LIFE AND DEATH (edythe's pov)

Chapter 23 Goodbyes

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Solar Midnight: Midnight Sun Reimagined (Life and Death, Book I) by beyondthedawn

Books » Twilight Rated: T, English, Supernatural & Romance, Beau S., Edythe C., Words: 224k+, Favs: 59, Follows: 36, Published: Dec 26, 2020 15Chapter 23: GOODBYES

That was the last thing anyone said as we raced back to forks. Of course the way would seem much shorter when I was terrified of arriving. All too soon we were pulling up to Beau's home, the lights shining from every window, both upstairs and down. The sounds of a college basketball game drifted from the front room. I strained to hear anything not human in the vicinity, but the tracker didn't seem to have arrived yet. And Archie still could see no future in which this stop turned into an attack.

Maybe we should just stay. Let Beau return to his normal life while the rest of us became perpetual sentries. I could count on Eleanor, Archie, Carine, Earnest-and I was fairly certain Jessamine, as well-to join me in such a vigil. The tracker would find it impossible to get to him with so many eyes-and minds-watching. Was unified strength the safer option than dividing into thirds?

But as I considered this, Archie saw how the tracker would wait, how she would adapt. How she would, after the boredom set in, begin a war of attrition. Beau's friends disappearing in the night. Favorite teachers. Charlie's coworkers. Random humans who had no connection to him. The numbers would add up to the point where the resulting scrutiny would force us to disappear, regardless. And I could guess how Beau would feel about all those innocents paying with their lives for his continued safety.

So the original plan would have to be enough.

It was hard to process the strange physical sensation that accompanied this realization. I knew that an actual pit had not opened in the center of my torso, but the impression was unnervingly realistic. I wondered if it was some long-forgotten human response that I'd never felt in my immortal life because I'd never had a reason to panic quite like this.

We needed to move. Though I knew the point was to give the tracker something to follow, I still wanted to have Beau long gone before she could arrive.

"She's not here," I told Eleanor. Archie already knew. "Let's go."

Archie and I slid silently from the Jeep, minds ranging through distance and time. Archie saw the tracker showing up while we were still inside. The sound of my teeth grinding seemed extra loud.

"Don't worry, Beau," Eleanor was saying-in a voice I found much too upbeat-while she loosed him from the harness. "We'll take care of things here quickly."

"Archie, El," I hissed.

Archie darted to the truck, then dropped to the ground and slid under the running boards. In a fraction of a second, he'd pulled himself against the undercarriage, totally invisible, even to a vampire.

Eleanor was already moving, scaling the tree in the front yard. Her weight bent the pine noticeably, but she moved on quickly to the next tree over. She would keep moving while we were inside. This was a lot more obvious than Archie's hidden spot, but she'd see anything coming and would be a solid deterrent, if nothing else.

Beau climbed out last, and I took his arm. I was surprised by how difficult it was to touch him now, knowing that I was going to leave him. The heat of his skin burned in a new, painful way. Ignoring this unfamiliar ache, I wrapped my arm around his, and hurried him to the house.