SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

Q U A T T O R D I C I

"You will take a commercial flight, which will depart in four hours," Aro continued. He looked at his brothers. Marcus still looked as dead as usual, but over the years Caius scowl had disappeared. Cecilia could swear that sometimes she saw his face light up at the sight of her, especially whenever she used her gift to gaslight someone or demanded someone's death. "I'll give you a month."

They nodded once more, Demetri bowing and Cecilia curtseying, before they left the throne room. Missions with Demetri were the ones she loved the most, because it meant spending time together. Sometimes days or weeks would pass, in which she was forced to stay at court while he cleared some dirty job in another place of the world. Nine out of ten times he had Felix at his side, but she had no one. Being Aro's right hand ensured that most of the other guards shunned her, afraid that she would snitch them and her gift didn't make her very popular either. It was a lonely life in Volterra.

The only people who still loved her and accepted her the way she was, was her family, but she didn't get to see them often. The only times she could visit them was whenever the Masters sent her on a mission in the area of Washington. Her family had moved to Island County five years ago, when it started to get suspicious that her father hadn't aged a single day in the last seven years. She hadn't even been able to say goodbye to her home and she supposed that soon they would move to another place yet again. Cecilia would have to ask for the new address the next time she heard from them.

She looked at Demetri with a hint of wonder in her eyes. "Do you reckon this is going to be difficult?"

He looked up from the clothes he'd been stuffing in his suitcase. "I think we'll have to get our hands dirty," he replied. "But I know we'll be just fine. Why, are you worried?"

She shrugged, packing some of her own clothes. She wasn't sure how she felt about a mission to Russia, because to be truthful, she'd been waiting for it for over a decade now. It was one of the pieces in her perfect plan, but now that she actually had the opportunity, she wasn't sure that she actually wanted to go through with it. She also knew that it was probably because Chelsea had been meddling with her emotions, tightening her relationships with the Volturi. She hated the vampire for meddling with her emotions, realising she probably was the biggest hypocrite that currently roamed the earth. She meddled with people's minds after all.

"Hey," Demetri said, gaining her attention. He'd let go of his clothes and joined her side without making a single sound. His hands enveloped her cheeks, bringing her face close to his. As soon as their eyes locked, red and gold, she felt some of her worries slip away. "We've never failed, right? You and me, together we're unstoppable. We don't fail."

"You're right," she answered softly. She pressed her mouth to his in a chaste kiss, enjoying the instant feeling of warmth spreading through her body. "And I'm looking forward to spending some time with you."

He smirked, letting go of her cheeks. "Imagine you wouldn't."

"It's not as if we're tied together," she said teasingly, giving him a shove. Her eyes fell onto her ring finger, still empty. Every time she received a letter or a call from her family she heard the same question over and over, when are the two of you finally getting married?

She couldn't help but wonder the same. It was a stupid and petty feeling, she realised that very well. After all, they knew they were soulmates, together for as long as time granted them, and that was a lot more than people usually got, but ever since she'd been a child she'd dreamed of a big and white wedding, her own fairytale story. Besides, it would give her the opportunity to see her family more often, because there would be no way that Alice would let the Volturi plan the wedding.

Demetri turned to her, not looking particularly bothered by her comment. It wasn't the first time she'd said something along the lines, but he had noticed that it happened more often after she'd spoken to her family. "Has Rosalie been nagging again?"

"No," Cecilia answered, but the look on her face betrayed her. She shrugged, turning back to packing her suitcase. "Well, maybe a little, but you can't exactly blame her."

"We have all the time in the world, dear," he said. "Literally."

She folded one of her favourite dresses and laid it in her suitcase. "Yeah, you're right."

Demetri turned to her again, grabbing her arms and pulling her body in front of his. He raised her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes again. He smiled. "I love you," he said. "You know that, right?"

"I know," she answered. Suddenly she felt stupid. Demetri was the best thing that had happened to her, and here she was, nagging about a stupid ring and a big feast that would probably only cause her a headache, but would not change anything about the feelings they shared with each other. She grabbed his hands, squeezing them while she smiled softly. "I know, and I love you too. I'm sorry for being such a whiny pout."

He chuckled and pressed a kiss against her temple. "At least you're my whiny pout."