A/N: I only own my OC. There are some parts in third person point of view. And sorry for any mistakes
Red Road
Chapter 4
~Lost Graces~
Kenna's POV…
I was young and an orphan when I met them. I think that's why I grew fond of their family so quickly. I was alone but I didn't want to be and I had this hope that they could have accepted me into their family. But I was wrong.
I figured that out a little too late.
Third person POV…
Klaus wakes to the sound of his ringing phone. After a few seconds of debating on whether or not to let it go to voicemail he rolls over and grabs it off the nightstand. When he sees the name printed across the screen he doesn't hesitate to answer.
"Caroline. I have to say that I'm not surprised you called." Klaus smile when he hears her scoff.
"I'm not calling because I want to talk to you. I'm calling because I need to ask you for a favor." Caroline explains quickly.
"Well, lets hear it, love." He's curious as to what she could need from him.
"Someone got injected with werewolf venom." Caroline pauses for a second. "I need your blood."
"Who exactly is dying right now?" He raises an eyebrow, amused.
Klaus catches the sound of Caroline taking a deep breath. "Kenna Von Dohren."
"That can't be right. Kenna is already dead. She's been dead for over two hundred years." He shakes his head as he lets out a quiet laugh. He is positive that she's dead.
"Well, someone misinformed you. She's here in Mystic Falls and she's alive… for now." Caroline responds immediately. "Look, I don't know anything about your past with her but I do know that she's dying and she needs your blood if she's going to live so if you ever cared about her, you would get here as quickly as you can."
"And what makes you think that I care about Kenna Von Dohren?" Klaus asked hesitantly. Last time he was in Mystic Falls, Kenna was not there and now Caroline is making sound like they're friends.
"A little birdie told me that she had a complicated past with your family. I just assumed that it had something to do with love." Caroline shrugs as she tries to ignore her friend's hand signals telling her to hurry up. She knows she can't just flat out demand Klaus to come to Mystic Falls.
"I'll have to think about this. I'll call you back when I've made up my mind." Niklaus sits up as he prepares to hang up his phone. He loves talking to Caroline but he really does have to debate on whether or not he wants to save Kenna's life.
Caroline clears her throat. "Don't take all day. If my estimates are correct… which most of the time, they are… she only has until tonight at the best."
"I'll keep that in mind, love." Niklaus smiles to himself as he hangs up the phone, setting it on the couch next to him.
"Who was that?" The question floats through the air and Klaus feels no need to see who asked it.
"Elijah… still having a problem with eavesdropping I see." Niklaus sighs as he stands up and faces his older brother.
"Who was that on the phone?" Elijah repeats calmly.
"The lovely Caroline Forbes. She called to say hello and hear how things were going down here." Niklaus responds just as calmly as his brother, even adding a small smile.
"You seem to already know that I was listening in on your conversation so do not try to lie to me when I ask you my next question." Elijah eyes his brother for a second. "What was the real reason that she called you?"
"If you already know the truth, then why are you asking me, brother?" Niklaus presses.
"Because I am hoping that the truth is not really the truth and if it is then that would mean that you have been lying to me for seven hundred years."
"I assure you brother that it was for your own good…" Niklaus starts towards Elijah, his smile wider than before.
"She's alive." Elijah lets out a frustrated sigh. "Kenna is alive and she has been all this time, hasn't she?"
"I swear that I was only looking out for you." Niklaus gestures as he tries to keep the situation from spiraling out of his control.
"You turned her into a vampire, didn't you?" Elijah points to his brother. "Was it because you thought I wouldn't love her if she were a monster like us?"
Niklaus shakes his head as he takes another step towards Elijah. "No. I knew that you would still adore her as a vampire. I turned her so she would know what it felt like to live an eternity without her true love."
"And what did you do with her after you killed her?"
"I compelled a few friends to take her as far away from us as possible." Niklaus pauses as he tries to think back all those years. "I think they ended up dropping her in what is now known as South Africa."
"If she survived the fire, then whose body did you show me… whose body did we bury?" Elijah keeps his eyes locked on his brother. He knows he should be angered by what Niklaus is telling him but he can't find the heart to be mad. Concern is the only emotion he's able to feel.
"A girl whose name you did not know and would not have cared to know."
"You couldn't make her love you so you made sure that she couldn't love anybody else." Elijah shakes his head.
"No. I wanted to make sure she couldn't love you." Niklaus corrects quickly.
"What else did you do to her?" Elijah closes most of the distance between him and his brother. "You must have done something… something to hurt her so she would never come looking for me again."
"I didn't do anything to her, Elijah. She did come looking for you and she actually found you about two hundred years ago while we were in New Orleans but she didn't want to ruin the life you were building with your little witch friend so she left and never came back." Niklaus can't shed the smile that is still playing on his lips.
"She saw me with Celeste?" Elijah raises an eyebrow.
"She saw that you loved Celeste and that you were happy with her." Niklaus corrects quickly.
"And let me guess… you were the one to tell Kenna that I would be better off without her."
"I may have mentioned something like that." Niklaus responds with a shrug.
