No matter the different locations, the different faces and the different fabrics around her, it still smelled the same. Bennett magic kept a lavender scent to it, strength and allure, crackling through her body, humming as it returned home.

Nearly, but not quite.

The magic wasn't her own, no matter how much it felt like it. Qetsiyah moved her mouth and coughed a little, checking the sound. Silly girl hadn't even silenced her.

'If you're working that jaw to curse us all I'd save your breath.'

'Why would I curse my family?'

'Save it. We've all heard the stories. Of what you did and your punishment. You will never return to the Coven.'

Qetsiyah twisted her hands, bound by the side of the stump that was her makeshift prison.

'Why are you helping him?' Sheila spat in the direction Kai was being kept in.

Qetsiyah flashed a vicious grin, devoid of any humour. 'Why would the witch who's been trapped for hundreds of years help the one person who freed her?'

'I freed you!'

Bound as she was, Qetsiyah couldn't turn at the sound of Jo's voice. But she didn't need to, to hear how angry she was.

'I earnt my freedom in exchange for teaching you magic. In fact I went above and beyond. I made you stronger than he wanted. I did that for you. But carry on painting me as the villain.'

'You almost killed me.' This time she stormed into view, incredulous as she listed the accusations.

'You were never in any danger, it was a sleeping spell.' She shrugged. 'It wasn't personal.'

'It wasn't personal?!' Jo huffed, almost hyperventilating at how nonchalantly the witch- her mentor for the last how long?- answered. Qetsiyah's eyes moved back and forth as she followed Jo's pacing, listening to the midnight crickets chirping.

All the while Sheila watched her with an uneasy calm.

'I've never done anything to you.' Jo ranted. 'I was stuck in a cell alongside you and I trusted you. How could you do that?'

'As cute as it was sharing rations and swapping trauma I had one goal. Get out of there. I've reached it. Sorry if you were collateral.'

For a moment Josette looked as if she was going to slap her, eyes narrowed into deadly slits. Instead she stormed away, lost to the maze of shadows and trunks.

'She's gone now.' Sheila said, leaning forward. 'Bennett to Bennett, it isn't just about freedom is it?'

'What would you know.' She avoided, rolling her eyes.

'I know you. I know your story.'

'I've heard enough of that fluffed up tale of nothing. You know some rumours about me that were passed down. You don't know me as a person.'

'So you're not here looking for revenge?' Sheila asked drly.

'I want my magic back, that's it.'

'No.'

'Not yet, obviously. I have to prove myself redeemable, I know how it goes. We Bennett's are onerous.'

'One word for it.' Sheila let slip the rarest smirk before her face fell flat again.

'He has a Bennett Grimoire did you know that?' Qetsiyah offered.

She recoiled, eyes wide and wondering about the last time he was here.

'Found a spell in there- handwritten by the way- and had me teach it to his sister.'

'What's the spell?'

'I think you know. You're the mother of the first siphoner in over a century and you expect me to believe you're not involved in creating the very spell to solve siphoning. What?' She replied to Sheila's sudden suspicion. 'You can know who I am but I can't know you? There's a lot of witches down in those dungeons and we had nothing better to do than talk.'

'That spell is an abomination.' She glazed over the other witches intimate knowledge of her.

'It's genius.'

Sheila grit her teeth, raising her voice. 'Of course you would think so. You're a reckless fool.'

'It's delicious to see that something can actually get through to you, but that's not why I'm telling you.'

'I know why you're telling me. You think if you give up enough information you can worm your way back into the coven. It's not going to happen. You will never return to the Bennetts and you will never find them again. If you think that boy can help you, you're sorely mistaken. As of tonight the Coven has moved.' Sheila snapped, storming away in Jo's footsteps before Qetsiyah could reply. The witch took in the information, letting it simmer in her veins until it boiled over and she screamed out in anger.

