Notes: Oh, hey. Here goes that final chapter, 3 years delayed. Lo siento.
EPILOGUE
A few months later…
If Bonnie was honest, dressing up for events felt more like work than actual work. Maybe because sophomore year in high school was when dances and formals had turned into bloody fiascos each and every time she was present. Being crowned prom queen hadn't been complete, after all, without one little spat between herself and Elena where they each took turns trying to kill the other. More recently, just trying to attend Liv and Tyler's wedding had led, eventually, to killing the bride's own deranged, magic-mad little brother and father.
So Bonnie walked into the Summit with her own personal hopes for the night hovering somewhere at the level of her ankles. And meanwhile, she recited to herself all the tidbits the Geminis had fed her.
Selected coven members worldwide gathered in one place every year. This time an old building in Bath hosted them all, its honey-hued walls imbibed with magic potent enough to keep their presence quiet and secret from prying eyes. A cobble stoned path led to the aged wooden doors, lit only by a pair of large lantern candles on either side. Nearby was a courtyard, fey lanterns floating that lit an empty path. It was far too quiet for such a central location in the city. The witches had claimed this area tonight and Bonnie, since she was being honest, couldn't help the rush of satisfaction and a tiny thrill of power.
She had to be careful here.
Guests trickled in steadily, some in trios, others larger, all welcomed by the same elder standing guard by the entrance, ushering them in through the main circular foyer and towards the grand staircase, which led downward and flowed into the open assembly hall. Candles were everywhere, the only source of light and warmth in the dim foyer as the guests proceeded through, until pulsing soft light from translucent chandeliers hanging all around the hall-nothing at all manmade or mass-produced-encased the entire venue in a warm, inhuman glow. Under this peculiar spotlight, witches made their way down the staircase under the watchful eyes of the growing crowd below, many of whom held glasses filled with drinks that seemed to replenish themselves.
Pausing briefly, a familiar warmth suffused Bonnie, the effect of a particular set of eyes that stayed trained on her as she swept her gaze around.
Everywhere she looked were faces that she had memorized, thanks to the litany of lectures and recitations from Luke and Noah in the weeks leading up to the Summit. Well-informed meant well-armed. High priests and priestesses, Premiers, shamans, and elders from all walks abounded. Some she had encountered personally. Many she had not, and they trailed her movements curiously, as whispers reached her ears, invariably of "consort," "Gemini," and "Bennett."
Her best friends Caroline and Elena relished entering the room in a flourish, the belles of the ball, but while Bonnie could appreciate that moment of basking in attention, for someone with her magic, her name, her reputation, her new position and in this setting? Low-key was the way to go.
A tall, dark figure detached from a group, traipsing through the crowd of witches with his intense, determined gaze focused solely on her. Bonnie remembered to breathe as she watched him. He held out his hand, which she took without hesitation as he drew her closer to him.
"Kai," she murmured, her intention to sound cool and composed coming out more like a relieved sigh.
"Bonnie," he returned, in dulcet tones. "Didja catch up on your work?"
The irony wasn't lost on her, how every time they'd been separated due to his coven duties—or hers—and her commitments to Mystic Falls and her job, the first things he asked about were the same things he sometimes verbally castigated as her questionable lifestyle choices.
"Almost. I have one more artifact to dust and date. Did you tie up those loose ends you mentioned?"
Loose ends being the rest of Joshua Parker and Mickey Wallingsford's silent partners that Kai and his inner council had uncovered. After the Geminis had tried and executed Richard and Clarice Vansel, Fiona alone had avoided their fate and been granted exile instead, by giving up a few names she'd overheard from her parents. It had been long months tracking those particular individuals down for retribution. Bonnie knew, because she had helped Kai occasionally, just the two of them. Because despite sometimes verbally castigating his questionable lifestyle choices, she would never leave the worst of those choices for him to make alone.
"Juuust about," he replied in his light, airy tone. Tucking her hand inside his elbow, they walked the length of the room, here and there allowing for a few brief introductions before they both smoothly cut every one of those short of becoming true interactions. They gave every appearance of being at ease. "Last naughty little witch is still loose, but I have a lead."
