SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

C I N Q U E

She felt breathless, even though she didn't need oxygen. "Since when have you known?"

"From the very start," he said. "I've been wanting to talk to you about it, but it was never the right moment. Either Alec was lurking around or someone else was listening in."

"Ugh," Cecilia said, letting herself fall in the sand. She closed her eyes, pretending she could feel the rays of sunlight. "I thought I was just so careful. I felt like a super-spy."

She could feel the weight of his body next to hers, the way the tips of his fingers trailed over the length of her bare arm. It made her shiver.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, no one else has noticed," Demetri replied, sounding smug.

She opened one eye, staring at Demetri with a dismayed expression on her face. She felt stupid and grateful at the same time. Grateful that he had been the one to have caught her and stupid for the fact that it just as easily could have been anybody else. She could only think of the cruel things Aro would do to her and Nikolai if he had found out. It wouldn't surprise her if he declared her judge once more, forcing her hand in his execution.

All those feelings disappeared when she felt Demetri's hand caress her cheek, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She let out a little sigh, something so human that it felt foreign to her, before slinging her arms around Demetri's neck and pulling him close. She did it so forcefully, that he collapsed under her new strength, landing on top of her body with a tud.

A laugh escaped her mouth, but that sound was soon cut off when Demetri pressed his lips against hers. The feelings she usually felt, the explosion of fireworks in her stomach, the fluttering of her heart, the way her whole body seemed to be on fire, all of it felt like it was happening in tenfold. She knew it was thanks due to her heightened senses and it made her love her soulmate even more.

She broke the kiss, though she could have gone on for hours, a new thought occurring to her suddenly. "You tune in someone's mind, right?" she said, watching Demetri nod. "Maybe it's my gift to hide things of the mind."

"Maybe you shouldn't worry about it at this moment," Demetri said. He pressed a kiss against her the line of her jaw. It was enough to make all the thoughts disappear from her mind. "We're in Greece, on the beach, about to start an uttermost sensitive and diplomatic mission," Cecilia chuckled at his impression of Aro's childish voice. "We should enjoy this while it lasts."

"Hmm, you might be right," Cecilia hummed. She pressed a chaste kiss on his lips, before moving away. "But you'll have to catch me first."

She was up and running not a second later, flashing across the beach like a flaring ghost. She could hear him grumble playfully underneath his breath, but she didn't care. The speed with which she was able to move still amazed her, the new details she could see, like the single grains of sand, took her breath away. She would enjoy it, that was for sure. Laughing loudly, she made her way to the little wall near the sea. It was there that she let him catch her.

"What is it with you and running?" he asked as he pinned her body between his and the wall.

Cecilia shrugged innocently. "I heard it's good for you."

"You're immortal now," he said. Even though she knew, hearing him say it made it even more thrilling. "You could run across the Earth and it wouldn't make you more healthy."

"Do you think I could?"

"What?"

"Run across the Earth?"

"How about we never find out."

She gasped. "Do you think that if we could construct wings and wear them we could take off? You know, now that we can manage the same speed as a plane."

Demetri groaned. "I will never begin to comprehend the way your mind works."

"I'm only teasing you," she said, smiling softly. She loved to see him exasperated by whatever she was saying or doing, knowing very well it was just an act. Letting her hands rest on his shoulders, she looked up at the castle. She noticed a figure standing on the walls of the castle, black hair blowing in the wind and a grimace on her face. A split second later, she was gone.

"Danae," Cecilia whispered softly, gaining Demetri's attention. "She was watching us."

"Let her," Demetri replied, his voice barely audible. "She's just jealous."

But the spell had been broken for Cecilia, who ducked underneath Demetri's arm to take a seat near the waves. She stretched out her legs, just far enough for the sea to reach her toes. He followed her example and she turned to him curiously. "They're not soulmates," she stated simply.

"Obviously," Demetri agreed. His fingers trailed absentminded figures in the sand. "She had once, many centuries ago. He was found guilty of raising an army and Aro had him killed. She's been bitter ever since."

Cecilia hummed softly, the thought of losing Demetri was unbearable to her. "So she joined Adras out of spite, just to look for revenge?"

"Yeah, back when he still had ambitions," he agreed, nodding. "But those disappeared a couple of centuries ago as well."

"I already had a feeling it's not Adras that's the problem, but Danae," she said. She pushed her curls over her shoulder, her eyes scanning the horizon. "She's zealous and she simply uses her husband as a front to get things done."

Once more Demetri nodded. "That's why we must coerce her," he said. "Adras is not the problem, she is."