She dreamed she was sitting on a boulder, perched up high and away from the world below. Her head was so light, up in the clouds, so careless and free. But the problem with being so high up, was that she was missing out on everything below. And below her, less than a head space away but it felt like miles, were a pair of lips she wanted so desperately to land on. From the minute she's seen them across the crowded hall of the welcome feast, and every accidental meeting in between to the moment she was suddenly planted back on the ground, tiptoeing back up to reclaim the height she lost, catching his bottom lip on her own.

Bonnie's eyes flew open.

She would have sat up too but her body was so sore, complaining at even a slight twitch. The only part of her that didn't even remotely hurt was her mind. No headache, no migraine, no pressure.

You will forget everything that happened tonight

She shot up to her feet, immediately regretting the panicked stand and taking a second to rest against a tree.

Wha-what?

What was this?

Some kind of trick?

All of a sudden she had hundreds of new memories swarming her mind, competing with the current ones.

You will forget ever loving that boy… Kai.

That couldn't be right. She never loved Kai, she barely knew him-

A whole other life flashed before her. Stranger in the woods, servant in the stables, brother to her late betrothed and… the man…. She… loved?

It didn't hurt to think about, she didn't immediately want to forget what she thought.

She loved him?

She loved him.

She needed to find him, to see him, to heal him or kill him- she didn't know. Bonnie just needed to see Kai.

She found him back in the grove, tied to one side of the arch that was their altar. Back slumped against the flowers and his eyes closed in unnatural sleep.

As she walked up the aisle to him, hesitant footsteps both wanting and not to get morbidly close, she looked around at the white wax melted over the meadow.

Stars.

Forget all the memories you have to do with loving him.

Ohmygod.

The more she looked at him the more memories came back and she pieced together more bits of the story.

She wanted to be sick. At the end of the aisle she stopped, her feet became stuck and that seemed to the closest she could manage. He was so still, head slightly tilted as he rested. His hands were bound behind him, hidden in the shrubbery. Kai didn't smile in his sleep or frown. His face was so beautifully blank and it gave her a sort of peace to look at it. All these small things about him were her lifeline, small points to float on so she wouldn't be drowned in the bigger picture.

Jeremy died in a tragic accident.

'It's a bit cold over here for contemplation.'

'Oh I don't know,' Jo sniffed, turning her head back to the view. The floating scarlet moon on the watery black surface of the sea provided mental refuge. All to hide the tears pushing to spill, 'I'm used to the cold. It helps me think now.'

Enzo sat opposite her, a tree as his backrest mimicking Jo's position. 'He's unconscious, powerless and tied up. He can't hurt you.'

She nodded, letting a beat more go by with nothing but the hum of the ocean and insects chirping around them.

'Contemplation works just as well when you do it out loud.'

'You really want me to dump more of my mess on your doorstep?'

'Some things are easier to carry when you share.'

Jo hugged herself, running her fingers over her arms to warm them.

'I'm collateral.' She answered in a small voice. 'Whether it's with my father choosing his new family, Kai choosing the crown, Qetsiyah choosing freedom- I'm the collateral damage. People can hurt me so easily. And it just makes me feel so weak all the time.'

'You're not weak-'

'Aren't I? I'm nearly free of my brother but instead of mustering up the courage to kill him I'm sitting out here, crying.' She sniffed. Enzo nodded, trying to think of a way to cheer her up, convince her to go through with the plan. The only way to get rid of Kai without having Bonnie distraught.

'You were strong enough to adapt and thrive when Kai was made an outcast. Then he went and locked you in the dungeons and instead of feeling sorry for yourself you learnt magic-'

'That was all Qetsiyah. I was manipula-'

'No. She taught you under false pretenses but you learnt it on your own. You put that effort in. Don't you dare let her take the credit for your power just because you're busy feeling sorry for yourself. You are not collateral, love, so don't reduce yourself to that.'

Jo wiggled the tears off her nose, wiping the ones from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

'That's a hell of a motivational speech, but how am I winning if I can't kill him? I can't even trust the spells I was taught. What if she lied to me about what they do?'

'She didn't.'

