Twilight: blood & brimstone

Bella Swan was standing on the edge of something irreversible.

And she knew it.

She wasn't stupid.

She could feel the shift in herself, in the air, in the way I looked at her.

But knowing didn't mean she could stop it.

It just meant she could feel the moment she fell.

The Threshold

Alice's voice was the first to break the silence.

Her tone was sharp. "Bella. Don't."

Bella barely acknowledged her.

Because my fingers were still ghosting along her wrist.

Because she wasn't pulling away.

Because she didn't want to.

Jasper's eyes flickered between us, his entire body tense, but he didn't step in.

Not yet.

Bella swallowed hard, her pulse a stuttered rhythm beneath my touch.

She was thinking.

Calculating.

Wondering what it meant that Edward was gone and she was still here.

With me.

She wet her lips. "Where do you go now?"

I smirked. "Wherever I want."

Her breath hitched.

Because I meant it.

I wasn't tied down.

I wasn't weak like Edward.

I could do whatever I wanted. Take whatever I wanted.

Whoever I wanted.

And she knew she was part of that.

I leaned in just slightly, my voice low. "You could come with me, you know."

Alice sucked in a breath.

Jasper stilled.

Bella's entire body went rigid.

Because she hadn't expected that.

Because she was tempted.

I could see it in the way her fingers twitched, in the way her breath stuttered, in the way she hesitated.

The same way she had hesitated with Edward.

The same hesitation that had broken him.

I grinned. "You're thinking about it."

Her brown eyes snapped to mine. "No, I'm not."

I chuckled. "Liar."

Her fingers curled against her sides. "I—"

Alice moved then, stepping between us, her eyes sharp. "That's enough."

I exhaled through my nose, amusement flickering in my gaze. "Relax, Alice. I'm just talking."

Her expression darkened. "That's exactly the problem."

I smirked. "Then you'd better get your little broken golden boy in check. Because I don't think he likes what I've been saying."

Jasper's jaw clenched. "Where is he?"

Alice's expression flickered, her gaze unfocusing as she searched for the future.

But then—

Her eyes widened.

She gasped.

Bella frowned. "Alice?"

Alice didn't answer right away.

Her hands shook.

Her voice was tight. "He's going to Volterra."

The air froze.

Bella's heart stopped. "What?"

Alice's face was pale, her voice barely above a whisper. "He's going to the Volturi."

Jasper swore under his breath.

Bella took a step forward, panic clawing at her throat. "No. He wouldn't—he wouldn't."

Alice's voice broke. "He is."

Bella's breath shook.

Because she knew what that meant.

Edward was going to die.

Because of me.

I tilted my head, watching her carefully. "Do you want to save him?"

Her body tensed.

Because she didn't answer immediately.

Because part of her didn't want to.

Because part of her knew she should let him go.

But she wasn't ready for that.

Not yet.

Her breath stuttered, her voice raw. "Alice, we have to go."

Alice nodded quickly, already pulling out her phone.

Jasper moved beside her, his jaw tight, but his eyes flickered to me.

Like he knew this wasn't over.

Bella turned back to me then, her brown eyes torn, something deep in them cracking.

I grinned.

Because she was running now.

But when she came back?

She wouldn't be his anymore.