Demetri had too much on his mind, but the small group in front of him couldn't stop talking, making it difficult to try to organize his thoughts. Heidi, Santiago and Afton were just waiting for the right moment to leave the castle, as soon as the sky changed color as Caius had instructed, since the cloudy winter days were already fading, but they still had to wait for the previous group to return.
Alec and Jane went hunting with Felix, Renata and three more, all should act as bodyguards for the precious twins. The hunting routes for each group were not delimited, they were only advised not to go near Romania and if Vladmir or Stefan were spotted, they needed to return to Italy immediately despite Jane having shown courage in scaring both. Demetri tracked them for the past few weeks till far enough from Volterra to raise suspicion, but he was certain they were responsible for the clusters of newborns that had been emerging, after all, that was a tactic they had used before. Close to Volterra or not, they should be interrogated.
This was the last group to hunt before Corin and Chelsea left the deeper tunnels. For some reason the masters were very fond of the two, so they would go with an even more complete security system, but for that happen everyone needed to be prepared.
- The sun isn't even that strong, we can leave without anyone seeing if we follow the tunnels - Afton said. He was the most anxious of them all despite not being the strongest, nor the most important. Demetri didn't like having to deal with him so imagined he was just a noisy little insect buzzing in his ear.
- Afton is right, it's a safe route - Heidi confirmed with Santiago's support. It was strange to see her wear more sober attire in the clan's dark colors, as she always dressed more cheerfully to human eyes.
- I know it's safe - Demetri replied, surprised to see them agree with Afton, but he understood that they were too thirsty to care. - I just don't have permission to let you leave until Alec goes through that door.
Afton complained again while Demetri pretended not to hear him, it was simply easier that way.
Heidi approached Demetri while Afton and Santiago talked amongst themselves, the vampire was about to say something when Demetri heard Gianna's hurried footsteps coming towards them. The four turned to face the human, who felt embarrassed and threatened at the same time. She would have been criticized if Demetri hadn't seen the letter she was holding.
He led her by the arm away from the entrance to the tunnels, back to her desk at the reception. Gianna was dizzy for a few seconds, unable to speak, so Demetri snatched the letter from her hands. He barely minded the fact that she was sweaty and short of breath, and that his touch had hurt her arm.
- Why did you try to give it to me in front of the others? - Demetri said, almost in panic. Afton and Santiago weren't a problem, but Heidi was slippery - I told you I'd get the answer when I got back just like the other time!
- She got me! - Gianna found the strength to say those frightening words to Demetri, who was already reading the letter when the human spoke, tired of being treated like a simple tool in their desires and plans.
He felt Elia's essence in Gianna's mind, and realized he was late.
Demetri used all his knowledge of the city's tunnels to find an entrance through the sewers that would take him to the church without having to go through Afton and the others. Alec did this all the time, it wasn't impossible. After years of practice they had memorized each route in case of an emergency and an evacuation was necessary. But when he reached the church, there was nothing but silence.
Where was Elia? Had he been faster than her? Or... Demetri didn't want to think about the worst, but the fact that groups of newborns were lurking in the area made him crazy with worry. What if someone had caught her? He was careless and foolish to trust Gianna with his letters, and Elia caught her! Someone might have had the same luck with the human. Bad luck.
Demetri was so nervous that his tracking sense nearly failed him. He had never experienced anything like this in the last hundreds of years with the Volturi, so he was forced to do something very unusual for him: take a deep breath until his mind started working again, the simplest advice he received in a time when the Volturi were not his masters. It only took a few seconds, which to him were precious wasted time if it meant Elia was in danger, until there it was, the trail! So clear in his mind and in his eyes that he could almost touch it with his hands!
Then he heard a call: "Demetri." It hadn't been his imagination; someone was really calling for him. It had to be her!
He ran away from the church, into the middle of the old trees of intertwined branches, as if holding hands, halfway between the town and the church. There was Elia, sitting in the grass, between two large trees, her bag thrown beside her. The way she was holding one of her legs It indicated that she had hurt her foot, which was no surprise given the state of the ground. It had rained a lot in the previous days, it was always like this before the best spring days.
- You really came! - Elia said, her eyes wide in surprise as if she had met a companion by chance and not sneaked into the forest near dusk. Her raincoat made her a yellow dot amidst all the green and gray and her black hair was tied in a braid.
