Chapter 53: Kol's Return

Kol didn't believe it Rebekah told him all that had happened while he was away. He couldn't believe it.

He pressed against the barrier of the cottage upon his swift arrival. Though months had passed, the cottage remained sealed and untouched by time. And even in the shadow of the setting sun, Kol could make out the figure of Evangeline in her enchanted sleep, pristine and perfect as she lay next to Elijah.

He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, pacing furiously back and forth in front of the house. Then, ripping a fallen tree branch from the ground, Kol shouted desperately and hurled the branch into the barrier, shattering the branch, yet leaving no marks on the home.

Kol roared in exasperation and punched a tree, breaking it in half. "Are you happy then, darling?" His restless pace began to wear into the grass beneath his feet. He faced the house and shouted desperately, "Turns out I love you after all."

In the gradual calm of defeat, he swallowed hard and clenched his jaw, feeling for the first time in his immortal existence a tear as it fell from his cheek and onto the ground beneath. Kol leaned his head against the barrier, eyes narrowed, as he gazed longingly at Evangeline.

She'd gotten under his skin. She'd made him feel pain, and hate, and love, but all he yearned for was to feel her touch against his. As his mind focused on that truth alone he felt scenes flicker in his mind as he inadvertently entered the recesses of her subconscious.

Three maidens sat along the shore, flowers in their hair and blossoms scattered all around the grassy knoll. They laughed and danced together, and the waves of the ocean lapped up the side of the cliff face.

"Evangeline," Kol breathed as he saw her, sitting several feet away, emotionless. He ran to her, but she seemed not to notice. "Evangeline," he knelt in front of her and took her hand.

At the contact of their skin Evangeline leapt in shock. "You… you can touch me?" She seemed so surprised, as though no one had ever touched her in her life.

Kol rested his hand tenderly on her cheek. "I was a fool to leave you."

Evangeline furrowed her eyebrows. "You look so familiar. Like someone I knew… lifetimes ago."

Kol gaped in disbelief. "Just how long do you think you've been here, sweetheart?"

Evangeline droned in a dreamy, dull monotone. "I've watched the sirens through the ages for a millennia. No one has ever seen me before, but…" Evangeline gazed at Kol with a vague sense of déjà vu, "you look so familiar, like a dream..."

"A dream?" It was too much for Kol. "Then I shall make you remember." He lifted her up and pressed her against a rock.

Evangeline's eyes widened at the stranger whose face was only inches from her own. Kol braced his hands on each side of her and bent toward her, his nose grazing her cheekbone. Evangeline's skin burned where he touched, and soon his breath tingled against her ear.

"How is it," he shuddered, leaning in closer to her neck, "that the Petrova line has succeeded in luring so many of us in?"

The words were unfamiliar to Evangeline, but her breath hitched with heat. Kol trailed his lips along her neck, and she inhaled dizzily. She couldn't remember ever having emotions of her own. Her life was filled with the pain and suffering of her predecessors, but now she found herself completely intoxicated. "Who are you?" Evangeline exhaled between gasps as his hand traced her collar bone.

Kol backed up a few inches to stare into her eyes. Being this close to her, feeling the yearning in her heartbeat, the trembling in her breath, made his heart race. Without bothering to answer he leaned in closely.

His lips grazed the surface of her mouth, expecting the same soft, heartbreaking kiss as they'd shared months before, but Evangeline had no memory of that time. The moment his lips met Evangeline's the pent up emotions she'd kept tucked away came flooding out. She needed this man like she needed air.

She ran her hands roughly through Kol's hair, and he thrust his tongue into her mouth, bodies pressed tightly against one another. Evangeline never knew she could feel so alive. His lips traced their way down her jawline, and she gasped as his mouth caressed her neck.

But out of nowhere, a vague, shadowy memory sifted through the surface of her mind, and Evangeline suddenly gasped again, pushing the stranger away. "You couldn't be…" Her eyes shimmered with trepidation.

"Couldn't be what, darling?" Kol's breathing was ragged. He craved Evangeline in every inch of his body.

A tear fell down the side of her face. "Kol? Is that you?"

The shock of being called out strained Kol's ability to remain in her mind.

"No," Evangeline cried as the vision flickered away from Kol. "Don't leave me here, alone…"

The echoing cries haunted his mind, but no matter how hard he focused he couldn't find a way back into her subconscious.

Cursing, he punched another tree and raced toward Mystic Falls. No matter how long it took, he would find a way to save her.


I loved this chapter! *sigh*