She sat across from Demetri in the plane, observing him quietly. He hadn't spoken since their short exchange in his chambers and he seemed utterly and totally lost in thought. With his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth set in a stonehard grimace, Cecilia thought he looked oddly like an ancient Greek philosopher. Still, it worried to see him like that.
She drew in a sharp breath. "Talk to me, Demetri."
He looked up, suddenly looking as though he had aged thirty years in two seconds. "Don't you see they have set us up to fail, probably on purpose too?"
Cecilia raised her eyebrows and reached out for his hands, holding them tightly in hers. "No," she answered quietly, feeling stupid. "Explain it to me."
"The Makris' are such an ancient coven, almost older than the Volturi, and they feel insulted they're not treated with the same respect," he explained. "This is such an ancient quarrel, Cecilia, it blows your mind. Back in the day the Makris and the Volturi were on the same level, helping and supporting each other, but where our power grew, theirs dwindled."
"So, they're bitter about something that happened literally historic era's ago?" she asked incredulously. "Kingdoms have risen and fallen and entire world wars have happened and they're upset about losing a game of power? Sounds utterly pathetic to me."
Demetri let out a soft chuckle, one that made Cecilia crack a little smile, before giving her hands a soft squeeze and continuing. "They're proud people and they've rebelled many times before."
"So why do they still exist?" she said, leaning back in the comfortable seat of their private plane. It suddenly reminded her of the first time she'd flown with Demetri, how he had helped her translate the text and how afraid she'd been of him. Her mind took her back to her first encounter with Alex, in which he had almost scared her to death. It seemed like a lifetime away. "I thought rising up to the Volturi meant the end of you."
"It's kind of the same with your family," Demetri said, shrugging carelessly.
Suddenly feeling defensive, Cecilia's red eyes snapped up. "What about my family?"
"They break the laws, but they've got too great a support to be destroyed," he stated, looking his soulmate dead in the eye. "It's the same with the Makris. They have certain other ancient covens backing them up and simply destroying them would result in a war we cannot waste time on."
Cecilia brushed a lock of brown hair behind her air, an action that was completely unnecessary. "Are you saying that if my family didn't have other covens at their side they would have been destroyed long ago?"
Demetri looked at her intensely for a moment, before shrugging. "Possibly."
She bit on the corner of her lip to prevent any nasty words about the Volturi from slipping out and to regain her thoughts. She knew it wasn't Demetri's fault for stating the things as they were and beside, it was all long before they'd found out they were soulmates. Still, it reminded her once again about the rivalry between her family and the current monarchs. Letting out a completely unnecessary sigh, she looked up again. "Still, that doesn't explain why Aro has set us up to fail."
"The Makris' still consider themselves on the same level as the Volturi," Demetri said simply. "And yet he has sent me, a simple member of the Guard, and you, not even a real member of the Volturi."
Suddenly, it dawned on her. "Like a king sending peasants as emissaries to another king."
Demetri nodded, leaning back in his seat as well. "Exactly."
Cecilia had to agree that their odds at success suddenly seemed a lot lesser than they were and her daydreams of white beaches, one-on-one time with Demetri and the great sun shattered as well. Her eyes wandered to the clouds they were flying over and she drew absentminded figures on the armrest with her fingers.
"They probably gave that province to that other coven on purpose, you know," she stated after a moment of thought. She took in Demetri's expression, whose turn it was to appear defensive. After a couple of seconds, though, that defensiveness began to disappear and make place for realisation. Cecilia considered that a positive thing, as it meant that Aro's and his minion Chelsea's claws were less and less deep in his brain.
Demetri nodded, suddenly looking very agitated. "Aro knew he would get such a reaction with the Papatonis ruling over more land. He probably just wanted to create this opportunity to test us."
Not allowing that thought to annoy her further, Cecilia grabbed her soulmate's hands once more. "Well, we better succeed then."