She slid him a sidelong gaze that earned her his customary smirk and made her yearn to poke the tiny dimple in his cheek.
"We've established how I feel about your leads," she finally said.
"We did," he said, his voice dropping to a deeper octave. "It's one of my fondest memories."
"I won't tell you to behave," Bonnie said.
He grinned, teeth glinting as he bit down on his lower lip. "You can try."
It wasn't precisely her job, though it'd been implied when the rest of their coven waved them off. Kai and Bonnie were the only two Geminis in attendance here, a last minute change. Luke and the inner council were preoccupied in the aftermath of their figurative housecleaning, and with Kai being the newly anointed coven Archon the Summit Masters would have taken it as a snub if he'd failed to show. Last year he'd brought Luke, Noah, Tariq, and Alanis; this year when Bonnie offered to accompany him there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief and near unanimous consent from that same crew. Despite the initial doubts and concerns of Bonnie's place in the coven, when she and Kai had returned from their pocket world retreat, the coven had been quick to recognize that their new Archon and advisor were less peas in a pods, and more equal but opposing weights on a scale locked in a constant balancing act.
But here, now, as they made rounds socializing with scores of witches and elders, attempting small talk while pretending to ignore the enormous surge of power contained in one space, Bonnie felt nothing like Kai's baby-sitter girlfriend and more like an ingénue being guided by a seasoned vet. He knew everyone by name, which really seemed to upset half the room, while the other half were willing enough to let him charm them as they in turn indulged their curiosity about Bonnie.
"How are you handling the duties of Gemini Consort along with being an Envoy?" asked a young witch who seemed genuinely interested rather than just fishing for dirt.
"I'm not," Bonnie said. "An Envoy is barred from pledging allegiances to any coven."
"But I thought a Bennett was one of the newer Envoys."
"She is. My cousin, Lucy, was named recently."
Here another elder tsked. "You're Sheila Bennett's granddaughter. Direct descendant. That role was yours."
Bonnie drank from her endless glass of nectar, welcoming its calming properties. She summoned a measured smile at the waiting faces before her. "Grams always told me to make my own way. I did. It led me to the Geminis. I'm where I should be."
The pointed questions bothered her more than they did Kai, who was used to it. He pulled her away to another section of the hall, where attendees danced in formal pairs which sometimes blended into groups. Noah and Alanis had taught her the steps, but she fumbled at one point. Kai caught her, his hands steady on her arms.
His fingers worked their way up, kneading her shoulders. "Super tight there. Someone needs a massage when we get home."
"I'm fine."
"How's your feet? Those heels look hot but uncomfortable."
She skewered him with a raised brow. "I'm fine."
"Okay, okay. Just checking. It's almost over. You're doing great."
"I could say the same about you," came her equally patronizing reply. "Punch is spike-free. Building's intact. Not a pest or plague in sight. It's almost like we might have a quiet night after all."
"Blasphemy," he chided, then raked his eyes over her, lightning quick but intense. "Have I mentioned you're beautiful? In that dress? And of course, also when you're out of it."
She smiled despite herself, her mood lightening.
At a certain point in the evening came the tributes. Items were shared, in the form of herbs, candles, scrolls and tomes, goblets of wine, vials of blood, metal urns, and in some cases, plain or trussed-up carcasses, along with their coinciding traditional spell offerings. Bonnie and Kai broke away from the dancing to present their own offering. Kai closed his eyes and whispered beneath his breath, calling forward a surge of wind and currents that converged into the basket. His eyes sparked silver and blue as he grinned at the Master waiting to receive the Gemini basket.
"As promised," the Archon said liltingly, biting his lip as the Master inspected its contents, pulling out a wine bottle, several wheels of cheese, and a slender flute.
A vast majority of the female witches tracked Kai's movements as he spun to return to Bonnie, with a handful of them approaching him as he made his way back. Their smiles were arch and inviting, up until he rejoined Bonnie. They pulled to a halt and hovered near the couple.