'How are you sure?'

'I know the spell. I was there the only time it was used. It works.'

The tears stilled. Josette sniffed, willing him to go on.

'If I tell you, you have to swear it to secrecy.' Not even Bonnie knew what he was about to divulge. Instead she'd been fed the watered down version of her mother's death that Sheila had fed her.

'I promise.'

Satisfied, he started to pull up painful memories.

'I knew some witches once, Beatrice and Abigail, twins but not identical.' He looked around, making sure there was no one who could hear them. 'Abigail was a siphon. Nearly drove her mad, so Beatrice created that spell to save her. It was supposed to just join their magic but a witch's magic is part of their soul. So it merged their souls instead. Beatrice won the merge.'

'By won you mean…?'

'She survived. Abigail was struck dead the moment Beatrice woke up.' He sat up, trying not to recall Abigail's white eyes when he found her dead and Beatrice bawling her eyes out. To this day they still never mentioned what happened. It was why Beatrice avoided Bonnie whenever she could. She couldn't be around the girl for long without remembering that she was the reason why her mother was dead.

'So there's a chance I could die too?' Jo looked more unsure than ever and he kicked himself, ransacking his mind.

'Not necessarily.' From his pocket, he produced a small, red capsule.

When he came around it was because the blood rushing to his skull sank his whole head, consciousness rising to save the wreckage. Nothing broken or maimed- a little sore but he could deal- he moved onto his magic. Still tethered to him, the borrowed magic was resting within the binds, stopping him from accessing it. Too bad too because he could have sworn it was stronger, itching to be used.

The altar looked creepy without the candles lit. Dark shadows on leaves that refused to stay still. Each bristle making her pull her shawl tighter. If it wasn't for the tiny movement coming from his peripheral he never would have noticed her sitting there. Maybe it was the lack of lighting but her face looked cavernous. Wide eyes swallowing the ground whole and for the life of him, he couldn't understand what was behind them. No one could look that sad and empty, yet so utterly content.

She was beautiful.

'Reminiscing about our big day already? Wait until the one year anniversary at least Bonster.'

His voice was croaky with sleep and he did his best to sit up. She moved her eyes away from the ground and to his own.

In voice, level and assured, holding back a dam of thoughts she replied. 'Do you just wait around thinking of the perfect lines to say?'

'Well you usually make it easy. You're always brooding.'

'You give me reasons to brood.' She said, keeping her anger flat but he could still detect the bite.

'What's the particular reason tonight?' He asked, wanting to see how long they would dance around the obvious matter at hand.

But she didn't say a word.

Bonnie carried on looking at Kai, staring a hole right through him.

'Bonnieeee,' he sangs drowsily, waking up more with each syllable. 'Can I have a word from the Queen?' He could have sworn he heard her sniff but her face showed no tears. Just something cold he wanted to chip away at on instinct.

'You loved me.'

No, no, no.

That couldn't be right. Kai never loved anyone, least of all the girl who was working with his sister, manipulating him all the while but she had the audacity to sit there and look at him like he was a criminal, eyes always looking for the next rule to break. And Bonnie with her tightly wound shawl, was wrapped in regulation.

'You loved me,' she said again, flatly, 'and Enzo compelled you to forget it.'

He waited for the punchline. A witty remark to punctuate a pointless lie. If it was so pointless, why would she even say it? And at the forefront of his mind he let slip a single question.

'Did you love me back?'

'He compelled me to forget you too.' She expertly avoided answering.

'Okay I'll bite. Why would he do that?' Kai wanted her to say it. Say it, and split open his aching mind.

'You killed Jeremy.'

'Ah.' He conjured up blurry memory, only sure of the fact that he had taken a life. 'And now you're here for revenge.'

She stood up and his eyes followed her, watching her move to sit opposite him at the altar. Up close he could see the red moon reflected in her watery eyes. Bonnie inspected his face right back, wanting to see remorse and instead only finding snark.

He loved her once.

So what?

