And then I knew that I could do this. Obviously, I would be the number-one priority, the first one to die, but as long as I held, we were on more than equal footing with the Volturi. We still had Benjamin and Zafrina; they had no supernatural help at all. As long as I held.
30. TRAVIS, ―SAFE‖
Chapter 38 ―Forever,‖ I promised her.
We had forever. And Nessie was going to be fine and healthy and strong. Like the half-human Nahuel, in a hundred and fifty years she would still be young. And we would all be together.
Happiness expanded like an explosion inside me — so extreme, so violent that I wasn‘t sure I‘d survive it.
31. ELBOW, ―ONE DAY LIKE THIS‖
Chapter 39 ―Bella!‖ Edward whispered in shock.
I knew it was working then, so I concentrated even harder, dredging up the specific memories I‘d saved for this moment, letting them flood my mind, and hopefully his as well.
Some of the memories were not clear — dim human memories, seen through weak eyes and heard through weak ears: the first time I‘d seen his face… the way it felt when he‘d held me in the meadow… the sound of his voice through the darkness of my faltering consciousness when he‘d saved me from James… his face as he waited under a canopy of flowers to marry me… every precious moment from the island… his cold hands touching our baby through my skin…
And the sharp memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I‘d opened my eyes to my new life, to the endless dawn of immortality… that first kiss… that first night…
And the sharp memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I‘d opened my eyes to my new life, to the endless dawn of immortality… that first kiss… that first night…
―I heard you,‖ he breathed. ―How? How did you do that?‖
―Zafrina‘s idea. We practiced with it a few times.‖
He was dazed. He blinked twice and shook his head.
―Now you know,‖ I said lightly, and shrugged. ―No one‘s ever loved anyone as much as I love you.‖
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
1. MUSE, ―YES PLEASE‖
Page 55 It was impossible to mistake the noise. The boom boom boom of the bass, the video-game soundtrack, the snarling. Totally our crowd.
Page 83 The sound of the thudding music that greeted my approach was accompanied by the unmistakable sweet, smoky scent of a burning vampire. My panic went into overdrive. I could just as easily die inside the house as outside.
2. YEAH YEAH YEAHS, ―HEADS WILL ROLL‖
Page 9 I turned off my brain. It was time to hunt. I took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of the blood inside the humans below. They weren‘t the only humans around, but they were the closest. Who you were going to hunt was the kind of decision you had to make before you scented your prey. It was too late now to choose anything.
3. WHITE RABBITS, ―MIDNIGHT AND I‖
Page 13 I followed him up the alley wall, and then we swung across the girders under the freeway. The lights from the cars below didn‘t touch us. I thought how stupid people were, how oblivious, and I was glad I wasn‘t one of the clueless.
4. THE THERMALS, ―NOW WE CAN SEE‖
Page 35 We sat in silence, pondering this. I mostly thought about how much I didn‘t know. And why hadn‘t I worried about everything I didn‘t know before now? It was like talking to Diego had cleared my head. For the first time in three months, blood was not the main thing in there.
5. HA HA TONKA, ―FALLING IN‖
Diego‘s perspective
Pages 49–50 Diego grinned at me, his face beautiful with light, and suddenly, with a deep lurch in my stomach, I realized that the whole BFF thing was way off the mark. For me, anyway.
It was just that fast.
His grin softened a little bit into just the hint of a smile. His eyes were wide like mine.
All awe and lights. He touched my face, the way he‘d touched my hand, as if he was trying to understand the shine.
―So pretty,‖ he said. He left his hand against my cheek.
6. THE DEAD WEATHER, ―ROCKING HORSE‖
Pages 57–58 ―I see the little girl made it, too,‖ said a new voice, and I shuddered because it was Raoul. I felt a little bit of relief that he didn‘t know my name, but mostly I just felt horrified that he‘d noticed me at all.
―Yeah, she followed me.‖ I couldn‘t see Diego, but I knew he was shrugging.
―Aren‘t you the savior of the hour?‖ Raoul said snidely.
―We don‘t get extra points for being morons.‖…
―Interesting attitude you got, Diego. You think that Riley likes you so much he‘s gonna care if I kill you. I think you‘re wrong. But either way, for tonight, he already thinks you‘re dead.‖
7. REFUSED, ―NEW NOISE‖
Page 113 Riley had better control of them than I had thought possible.
Still, it was mostly repetition. I noticed Riley saying the same things over and over and over again. Work together, watch your back, don‟t go at her head-on; work together, watch your back, don‟t go at him head-on; work together, watch your back, don‟t go at her head-on. It was kind of ridiculous, really, and made the group seem exceptionally stupid. But I was sure I would have been just as stupid if I‘d been in the thick of the fight with them rather than watching calmly from the sidelines with Fred.
It reminded me in a way of how Riley had drilled into us our fear of the sun. Constant repetition.
8. BLUE OCTOBER, ―WHAT IF WE COULD‖
Pages 89–90 And I suddenly realized something stupendously obvious. It was the solution that had tickled the edges of my understanding before, when I was tracking the vampire herd to this place with Diego….
We didn‘t have to come back the other night! We shouldn‟t have! Why hadn‘t I thought of it then?…
We could disappear, and Riley would have to make do with nineteen vampires, or make some new ones quick. Either way, not our problem.
I couldn‘t wait to tell Diego my plan. My gut instinct was that he would feel the same.
Hopefully.
9. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ―SICK, SICK, SICK‖
Pages 105–106 His face was not twisted in rage, the way it usually was when he was angry; it was calm and cold, smooth and beautiful, his mouth curled at the edges into a small smile. I suddenly had the impression that this was a new Riley. Something had changed him, hardened him, but I couldn‘t imagine what could have happened in one night to create that cruel, perfect smile.
10. SILVERSUN PICKUPS, ―THE ROYAL WE‖
Page 115 Kristie and Raoul growled, and both of their companies followed suit immediately. I was surprised to see it, but they did look like an army in that moment. Not that they were marching in formation or anything, but there was just something uniform about the response. Like they all were part of one big organism.