Bonnie ignored them, instead studying Kai's smirking glance back at the Master holding the Gemini tribute.
"Those don't look like the bespelled herbs and youth potions Luke mentioned," she said through the side of her mouth. "Why did our coven's tribute turn into an actual picnic basket?"
Kai shrugged. "Herbs and potions. A dime a dozen, Bon. Had to find a way to make our mark tonight."
She narrowed her eyes, oblivious to everything but the Master wearing an intrigued expression as he looked back and forth between the contents of the basket.
"The Masters will get a kick out of it," Kai whispered, letting his mouth graze her ear. "Especially Marius. Not only is that a bottomless glass of wine, but since he celebrated his third millennia of reincarnated living, the guy's been trying to reconnect with some of his old friends."
"What kind of friends?"
His eyes lit up with delight. "So glad you asked. You've been studying Gemini history. Where did one of our oldest mountain tribes originate three thousand years ago?"
A quick internal fact-check left her with only one conclusion. "Greek mountain range. The Parnon."
He beamed at her. "Part of a region otherwise known as…"
"Arcadia."
"Marius has been closely allied with the Geminis since nearly their inception, thanks to the patronage of a particularly jolly man-goat who networked for our coven wayyy back in the day. Hint, hint."
Her eyes widened as she connected Marius, the sum total of his age thanks to his coven's practice of reincarnation, her knowledge of Greek mythology and geography, and above all her belief in the kind of mischief Kai could inflict. "No. You didn't."
"Yup. The Summit's getting a special visitor later. And that's when you and I can call it a night and make our escape."
"You're insane."
"More like, inspired genius."
"We can just say we're tired and leave early like normal people."
He pfbb-ted in disbelief. "Trust me, that doesn't work around here. They keep everyone hostage til the next morning."
He tucked her arm into his elbow, pacing the edges of the room again. When they passed by the women who had been keeping a close eye on them, Bonnie slowed. A bizarre urge to lay her hand on Kai's ass in some primordial need to claim him nearly overtook her. He might have spent years building his reputation as closet-good-times-guy, but now he was off the market dammit. And after Fiona, Bonnie thought maybe she ought to stake her territory sooner rather than later. Bonnie gave the women a brief side-eye as she weighed her options, then sighed with relief when they all beat a hasty retreat.
"That's hot, Bon," Kai murmured. "Don't stop."
"What?" she asked, confused.
He led them along the edges of the hall and stopped at a mirror. There she saw her eyes blazing gold from scleras that turned black, her power bleeding out inadvertently as Kai's had done when he presented the Master with the Gemini offering.
"You're getting as bad as me," he said in a way that told her how much he loved it. "All territorial. Makes my heart go thump."
"It's temporary," she said.
Every so often inside the great hall, inhuman light erupted from its ends, on alternating sides. Alcoves were lined along the edges of the hall, smaller circular rooms, three on each side of the hall, each one with domed roofs leading to an opening in the ceiling which allowed the tarry night sky sprinkled here and there with stars, to peek into the happenings of each room. Some of these were being used as casting dens, others merely as sitting areas; throughout the night people had come and gone with regularity. It was there that Kai led Bonnie. He whispered in her ear, both their faces turning to the closest den. But a commotion at the top of the grand stairs stopped their progress to the den.
A tall woman descended the stairs, the collective group watching her late arrival with interest. Background mutterings took over the hall again, the Bennett surname once more being passed around. It was a name which had been absent for years. Now cropping up twice in the same night caused a minor uproar.
If there were any doubts in the room over whether the pair of Bennetts in attendance were actually related, they were utterly smashed once Lucinda Bennett approached the Gemini Archon and his companion, the two women greeting each other with a cheerful, informal hug.
"Stuffy enough for ya, cuz?"
"This is probably the only time I've seen her unclench all day," Kai told Lucy, eyeing Bonnie doubtfully.
