(Thomas POV)
Edward touched two fingers to his left wrist.
Once.
The signal.
Aro was still smiling at Carlisle.
Caius still looked as though the fact that we were talking instead of killing each other was a personal insult.
Felix stood nearby radiating the kind of anger I had spent the last several minutes deliberately cultivating.
Jane wasn't much better.
Demetri was calmer. His eyes never stopped moving, taking in distances, positions, threats.
Good.
Of all the possibilities I had considered over the last few days, this was the one I had expected to use.
Not the only one.
Just the most likely.
Which was why I had spent so much effort pissing off exactly the right people.
{Time to cash that in.}
I looked at Carlisle.
He caught the change in my expression immediately.
"As we agreed, Carlisle."
His face tightened.
Not in surprise, but in recognition.
He knew exactly what I meant.
Aro noticed.
Naturally.
His smile brightened with interest. "Agreed?"
I turned toward him.
"Contingencies."
Caius sneered. "More schemes?"
"Several."
His expression darkened further.
I smiled.
"But this one should appeal to you."
Aro clasped his hands loosely in front of himself. "Do tell."
I glanced across the three ancient vampires.
"You're old."
Caius looked offended.
Aro laughed softly.
"Undeniably."
"Old enough to remember when people settled disagreements without armies standing around glaring at each other while somebody argued over legal wording."
Carlisle exhaled.
Aro's eyes sharpened.
Even Marcus looked at me.
I continued.
"Champions."
Recognition appeared immediately.
Aro seemed delighted.
Caius less so.
"The practice predates your understanding of it," Caius said coldly.
"I'm sure it does."
His eyes narrowed at my tone.
"Once, disputes between covens were occasionally settled by champions rather than through the waste of full conflict."
"Occasionally?"
"It was an honored tradition."
I waited.
Something in his expression told me there was more.
"Until humans began imitating it," he added with obvious distaste. "Their wars, tournaments and petty contests reduced the practice to spectacle. It fell out of favor."
I stared at him.
"So humans started doing it too, and you stopped because it wasn't exclusive anymore?"
Caius's eyes narrowed.
I smiled.
"That's adorable."
Felix made a sound that might have been a growl.
Jane became very still.
Aro laughed.
Caius did not.
"The practice lost its dignity."
"Sure."
I looked around us.
"Seems like a good day to lower the standards."
Caius's face tightened.
Carlisle said my name quietly.
"Thomas."
I met his eyes.
Nothing else needed to be said.
Edward had given the signal.
Carlisle knew what that meant.
His chance had been given.
Now I needed every Volturi eye on me.
I faced Aro again.
"One fight."
Aro tilted his head. "To decide what?"
"Nothing."
That surprised him.
Caius scoffed.
"I'm not stupid enough to believe one fight will make you pack up and go home."
Aro smiled. "At least you are realistic."
"I try."
I looked toward Felix.
"Your people have been standing around in the cold for a while."
Felix stared at me.
"Might as well let a couple of them stretch their muscles."
I looked him over slowly.
"Old stone gets brittle."
Felix stepped forward immediately.
There it was.
His expression promised exactly what I had spent the last several minutes encouraging.
Aro glanced at him.
"Felix?"
"With pleasure."
Felix walked into the open space between us.
I stared at him.
Waited.
Then looked past him toward Aro.
"Is that all?"
Felix's smile vanished.
Aro raised one eyebrow.
"You asked for a champion."
"I was expecting… More."
Felix's hands curled.
I looked him over again.
Big.
Broad.
Obviously strong.
And incredibly pleased with himself about all three.
Then I looked toward the guard.
"Send another."
A murmur moved through both sides.
Caius gave a contemptuous laugh.
"You believe yourself capable of defeating two members of the Volturi guard?"
"I'm trying to make it interesting. After all, your witnesses came for entertainment."
Felix took another step toward me.
I pointed at him.
"Especially since this one is just the basic model."
Felix stopped.
Aro's lips twitched.
Caius looked murderous.
I let my attention drift across the guard until I found Demetri.
Then pointed.
"But him?"
Aro's amusement diminished by the smallest amount.
I grinned.
"That's a collector's edition."
For a moment, Aro simply stared at me.
Demetri's eyes narrowed.
I looked between them.
Aro recovered immediately. "I am afraid I do not understand."
"Sure, you do."
I nodded toward Felix.
"Big muscles. Nothing fancy. You can find another one of those."
Felix looked ready to remove my head with his teeth.
Then I nodded toward Demetri.
"But the tracker? There aren't many of those lying around."
Aro's smile remained.
His hesitation did too.
Barely.
But it was there.
"Every member of my guard is valued."
"I'm sure."
I gestured toward Felix.
"Standard model you can get from anywhere."
Then Demetri.
"Collector's edition."
