SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

T R E D I C I

She had only been a member of the Guard for a couple of hours and she was already on her way to commit her first act of treason. From above she could hear the happy chatter of all the vampires along with the classical music playing, deep underneath the castle she heard the rats and mouses scatter at her presence.

She had been dancing with a lot of people that night, but especially with Demetri. Though most of the couples attending the feast were soulmates, she and Demetri had been the centre of attention for most of the night, and the fact that she had just become the first Cullen to join the Volturi since decades didn't have anything to do with. She'd danced with her father as well, the two of them whispering quietly among each other during the entire song. When Alec had asked her for a dance she had agreed, stepping on his toes for the entire time. He grumbled and looked grumpy, but she knew she could appreciate it.

Cecilia stopped as her eyes fell onto a vampire near the dungeons. His clothes were a light grey colour, telling her that his rank was incredibly low. His brown curls covered a part of his eyes, but his red eyes lit up the rest of his pale face. Never before had she seen him, but as her eyes fell onto the ring of keys hanging on his hip, she smiled coyly. Maybe freeing Nikolai was about to become a whole lot easier.

"Ma'am, why aren't you at the feast?" the vampire asked. He looked young, barely sixteen years old. His eyes fell on the crest resting on her chest, the weight still unfamiliar to her, before looking in her golden eyes again.

"Aro sent me to release the prisoner," Cecilia stated, looking impassive. She stared at the vampire and held out her hand silently. The expression of doubt was clear on his face, but she didn't budge, waving her hand impatiently. "The keys, please."

"I don't think the Master would do that," he said, shaking his head. "He would have told me."

Cecilia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She felt sorry for the boy, knowing that he would be executed in the following couple of hours, but her promise to Nikolai was more important. "How about you show up at the feast and ask him?" she suggested, sounding overly sarcastic and feigning her annoyance. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it that some lowly member of the guard interrupted his night over the simple issue of a prisoner."

That seemed to convince the guard, because not a second later, the keys were handed over to her. She smiled sweetly, before making her way over to the cell Nikolai was in. She didn't kneel down next to him, afraid that her dress would get stained, but she could see his face from the weak glint of one of the torches. He looked messy, the way prison simply did to a person, but his face wasn't as sickly pale anymore and for once, his eyes were red instead of black. They'd given him someone to feast on recently, she realised. His eyes rested on the crest on her chest.

"Already abusing your power?" Nikolai asked, sounding amused. He turned on his belly, pushing himself up from the ground and leaning against the bars of the cell. Cecilia had forgotten how tall he really was, towering ten inches over her. "I like it, Cecilia Volturi."

"Cullen," she corrected him quickly. Once again the feeling of betrayal crept on her, filling her head and heart with doubt. "I'm still a Cullen."

"But for how long?"

"That isn't exactly something that should concern you," she said. She held up the keys and made them jingle. She wanted to forget about her family name. "Is it?"

"No, definitely not," Nikolai answered. His eyes followed the keys like a dog watching a treat. She had no idea for how long he'd been in the dungeons, but if he had been at Volterra for a long as she had, it was multiple weeks. It was an awfully long time to spend on your own.

Cecilia grabbed the keys again, hiding them behind her back as she folded her hands. "If I do this, you owe me," she said. His eyes snapped on her frame, suddenly looking a lot less happy. Nikolai had always been known as a vampire with a lack of social skills and he didn't disappoint. "I need a way to find you."