The petite woman shrugged and nearly rolled her eyes, but at the last moment saw a group of elders eyeing them. Instead she gave a rigid smile.
Her cousin looked baffled. "Are you all right, Bonnie?"
"I'm great, Lucy."
"Okay. Well, you do look great. Both of you. That pocket paradise did wonders, huh?"
To prying eyes, it looked like Bonnie's strained smile grew relaxed, resembling something genuine.
"You could say that," agreed Kai. "You could also argue it was the company we kept that made it paradise even more than the weather. Not that I would ever say that, you know, because like, so corny."
"Definitely the company," Bonnie murmured with an amused smirk, tipping a look at Kai through her lashes.
He fell quiet, forgot to smirk himself, and gazed at her for so long Lucy was forced to clear her throat. To her knowledge, Bonnie and Kai were each other's only companions in that otherwise totally deserted world anytime they went, and in her own opinion, the way they both behaved now was beyond corny-some might say nauseating. But Lucy Bennett, world-weary though she'd been called for as long as she could remember, found it hard to reign in her own grin as she studied the pair.
"Cute," she said, then cut her eyes around at the sharp looks they continued to garner. "But we're catching stares."
"You can't be seen schmoozing too much with us," Bonnie replied. "They'll think we're plotting world dominion."
"Aaaand what if we are?" Kai asked in sultry tones, his breath ghosting the curl of hair by her ear.
"She's only been Envoy for a few weeks," Bonnie chided. "Way to start out on the right foot."
"Trust me, Bon. With these people? No such thing. You do it their way or accept that it's always gonna be the wrong foot."
Lucy gave a laugh. "Is that right?" She glanced around again, met a few unflinchingly hard eyes from cold elder faces, and said with a toss of her head, "excuse me, guys, while I work this room with my two left feet."
Bonnie kept her attention for long moments on Lucy as the older woman smoothly intruded into a conversation amongst some of the oldest witches around, with powerful auras to match. Her expression turned thoughtful the longer she watched her cousin and the elders. Eventually the rigid sets of their shoulders grew lax, signaling somewhat of a yielding. That was when Bonnie let out a tiny, relieved breath.
"Two left feet my ass," Bonnie said, her tone affectionate. "Lucy's a social ninja. There's no where she wouldn't slay."
"Doesn't keep you from worrying," Kai said softly. "The only way you can protect her is if you take her place."
"Nope," she said, starting towards the corner of the hall. She didn't look back as he followed.
When they were ensconced on a stone bench inside the casting den, which coincidentally had remained empty, the pair simply sat, side by side, and stared up at the sky. Vines crept along the stone walls, framing the opening in the ceiling. Though the night air was chilly, neither of the pair shivered, a combination of their magic and shared body heat keeping the cold at bay.
"Any regrets letting your cousin claim Envoy?"
"Of course not."
He turned both their hands over, tracing the lines on her palms before pointing to his.
"Did I tell you about the time I went to a palm reader? Just for kicks. He told me my head line was broken and for the irony of that alone, I didn't disembowel him. But I almost decided to again when he said this," he pointed to a short line running below his pinkie towards a deeper line across the top of his palm, "single line meant I'd have one deep and lasting love. For all time. Not exactly what a seventeen-year-old budding sociopath wants to hear." His furtive glance to her was accompanied with a quick puff of breath. "Turns out he's right. Good thing I left his bowels alone, right?"
This time her hand strayed to graze his cheek.
"In case you missed the last couple months with me, here goes. You're it, Bon. My one, single line. I love you."
"I love you, too, Kai."
Their hands joined before her stomach, resting there briefly. Faint black spirals erupted from her form, a sliver of gold coiled with it. Her hands fisted as she tried to reign in her magic, and with his help siphoning her energy flood, as suddenly as it erupted the flare up dissipated. He smoothed open her fist, then ran their joined hands over her flat abdomen, his expression worried even while hers grew reflective. Bonnie was well into her pregnancy and should have begun to look like she was carting a small cantaloupe paunchwise. 'Should,' being the operative word.