I looked back at Aro.
"Worried I might scratch him?"
Caius stiffened.
Perfect.
Aro had enough sense not to care what I thought.
Caius absolutely did not.
"He asks for two," Caius said. "Give him two."
Aro glanced at him.
Caius continued before he could answer.
"He believes mockery disguises weakness."
I smiled.
"And you believe expensive robes disguise insecurity. We all have our little quirks."
Caius took a step forward.
Aro raised one hand.
Caius stopped.
Barely.
Then Aro looked toward Demetri.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Finally…
"Very well."
Demetri stepped forward.
Aro watched him closely.
"Do be careful."
I laughed.
Demetri looked at me.
I nodded toward Aro.
"See?"
Then I looked at Felix.
"He didn't tell you that."
Felix lunged half a step before Demetri barked an order at him.
I grinned.
This was going beautifully.
Felix moved to my left.
Demetri took my right.
I looked between them.
"You two need to stretch first?"
Felix stared.
"I'm serious. Limber up. Touch your toes. Whatever you people do."
Demetri's expression remained flat.
"You appear very confident."
"I'd hate to win because one of you pulled something."
I rolled one shoulder.
"You've both been around a while."
Felix's eyes narrowed.
"Old stone," I reminded him.
"Brittle."
Behind me, movement began.
I didn't look.
That was the entire point.
Carlisle and Edward had the opening they needed.
Aro had agreed to a fight involving three people capable of crossing the clearing in seconds. Moving the children away was obvious. Sensible.
If I turned to watch them go, Aro might wonder why I cared so much about exactly where they were going.
So I kept my eyes on Felix.
Carlisle raised his voice behind me.
"If this challenge is to proceed, the field should be cleared."
"Of course," Aro replied.
More movement.
Still I didn't look.
I trusted Carlisle.
I trusted Leah.
I trusted my family.
My job was standing in front of me.
Keep the Volturi watching.
Felix looked over my shoulder.
I snapped my fingers once.
His eyes came back to me.
"Eyes over here, big guy."
His mouth tightened.
Somewhere behind me, Seth in his wolf form whined.
Jennifer answered immediately.
"Oh, get over it."
Another whine.
"I am not some damsel you need to hide behind a hill."
I smiled.
Felix mistook it for being directed at him.
That made it even better.
Behind me, Jennifer continued.
"You said I get to choose."
Another unhappy sound from Seth.
"I'm choosing."
A pause.
"You can complain later."
Good for her.
I heard footsteps continuing away from the center.
Carlisle would lead Renesmee back to Esme.
Jacob would go wherever Renesmee went.
Leah already had Harry and Nancy.
Serena and Maysun knew their jobs.
Bella would stay near Edward.
That was all I needed to know.
I wasn't going to turn around and advertise any of it.
Aro's attention remained on me.
So did Jane's.
Caius's.
Most importantly, so did Felix's and Demetri's.
I spread my hands.
"Whenever you boys are ready."
Felix attacked.
Fast.
His fist came straight toward my face.
I caught it.
The impact drove my boots several inches into the snow.
Felix's eyes widened.
Only slightly.
I smiled.
My human shape did not mean weak.
Not for a long time.
I twisted his wrist, stepped beneath his arm and threw him over my shoulder.
He hit hard enough to split the frozen earth beneath the snow.
Demetri was already moving.
His kick struck my ribs.
I moved with it.
His next strike came toward my throat.
Blocked.
His third targeted my knee.
I shifted just enough to spoil the angle.
Better.
Much better.
Felix was a hammer.
A very large, very strong hammer…but still a hammer.
Hit the problem until the problem stopped existing.
Demetri was a knife.
He watched.
Adjusted.
Tested balance and range.
Attacked joints instead of mass.
Retreated before I could trap him.
Sharp.
Precise.
Much more interesting.
Felix came at me from behind.
I ducked under his arm and drove an elbow into his stomach.
He folded.
I could have buried him where he stood.
I didn't.
Demetri caught my shoulder and used my momentum to send me across the snow.
I let him.
Hit.
Rolled.
Came back to my feet.
Approval came from somewhere among the Volturi witnesses.
Caius looked insufferably pleased.
{Enjoy it.}
Felix charged again.
I met him.
Our hands locked.
He grinned as he pushed.
I let him.
Then slowly began forcing him backward.
His grin disappeared.
I stopped before it became too obvious.
Shoved him away.
Demetri attacked immediately.
I caught his shoulder, turned with him, and threw him straight into Felix.
They collided and disappeared into a spray of snow.
Emmett laughed somewhere behind me.
Felix stood first.
Snow covered one side of his coat.
He brushed it away.
"All that bravado," he said. "I expected more."
I smiled.
"Did you?"
His expression hardened.
"You talk like someone who believes himself untouchable."
