POV: Renesmee
The scent was the first thing I noticed.
Warm.Sweet.Not vampire.Not human.
Something in between—yet familiar in a way I couldn't explain.
When I stepped into the room where he was resting, the frozen Alaska air seemed to stop at the doorway. The small makeshift infirmary was quiet, lit only by the soft lamps Esme insists on using because, according to her, "harsh light scares children."
And Lucian was, in every possible sense, a child.
He slept curled into a thick blanket, his small brow furrowed as if he were fighting something even in dreams.
Alice sat beside him, silent, watching him with an expression that blended worry and tenderness. When I approached, she lifted her face and offered a soft smile.
"He's going to like you," she whispered.
"How do you know?"
"Because he's already seen you. Through someone else's eyes… or maybe his own. I'm not sure yet."
That made my throat tighten.
When I took another step, Lucian inhaled sharply and opened his eyes.
Large, dark, too innocent for the weight they carried.
He saw me.And froze.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
"You…" he rasped, voice hoarse from days of silence. He blinked slowly."You're the girl of light."
My heart stuttered.
Alice raised an eyebrow. "Girl of light?"
Lucian clutched the blanket tighter, shrinking slightly, watching every tiny movement I made as though I were either made of fire or glass—he hadn't decided yet which one he feared more… or needed more.
"I… I saw you," he murmured. "Many times. But far away. Like you were behind a door I couldn't open."
A door.
A vision.
Or one power trying to reach another.
I moved carefully and sat beside him.
"I'm Renesmee," I said softly. "You can call me Nessie, if you want."
He repeated the name in slow, careful pieces, as if it might break.
"Re… nesmee."
Alice clasped her hands dramatically."This might be the cutest moment of the century."
Lucian stared at her, wide-eyed. "No one ever smiled at me like that."
Something inside me cracked.
"They will now," I promised. "All of us will. I swear."
He looked at my hands and—hesitating only a moment—reached both of his out. Small. Trembling just a little.
I placed my palm in his.
And the world shifted.
POV: Renesmee (continued)
His mind cracked open only the tiniest bit, like a door unlatched by mistake.
And I saw—
—stone corridors—long shadows—glimpses of bright-eyed children—and then… nothing.
A black void.A silence that felt like drowning.
Lucian yanked his hand back, frightened.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to show anything, I swear!"
I gently took his hand again.
"It's okay. I have a power too. I can show you something instead."
I touched his cheek.
I showed him the forest outside our house.The colorful living room Esme arranged for him.Snow falling gently, without fear attached to it.Our family laughing around the table.A place that could be home.
A place where living wasn't bargaining.
His eyes widened, bright and round.
"It's beautiful…" he whispered. "It's so… warm."
Alice pressed a hand over her heart.But Carlisle—standing silently in the doorway—wore a very different expression.
He looked at Lucian as someone finally seeing the magnitude of a crime.
POV: Carlisle
When Renesmee touched the boy's face, something inside him eased.
His breaths steadied.His shoulders lowered.It was the look of someone realizing, possibly for the first time, that no one here wanted anything from him except for him to exist.
"Lucian," I said gently. "Do you want to tell us how you came here? Why you ran?"
He stared at the blanket, fingers knotting the fabric.
"Aro… wanted me to be strong," he whispered. "He said I was special. That I was the only one who worked."
Renesmee leaned forward."Only one?"
He nodded.
"The first one came before me. He didn't have anything. Only… crying."His lip trembled."Then there were two girls. One was strong but… she got sick. And the other didn't make it past being born."
Esme's hand flew to her mouth. I had to close my eyes briefly to regain control.
"How many hybrids did Aro try to create?" I asked softly.
Lucian shook his head.
"I don't know how to count that high. But… a lot. He said one day he'd make another you."He looked at Renesmee."Another just like you. But… he never did. Only I stayed alive."
Renesmee touched his hand again.
"Luci… you went through so much."
He shrugged, but his eyes glistened.
"I just wanted… to live. To see the sky. To see things that weren't walls. And to not hurt anyone. And…"He swallowed hard."Being the one chosen to stay alive over and over hurts. Even when you win."
Those words belonged to someone hundreds of years old—not a child with a ten-year-old face.
Behind me, Alice cried without tears.
POV: Jasper
I felt it before I understood it.
The storm inside him.Fear.Shame.Hope.
And something else—something so subtle I almost missed it:
Determination.
Not violent.Not rebellious.
Quiet.Carefully hidden.Sharp as a blade wrapped in cloth.
A child who learned to act submissive to survive.
Which meant Aro probably believed he still controlled him.
Which also meant Lucian was in more danger than any of us had imagined.
POV: Lucian
The room was quiet.
I liked this kind of quiet.
Not the heavy silence of stone cells.This one felt open.Soft.Breathable.
But then a memory hit me, sharp and sudden.
A scream.The smell of cold smoke.Hands grabbing me.Harsh lights.Voices telling me what to be.
My fingers shook.
Renesmee touched my arm, startled. "Lucian?"
The walls felt closer.My chest hurt.I wanted to run.I wanted to scream.I wanted—
"It's okay," Jasper said, kneeling beside the bed.
He didn't touch me.
But the air changed.Softened.Like he took some of the weight out of it.
"You're safe."
And this time… I believed him.
For the first time.
My body loosened.My eyes closed.And when sleep found me—
I dreamed of snow.White.Clean.No blood.No fear.
And for the first time since I existed…I dreamed of a future.