Kol had no idea for how long he'd been back among the living. For one, he wasn't actually alive anymore as he was back in his original body, back to being a vampire. Secondly, those bastards seemed to think keeping him locked up in a cellar only to drench him in vervain every once in a while would make him warm up to them — or something like that. He was hungry, and bored, and wanted out of this place, but couldn't do anything about it.
Suspicious as he was, he'd rather starve himself than accept any of the blood they offered him. And apparently they wouldn't let him out until he gave them information about his siblings, or joined them in their war against them, all options reeking of betrayal on his part and, more importantly, on theirs. He didn't fucking know what his siblings were up to, damn, he didn't even know where he was! Plus, he'd gone against his family before, it didn't work out for him and they'd actually been nice to him the last time around, thank you very much.
Now, torturing him actually made him want to go against them, the lovely group of vampires Elijah had sired once, pretentiously calling themselves Strix. Maybe he'd rip a few hearts out, or daylight rings off, and watch them burn.
He tried to break the chains around his wrists, yet again wondering how they managed to hold him against the wall. The last vervain infused shower had long lost effect and even without blood, he was recovering fast, and should have been able to get out in no time. Maybe being dead twice took a toll on him after all.
Annoyed, he eyed the stream of light coming from the door. It was growing until it almost reached his toes, then faded again. He had a visitor.
"What's supposed to make me help this time?" He grinned up at the nameless man in a suit. Instead of answering, he handed Kol a mobile and told him to press play. Did they actually think they had leverage over him now?
Here we go again, he thought, grinding his teeth together. They'd made him watch the covens take away Davina's magic, and her following fallout with Marcel, hoping he would break. Predictably, his rage grew with each day, but so did his strength. The vervain barely hurt him anymore and he had started to put on a show so they wouldn't know. He'd promised himself to keep himself together so long as Davina did the same, all the while trying to figure out how to break free from this cell.
Not thinking much of it (she was strong, they could do this), he pressed play, and a bar came to life on the screen. He was almost used to this sight now, as much as he could, at least, as Davina had taken to drowning her sorrows in liquor a few nights per week. He clenched his jaw together and concentrated on the off-screen conversation his little witch had obviously been set up to eavesdrop on.
"Did you hear Kol Mikaelson is back from the dead?", a dark voice stated, and Davina's head perked up. "Apparently his sister resurrected him a few weeks ago and he didn't even stay long enough to say goodbye. Didn't have anything holding him here, anyway, especially with his family fucking up again."
Kol watched Davina swallow and grip her glass so tight that her knuckles turned white. She believed them. She thought he'd abandoned her. A growl found its way past his lips and one of his guards laughed.
"Yeah, as far as I heard, his own neck's all he's ever cared about. Sounds like a real nice brother, and even better friend, don't you think?", another voice added. "Bet he broke a dozen promises without blinking an eye when he took off. God, I hate Originals."
Davina drowned the rest of her drink in one go and left on shaking legs. Whoever had been recording her zoomed in on her face, quivering lips pressed together, and eyes blinking rapidly to keep herself from crying.
"Poor thing," commented the first voice. On the file, everyone broke out laughing.
"No." A burning fire spread in his chest, and even though he hadn't felt like this before, Kol welcomed the surety this kind of rage brought with it. He'd get out of here and make this right. And if he didn't, he'd at least have killed a few dozen arseholes until they caught him again.
A chuckling guard stepped forward and took the phone from him. "You up to help us now?" The bastard actually had the guts to smile.
"You wish." Kol raised his head, a smirk on his face. The heat was cursing through his limbs now, reaching every last cell, and suddenly he knew. "Have fun in hell, love," he smirked, and the guard caught fire. The second vampire's screams joined his colleague's a few seconds later, as the whole room burst to flames.
Kol tore himself from the wall as if the chains hadn't been able to keep him there for weeks, and he flashed trough the corridors, leaving everything he crossed on fire.
Without his daylight ring, his skin ached under the sun, but he stopped to watch the burning building anyway, the trapped vampires' screams music to his ears. He had his magic back, and revenge had never felt this good.
"I'd hoped to find you here." He'd been to the attic and his playhouse, even Marcel's loft, and the cabin they'd stayed in with Mikael months ago really had been his last resort. Davina was sitting in an armchair, legs pulled to her chest, and stared into the flames flickering in the fireplace. She whipped around when he spoke almost falling off her chair. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, and her eyes were red and blotchy. "W-What–how did you get in here?"
He'd asked himself that. Possibly, his body didn't need an invitation to places his soul had been to before. But he wasn't going to tell her that now. He had to make things right, first. She had to know–"I wouldn't leave you unless you told me to, Davina. I don't think I could." He took a tentative step forward, into the light. "I won't hold it against you that you thought I did, though. Not after everything that happened to you."
She blinked up at him. "K-Kol?" She'd flung herself at him faster than he'd ever seen a human move.
"I burned them all down for you, love," he whispered into her hair while she cried. His chest burned again, but this time it was sadness and joy fighting to settle in his heart.