Elijah runs hand over his hair as a quiet sigh escapes his lips. He purses his lips as he looks up at his brother. "You have to save her, Niklaus. You don't only owe it to me but to her as well."
"I don't owe her anything, brother, especially after everything." Niklaus pauses. "But I will go for your sake."
Kenna's POV…
"You can still back out if you don't want to do this anymore." Enzo tells me as he parks the car.
"I'm going to do this with or without you." I reach behind my seat and grab my bag. "I'm giving you a choice now."
"How can you expect me to choose Damon over you? I will always stick with you, until the day you…" Enzo stops short.
"Die?" I raise an eyebrow and let out a short laugh. "Well that's not so far off. I'm giving you the chance to get out of this. You don't have to do this because of me."
"I'm not doing this because of you. I'm doing this for you." Enzo meets my eyes for a second before looking away again.
I pull my bag onto my lap and zip it open. I take out one of the guns and hold it out for him. He stares at it a second before taking it out of my hand. I smile and open my door.
"Let's make Damon wish Augustine had killed him."
Damon's POV…
"We should go visit her before she… kicks the bucket." Elena says in a hushed tone. I'm slightly surprised she'd be the one to suggest it.
I check my phone quickly to make sure nothing has changed before meeting Elena's eyes. "Enzo said that she doesn't want visitors."
"He must be feeling pretty guilty since he's practically the reason she's dying." Caroline keeps her eyes on her phone as she speaks but manages to shrug while doing so.
"It's not his fault. She was protecting Enzo and he would have gotten hit if she didn't jump in front of him." Stefan argues from behind the couch. He pours himself another drink and takes a short sip.
"I'm not saying it was the wrong choice. I'm just saying that he must be feeling a little guilty. I know Tyler did when Klaus bit me while you guys were on the island. It wasn't really his fault but he knew that Klaus was angry because of him." Caroline explains without pause. She picks up her phone again when she finishes and attempts to make another call.
Right after Caroline hangs up, the doorbell rings. I share a look with Stefan before making my way to the door. I open it without hesitation, convinced that it's Klaus coming to Kenna's rescue.
Kenna's POV…
"Hello Damon." I pull the gun out of my pocket and point the muzzle at his heart. I smile when his fades. "Goodbye Damon."
The gunshot is almost dead silent. The vervain dart hits him square in the chest and he falls to the floor immediately. Enzo follows me into the house, his own gun already poised in firing position. As we step inside, I see that everyone is joined in the living room.
When Stefan's eyes land on mine, I feel a pang of guilt run through me. I push it aside right away and fire the dart directly at his chest. It hits him and a second later he's on the floor unconscious.
I heard two shots fired while I took the extra second to deal with Stefan. As I turn back to Enzo I see that he's already taken Elena and Caroline down.
I can't help but smiling a little bit. "Nice job."
"Thanks, I've had a little practice." Enzo shrugs as he pushes the gun into his back pocket.
"Let's get them tied up on the chairs." I gesture as I put my own gun into the bag, I pull out my gloves and the trash bags.
Enzo helps me get Elena, Caroline, and Stefan onto chairs. I tie the ropes around their arms and legs as tight as I can without causing serious damage. After I finish with Stefan, I walk over to Damon who is still lying on the floor by the door.
"What do you want to do with him?" Enzo asks as he walks up beside me. I glance and him and give a small shrug.
"I don't know about the specifics but I do know that I'm going to make it hurt… a lot."
Damon's POV…
The burning sensation is the first thing I feel. The overwhelming amount of sudden pain causes me to open my eyes. I have to blink a few times to clear my vision but I eventually realize that I'm still in the living room. It takes me a couple seconds to spot Kenna and Enzo on the couch. They're heads are tilted towards each other and they are talking in quiet hushed tones. I don't bother trying to listen to their conversation. I already have an idea of what they're discussing.
"Ahem." I mutter loudly enough for them to hear. Kenna gives me a fleeting look before standing up and walking out of the room. Enzo clears his throat and shifts on the couch so he's facing me.
"Good morning, mate." A smile spreads across his lips as he glances down at the watch on his wrist. "Actually, I should probably say good evening."
"I never thought of you as a grammar nazi." I sneer quietly. I'm surprised at the sound of my own voice. It sounds as if I've been smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for the past ten years. The prickly sensation in my throat leads me to believe that I was gagged with something that was soaked in vervain.
"How long have I been out?" The question rolls off my tongue easily but the pain in my throat intensifies for a couple seconds.
"About three hours. Kenna must have given you a little too much vervain by accident." Enzo shrugs and stands up. I expect him to go after Kenna but he makes his way to the bourbon settled where Stefan was sitting earlier.
Stefan.
I had forgotten about him, Elena, and Caroline. The sudden realization of their disappearance causes me to worry a little bit.
"Where's my brother?" I try to sit up in my chair but, like I had expected, thick ropes bind my hands. The burning sensation that woke me returns.
"He's taking a little nap… along with your girlfriend and the blond vampire." Enzo explains as he pours himself a large glass of bourbon.