Demetri had spent so much time imagining the worst-case scenarios and here she was, completely safe, playing in the rain,
- What do you think you're doing?! - Demetri asked, more exasperated than worried. He approached the human so quickly that he made her crawl back, this time truly startled by the tone of his voice.
- I wanted to see if I remembered where the church was - Elia answered, she didn't seem to show any regret - it would be a good surprise since you haven't seen me for a month, but I ended up tripping and twisting my ankle, I must have called for Alec dozens of times, but…
- Alec isn't here, did you forget that? And who gave you the right to wander these lands alone so late? You may not be afraid of Alec or me, but you should at least be afraid of your kind!
- I just wanted...
Calmness was essential for a tracker, as was the control of his emotions, and right now Demetri was short of both.
- You are the most stubborn human with no sense of self-preservation I know! - Demetri shouted. All the care he had in the words he wrote in those letters disappeared - Not refusing Alec's company, not leaving the city, waiting for a chance to catch Gianna...!
- So that's her name - Demetri heard Elia whisper, but that only served to make him even angrier.
- And I think I know why you're doing this, why you're purposely putting yourself in danger and I don't like the idea at all!
He covered his face after saying that, because deep down he knew it wasn't correct. Elia didn't say anything, but her expression changed as she listened to the tracker's words.
- Do you think you know? - When he looked back at her, he realized that Elia's eyes were watery. He finally bent down to take a closer look at her.
- Yes - - something inside him screamed for him to stop talking, but Demetri ignored it -because there is someone like me with the same ideas as you, whose loneliness and sadness is capable of dragging him to his death, and I don't want you to follow that path…
- Is that why you think Alec and I became friends? Because I like talking to you? Because you're vamp...
A rustle of leaves in the distance made Demetri cover Elia's mouth. It could have been the wind, but he also smelled a familiar scent nearby. Someone was listening.
Demetri couldn't let Elia say that word out loud, so he held her until the spy was far enough away from them. When he finally let go of Elia, his hands were full of her tears.
- So this is what your eyes really look like - said the human - burgundy.
Demetri nodded silently, embarrassed for having exposed himself in front of her and for having let his emotions take over his actions. If Elia was there, it was his fault. He had encouraged her with his letters and kind words. He was not much different from Alec.
- Why do you think you know how I feel? - Elia asked after some time. The sunset finally reached its peak, causing some rays of sunlight that managed to penetrate the cracks in the trees to graze Demetri's face slightly. He didn't look at Elia to check if she had noticed the glow in his skin.
- I saw you, when you arrived in the city, and then, in the café, I saw you cry almost every day for reasons I don't understand and that you hesitate to tell me...
Demetri was about to touch Elia's face when she pulled his hand away.
- You watched me? - she uttered the words with disgust.
Demetri nodded. He knew she wouldn't like it when she found out, so he should have kept quiet.
- It was my duty to protect the city…
- And what do I have to do with the city safety? - Elia pointed at Demetri's face. She seemed healthier now than when she first arrived in town, perhaps Alec's influence wasn't so bad for her, or perhaps his words had encouraged her to do something good. He wanted to believe that. - That's why you didn't want me to get close to Alec, that's why you came after me...
- I didn't want to scare you, you should have never found out about any of us…
- And when Alec told me you would be watching us, I didn't understand, but now I see... - Elia didn't seem to hear. Her smile was not inviting and her mouth trembled - You thought you owned me…
- No, no, never! - Demetri retorted, but the human didn't want to hear his words anymore. Despite the injury, she grabbed the tree to get up, refusing Demetri's help - You were someone special, you still are...
- That doesn't give you the right to watch me like I was an animal in the zoo.
- I would never have spoken to you, never, I wanted you to leave Volterra, I wanted you to have a life away from me...
- And would you visit me from time to time? - Elia began to limp away from him - That doesn't make it any better!
- You're going to get hurt again like this - Demetri tried to say, but the human ignored. Still he was more agile than her, especially in this situation, so she couldn't get away fast enough - there are no trees all the way, it will take more than a day to reach the walls with this injury...
Elia finally stopped, her face contorted in pain.
- You called me here, at least let me help you! - Demetri begged, and he didn't remember ever begging for anything in his life, not even when he was human.