It didn't change the fact that she was working with the enemy. It didn't change the fact that she'd been playing him. What would she get out of this? Pretending that he cared wasn't going to make him care.

'Riddle me this,' He began twisting his hands against the binds, so slowly she wouldn't notice. 'If Enzo compelled me to forget, and he compelled you to forget too, then how are you able to tell me all this?'

'I remember it now. You siphoned away the compulsion when you-' She stopped, head dropping and barely able to look at him and finish the sentence.

That stung.

It was worse than if she bore her eyes in his with judgement. There was something so gut-aching about how her cheeks sagged and eyes drooped. Where was the fire he was so used to seeing in her?

Her magic swelled in his bloodstream.

Oh right, he'd consumed the flames and left her empty.

'So, if you're telling the truth, I can siphon away my own compulsion.'

'I'm telling the truth Kai.'

'Untie me and we can find out.'

She bit the inside of her cheek, dilemma rising.

'What?' He sighed, she was always so filled with excuses.

'If I untie you then you might siphon your own compulsion away, or you might go after Jo.'

His fingers found the rope and he stretched them to make contact, listening to her all the while.

'It's like you're two different people in my head and I don't know either of them anymore.'

'If only there was a way for me to remember without being untied.' He said it to distract her, he never actually imagined it would affect anything going through her mind. But her eyes popped open as she stared and suddenly he was the one left wondering.

'Care to let me in on what you're thinking, Bonster?'

His legs took up most of the space between them, keeping her at bay on the other side. But suddenly they were a pathetic defense as she stood up, clambered over them and dropped herself into his lap.

Every muscle in his body stayed completely still.

Heart, mind and lungs all frozen the second she sat. Her face still looked so troubled but her hands draped over his shoulders to play with the back of his neck like it was second nature. She was different, and for the first time since he heard her story of forgetting, he was starting to actually believe it.

So Kai worked faster, nearly breaking his wrist to siphon the magic from his binds.

'Do you remember this?' Her voice was barely a whisper, goosebumps rippling as the words ghosted over him.

'From yesterday when you practically ate my face, yes. My memory isn't that bad Bonster.' Her eye roll broke some of the intensity and he was glad to see he could still irritate her on cue.

'No, from the first time you came to visit. The first time you discovered you were a siphon, it was because you accidentally siphoned me. And you were so afraid to touch me so I snuck into your rooms after. We sat like this.' He swallowed thickly, eyes heavy and mind pulsating. 'And I kissed you, to show you that I still trusted you. You promised you wouldn't hurt me.'

Cross my heart-

'And then we…' This time Bonnie swallowed, little lump in her throat as she struggled to say the next part.

But he wanted to know.

He needed to know.

Because even though he couldn't actually bring up the memory, every emotion it brought out still stirred inside him. And at the forefront of them all was this incredible, deep longing that he failed to recognise.

'Show me.'

She caught his eyes under her hooded gaze, hand drifting down to trace his throat. He was salivating, anticipating the contact from her lips before she could gift it. Once she did, he accepted greedily.

Exploding from chaste, to soft, to slipping deeper and deeper into her mouth until he pulled the moan from her in seconds. He wanted to dig his fingers into the silk of her dress and tear it over her body but his hands were still bound and his escape plan was on pause. If he freed himself now then she would stop kissing him and that was something every part of him rebelled against. It didn't matter what his mind wanted when all the blood was being directed elsewhere, following a different brain. Suddenly there was too much fabric between them both and he found the words slipping from his mouth unbidden.

'I'll siphon it away, I swear' he panted, staring up at her green eyes and refusing to let them look anywhere but his own. 'Just untie me, please I want-' He didn't blink, letting her see his vulnerable insides as he begged, 'I need to hold you.'

Bonnie drew back, judging his words.

He was fully clothed and held all of her magic, but in her stare he'd never felt more naked and vulnerable. Her hands began their descent down his arms, to slip into his fingers.

'I need my magic back to do it.'