"She's not my girlfriend." The words come out harsher than I meant.
It's enough to make Enzo face me again. He seems surprised by my clarification but not a bit disappointed. "That's interesting. Why did you two end it?"
"Come on, Enzo. If you start asking questions, he might start thinking that you actually care about him." Kenna shakes her head as she reenters the living room. A snarky remark pops into my head but I refrain from uttering it aloud… mainly because I see what she's holding in her hands.
"Is that my…" I start.
"Daylight ring? Yeah. I thought that it would help if I held onto it." Kenna holds it up between her index finger and thumb.
As she speaks I realize how the living room is now darker than it was before. The blinds are shut but I have a gut feeling that they wont stay that way for much longer.
"Where is my brother?" I return my gaze to Kenna. When a small smile creeps onto her lips I get wrenching in my stomach.
"Your brother and company are in the other room… also without their daylight rings, I might add." She pushes her hand into her jacket pocket and pulls out three more rings.
I knew why she would want mine but why does she have to take theirs?
It takes me a second to figure out what I could say to keep the conversation going and prolong the time I'm not being tortured. "So, Elena was right about you."
"Yeah." Kenna cocks her head to the side as she drops the rings back into her pocket. "She was. I guess you guys should have listened to her incessant whining."
"Why now? I mean, why wait only a few days and then kill me. Why didn't you do it the second you saw me?" I regret asking the question the second I finish.
Kenna surprises me when she smiles again. She leans against the armrest of the couch and folds her arms over her chest. Enzo takes the seat behind her wearing a smile of his own.
"Like usual, I did have a plan. I was going to get inside your circle of friends, gain everyones trust, and only when I knew that I was a trusted ally I would do what I'm about to do." Kenna pauses long enough to let me speak.
"But then you got injected with werewolf venom."
"Yeah. That little mishap called for an abrupt change in my plan. So, here I am." Kenna squares her shoulders. "And don't worry about Stefan or Caroline. I'm not going to hurt them. I came here for you only."
"What about Elena?" I'm not sure if Kenna left out her name on purpose or just merely forgot to mention it.
Kenna lets out a small sigh. "She'll be left untouched… most likely."
"Promise me that you wont hurt them." I know it's stupid for me to ask for her to promise something to me but I have to try. I don't want anybody getting hurt because of me.
"Why on earth would I promise that to you? And what would make you think that I would keep that promise? If I recall correctly, promises mean nothing to you." Kenna spits before turning on her heels and striding across the room.
I watch as she kneels beside a black bag on the floor. She seems to search for something specific for a few seconds. She stands up again a second later, her fingers wrapped around something small.
"Do you remember anything from your time in Augustine?" Kenna narrows her eyes at me and keeps the item in her hand concealed.
"Yes." The response comes out more like a question.
"Then you should remember the night you gave me this." Kenna mutters and finally holds out her hand.
Settled in the groves of her hand is a small ring; an engagement ring.
"You kept it," Is the only thing I can manage to say. Once I had realized what it was, it mostly shock that took over next.
"Of course I kept it. It helps remind me what kind of person you are and how big of a favor I would be doing to rid the world of you." Kenna's eyes drop the ring for a split second but I could have sworn that her smile faltered when she did.
"As much as I have enjoyed having my skin being peeled off by vervain ropes, I was wondering how much longer I should be expected to live?" I force a smile but I know it probably doesn't look as sincere as I wanted it to.
"You'll be dead before the sun sets… most likely. But who knows? I might decide to drag it out a bit." Kenna glances at Enzo.
When she returns her attention to me I notice how pale she looks. I also make out the dark circles beneath her eyes. I've been affected by werewolf venom and I've seen how it affects others so I know the symptoms like the back of my hand.
"Are you feeling okay? You look a little… sick." I can't help but let a whisper of a smile creep onto my lips as I speak. Kenna clears her throat quickly and straightens her back.
"I feel fine, thanks for asking." Kenna mutters as she closes her fingers around the ring in her hand. I swallow at the thought of the promises I had made to the girl standing in front of me. If she wasn't trying to kill me I'd probably try to apologize again.
"What happens if you… uh… kick the bucket before you can kill me?" I keep my eyes locked on Kenna as she throws me a look.
"Enough questions." Enzo stands from the couch and guides Kenna to the opposite side of the room. He leans down and whispers something in her ear.
Enzo's hushed voice reaches my ears mid-sentence. "…get started now. We're loosing the daylight and the vervain might start wearing off."
"I have enough vervain to keep him this weak for days." Kenna shakes her head. "That's not what I'm worried about."
"Well, what do you want to start with?" Enzo raises an eyebrow.
Kenna spins around to face me once again. Despite the fact that she looks like she's on her deathbed, when she smiles I can't help but start to worry. The look in her eyes can only be described with one word.
Hatred.
"I don't know." She walks past me quickly to a spot where I can't see her.
"How about we shed some light on the matter?" Her accent slices through the silence a second before a searing pain spreads over my body.
