Carlisle leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled beneath his chin as he studied me. The reflective calm in his eyes wasn't just curiosity now—it was understanding. "And yet," he said slowly, "you are here. A being of both worlds."
I frowned slightly. "Both?"
He nodded. "Part of the bound Clans through your grandfather's line… and part of the free ones through your grandmother's. Spirit and fire. The science of the Architects tempered by the spirit of the Quileute. That balance is what makes you and possibly your uncle different."
Edythe's gaze flicked toward me, soft but intent. "That's why your shifting powers woke away from the mountain in Nepal and earlier than they are used too," she said. "Also, why the binding doesn't touch you."
"I hadn't considered that. The clans are so sure that their only options are to die or give their fire to the mountain, and maybe that's what happened to my uncle. He voluntarily gave his fire to the mountain while I refused to let it go at all, so I have no tether even after the ritual."
Carlisle asked, "What made you decide to go against the clan's rule of giving your fire to the mountain? Was it some deep instinct?"
I squeezed Edythe's hand, "When I was faced with the decision, I also faced a trial. That trial made me remember that Edythe loved me before I went to Nepal, so she loved the fire in me as well. To me, that meant that if I gave up a part of myself to anyone or anything else I wouldn't be the person she loved anymore. So, I took the fire back into me."
Esme gave a little squeal, "That's just so... romantic."
Edythe gave me a smile that made me feel like the sun was rising. The ideas it gave me would have to be thought through at a later date.
Emmett rolled his eyes at the romantic air around me and Edythe. "Does any of this really mean anything though? I mean I get that it's good to know a bit about where we came from, but it doesn't change anything for us right now does it?"
Carlisle smiled faintly. "Knowledge doesn't always change the present, Emmett. But it gives shape to what we are, and what we might still become."
Jasper nodded slightly. "It matters," he said quietly. "Knowing we weren't created for destruction… that's something."
Rosalie gave a small shrug but didn't argue. "Fine. But unless one of these Wardens plans to drop in and pass judgment again, I say we let sleeping gods stay buried."
Edythe's hand tightened around mine beneath the table. "Maybe," she said softly, "but the truth still matters. Especially if it tells us how far we've come."
Carlisle leaned back, thoughtful. "Indeed. And perhaps it tells us why you, Thomas, are able to exist between worlds. You've carried the fire without corruption, without bond, a reminder that what began in manipulation can still evolve into choice."
I nodded slowly, the weight of his words settling in. "Maybe that's the point of all of this. The Architects made weapons, but we decide what to do with what they left behind."
Silence followed, softer this time, as if everyone was still working through their own reflection of what that meant.
Bella's voice broke the quiet, hesitant at first, then steady. "So… that's what I want too. A choice."
Every head turned toward her.
She met Carlisle's eyes first, then Edward's, her expression calm but resolved. "None of you chose this life. Carlisle didn't. Esme didn't. Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, it was forced on all of you to save your lives. But I'm not asking for rescue." Her voice strengthened, gathering conviction with every word. "I'm asking because I want this. Because I understand what it means, and I'm still choosing it."
Carlisle's expression softened, compassion flickering behind his eyes. "Bella, that kind of awareness makes your request… extraordinary. You would be the first of us to seek this life willingly."
Edward's posture went rigid beside her. "Bella—"
But she didn't stop. "You all voted. You said I was part of this family now, and I want to be part of it. I don't want to wait anymore."
The air in the room seemed to thicken again.
Carlisle's tone was careful, patient. "You mean the change."
Bella nodded, her hand tightening around Edward's. "Yes. Tonight."
Edward froze, his voice a low growl. "Bella—"
She met his gaze without wavering. "I know what I'm asking, Edward. But Aro won't wait forever, and I'm done pretending that being human protects anyone."
Carlisle glanced between them both, the faintest sadness in his voice. "You would choose what was forced upon all of us. That alone… changes everything."
I sighed, already seeing the tension tighten in Edward's jaw. I wasn't going to make my sister happy with what I was about to say, but someone had to.
"Bella," I said carefully, "there's something you're not thinking about, your life here and now."
Her head turned toward me, eyes steady.
"In about five hours, Charlie's going to wake up and realize you're gone. His first stop will be here. And even if he doesn't find you, he's not going to stop looking." I kept my tone level, firm but not harsh. "You disappearing like that isn't going to convince anyone that you're safe. And if the Volturi are really watching like we all think they are, that kind of chaos will just draw more attention."
Bella frowned, her resolve faltering slightly. "So what? I'm supposed to just go home like nothing happened?"
"Yes," I said simply. "For now. You need time to finish this part of your life before you start the next. To close the door properly before you walk through another one."
Edward glanced at me , surprised, maybe even grateful, before turning back to Bella. "He's right," he said quietly. "If you leave now, you'll destroy Charlie. He'll never stop searching. He deserves a goodbye, even if he doesn't understand it."
