SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

N O V E

They were walking in the gardens, an appropriate distance between them. This late in the afternoon, the castle blocked most of the sun, leaving the gardens to the shadows. Cecilia didn't want to admit it, but she was slowly falling in love with the castle and the ground surrounding it. Especially the gardens were beautiful, nothing you would expect from vampires who had to spend most of the time inside due to the sunlight anyway.

"When were you changed?" Cecilia asked curiously. So far, Demetri had shown her the castle, sharing interesting facts about everything inside and out, but he was yet to talk about himself.

"Somewhere around the year 1000," Demetri said. He offered her a smile that looked somewhat apologetic. "I didn't really keep track of the calendar during those days."

"I can only imagine," Cecilia answered, a soft sigh escaping her lips. She wondered what it was like to roam the earth for eleven centuries, to see kingdoms rise and fall, the people come and go. She wondered if she could last for a thousand years when she got turned, or if she would cross somebody and be killed earlier.

All of those thoughts dissolved as snow for the sun when she dared to turn her head to take a quick glance at the vampire walking beside her. His body was lean and he towered at least a couple of inches over her. It was the way he walked that fascinated her the most. Her family had been among humans for such a long time that they slumped ever so slightly and moved their shoulders up and down even when it wasn't necessary, but Demetri had never had a reason to hide his true nature. He walked like a royal, his spine straight and his head held high. His hands he'd folded behind his back and his steps were confident and sure.

Nobody had taken the effort to elaborate on the so-called bond Aro had mentioned during their meeting, not even her father. She knew this bond had saved her from being executed, but she had no idea what it meant. All she knew was it had something to do with Demetri.

"You're staring," Demetri stated after a short moment of silence. He turned to look at her as well, their eyes once again meeting. She immediately noticed his eyes were bright red, brighter than they'd been yesterday, and a chill crept over her spine.

She felt her heartbeat quicken and focused her eyes on the gravel in front of her. She hated the feeling of her cheeks heating up. "Sorry."

"No apologies needed," Demetri said. As soon as she realised he sounded somewhat smug, she wanted to tell him that he was staring at her all the time, but in the end, she decided to let it go. "So what about your life, living with the mighty Cullens?"

She decided that she would let the slightly mocking tone slip as well. "It's normal, I suppose," she said, shrugging. She focused her eyes on the fountain not too far away from them. "I mean, as normal as it gets with a bunch of vampires as your family. I'm homeschooled by my mother and well, with so many people around there's always something fun to do."

"So you never went to school?" Demetri asked, a curious tone in his voice.

"I don't see the point in it," she replied. A slight breeze blew a strand in her face and she pushed it back stubbornly. "My mom's a great teacher and after I get turned it will be my family and I, not some mortal friend and I."

Demetri only nodded, looking at her the way Jasper looked at her when he was trying to figure out her emotions. "When would you according to your original plan be changed?"

"On my eighteenth birthday," she said softly. She still didn't know what she was supposed to think about Demetri being the one to turn her. She'd always imagined her dad being the one to do it, as he had with the rest of their family. "Which is in exactly 360 days."

"A late happy birthday then."

She couldn't help the way the corners of her mouth curled in a smile. "Thank you."