"Is now a good time to bring up the Revoqari?" she asked.
He gave her a dark look. "Sure, why not? This is totally the right venue to discuss how to use a lethal spell to break a generational curse on an ancient coven and possibly killing ourselves in the process."
"You were willing to try it on Tyler."
"I wanted more time any way I could get with you. Not to mention, that was before you were carrying what Sybil the jolly evil siren called our coven heirs." He squeezed her hands softly. "Which they don't need to be. My nephews can remain next in line."
She scoffed. "Like I haven't seen the guilt on your face anytime you're with them. I can tell from the look you get any time we have dinner with Rachel, you're already imagining their merge ceremony, and you're dreading it."
"Neither of them are showing any signs of being a siphon," he said wearily, running a hand over his face. "Their best chance at surviving is if them one of them was like me."
Bonnie contemplated the resolute set to his jaw. "You never explained how you and Jo came out of that merge unscathed."
Kai's smile was fleeting and hollow. "Ah, c'mon, Bonster. I think you can guess it by now."
"Your sister died, didn't she?"
He nodded.
"What I can't figure out is how you brought her back. I don't think it was resurrection."
"No." He cast a look towards the main hall. "Good thing our wards against magical eavesdroppers is one of the best, because we'd be spilling quite the tea to these witches and warlocks, right?"
His concern was palpable, but Bonnie couldn't explain the rush of weightlessness that overtook her just then. She felt almost free from the constant gnawing concern that permeated her thoughts ever since discovering that she and Kai would soon be welcoming the next generation of Gemini twins. And keeping her condition magically hidden.
"Turns out," he said in a low, whimsical voice. "Magic and science can sometimes be best buddies. Before the merge, Jo fed a little of her magic inside a bracelet. She wore it when we merged and spelled it to be a talisman. The Gemini Merge doesn't allow for the survivor to channel back magic to the losing twin. At least, not the magic that crosses over during the ceremony. When I woke up, I siphoned the bracelet and because it was preserved in the talisman, I was able to channel her back that part of her magic. Of course, I did that right after I used an AED to jumpstart her heart. That part was Jo's idea."
Bonnie's eyes gleamed in approval. "Magical transfusion, siphon edition."
"Bingo. We could try that," Kai added, a little desperation coloring his tone. "For our kids. Or my nephews. Even if they're not siphons. We'll find a way."
He was scared, Bonnie realized, maybe for the wrong reasons.
"How long do you think we can keep fooling Liv that it's my repressed emotional trauma causing my Expression to go haywire?" Bonnie asked casually.
His jaw ticked. "I really think you're focusing on the wrong thing here. Also, you say that like she doesn't have a point. You do get sad and blame yourself that the people you loved died. Even though technically, it was some of your friends' faults."
Bonnie shot him a warning look. "Isn't it time for Pan or whomever you got to crash the Summit to show up?"
"Deflection," he replied mockingly. "I do love all your tactics."
"You do love talking. You're perfect slumber party material, Kai."
"I'll slumber your party any time, any day, Bonnie."
"What?"
He deflated easily, shrugging. "I don't know. Hey, you wanna marry me?"
Her eyes grew wide while he stared back, completely still but for his storm-tossed gaze that conveyed a world of yearning, hope, and determination. Beyond the den, chimes and bells sounded, and shadows and light chased each other around the walls surrounding them. The witching hour had arrived. Witches shed their robes, as magic came out to play. Bonnie saw the hall growing dim as the buzz of inhuman energy thickened. Witches danced with more than feet, spells lifting other couples and groups up to tread their steps on air. Wine sloshed out of the goblets freely, only to be refilled. Meanwhile, the Master Elders gathered their tributes, readying for the next ceremony. She and Kai would need to return soon.
He sat still as a stone, waiting for her answer.
