 alone. I hadn't been as observant as I might have been in the last few weeks, but in this moment it was like I'd known all along. Sue would be with Charlie �the werewolves' mom with the vampire's dad�and he wouldn't be alone anymore. I smiled widely at this new insight. 

But most significant in this tidal wave of happiness was the surest fact of all: I was with Edward. Forever. 

Not that I'd want to repeat the last several weeks, but I had to admit they'd made me appreciate what I had more than ever. 

The cottage was a place of perfect peace in the silver-blue night. We carried Nessie to her bed and gently tucked her in. She smiled as she slept. 

I took Aro's gift from around my neck and tossed it lightly into the corner of her room. She could play with it if she wished; she liked sparkly things. 

Edward and I walked slowly to our room, swinging our arms between us. 

"A night for celebrations," he murmured, and he put his hand under my chin to lift my lips to his. 

"Wait," I hesitated, pulling away. 

He looked at me in confusion. As a general rule, I didn't pull away. Okay, it was more than a general rule. This was a first. 

"I want to try something," I informed him, smiling slightly at his bewildered expression. 

I put my hands on both sides of his face and closed my eyes in concentration. 

I hadn't done very well with this when Zafrina had tried to teach me before, but I knew my shield better now. I understood the part that fought against separation from me, the automatic instinct to preserve self above all else. 

It still wasn't anywhere near as easy as shielding other people along with myself. I felt the elastic recoil again as 

my shield fought to protect me. I had to strain to push it entirely away from me; it took all of my focus. 

"Bella!" Edward whispered in shock. 

I knew it was working then, so I concentrated even harder, dredging up the specific memories I'd saved for this moment, letting them flood my mind, and hopefully his as well. 

Some of the memories were not clear �dim human memories, seen through weak eyes and heard through weak ears: the first time I'd seen his face... the way it felt when he'd held me in the meadow... the sound of his voice through the darkness of my faltering consciousness when he'd saved me from James... his face as he waited under a canopy of flowers to marry me... every precious moment from the island... his cold hands touching our baby through my skin... 

And the sharp memories, perfectly recalled: his face when I'd opened my eyes to my new life, to the endless dawn of immortality... that first kiss... that first night... 

His lips, suddenly fierce against mine, broke my concentration. 

With a gasp, I lost my grip on the struggling weight I was holding away from myself. It snapped back like stressed elastic, protecting my thoughts once again. 

"Oops, lost it!" I sighed. 

"I heard you," he breathed. "How? How did you do that?" 

"Zafrina's idea. We practiced with it a few times." 

He was dazed. He blinked twice and shook his head. 

"Now you know," I said lightly, and shrugged. "No one's ever loved anyone as much as I love you." 

"You're almost right." He smiled, his eyes still a little wider than usual. "I know of just one exception." 

"Liar." 

He started to kiss me again, but then stopped abruptly. 

"Can you do it again?" he wondered. 

I grimaced. "It's very difficult." 

He waited, his expression eager. 

"I can't keep it up if I'm even the slightest bit distracted," I warned him. 

"I'll be good," he promised. 

I pursed my lips, my eyes narrowing. Then I smiled. 

I pressed my hands to his face again, hefted the shield right out of my mind, and then started in where I'd left off �with the crystal-clear memory of the first night of my new life... lingering on the details. 

I laughed breathlessly when his urgent kiss interrupted my efforts again. 

"Damn it," he growled, kissing hungrily down the edge of my jaw. 

"We have plenty of time to work on it," I reminded him. 

"Forever and forever and forever," he murmured. 

"That sounds exactly right to me." 

And then we continued blissfully into this small but perfect piece of our forever. 

the end 

VAMPIRE INDEX 

Alphabetically by coven 

* vampire possesses a quantifiable supernatural talent 

� bonded pair (oldest listed first) 

struck deceased before beginning of this novel 

The Amazon Coven 

Kachiri Senna Zafrina* 

The Denali Coven 

Eleazar* � Carmen 

Kate* 

Tanya VasHW 

The Egyptian Coven 

Amun � Kebi 

Benjamin* � Tia 

The Irish Coven 

Maggie* Siobhan* � Liam 

The Olympic Coven 

Carlisle � Esme Edward* � Bella* Jasper* � Alice* Renesmee* Rosalie � Emmett 

The Romanian Coven 

Stefan 

Vladimir 

The Volturi Coven 

Aro* � Sulpicia Caius � Athenodora Marcus* � Didyme* 

The Volturi Guard (partial) 

Alec* 

Chelsea* � Afton* 

Corin* 

Demetri* 

Felix 

Heidi* 

Jane* 

Renata* 

Santiago 

The American Nomads (Partial) 

Mary 

Peter �Charlotte 

Randall 

The European Nomads (Partial) 

Alistair* 

Charles* � Makenna 

Acknowledgments 

As always, an ocean of thanks to; 

My awesome family, for all their incomparable love and support. 

My talented and hawt publicist, Elizabeth Eulberg, for creating STEPHENIE MEYER out of the raw clay that was 

once just a mousy Steph. 

The whole team at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for five years of enthusiasm, faith, support, and incredibly 

hard work. 

All the amazing site creators and administrators in the Twilight Saga online fandom; you people astound me with your 

coolness. 

My brilliant, beautiful fans, with your unparalleled good taste in books, music, and movies, for continuing to love me 

more than I deserve. 

The bookstores who have made this series a hit with their recommendations; all authors are indebted to you for your 

love of and passion for literature. 

The many bands and musicians that keep me motivated; did I mention Muse already? I did? Too bad. 

Muse, Muse, Muse... 

New gratitude to: 

The best band-that-never-was: Nic and the Jens, featuring Shelly C. (Nicole Driggs, Jennifer Hancock, Jennifer Longman, and Shelly Colvin). Thanks for taking me under your collective wing, guys. I would be a shut-in without you. 

My long-distance pals and fonts of sanity, Cool Meghan Hibbett and Kimberly "Shazzer" Suchy. 

My peer support, Shannon Hale, for understanding everything, and for feeding my love of zombie humor. 

Makenna Jewell Lewis for the use of her name, and her mother, Heather, for her support of the Arizona Ballet. 

The new guys on my "writing inspiration" playlist: Interpol, Motion City Soundtrack, and Spoon. 

The phenomenon continues. . . . STEPHENIE MEYER 

the twilight saga: 

the official guide 

You may think you already know everything there is to know about the unforgettable world Stephenie Meyer created in Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, but this essential edition �the only official guide�will put your knowledge to the test! With character profiles, genealogical charts, maps, extensive cross-references, and much more, this comprehensive handbook is a must-have for every Twilight Saga fan. 

COMING DECEMBER 30, 2008 

Check www.thetwiliqhtsaqa.com for details.