SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

O T T O

It was over a week later when Cecilia and Demetri were able to get some time on their own and away from the suffocating presence of the Markis. Though no fights had broken out again, except for a somewhat friendly brawl between Demetri and Kyros, one the first had won with ease, leaving the other's pride heavily wounded, and the conflict about the province seemed entirely forgotten, life at Angelokastro took its toll on Cecilia. Constantly pretending someone she wasn't was tiring, even if vampires didn't tire easily.

Over the last couple of days, she'd taken a liking to Ptolema. The girl talked a lot, but Cecilia didn't mind. It was less tiresome to shut out her chatter than to keep up an act of arrogance and haughtiness, which she still did when all of them got together in the evening or whenever she was taking a stroll with Danae or Odina. She'd avoided Kyros like the plague, successfully so.

Now, Cecilia and her soulmate were on the mainland. They had just finished hunting, or rather, she had finished. It had taken her everything not to attack the passengers of the boat that took them from Corfu to Kestrini, which was surrounded by a forest filled with deer, but Demetri had offered enough distractions to keep her mind busy. 

Now the two of them were laying in the middle of a clearing, allowing the sun to hit their skin and reflect in every possible direction. They were deep in the forest, so they didn't have to be afraid of any mortals stepping in on them. Cecilia had laid her head on his chest, her fingers playing absentmindedly with the fabric of his shirt. He rested his head on top of hers, his fingers trailing over the length of her arm.

"Have you already figured out what happened a week ago?" he asked quietly, breaking the silence. They hadn't been able to talk about it before, not with the risk of the Markis listening in.

"No," Cecilia said. She closed her eyes, allowing the muscles in her body to relax. "All I know is that I felt completely useless, standing there by your side like a fool. I wished they would just forget about the quarrel altogether."

"Maybe your gift is being your own genie," Demetri replied.

If she hadn't closed her eyes, she would have rolled them, but she didn't bother to hide the smile that crept on her face. "That would be awesome."

"Remember what you said to me the other day on the beach?" Demetri asked.

"That I still stand by my statement that you're a dramaqueen?"

"No," he countered. He pinched her skin ever so lightly, causing her to chuckle. "That maybe your gift was hiding things of the mind."

Cecilia's body stilled, her mind processing the words Demetri had just said. She had no idea if he could be right, but it would make sense. If she really was able to hide things of the mind, that meant that she had not only wished for the Markis to forget about their problems, she had actually taken their memories of their problems.

As if she was stung by a bee, she shot up straight, burying her hands in her hair. Her eyes snapped to Demetri, a plan forming in her head. "Demetri, did you know that when I first met you I thought you were really handsome and I felt the absolute worst for those feelings?"

Demetri raised his eyebrows, looking at her with an entertained smile. "You did?"

She nodded and then tried to focus all of her energy on making Demetri forget the words she just said. For a while, nothing seemed to happen, but then he zoned out. Cecilia let out a squeal, not being able to hide her excitement, and was met with the questioning look of Demetri.

He looked at her suspiciously. "Did it work?"

"Yeah," she said breathlessly.

"Well, what memory did you take?"