Elena's POV…
A loud shout pulls me out of my state of unconsciousness. The first thing I notice is that I don't have the ability to swipe my hair out of my face. The next thing I notice is that I'm tied to a chair. The last thing I notice is that Damon isn't sitting next to me like Stefan and Caroline.
Everything comes back at once. Kenna came inside the house with Enzo and one of them shot me. I realize that she must have Damon and I assume it's not just to have a tea party and catch up. Another cry of pain reaches my ears, cementing my assumption.
I look around and see that Stefan and Caroline are still unconscious. I take a deep breath and call their names in a tone not much louder than a whisper. Neither of them respond in any way; they both remain in their chairs, unmoving. I realize that unlike my arms, my legs are free. I squirm in my seat as I try to reach across the small space separating Stefan and I. I lift my foot enough to hit his shin but he doesn't wake until after the third time.
It takes a couple seconds for Stefan to open his eyes fully. He looks around the room first, probably trying to figure out where he is.
"Stefan." He looks at me, confusion in his eyes. "It was Kenna. She has Damon and I think she's trying to kill him."
"Where… where are they?" He asks as he glances over his shoulder at the door.
"In the living room most likely." I sigh quietly. He turns his attention to Caroline next. "You can try to wake her up. I couldn't reach her."
Unlike me, it takes Stefan one try to wake Care. She stirs in her seat as she fully regains consciousness.
"What…What happened?" Caroline slurs groggily.
"Kenna came to get her revenge." I scoff. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted her."
"Can you blame her? She's been stuck in a brick cell and has been tortured almost every day for over eighty years. Wouldn't you want revenge on the person who betrayed you?" Stefan argues quickly.
"No, because Damon went through hell after that and he apologized. I would have forgiven him and moved on." I remind him. It's like he doesn't remember everything Damon did to try to make it right.
"Can we argue about the devil and his sins later?" Caroline pulls at her bindings. "Right now, I just want to get out of here."
"They must have given us vervain." Stefan mimics Caroline's movements. "It's not going to be any use trying to escape until it wears off."
"Don't worry about it. All this wont take long." The voice is familiar enough for me to know whom I should expect to see before looking at the door.
Like I expected, Enzo is leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Where's Damon? What are you doing to him?" I pry without hesitation.
"You shouldn't stress about him anymore. He'll be dead before the day is out." Enzo smiles as he drops his arms to his sides and enters the library.
"You can't kill him!" I shake my head, hasty to rescue Damon.
"Actually, we can and we will." Enzo winks.
"Please, you have to stop Kenna. She'll regret it once it's over, trust me. Killing someone doesn't help get revenge." I try to make sense of my own thoughts as I say them aloud.
"Kenna isn't going to stop because you beg her to." Enzo chuckles lightly.
One name passes through my mind as Enzo sighs. "Well, maybe she'll stop when Klaus gets here."
"Klaus… as in Niklaus Mikaelson?" He raises an eyebrow.
"As in the one person who can help heal Kenna." Stefan corrects.
I come up with the best lie possible. "I doubt Klaus would want to help her if she's going around killing people."
"Kenna's already told me all about the Mikaelsons. They wouldn't care if she kills Damon and you know it."
"Look, I understand that you want revenge but think about the people who would miss Damon if he died." I'm surprised to hear Caroline say something like that about Damon of all people.
But I guess being stuck in a situation like this, calls for drastic measures.
"The only people who would actually miss him is Elena and possibly Stefan." Enzo glances at Stefan, his smile growing.
"My brother may have done a lot of horrible things but I would still miss him if he died." Stefan admits without hesitation.
"I just came in here to check on you guys…" Enzo explains as he pulls something out of the bag on the couch "… and to give you all another dose."
I shudder when I see the vervain dart in his hand.
"You don't have to do this. It's not like we can stop you guys while we're tied up like this." I keep my eyes locked on the dart as he walks towards me.
"I like being reassured." Enzo spins the dart between his fingers. He stops in front of me and leans down slightly.
I feel a pinch on my neck and an immediate drowsy feeling spreads over me.
"Sleep tight," is the last thing I hear before my eyes fall shut.
Kenna's POV…
"Hopefully, that helped remind you what it was like to be Augustine's play thing." I lean against the back of Damon's chair as my smile grows.
"Come on, Kenna. You know that it'll take more than that to break me." Damon shrugs nonchalantly but when I tap his newly burned shoulder, he noticeably flinches.
"I guess you really don't understand. I'm not trying to break you. I'm going to kill you." I clarify with dignity. He must be thinking that in the end I wont have the guts to take his life. But I know that's wrongful thinking. I made up my mind a long time ago that I'm going to rip out his heart and make sure to enjoy every second of it.
"You're dying from a werewolf bite, Kenna. You're symptoms aren't obvious but I'd say that you don't have much time left." Damon says.
I try not to make too many promises but I make an exception this once. "Even if it is with my dying breath, I swear to you that I will be the one to rip out your heart."
Enzo's POV…
I toss the vervain darts into the trash as I walk out of the library. It only took a few minutes for Stefan, Elena, and Caroline to pass out after I injected them with the herb. I stride into the living room, hoping that Kenna has had her fill of Damon torture.