"No."
I rolled my neck.
"I talk like someone who knows exactly what he can touch."
Demetri's eyes sharpened at that.
Felix just got angrier.
Hammer.
Knife.
Felix attacked.
I let his shoulder hit my chest.
He drove me backward.
Ten feet.
Twenty.
Then I stopped.
His feet tore trenches in the snow as he kept pushing.
Nothing happened.
I leaned closer.
"You hit a little harder when you're angry."
His face twisted.
"Still not very hard."
Then I threw him.
This time he went considerably farther.
Demetri watched him fly.
When he looked back at me, something had changed.
He was starting to wonder.
Good.
I rolled my shoulders once again.
"Still feeling loose?"
Felix rose in the distance.
Demetri said nothing.
I opened and closed my hands.
"This has been fun."
Then I shifted.
The change surged through me.
My body rose and widened as bone and muscle reshaped themselves.
Fur spread across skin in heavy bands of black and white.
My legs changed beneath me, built to carry far more weight and turn it into explosive movement.
A thick tail extended behind me, moving once as my balance settled.
My hands remained recognizably hands, only much larger, each finger ending in a curved claw capable of carving through stone.
My jaw pushed forward into a tiger's muzzle.
Teeth lengthened.
My shoulders broadened until even Felix no longer looked particularly imposing.
When the transformation finished, I stood a little over seven feet tall.
Not a tiger trying to stand like a man.
Not a man wearing the shape of an animal.
Something between them.
Something built to hunt things that believed they were already predators.
And through all of it, my eyes remained the same.
Sky blue.
The clearing went silent.
Felix had stopped.
Demetri hadn't.
He attacked immediately.
Smartest thing he'd done all day.
I turned toward him slowly.
Too slowly.
Deliberately.
Rolled one massive shoulder.
Then the other.
Flexed my claws.
Let my tail sweep once behind me.
Every movement exaggerated.
Every Volturi eye drawn to what had just appeared in front of them.
Perfect.
{"When I clap, our fighters move. Spread the word."}
Edward and Edythe would hear me now.
They knew their jobs.
Now it's time to finish mine.
Felix charged.
I caught him by the forearm with one hand.
Then lifted him completely off the ground.
I held him there long enough for everyone to understand what they were seeing.
Then tossed him toward his own side.
He flew across the clearing and hit the ground hard enough to carve a trench through the snow.
Demetri attacked from behind.
His fist struck my back.
I barely moved.
I looked over my shoulder.
Demetri stepped away.
Too late.
I caught his wrist.
He twisted.
Pulled.
Changed direction.
Nothing worked.
His eyes dropped to my hand around his arm.
Then rose to my face.
There it was.
He understood now.
Every moment of the fight before I shifted.
Every opening he'd thought he found.
Every time Felix believed they were forcing me backward.
Every hit I had allowed.
I smiled.
Demetri tried to wrench himself free once again.
I caught his upper arm with my other hand.
His expression changed.
I pulled.
His arm tore free at the shoulder.
The sound cracked across the clearing.
Demetri staggered.
I drove my fist into his chest.
He left the ground.
Flew backward.
Hit hard enough to bounce once before rolling through the snow.
His severed arm remained in my hand.
Demetri finally stopped and pushed himself upright with his remaining arm.
I looked at what I was holding.
Then at him.
"Forgot something."
I threw it.
His own hand struck him square across the face.
The impact snapped his head backward and sent him tumbling again.
The arm bounced away beside him.
A sound moved through the Volturi ranks.
Not quite a gasp.
Close.
I pointed one claw toward Demetri.
"Stay."
He remained down.
Whether because he listened or because his own arm had just been thrown into his face hard enough to leave cracks, didn't really matter.
I turned toward Felix.
He was standing again.
But he wasn't looking at me.
He was staring at Demetri.
The collector's edition.
Missing an arm.
Lying in the snow.
Then Felix looked back at me.
I smiled.
"Your turn."
He charged.
Of course he did.
Felix might have been a hammer, but he wasn't a coward.
He came at me with everything he had.
I caught his first fist.
Then his second.
Squeezed.
Cracks spread through his fingers.
Felix snarled.
I pushed his arms apart.
He strained against me.
Every muscle in his body was working as hard as he could make them.
Nothing happened.
For the first time, Felix stopped looking angry.
Recognition arrived.
He was strong.
Extraordinarily strong by vampire standards.
And it meant absolutely nothing.
I turned him to face the Volturi line.
His boots tore furrows through the snow as he fought me.
I forced one arm behind his back.
Then looked toward Jane.
She stared at me.
I smiled.
"You remember Bree?"
Jane froze.
Felix hesitated.
That was enough.
I kicked the back of his knee.
He dropped.
"She surrendered."
Felix tried to rise.
I pushed him down.
