SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

T R E

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.