But when another scream reaches my ears, I realize that we're not done yet.
My eyes land on Kenna at the window before flashing Damon. It's obvious that his daylight ring has not been returned to him. His skin is bubbling and is splattered with red splotches.
She shuts the blinds when she meets my eyes. When I feel the twisting in my stomach, I ignore it easily since I've felt the same thing every time I've looked at Kenna over the past sixty years.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"Getting my revenge. What does it look like I'm doing?" Kenna places her hand on her hip.
"Exactly that." I sigh, my lips turning up into a smile.
"Can you move him onto that tarp for me?" Kenna nods her head at the floor in front of us. I see that there is now a large plastic sheet lying on top of the carpet.
"Why do we need that?" My eyes flicker back to Kenna as smile spreads across her lips.
"I don't want to stain the carpet."
I raise an eyebrow, unsure of what to think.
"What?" Kenna shrugs. "Blood is hard to get out and I still have a little compassion left."
"Fine." I square my shoulders before leaning over and grabbing onto the back of Damon's chair. He starts to stir as I set him down on the plastic.
"Can I have some water? My throat is feeling a little dry." Damon's scratchy voice breaks through the silence.
"Being a little thirsty is going to be the least of your problems." Kenna scoffs loudly. Damon lifts his pleading eyes to me.
"Sorry, mate." I mutter in response.
"What are you going to do to me? Torture me just like Augustine?" Damon twists in his seat to glance at Kenna.
She tilts her head and narrows her eyes slightly. "Don't try to make me feel guilty about this. You may have suffered through five years at Augustine but I was there for over eighty-three years, Damon. I could have gotten out fifty-three years early but instead I was abandoned by you, left to be tortured for another half century."
"How many times do I have to apologize Kenna?" Damon asks her sincerely. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm so sorry."
I watch as Kenna walks over to him. I've seen the same look in her eyes a hundred times before. And like every other time, she covers it up with a devious smile.
She leans over Damon's lap, placing her hands on the armrests of the chair as she speaks softly. "I think you know where you can shove your apologies, Damon."
"I shut off my emotions so that I could find the will to leave you. Did you know that?" Damon keeps his eyes locked on Kenna as he waits for her to respond.
I figure by the look on his face that he expects her to recant as if she didn't know. His face falls when Kenna's smile returns.
"Of course I knew that, Damon." She drops her eyes for a split second. "I also knew that you were the most important person in my life and that you walked away from me as if I was a used tissue."
"I loved you, Kenna. You know that." Damon says through his gritted teeth.
"You didn't love me, Damon. You just didn't want die alone. Or maybe I was just good for ego. Or maybe I made you feel better about your miserable life, but you didn't love me. Because you don't destroy people you love." Kenna's words are like a whip; delivered quick and brutally. She stares at him for only a second after finishing her sentence then she turns on her heels.
She sways slightly as she takes a step away from Damon. I stand from the coach and grab onto her arm slightly. As my eyes lock onto her I notice the layer of sweat that has built up on her face. When I step closer, I see that her skin tone has also faded a few shades.
I had almost forgotten that she's dying.
"We should take a break, Kenna." I whisper in the lowest voice I can manage.
"No." Kenna tears her eyes away from the floor in front of her to meet my eyes. "We have to finish this."
"You're symptoms are getting worse. Soon, you wont be able to do anything but breathe." I try to get her to realize the danger she's in.
"I'm fine, Enzo. I just need to do this and then I'll go willingly but I refuse to die without taking his life." Kenna pivots her hips enough to point at Damon's hunched figure.
I don't want to argue with her for two reasons. One, it would be of no use. Two, it would be wasting time.
"Let me see it." I gesture to her stomach, where the wound would be festering.
"No." Kenna shakes her head once.
"No isn't an answer I'll accept." I flash a smile before lifting Kenna off the floor and speeding into the kitchen.
Once I set her down, she swats at my hands. A small chuckle escapes my lips as I step back.
"I just want to see how long we have." I explain quietly, ignoring Kenna's glare.
It doesn't take as long as I expected for Kenna to sigh and lift her shirt just above the wound.
I shut my eyes when I see what the infection has done to her.
"How bad is it?" Kenna asks. I glance at her and notice that she's staring off into space, purposely avoiding her injury.
"I'm surprised you can still function." I force myself to return my gaze to the rotting skin. I find myself thinking how a normal human would react to seeing something like this happening to a friend. It is still obvious where the werewolf venom dart hit her for that tiny spot has eaten away at her skin more than the rest of the infected area. The surrounding skin has begun to peel away, showing how much the venom has spread.
"I'm a fighter." Kenna breathes. I pull down her shirt with a short sigh and fold my arms over my chest.
"But you're not invincible." I remind her coldly. I feel Kenna's eyes land on me and it takes me a second to build up the courage to meet them.
"I know I'm going to die tonight, Enzo. It's just… I… I want to go out with a bang." Kenna purses her lips into a thin line. I don't have to ask her the meaning behind her words because I already know what her dying wish is.
