Her Voice ✿ Emmett Cullen

Chapter 26

"I'm guessing you didn't rent this car?" Bella asked as Alice sped down the country road in Italy in the bright yellow Porsche.

"I figured you wouldn't be opposed to grand theft auto."

"Not today."

Lyra sat in the backseat with her knees pulled up to her chest, fiddling with the zipper on her jacket nervously as she listened to the conversation in the front seat. "They refused him." Alice said, "He's gonna make a scene. Show himself to the humans."

"When?" Lyra asked.

"He's gonna wait until noon, when the sun's at its highest."

Lyra sighed, "Dramatic bastard."

"Alice, you gotta hurry up." Bella panicked as she watched the clock.

"There's Volterra." Alice said, looking at the city packed with buildings up the hill. She reached the path that was crowded with people wearing red capes.

"Why are they all in red?" Lyra wondered aloud.

"San Marcos Day festival." Alice informed, "They're commemorating the expulsion of the vampires from the city. It's the perfect setting. The Volturi will never let him get far enough to reveal himself."

"Five minutes." Bella panicked, looking at the clock.

Lyra moved forward in her seat, reaching forward to grasp Bella's shoulder gently. "We'll save him." She assured her softly, "He'll be on a plane back to Forks by the time the night is over." The car squealed to a stop at the end of the roads, where they'd been closed off in reservation for the festival. Bella immediately jumped out of the car.

"Bella, you're the only one he can't see coming." Alice told her, "If I go, he'll read my thoughts, he'll think. I'm lying and rush into it."

"Where do I go?"

"He'll be under the clock tower. Go!"

Bella looks at Lyra, begging her to come with. Lyra nods and gets out of the car, grabbing Bella's hand and beginning to run towards the clock tower. Lyra ends up slamming into someone as she runs, losing her grip on Bella's hand. "I'm so sorry." She apologizes without thinking before moving to continue running.

"Lyra?" A familiar voice asks, causing her to stumble.

She spins around on her heel to see a familiar pale face and curly black-to-purple ombré hair. "Elliot?" She asks in surprise. She knew he was studying abroad in Italy, but she hadn't expected to see them in Volterra, "What are you doing here?"

"L, what are you doing here?" Elliot counters.

"Long story." Lyra replied before almost tackling him in a hug, forgetting why she was there for a moment as she took in the presence of her old friend, "Oh, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, L." He wrapped their arms around her tightly.

She buried her nose into the nape of their neck, taking in his scent only to be stunned how it smelt somewhat not human. She pulled back in surprise. She was about to ask when she heard Alice call, "Lyra."

She turned to see the vampire waving by the door to the bell tower and she turned back to Elliot, "I gotta go." Then she began to move away from him.

"Lyra, wait!" He called.

"I'm sorry, Ellie, I really have to go." She began to run through the crowd as fast as she could without drawing attention to her non-human aspects, barely taking in the fact that Elliot was following her.

Meanwhile, Elliot was wondering when the hell Lyra got so athletic that she could run this fast without getting tired after a few seconds.

"You can go to hell." Lyra heard Edward say as she ran up the stairs.