Neither of them expected it to happen so quickly. Kai was used to taking, siphoning magic at the mere thought, but he'd never given it back. Turns out with Bonnie all he had to do was hold her hand and think it away.

And it felt just as euphoric as taking it.

Feeling her palms against his and watching her face go from curious to ecstasy in a heartbeat filled him up in a way, different to magic. The logical half of him strained to rein in the possessed madman in control, forcing him to only release back a fraction of what he took.

But it was enough for Bonnie to be able to release him.

Chanting over the rope, he felt it slacken before completely relaxing and he quickly wrestled his hands free. There was a moment of hesitation between them, his quick freedom tainted with her skepticism.

He should go and find Jo and merge with her before she had the chance to do anything stupid.

Instead his hands came to rest on Bonnie's thighs, pulling her in that distance she couldn't quite bring herself to close until they were slotted comfortably against each other. Their lips found each other again and he made full use of his liberty, hands feeling every inch of her soft curves, smooth under the protection of silk. Kai gripped her thighs tightly, feeling her fingers dig into his back with equal pressure, and shifted their positions so she was lying on her back, staring up at him. Equal parts taken apprehensive as she was excited, and then scrambling to keep her face blank, still unsure of him and trying to reconcile the two versions of him.

Did she love the other version? Could she love this version instead?

If he siphoned away his own compulsion, he'd basically be revealing another part of himself. A second version, the version of him that wasn't strong enough to resist getting compelled. Was that really a version of himself he want-

Bonnie started to pull the dress over her head and every coherent thought in his head melted away at the sight of her naked body, pulling the white cloth over her legs, her hips, her stomach until it curved over her chest, revealing dark nipples perfectly peaked and crowning her soft breasts.

He wasn't even mad that he didn't get to rip the dress. Instead, he appreciated her like she was a picture, eyes drawn to the garter on her thigh. Tucked safely inside, he recognised the weapon.

One he'd lost a long time. How, he couldn't remember.

But it made sense that she kept it all those years ago, if what she was telling him was true.

And like that, shrouded in the shadows under a midnight sky, Kai was suddenly a believer.

He worked his mouth over her, starting with her nipples, and while he nipped and pecked and sucked over flesh down to her belly button, she worked to make him as naked as she was.

'How was it?' He breathed into her neck, thinking of how many times they must have done this before.

Thoughts of Bonnie comparing him all the while to his past self. How could he be jealous of someone he once was? His fingers found her slit, pushing into her folds to circle the small nub of her clit, feeling it relax under the pressure.

She gasped into his ear, letting that be her answer. Her thighs started to quiver the quicker her rubbed and he stepped up the pace, listening to the sound of her getting wetter and wetter under his touch, almost ready for him. As she writhed he concentrated. As overwhelmed as he was becoming with how willingly she was naked and moaning for him, he knew how pink she'd go at the thought of anyone else seeing them.

'Invisique.' He whispered.

Bonnie moved her hand from his chest down to his hardness between them, taking it into her fist to express her gratuity. She moved down the shaft and he felt his hips sink closer to her, drawn in by the heat and crumbling under her strokes. When she moved his tip to replace his fingers he dug his nails into the grass to steady himself. He caught her wrists and dragged them above her head. Tangling his fingertips through hers, they both squeezed when he entered her.

He was falling apart.

Torn in all directions. Wanting to move so fast she'd be screaming his name, agonisingly slow to appreciate all of her but most of all not wanting to move at all. The minute he shifted inside her it would start their building reaction until they were both a shaking mess and then it was all over too soon and they were back to the real world. And all the problems waiting for them there.

Her hands drifted to his chin, bringing his face to rest against her own. And suddenly she was flipping them, pressing him onto his back while keeping them connected, all decisions taken from him.

She slipped her hand down to the garter, pulling out their dagger and holding it up. Every nerve in his body went cold as he watched her wrap her fingers around the hilt, bringing it to rest between them. If she killed him now, would he let her?

But instead she brought the blade to her other hand, dragging a line over the skin.