And I know that I will do anything to make sure it happens before she dies.
Kenna's POV…
I hold my hands close to my chest, my fingertips still pulsing with pain. I force myself to leave my curiosity alone and keep my eyes on the brick wall opposite of me.
"How are they?" The familiar voice stretches into my cell, causing a smile to spread across my lips.
I dare to rub my thumb over my index finger. A pinch gives me my answer a second later. "Still in the healing stage."
"Do you think they grow back with the exact same fingerprint?" Damon asks the random question without hesitating. I let myself laugh lightly.
"I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon." I lean my head back against the cold bricks and let my eyelids fall shut.
"If you two want to spend all night chit-chatting, you should get a room. Some vampires actually like to sleep." Enzo's accent has its usual soothing tone. I smile to myself, knowing that he doesn't even like sleeping in his cell. He says it increases the possibility of him waking up on the operating table.
"That's true. But there are none of us are that kind of vampire." I respond without much thought. I catch the sound of Enzo's deep laugh and smile again. I've learned that getting myself to laugh or hearing someone else laugh is always something to smile about.
"How are you feeling, Damon? Strong? Energetic? Ready to rip some hearts out?" Enzo lulls on as I continue hold my hands to my chest.
"Getting there. Luckily, we still have a few months until the party." Damon makes sure to lower his voice to below a whisper.
"Just make sure not to forget us." I joke aloud. This causes everyone to laugh, even Damon.
I smile again when I see him move in front of the hole in his wall.
"I would never leave you guys here." Damon's promise flows out of his mouth smoothly. "You're my family."
"I love you, Damon." The words escape my lips without a second thought.
"Hey. It's me, Enzo. We're at the boarding house, Kenna. We're not at Augustine anymore."
I replay the words in my head twice before I force open my eyes. When I see enzo standing in front of me, I have to look around to assure myself where I am.
When I remember I'm in the kitchen, I run my hand over my moist forehead. "What just happened?"
"You had a hallucination. I think you were talking about Augustine." I absorb Enzo's words and hear him take a step towards me. I tear my eyes away from the sink and give him a weak smile.
"Guess we had less time than we thought."
Elijah's POV…
Her laugh was contagious. But not just for me, for everyone in the room. That's all she ever had to do to draw another person's attention if her beauty hadn't done so in the first place. She was so perfect, so human, so innocent and I fell in love with her the second her eyes fell on mine.
"I heard a story the other day. It was about the moon and sun and the love they shared but could never have." Kenna's accent was like music being played on the best instruments.
"Tell me." I whispered loud enough for her ears to catch my words.
"Well, the moon and the sun fell in love and in order to be together, they lived and breathed together every day. But the sun's light always overpowered the moon's and she began to feel suffocated by her love. Soon it became too much for her and she could no longer live in the sun's shadow. The sun did not want to lose his love so he chose to die every night so that the moon could breathe." Kenna keeps her eyes focused on the sky above us as her story finishes. I slide my hand into hers, intertwining our fingers. I catch the sight of her lips turning up into a small smile as I run my thumb over the top of her hand.
"Do you think the moon realized that the sun died for her?" I ask after a short pause.
"I think she knew how much the sun loved her and that he would have done anything to make her happy." She rolls onto her side and runs her fingertips down my cheek slowly.
"I would die every night for you." I admit truthfully. Kenna turns her head so her brown eyes land on me.
"And I would die every day for you." Kenna responds as she spreads her fingers over my jaw line.
"I do love you, Kenna Von Dohren. I hope you know that."
"I do, Elijah, and I love you everyday because of it." Kenna smiles and my own lips turn up into a smile in response. Just like always.
"Tell me everything, brother." I divert my attention back to Niklaus. He tears his eyes away from the road ahead for a split second to glance at me.
"I thought you said that you…" He starts as he turns back to the road.
"Never mind what I said. I need to know what you did to her." I press my lips into a thin line as I await his possible rebuttal.
"It's a long story." Niklaus sighs.
"Shorten it." I respond, my words sounding colder than I meant but i don't even think about apologizing.
Kenna's POV…
"Did you honestly believe that after all this time he never would have found another girl worth dying for?" Niklaus scoffs as he shakes his head. This insensitive action causes my anger to return but doesn't stop my eyes from stinging with the forming tears.
"I guess I was just hoping that he would have…" I begin.
"Waited for a dead lover to be resurrected from the dead?" Niklaus leans against the brick building beside him, his eyes still set on me. I ignore his stare easily, my own eyes glued to someone else.
Niklaus was right. I should have realized the rude awakening I was in for when I came into town. But I didn't. Instead, I got my heart broken all over again. Watching Elijah smile was the hardest part.
"She's a witch. Not as innocent as a human but not as culpable as a vampire." Niklaus continues without much of a pause.
He's on a roll.
"She's beautiful," Is all I can manage to mutter under my breath. It's the only bit of truth I was willing to say aloud. And as I stare at Elijah and his new love, the harder it is to get up the courage to look away.