It was more the pain and the realization that she wouldn't be able to return to the city that made Elia give in. Demetri quickly ran to collect the backpack she had left behind, then held her in his arms carefully.
- Wait - Elia said before Demetri started running - what would you do if I chose a human? Would you continue to watch me anyway?
Demetri avoided looking at her this time. What he wanted and what was right were two different things.
- I didn't start watching you with the intention of turning you like me - the vampire needed to gather courage to continue speaking - falling in love with you wasn't in my plans so, you being alive was enough in the beginning.
- You are avoiding the question - the human pointed.
Demetri took a deep breath for the second time that day. He was tired. He would rather face a group of newborns than this.
- In the beginning... - Elia said – Is that changed now?
- It changed because Alec got involved - Demetri started walking slowly, and Elia imagined it was to avoid looking at her - he chose you, for some reason, and I'm not going to let this happen.
The human laughed, Demetri felt her twitch.
- Alec hasn't offered me anything.
- Not yet. And if you say no he thinks he can make you change your mind, and your friendship only encourages this outcome.
Elia shook her head. She didn't believe him, the letters had been useless, that's what Demetri thought. The distance was still too great between them, and Alec was winning.
- You're just saying that because you're jealous of him.
- You got me there - Demetri smiled, hugging Elia even tighter - you two talk, joke, listen to music, and he makes you smile in a way I've never seen you smile since you arrived in this city and that's why my feelings for you changed!
Demetri stopped, then placed Elia on the ground, leaning against a rock under a tree whose leaves would serve as a cover against the sun which was still fading. He didn't need to stop, but he needed to look at her when he said those words.
- You were unreachable to me, something that should be protected, but fom afar, seeing you cry caused me pain, and that's why I fear if you'll become like me, I fear that your sadness will be eternal and that you're using Alec to distract yourself from what you feel.
The vampire was kneeling in front of Elia, who was crying again, only this time with less anger. That wasn't the effect Demetri wanted, so he tried to help Elia wipe the tears from her face, but the human pushed his hand away again.
"How many more times will she do this?", he thought.
- How did you get here so fast? - Demetri asked, trying to avoid the effects of the reaction to his words. He didn't want to see Elia cry, ever, much less because of him. - When Gianna gave me the letter, I ran to you.
- I made her promise to give me a half-hour head start - Elia said, finally wiping her face - so I took a taxi to the gates and followed the path I thought was the right one.
The human looked at the trees behind Demetri.
- Did I get close?
- Not at all - Demetri replied.
He didn't know why, but Elia smiled. The wind came with the night, messing up Demetri's hair. Elia helped him brush the strands away from his face.
- That woman... Why did she obey me? I mean, she could have simply gone straight to you.
- She did what you told her to because of this - Demetri pointed to the necklace that Elia hid inside her raincoat and that ended up being visible when she tried to escape from him while limping.
He took his pendant out of his coat. It was standard for members of the Volturi Guard to wear the symbol when on official missions, but Demetri had avoided using his in front of Elia until now. There was no point in hiding it anymore.
- How did you find out? - Demetri asked - About Alec and I, what we are.
- After ruling out the demonic option, there wasn't much left - Elia said, her nose had turned strangely red - And he doesn't act like a normal boy, and neither do you.
Demetri couldn't argue with that. Once again he thought Elia had plenty of options ahead of her, billions of warm-blooded humans instead of two cold ones.
Silence fell upon them, and soon there was only the sound of the wind and insects.
- Don't send any more letters to the café, yesterday was my last day there - Elia suddenly said. She could see his face only because of the moonlight, the only light that didn't scare him - and Demetri...
- I'll take you home now, of course.
- That's not it - Elia interrupted him, then fell silent for a moment. She couldn't hear anything, but Demetri focused on the beating of her heart - how I should die, that's something I'll decide, understand?
Demetri wanted to reason with her, but he couldn't, he didn't want her to move further away from him.
- Don't be afraid - the human said, staring at him without fear - I'll be fine.
A shy smile formed on Demetri's thin lips. He had said what he felt, Elia knew what he was. Everything was up to her decision now.
He held her in his arms again, one last hug before leaving her home, safe with her brother and nephew, where she could find the help she needed.
- Don't be hard on Gianna - Elia said before they left - it was my fault, but everything will get better now that winter is ending.
Demetri made sure she was comfortable and safe in his arms. He would soon regret letting her go.