They returned to Volterra exactly two weeks after flying to Russia. This time they travelled by land, which was quicker than any plane ever would be. They made it in a couple of hours, which could have been less if it wasn't for the prisoner they had to transport along with them, still in two pieces. Cecilia turned to look at her soulmate, grateful that he was by her side once more. His head turned as well and their eyes locked, a soft smile on his face.
Cecilia tried to push away the feeling of guilt. Right before they had left she had taken Demetri's memories about Nikolai and their plan of escape, filling his head with nonsense instead. She had long ago accepted the effects of her gift, but whenever she had to use it on her soulmate, even if he was the one insisting, it left her with a feeling of disgust. She knew many other people would abuse her gift, even more than she did, even on their loved ones. Cecilia wanted to believe she was different, but deep in her heart, she knew that might not be true.
Seeing the castle's outline in front of her, Cecilia lowered her pace. Demetri followed her movements quickly, almost as if they had shared the same thought. It was dark and the streets were deserted, leaving the two of them to find their way to the castle comfortably.
Arriving at the throne room, she allowed Demetri to open the doors, while she threw in the pieces of Anya's, or rather, Vasilisa's body. Her head rolled theatrical through the room, ending in front of the plateau with the thrones, face up and black curls tangled. Cecilia curtseyed. "We bring you the body of the red princess."
Aro closed the book he'd been reading with a loud thud, an amused expression on his face. He always seemed to love gore and the beheaded face staring up at him certainly appeared to lift his spirits. "My young friends, you have done very well."
Cecilia found Demetri's side in the middle of the room. She could feel a lot of eyes on her statue, burning holes in her skin. The witch twins, close to the thrones, with evil sneers on their faces, Caius with a look of approval, Marcus with something that resembled slight disgust. She ignored all of it, focusing on the presence of the vampire standing next to her.
"Take her to the dungeons, allow her body to heal," Aro ordered. Only a split second later a lower guard ran from one of the dark corners of the room, retrieving the two parts of the body and disappearing from the throne room. Aro's milky red eyes shifted from the guard hurrying away to the couple in front of them, the corner of his mouth twisting in a dark smile. "You have done very well indeed. May I?"
Demetri held up his hand, and Aro's clasped his around it, zoning out. As the years passed and she made more and more use of her gift, it had become increasingly difficult for Aro to sift through her mind. It contained many memories, which wasn't necessarily an issue, but all of them were fresh and in the foreground, both the real ones and those she'd made up. So, not only was it hard to find the desired memory, but also the right version of it. About three years Aro had stopped trying, trusting her on her word or raking through Demetri's mind.
He let go of his hand, a pleased hint in his eyes. "You have done very well indeed," he said, nodding. "It is reassuring to know, that amidst all these traitors and hawks that there are those we can rely upon blindly. Many would like to dispose of us, take our places, but with all of you on our side, we are unstoppable. You have once again proved this."
Cecilia kept on staring at the man in front of her, not fooled by his pretty words, but Demetri bowed his head slightly. "Thank you for these kind words."
"You are dismissed for the coming week," Aro suddenly said, surprising both Demetri and Cecilia. The latter didn't bother to hide her surprise, her eyebrows raising high. As she let her golden eyes scan over the room, she felt a strange sort of delight to see Alec and Jane looking oddly disgusted, as if they had just eaten sour candy. They covered it up quickly. "The private jet will be at your disposal. Use it as you see fit and travel wherever you want. I will see you both next Tuesday."
"Thank you so much," Cecilia spoke, the excitement audible in her voice. Aro smiled broadly at her and she curtseyed once more, grabbing Demetri's hand tightly as they hurried out of the throne room. A smile so bright it could light up the entire castle covered her face and as soon as the two of them had found their way to their chambers, she burst out in squealing. "Do you believe this?"
Demetri smirked, looking thoroughly amused. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body close to his. "Ready to visit your family?"
"Yes," she said, almost shouting it. The idea of seeing her family again, finally after a couple of years, filled her with glee. She wrapped her arms around Demetri's neck and pushed herself on her tippytoes, placing enthusiastic kisses all over his face. Pulling back, she stared into his eyes. "We can stay there for a couple of days and go the rest of the week to Angelokastro. How does that sound?"
"It sounds magnificent," he replied, pressing a soft kiss on her mouth.
Cecilia melted in his arms, enjoying the way her head and heart seemed to sing at the close contact with her soulmate. Resting her head on his chest after the kiss, she allowed him to make the two of them sway, as if they were dancing or rocking like a crib. "Have you been granted a week off before?"
"No," Demetri admitted, his hands tracing over the back of her shirt. "But I know Aro does this once every while for soulmates in the guard. At least, if they are of a higher rank, but as you've noticed, there aren't many couples in the guard."
Cecilia decided not to give her explanation for that, not wanting to ruin the mood. Besides, for all she knew, they were listening in on their conversation. "Well, I am very glad about this turn of events."
Obviously, she had just spent two weeks with Demetri in a foreign country, but the thought of spending time with him and not having to worry about their mission seemed a whole lot more fun. She pulled her head back, staring him in his eyes. "We should get packing."
He hummed, brushing a non-existent strand of hair out of her face. "Yes, we should."
She walked out of his arms, something she didn't like to do, though the prospect of spending many more hours in them for the coming week lightened her mood. She threw her suitcase on the bed and started packing it with new clothes. Now that she couldn't feel the temperature anymore, or at least, it didn't bother her, it didn't really matter what she packed. Still, knowing that her family surrounded themselves with plain mortals a lot, she also decided on some clothes that would be appropriate for winter in Virginia.
Once done, she turned to Demetri. He was standing in the corner of their room, his suitcase already packed, his cloak exchanged for a simple and long coat. Upon seeing his face, filled with joy and awe, Cecilia felt herself falling a little more in love. It took everything she had not to run to him and to get lost in his touch, so instead, she closed the clasps of her suitcase and pulled it next to her. "Ready when you are."
"Let's go."
➻
They landed at the airport exactly nine hours later, Cecilia bubbling with happiness. She didn't know exactly how long ago she had seen her family, maybe it was two and a half years already, instead of two, but it didn't matter. She rushed to the baggage claim, ignoring Demetri's obvious chuckles.
"Calm down, dear," he said kindly, grabbing their suitcases off the belt. "A minute more or less isn't going to make a difference."
"Says who?" she countered, her voice teasing. Pulling the suitcase behind her, she urged Demetri to hurry up. Looking over her shoulder, she caught him shaking his head, but following suit anyway. She knew the prospect of seeing her family didn't really excite him and she promised herself that she wouldn't let herself be convinced to stay longer. Demetri had seen her parents on several occasions since they were together, but not as much as a usual son in law. The rest of her family had seen him even less, which made the contact awkward. The fact that he'd been in the Volturi for a long time, which meant quite some stand-offs had passed between them, didn't make it any better. So, she was glad and grateful that he had been the one to propose it.
She lowered her pace until the two of them walked side by side, catching his gaze. "Thank you," she said, meaning every word.
Demetri seemed confused for a moment, his eyebrows raised high. "Whatever for?" he said. "Just a minute ago you were disagreeing with me."
"Thank you for coming to visit my family," she said, smiling softly. "I know you'd rather spend the whole week in Angelokastro."
He shrugged. "I know how happy it makes you to see your family," he said. "And I think I can manage three days of glaring and comments."
"They'll behave," she said determinedly. She nodded to herself, another promise she decided to keep. "I'll make sure of it."
Chuckling, Demetri grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "I didn't expect anything else from you."