➻
They landed at Corfu Airport a couple of hours later on a private landing strip and grabbing Demetri's hand tightly, she followed him out of the plane. Their trip had been alright, but Cecilia preferred to be on the ground with both of her feet firmly planted on it, instead of somewhere high up in the sky. She knew it was a ridiculous thought, considering that even if something happened to the plane, she and Demetri would probably be quite alright still.
With a polite smile, she observed the way Demetri greeted a man she didn't know in Greek. It sounded wonderful to her, like soft classical music with a sudden heavy edge. Where she might have known ancient Greek, modern Greek was nothing to it in comparison, so she just waited patiently and observed the man in front of them. He was fully human, the awful ache in her throat told her as much and she supposed he probably filled the same function as Gianna, the Volturi's mortal secretary.
When she heard Demetri say her name, she snapped out of her thoughts, grabbing the outstretched hand of the man tightly. Perhaps a little too tightly, as she saw the quick expression of pain crossing over his face. Quickly, she let go of his hand, forcing herself to quit breathing. The smell of the man was excruciating and suddenly she wondered however her family managed to do it. She could hear his heart beating loudly and see the pulse of the artery in his neck. He would taste a lot better than deer, that much she knew without a doubt.
"De," she said, almost grunting his name. She squeezed his hand harshly. "I need to get out of here."
He nodded, his tone suddenly changing. She had no idea what he was saying, but when the man nodded and motioned to a car not too far away, she was glad he had managed it. Not a split second later, the man walked away, leaving Cecilia to drag Demetri to the car. That much she had understood.
"Hey, you're doing alright," Demetri said softly. His breath tickled the skin behind her ear and when he pulled her close, she was able to relax once more. "You're doing fine."
"I hope the Markis' don't eat the way you guys do," Cecilia said, breathing out loudly. She was glad for the fact that she hadn't yet experienced one of their feasting days, because she seriously doubted her abilities to control herself. If the smell of blood without any wounds was almost enough to push her over the edge, how much worse would it get when there was blood smeared all over the throne room. "I don't think I'll be able to stand that."
"I'm afraid it will be just so," Demetri said, opening the door of the car for her. Just as she sat down, he had already joined her on the other side, swiftly starting the car. "But we'll figure something out."
"I hope," she muttered, leaning back in her seat.
The day felt oddly long. Almost twenty-four hours ago she'd woken up, or rather died, and not experiencing a single speck of tiredness made her feel odd. Even though she was filled with more energy than ever before, she wouldn't mind laying down for a minute, just to stare at the ceiling and regain her thoughts.
Instead, she let her head rest against the car window, staring at the surroundings Demetri was driving them through. It was only a fifty-minute drive from the airport to Angelokastro, but she enjoyed the time the two of them had left together. Most of it she spent either observing her soulmate or day-dreaming.
"How do you feel about being in Greece?" she asked after a moment of silence.
Demetri gave her a short look, one that made her stomach tumble all over. She realised he really looked like he belonged here, like a Greek hero. A pale Greek hero, but a hero nevertheless.
He let out a soft sigh, a totally human thing to do. "I love Greece," he admitted after a couple of seconds. "Volterra might be the place I live and have lived for centuries, but this is my home. Even after all these years."
She nodded, smiling ever so lightly. "Tell me something about Angelokastro."
"Well, Angelokastro is located almost as strategically convenient as it can get. The walls are impregnable and to be able to get there you have to climb a thousand feet high cliff. Once you there you have a breath-taking view of the island and the sea both," he told absentmindedly. Though his eyes were on the road, Cecilia knew his mind was in a different time. "The Markis' had it built centuries ago, though many people believe it's attributed to Michael I Komnenos, some ruler from the thirteenth century. It's more convenient that way."
"Yeah, it would be kind of hard to explain that the exact same people who build the whole castle almost a thousand years ago are still living in it," Cecilia chuckled.
She watched the smile crack through on Demetri's face and she hoped that the two of them would be alright for the coming one and a half week.