"If you're asking as a way to keep me permanently tied to the coven because you think the Geminis, the merge, and my pregnancy are spooking me into running away–no, Kai, I won't." Bluntly put, Bonnie anticipated his shuttered expression, quickly touching his chin and drawing his gaze back when he began to look away. The crestfallen defeat in his eyes caused a lump in her throat. "If you're asking because you know I'll always find my way back to you, and vice versa, and despite sometimes both of us having all the emotional maturity of avocados, we really just can't live without each other?"
She kissed him until the firm line of his mouth became pliant under hers. Presently, they settled back against their seats, both their faces turned up to the dome above as they contemplated the winking stars beyond.
"So was that a yes?" he clarified.
"A solid yes."
Their little alcove lit up with a spectacular display of silver, blue, and blazing white currents that erupted out of the dome and caused little tremors beneath their feet. Bonnie caught the stares from the greater hall outside, including Lucy's inquisitive face peeking in from behind a large group of Masters.
"Nothing to worry about, folks!" she called our cheerfully while Kai grinned out at them in silence, his eyes twin lightning blazes. Minutes later, he was still grinning maniacally.
"Don't announce it here," she warned him, adding, "or when we get home at the next council meeting."
His eyes faded to normal.
"Oh, oh, let me guess," he said sardonically. "We'll keep it secret along with the pregnancy?"
"Just for a little bit? To give us time to prepare?"
"To prepare for…?"
"A wedding? Attacks against a Gemini and Bennett union that could threaten other covens? A permanent fix to the Gemini Merge? All of the above?"
He scoffed, pocketing his hands as he rolled his eyes back to the skies.
She sat up to face him, her brow lifted. "Hey, you're the one who asked for this."
"I did?"
"Yes, remember the closet and how you double booked, and chased away your only shot at a normal coven relationship? Your life could've gone a lot smoother."
He smiled. "I remember."
"You said I drove you nuts."
"I did. To which you said this was a passing thing, to which I replied that you were in denial." He shook his head, throwing her the squint-eyed half smirk that she'd come to know so well. "It's a pretty familiar state with you, Bonster. You're in denial now if you think we can keep this up forever, keeping our families, friends, and coven in the dark." His eyes flitted over her face, then from head to toe, as he appraised her. "But alright. I'll keep up the charade. For as long as it takes for us to figure it all out."
"Really?" she said suspiciously. "Just like that? Where's the catch?"
"The catch is you, silly, don't you remember what else I said?"
She drew his forehead down to hers. "I don't want easy. I want you, Kai Parker."
"Right back at you, Bonnie Bennett."
They left the den light footed, full hearted, their shared joy nearly overtaking reason. In fact, they were nearly to the middle of the hall before they realized they were surrounded by gaping witches and warlocks, and Master Elders in various defensive stances. Kai and Bonnie finally registered what had stalled everyone. A massive pair of goat legs had materialized in the center of the room, working its way up into a human torso, with thick, giant arms corded with muscle and coarse hair, topped by a short neck and a brutish head sporting two horns. Impish eyes and a wicked smile adorned the creature's face, as it locked on to the wizened, gaunt Master Elder standing nearest him, who was alone in welcoming the creature with a friendly wave and delighted laugh.
Seconds later, a grove of trees, nymphs, and satyrs spilled out of a blindingly bright portal.
Everyone else scattered, here and there screams following intermingled with the sounds of flutes, laughter, and animals braying.
Kai grabbed Bonnie's hand. "Well, Bon Bon. That would be our cue to book."
Bonnie closed her eyes in consternation. There went the other Geminis' hopes of her keeping their Archon in line. And there went the Summit.
"It was the only way to get out early," came the cajoling, lilting voice. "You do not want to be here for hours in those heels. Also, Marius is pleased. I can call in a favor. Between him and Pan the fertility specialist, we can probably ask them to finagle your gestational period. Feel like being pregnant for years? How long do you think we'll take figuring this all out?"
"Dammit, Kai."
Final notes: 2020 needs a redo. And more Bonkai. If you've been through the wringer this year, taken hits and loss, I feel you. Some days, just staying afloat is enough. Peace, love, and health, guys. Missed y'all.