Blood had a rusty smell.

'What are you doing?' He sat up, digging his nails comfortably into her thighs.

He killed Jeremy.

He killed his family.

She killed her father.

She killed Damon.

She even remembered her terrible reasoning, comforting Elena- all the while knowing she'd never tell her the truth because she'd never understand. She was a monster too. But they were monsters together.

'We're already married, why not make it official?'

Did she know what she was offering him? There was a chance if they joined themselves like this that he could fix himself. No need to risk his life by merging and he could keep his promise to her. But it was stupid of her to want to do this, stupid and dangerous and a massive risk.

Why would she do that?

He didn't understand but he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass him by, holding out his hand, greedily watching her drag the knife against his own palm. The second she was done she dropped the weapon to the side, and pressed their wounds together. He stared back at her, waiting for her to back out. But Bonnie kept her latch, wrapping her fingers securely over his wrist. He wondered if she knew the words to say, but her mouth fell open to spill them and he caught them in his own.

'Phasmatos Vinculo.'

Their flat hands began warming and he felt the cut begin to sting. He heard her wince too, suffering alongside him. In an effort to distract them from the pain he bucked his hips up. Bonnie wrapped her free arm around his shoulders, gasping at the sensation and reminded that they were still in the middle of another sacrament. Her hips wriggled in his grip as she rolled back into him. When they'd established a comfortable rhythm for their rut she returned her lips to his seeking ones.

Drawing back after an arduous kiss they whispered.

'Phasmatos Vinculo.'

From the side of his eye he could see a faint glow, not unlike when he siphoned. Only this time it was white. Moonlight pressed into their grasp. Around them every single candle in the grove lit up, igniting with their building pressure. He rushed them to the final chant, eager to concentrate on her again.

'Phasmatos Vinculo.'

The stinging became burning and Bonnie let out a whimper. His heart beat so fast in his chest that he was sure he was going to die.

'Did you love me Bon?' He panted, looking up at her with wide innocent eyes. Pale pink moonlight lit her up, the backdrop lending her an ethereal halo as she looked down at him, forehead crinkled in pain, pleasure and deep in thought.

'Yes.'

Kai drove them back to their original positions, surer of himself now. Fingers interlocked above their heads, coated in their spilling blood, he pulled out of her. Letting her whine at the loss, relishing in how much she missed it, he bucked back in harder. This time she didn't have time to appreciate his return before he did it again, pounding into her as quickly as she would let him. When she began clenching around him, sopping wet and legs quivering, he gave her no respite. Doubling down on his brutal strokes until he was cumming deep inside her orgasm, seeking out her lips to guide him through the high. He decorated her jawline with pecks, marking a path to her neck where he was drawn to a spot behind her ear.

Even without the memories he felt himself starting to change. Not converting in his old self but no longer remaining the same. She was causing a fundamental shift in him and the worst part was how slowly it had been building.

He moved back up from her neck, leaving, bruises behind and nuzzled her nose with his own. Her eyes were equally deep in thought, wet trail running down to her ears, evidence that he managed to fuck her so good she cried. He tasted the tears as he kissed them from her cheeks. She was trembling, still thinking, completely docile under him. When they finally looked back at each other he saw how badly she was conflicted.

Poor thing, realising what she'd done. Who she tied herself to. But she was as lost in the past as he was consumed by their present.

Bonnie was only just remembering the dead stable boy and tearing herself apart for ever forgetting.

Kai dropped a kiss on her forehead, and made sure to cradle her neck so she wouldn't hurt her head on impact.

'Insomnious,' He whispered into her ear.

Bonnie's eyes fluttered closed with ease and barely any realisation of what he'd done. As blissful as he felt and content in himself, he was certain of one thing.

It hadn't worked.

Whatever they'd done wasn't even close enough to fix him, and the need to siphon was still there, buried under layers of ecstasy.

He needed to merge.

If he survived he'd siphon away his compulsion, if he died then at least he didn't have to deal with the pain of leaving her.