"She stopped fighting."
I looked directly at Jane.
"Carlisle offered to take responsibility for her."
Jane's expression became stone.
"You didn't care."
I tightened my grip on Felix.
"You gave the order."
Then looked down at him.
"And you carried it out."
Felix surged upward.
I let him gain an inch.
Just enough to think he might have found something.
Then slammed him back onto his knees.
The frozen ground cracked beneath them.
"Enough!" Caius shouted.
I looked at him.
"No."
His face went blank.
I turned back to Jane.
"You killed a terrified girl who had already surrendered because you were feeling petulant."
Her lips pulled back from her teeth.
"And now you're standing here ready to do it again. Only this time, it's my family."
Jane stared at me with murder in her eyes.
Felix strained beneath my grip, still on his knees facing the Volturi.
Caius looked ready to order the entire guard forward just to make me stop talking.
Aro watched.
No smile now.
Good.
I had spent weeks swallowing this anger.
Weeks preparing because a handful of ancient monsters believed they had the right to cross an ocean and decide whether my children were allowed to live.
Watching Leah hold Harry and Nancy.
Watching Edythe study every expression on Alice's face.
Watching everyone I loved prepare for a battle none of us wanted because the Volturi had decided their authority mattered more than the truth.
Carlisle had wanted peace.
So had I.
I had given him every chance to find it.
Edward's signal had answered the only question that still mattered.
Aro had been shown the truth.
He simply didn't care.
The law had been an excuse.
Renesmee had been an excuse.
And once those excuses disappeared, he had apparently decided he would find another.
Something inside me that had been held tight for weeks finally loosened.
Not control.
Never control.
Restraint.
There was a difference.
Felix tried to rise.
I pressed him effortlessly back into place.
Jane directly ahead.
Aro beside her.
Caius.
Marcus.
The guard.
Even Demetri, sprawled farther away with one arm missing.
They were all watching.
Exactly where I wanted their eyes.
"You know what bothers me most?"
Felix struggled again.
"Bree didn't get a second chance."
I looked directly at Jane.
"She surrendered."
No reaction.
"Carlisle offered another way."
Still nothing.
"You didn't care."
"That was the law," Jane said.
There it was.
I smiled without humor.
"No."
I eased my hold on Felix's arm.
He tensed immediately, probably thinking I had finally made a mistake.
I hadn't.
"That was you hiding behind it."
Felix tried to surge upward.
One hand on his shoulder put him right back where he had been.
His strength barely registered anymore.
I released him completely.
That finally made him hesitate.
Not because he believed I was letting him go.
Because he understood I no longer needed to hold him down.
I slowly raised my hands.
Open palms.
One on either side of his head.
Felix went rigid.
Completely.
He finally understood.
So did Jane.
Her eyes widened by the smallest amount.
I looked over Felix's head.
Not at Jane this time.
At Aro.
"You came here to kill my family."
Silence.
No pleasant denial.
No speech about law.
No claim that I had misunderstood.
Aro simply stared at me.
"Fine."
Weeks of suppressed anger settled into my shoulders.
My arms.
My hands.
Not wild.
Not blind.
Focused.
Felix had helped murder a surrendered girl because Jane told him to.
Today he had walked onto this field fully prepared to do the same to my family.
He had spent the last several minutes wanting this fight.
I was done disappointing him.
I brought my hands together.
CLAP.
Felix's head disappeared.
There was no crack.
No explosion of recognizable stone.
No pieces large enough to fall.
For one instant, Felix had a head between my palms.
Then he didn't.
A cloud of pale gray-white powder burst outward, so fine it hung in the freezing air before slowly beginning to drift down.
Felix's body remained upright on its knees.
Headless.
Motionless.
One impossible second passed.
Then it sagged forward.
Nobody moved.
Not Jane.
Not Caius.
Not Aro.
Not the guard.
Their witnesses stared.
So did ours.
Even the fighters who knew the clap was coming stood frozen.
They were vampires.
They knew what their bodies were made of.
They knew how difficult vampire flesh was to damage.
They knew what it normally took to tear one of them apart before the pieces could be burned.
And they had just watched one of the strongest members of the Volturi guard have his head reduced to powder between my bare hands.
I slowly separated my palms.
Fine dust slipped between my claws.
Some clung to the black-and-white fur along my fingers.
The rest settled across the snow.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
Still nobody moved.
{"That was the signal."}
Edward's head snapped toward me.
Edythe moved at almost the same instant.
Edward recovered first.
"NOW!"
The word tore across the clearing.
Sam launched forward.
The pack moved with him.
Jasper exploded into motion.
Every vampire who had committed to the fight surged forward.
Those who had come only to witness scattered clear.
And the Volturi, still staring at what remained of Felix, were a heartbeat too slow.
The field exploded.