"She's nothing compared to you." Niklaus responds.
His statement suddenly makes looking away from Elijah easy.
"What the hell did you just say?" My accent twists my words slightly.
"Just the truth, love." Niklaus holds up his hands in false surrender as he pushes himself off the wall and strands up straight. I watch him closely as he takes two steps towards me, readying myself to dodge an attack.
Instead, Niklaus stops an inch or two from me then points back at Elijah and his witch. "You were right, Kenna. She is beautiful but you… you were so much more than that. You were so captivating, so much so that you managed to entrance not only me but my brother as well. And while Elijah may love this French quarter witch, Celeste, he will never love her as much as he loved you."
I can't stop the single tear from spilling onto my cheek. I try to wipe it away but I'm not quick enough. Niklaus lifts his hand and catches the tear on his finger.
"Don't cry for something that is so far out of your reach."
I sniffle quietly before turning to Niklaus. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, love."
I lick my dried lips. "After all this time, I've only wanted to know one thing; if you loved me and your brother so much, then why did you ruin us?"
Niklaus laughs aloud. The sound alone causes me to cringe.
"Because if I couldn't have you, no one could." Niklaus responds calmly.
In that second, I realize the only that the only feeling I will ever be able to feel for the man standing in front of me is hatred. This awareness allows me to swallow my fear for the first time in centuries.
"You're a monster. Elijah was foolish to think that he could ever change you."
"You're a monster too, Kenna. The only difference between the two of us is that I have a family who will fight for me until my last breath and you don't." Niklaus flashes one of his taunting smiles.
I don't have a second to react. The piercing pain that spreads through my chest surprises me as well as angers me. I know I should have seen it coming.
I know the stake is nearly touching my heart but I won't let the one person I despise watch me die. I use the last of my strength to run as far away from Niklaus Mikaelson with the hope that I will never have to see him again.
"Ooh. The hallucinations are starting. This should be fun." Damon sighs with a smile from his seat. My eyes flutter open slowly and land on him. "I've realized that you've left quite a few things out about your past."
"You're just realizing that now? I could have told you that a long time ago, mate." Enzo reenters the living room with a blood bag.
"That's not going to help much." Damon nods his head at the meal in Enzo's hand.
"Maybe not but it will keep her from going on a feeding frenzy through town." Enzo hands the bag to me and I don't hesitate to pull off the cap and suck down the entire bag's content.
"You're fever is getting worse." Enzo announces after touching the back of his hand to my forehead.
"That's not the only thing." The ache in my muscles causes me to move slowly as I gesture to my mouth.
"You were fine just an hour ago and now you're… you're on the verge of death." Enzo murmured softly. I try to smile with the hope it would make me look less defeated but I know it doesn't work very well.
"When Elena drank werewolf venom, it took only a couple hours for her to get this bad." Damon rolls his neck slowly, his blue eyes landing on me. Somehow, I find the nerve to hold his gaze for a few seconds before looking away.
I clear my throat to gain volume. "Enzo…"
He sits up, his attention focused only on me.
I glance back at Damon, my lips parting. "Help me up. It's time for this bastard to die."
I smile when Damon's face falls.
Klaus' POV…
"She's going to kill him if we don't intervene." Elijah sighs as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
"I thought you would be the first one to vote in favor of Damon's death. I mean, he did leave her to be tortured for a half century."
"Well, by that theory, I should have killed you already." Elijah turns his head slightly.
"I may have overreacted but that was seven hundred years ago. Let bygones be bygones." I gesture to my brother, a small smile appearing on my lips.
Elijah turns to me, his face like stone. "You turned her into a vampire and dumped her in a strange country all because she denied your love. She didn't deserve that. She doesn't deserve any of this."
"I know, Elijah." I nod as I step towards him. "And that is why I am here. To save her and make up for what I did."
Kenna's POV…
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Enzo keeps one of his arms wrapped around my waist as I continue to lean against him for support. "Because once you rip out his heart, you wont be able to take it back."
"I trusted him with my life, Enzo. He defied that trust and he will pay the ultimate price for it." I try to keep my breathing even but my voice wavers anyways.
"Okay." Enzo drops his eyes to the floor for a second as he reaches into his back pocket. "But take this just incase you want to keep your hands clean."
He holds out a wooden stake in front of me and I take it in my hands after a second of hesitation.
I meet his eyes and rest my hand against his cheek. "Thank you, Enzo, for everything. For being my friend when I had no one. For building up my will to live when I thought my life was over. Thank you for being the most important person in my life and not abandoning me."
Enzo sighs as he diverts his eyes. I drop my hand, confused by his reaction. "I should have told you this a long time ago."
"What is it, Enzo?" My curiosity peaks as he takes my hand in yours.
"I love you." The words almost get lost in the space between us.
I narrow my eyes and give a tiny laugh, relieved. "I love you too, Enzo, you know that."
Enzo shakes his head as his eyes dart around the room. "No… not… not like that. I don't just love you, I'm in love with you."
