Calmly and carefully, brother," Aro cautioned, still smiling at Renesmee. "I know well how you love your justice, but there is no justice in acting against these unique little ones for their parentage. And so much to learn, so much to learn! I know you don't have my enthusiasm for collecting histories, but be tolerant with me, brother, as I add a chapter that stuns me with its improbability. We came expecting only justice and the sadness of false friends, but look what we have gained instead! A new, bright knowledge of ourselves, our possibilities."

He held out his hand to Renesmee in invitation. But this was not what she wanted. She leaned away from me, stretching upward, to touch her fingertips to Aro's face.

Aro did not react with shock as almost everyone else had reacted to this performance from Renesmee; he was as used to the flow of thought and memory from other minds as Edward was.

His smile widened, and he sighed in satisfaction. "Brilliant," he whispered.

Renesmee relaxed back into my arms, her little face very serious.

"Please?" she asked him.

His smile turned gentle. "Of course, I have no desire to harm your loved ones, precious Renesmee."

Aro's voice was so comforting and affectionate, it took me in for a second. And then I heard Edward's teeth grind together and, far behind us, Maggie's outraged hiss at the lie.

"I wonder," Aro said thoughtfully, seeming unaware of the reaction to his previous words. His eyes moved to me his eyes filled with longing that I couldn't comprehend, but I had an idea.

"It doesn't work that way," Edward said, the careful neutrality gone from his suddenly harsh tone.

"Just an errant thought," Aro said, appraising me openly, and then his eyes moved slowly across the two lines of wolves behind us. Whatever Renesmee had shown him, it made the wolves suddenly interesting to him.

"They don't belong to us, Aro. They don't follow our commands that way. They're here because they want to be."

I growled menacingly, how dare he think of enslaving my people.

"They seem quite attached to you, though," Aro said. "And your young mate and your... family. Loyal" His voice caressed the word softly.

"They're committed to protecting human life, Aro. That makes them able to coexist with us, but hardly with you. Unless you're rethinking your lifestyle."