SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

V E N T I Q U A T T R O

When she woke up the next day, it was with a smile on her face and a well-rested body. She pushed the sheets from her body and moved to the little desk to stare out the window. It was another sunny Italian day, one just begging her to go out and soak up all the rays she could get. Cecilia knew however that she had to do something else first.

She dressed up quickly, putting on a long flowery skirt and a white T-shirt that was comfortably snug on her body. Despite the sun doing its best, it was still rather cold in the castle in comparison, mostly due to the thick walls. Putting on her ankle boots, she rushed down the kitchen, hoping that nobody was there. Her prayers were answered because aside from some dishes that needed washing, she had the kitchen all to herself.

Opening the fridge, she choose an apple and put it on the counter. She grabbed a knife that looked particularly sharp and a cup next, before cutting the apple in pieces. Then, checking once more if nobody was behind her, she grabbed the blade with her hand, hissing as it cut through her skin. Quickly, she placed the cup underneath her hand, making a fist and squeezing some blood into it.

"Oh, I'm so clumsy," she muttered to herself, a smug smile on her face.

Once the blood stopped flowing, she snatched the towel from the wall and bound it over the wound in the palm of her hand. Looking into the cup, she realised it would be nowhere near enough to satisfy Nikolai, but then again, she supposed it was better than nothing. She sincerely hoped that all the vampires in the castle were gone, or most of them at least. She knew that Demetri was busy with a mission together with Felix, Jane and Alec, which made this the best opportunity she would get in a while to visit Nikolai in the dungeons.

Grabbing the cup with her good hand and clutching the towel with the other, she managed to find her way to the dungeons. It took her a better part of an hour, choosing the wrong corridor a ridiculous amount of times, but finally, she arrived at the cell with a Russian vampire slumped behind it.

"Ah, if it isn't the Volturi's sweetheart," Nikolai grunted as he looked up in torch she had placed next to his cell. Cecilia noticed he looked even more horrible than he had the last time she'd seen him. It was as if something in the dungeons was draining his strength.

She smiled, not particularly friendly or hatefully. "I brought you something, but it doesn't sound like you need it."

"I was only joking, of course," he said, putting his hands on the iron bars and pressing his face close. He motioned with his head that she should come closer. "Give me the cup."

She came closer, kneeling in front of him just out of his reach. Her smile turned into a smirk. "I might consider it if you ask nicely."

"Give me the goshdamn cup, girl," Nikolai demanded, his voice sounding a lot stronger than he looked. His eyes had turned completely dark, his skin sickly pale.

She put on an expression of surprise, making circles with the mug in her hand so that the thick liquid inside of it swirled around the edges, nearly spilling it. Amused, she watched Nikolai's hunger-filled eyes follow the motions of her hand. "Now, if I were a little clumsy, which admittedly, is the truth, I might just spill this precious-"

"Alright, alright, will you please give me the cup?" the vampire cut her off, looking at her pleadingly.

She stopped swirling the liquid immediately, putting the mug through the iron bars of his cell. Never before had she seen someone snatch something away so eagerly, drinking, or rather ravishing it like he was some beast. She raised her eyebrows high, her nose twisted in disgust. "You're an animal."

"No," he said between two gulps, shaking his head. "I'm starving. And this is not nearly enough."

"Well, it's all you're going to get," she countered, holding out her hand. She watched in disgust as Nikolai licked the mug clean before placing it in her hand again.