I don't know if it's the venom moving through my body or Enzo's confession but I feel my heart skip a beat. "Enzo… I… I…"
"I told you." Damon's voice stops my chaotically spinning thoughts.
"For once in your life, Damon, stop talking." I don't bother looking at him because I know he's smiling.
"Enzo… I… why didn't you tell me sooner?" I step back and run my hand over my forehead, wiping away the new layer of sweat.
"I knew you could never love me like you loved him." Enzo points to Damon quickly.
"I love you more than I love Damon, Enzo. It's just that I never took the chance to think about you that way."
"I know. I only wanted to tell you now because… well, for obvious reasons." Enzo sighs.
"I'm sorry," Is the only thing that makes sense to say aloud.
"Go. Take your vengeance before you keel over." Enzo nods towards Damon behind me.
I laugh quietly before nodding and turning on my heels. When my eyes land on Damon's, I can't help but smile weakly.
"Are you ready to die?" I ask as I take a couple unsteady steps to Damon.
"Is anybody ever ready to die?" Damon counters quickly.
"Yes. A couple times, actually. One of more recent times was the night that you left me and Enzo to burn in the Whitmore house." My smile fades.
"Touché." Damon mutters under his breath as he drops his head.
"You honestly have no idea how long I've been waiting to say this, Damon." I pause as I push his shoulders up. "Goodbye."
I shove my hand into his chest and sigh when I wrap my fingers around his heart.
"Stop!" A shriek echoes through the room. "Please, don't do this!"
I look over my shoulder but keep a firm hold on Damon's heart. When I see Elena, Stefan, and Caroline standing in the foyer, I glance at Enzo.
"What the hell? How'd you get free?"
"That's funny that you think they got out of that on their own, love."
The nickname causes me to cringe.
"Klaus." The name falls off my lips as my eyes land on the Original vampire.
"Hello, love." He smiles as he speaks.
I grit my teeth, most of my attention on him but some devoted to Damon.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to see you… well, actually, I came to save your life. As you know, I am the only person who can do that."
"Why?" I lean against Damon's chair after a wave of dizziness washes over me.
"Elijah convinced me it was the right thing to do." Niklaus' answer lingers in the air for a few seconds as I try to absorb his words.
"What? No. He's…" I search for the right response but I can't find it.
"I'm here, Kenna." The voice is all too familiar. I don't have to search for a memory or a name because it comes to me automatically.
"Elijah…"
"Kenna." The oldest Mikaelson greets me with a charming smile.
"This… this can't be happening." I gasp.
"Kenna, I know why you want to do this but please, spare his life… for me." Elena's eyes widen as she pleads for Damon's life.
"You don't understand anything! None of you do!" I run my fingers through my hair as my breaths become sharp and panicky.
"Kenna! I understand! You know I understand you more than anyone else… but they're right. You don't have to do this." Enzo steps towards me slowly.
I'm lost. My thoughts are jumbled and I can't find my voice.
"I swore that I would kill him. That I would show him the pain that he made me feel." I shake my head. I keep my eyes on Damon's chest with the hope that it would make the room stop spinning.
Elijah grabs my attention. "Kenna, don't do this, for me. Let Niklaus heal you and then we can leave."
"I… I can't… I can't." I repeat the words until I begin to believe them.
"Yes, you can."
I turn to make sure that I know who spoke.
Niklaus walks up to me, until we're only a foot apart. I realize that I'm scared.
"You can let him go. You can forgive everything that he's done to you because I'm almost positive that he regrets what he did and that anything in his power to make it up to you." Klaus pauses, the look in his eyes is as sincere as it can be. "But you shouldn't risk your own life to take his. Let him go, let all of this go, so you can move on. So you can finally start the next part of your life. So you can finally live."
I ignore the burning in my eyes as the truth sets in. I tear my eyes away from Klaus and look back at Damon. He doesn't smile or laugh, he just holds my gaze.
"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Damon repeats his apology again and again.
"Me too." I whisper as another wave of dizziness washes over me.
"You have lived for over seven hundred years and it's not fair that you spent most of your life feeling nothing but pain." Klaus reaches across the space between us and grabs my hand that's inside Damon's chest. "Choose to leave that pain behind."
A sharp, frantic breath escapes my lips as I drop my eyes to my hand.
In this moment, I'm ready to admit the truth. And the truth is that I'm tired of feeling nothing but grief and pain.
So, I let go. I blink and feel a single tear run down my cheek as I pull my hand out of Damon's chest, without his heart in my hand.
I look at my hand and the blood that covers it and I know I did the right thing. I feel a hand clamps onto my arm and I meet Klaus's eyes.
Suddenly, it feels like all the strength I have left is taken from me. I sway a little and then my legs give out. I feel myself collapse but everything goes black before I hit the floor.
**Thank you all for reading this long chapter. Now, I had planned on this being the final chapter but it was beginning to play out longer than I hoped. I will do one more chapter and most likely it will be the last. But if I get enough reviews/follows/favorites, then I might keep going. I just need to know that people are actually invested in this story. So, please review/favorite/follow and I will try to get up the last chapter as fast as I can.