Bella's eyes dropped to the table, her knuckles white around Edward's hand. "I hate waiting," she said under her breath.
Edythe reached across the table, her tone softer than mine. "Then make the waiting count," she said. "End this life the way you want to remember it, not like something stolen, but something you finished."
Carlisle nodded once, approving. "Edythe's right. Closure matters, Bella. We've all lost enough to know that leaving things undone follows you, even into forever."
Bella swallowed hard, her voice smaller now. "I don't want forever without him."
Edward's voice cracked faintly, the anger drained out of it. "I will always be here," he promised. "But give yourself time to do this right."
I caught the flicker of guilt in his expression, the subtle hesitation that said he was still hoping "right" might mean never.
But Bella didn't see it, or maybe she chose not to.
After a long silence, she nodded once. "Fine. But I'm holding you to it."
Edward exhaled shakily, managing the ghost of a smile. "I wouldn't expect anything less."
The moment lingered, fragile, uneasy, but for now, enough.
Carlisle finally rose from his seat. "Then we're agreed. Bella stays human… for now. But when the time comes, we'll honor her choice."
The family nodded, one by one, the decision settling like a stone dropped in still water.
Edythe leaned close, her voice barely above a whisper. "That was well handled."
I gave a faint shrug. "Yeah, but it's only borrowed peace."
She smiled knowingly. "All peace is borrowed."
And for a brief, fleeting moment, I believed her.
The meeting broke apart slowly. Conversations quieted to murmurs, the scrape of chairs, the whisper of feet across polished floors.
Edward stood first, his movements careful, like he was afraid even sound might break Bella's fragile calm. "Come on," he said softly. "I'll take you home."
Bella looked exhausted, not in the physical sense, but in the way people look when they've held too much inside for too long. She nodded, letting him guide her toward the door.
Esme brushed her fingers against Bella's arm as they passed. "You did well tonight, dear," she said gently.
"Thanks," Bella murmured, though her eyes stayed fixed on Edward.
The door closed quietly behind them, and for a moment, the silence that followed was heavier than before.
Carlisle turned toward the rest of us, his expression weary but thoughtful. "It's late," he said. "Take some time to let tonight sink in. Tomorrow, we start living like a family again."
One by one, the Cullens drifted away: Jasper and Alice first, whispering softly; Rosalie and Emmett heading upstairs, his hand steady at her back; Esme lingering long enough to straighten all the chairs before following Carlisle toward his study.
That left Edythe and me alone by the door.
She glanced up at me, eyes warm but weary in their own quiet way. "Home?" she asked softly.
"Yeah," I said. "Home."
The run through the forest was nearly silent. The night was still, the clouds breaking just enough for the stars to slip through. Every so often, she would look over at me, not speaking, just… there. The kind of presence that didn't need to fill the air with words.
When we reached our house, she didn't wait for me to unlock the door. She moved ahead, smooth and silent, flicking on the lights like she'd done it a hundred times before.
Inside, everything was just as we'd left it earlier, quiet, lived-in, real.
Edythe turned, leaning against the back of the couch. "You were right tonight," she said. "About Bella needing to finish this part of her life first."
"She's not ready," I said simply. "She thinks she is, but she still sees forever like a fairy tale."
Edythe's lips curved faintly. "Maybe. But she'll learn. They always do."
I studied her, the faint gold in her eyes, the way the lamplight caught her copper hair. I'd seen her fierce, quiet, furious, protective. But moments like this, calm, steady, endlessly certain, hit deeper than anything else ever could.
"I've been thinking," I said after a long pause.
"That sounds dangerous," she teased, but her smile softened. "About what?"
"About us."
Her eyebrows rose slightly, and she tilted her head. "Go on."
"I spent six months in Nepal trying to understand what I am," I said slowly. "But tonight, talking about choice, hearing Bella say she wanted this life even knowing what it costs, it made me realize something."
Edythe stepped closer, curiosity flickering in her eyes. "And what's that?"
"That I've already made my choice," I said. "Not about the fire, or the clans, or any of that. About you."
She stilled, not frozen, but focused entirely on me.
"I want a life with you, Edythe. Whatever that looks like. However long it lasts."
Her voice, when it came, was barely a whisper. "You're talking about marriage."
"Yeah," I said, my throat tight but steady. "Eventually. I mean… not tonight. But soon. When things calm down."
A slow, radiant smile spread across her face, the kind that could make eternity sound like a heartbeat. "You realize," she said softly, "that's a very human way to propose."
I smiled back. "Guess I'm still working on the immortal timing."
She brushed her fingers along my jaw, cool against the warmth of my skin. "Then take your time, tiger. You already know my answer."
I covered her hand with mine, holding it there a moment longer.
Outside, the night had gone still, no storm, no threat, no watchful eyes. For the first time in months, the quiet wasn't the kind that came before something. It was the kind that came after.
And as I looked at her, I realized that for the first time since this all began, I wasn't just surviving anymore.
I was home.