"A heretic?"

"Half witch. Half vampire." Kai explained, flopping down onto the porch swing. The realisation that Micah was a heretic still hadn't completely sunk in yet. He had travelled to countless cities, looking for someone who was like him, but the vampire and witch combination was so rare. Now he had finally found someone like him and it was his own nephew.

Since Bonnie was a siphon and she didn't have her own magic, Kai had assumed Micah wouldn't have any magic either. For the first time ever, he was glad he was wrong about something.

Although, he remembered Jo saying that only Bennett women had magic. Micah was a boy but somehow he had magic. Kai hadn't really paid much attention to his nephew before. Now he couldn't wait to see him and find out exactly what kind of magical abilities he had.

"Damon - " He stopped before he could say 'is' and then after clearing his throat, he continued. "Damon was a vampire." Speaking about his brother in the past tense was something he still had to get used to. "You're a witch, so Micah is a hybrid." He crossed one leg over the other, his ankle resting on his thigh, feeling the bunch of entangled necklaces shift in the pocket of his sweatpants.

Bonnie still stood by the doorway, hands clutching the blanket around her shoulders. She didn't say anything. If it weren't for the pensive frown on her face and her heavy-eyed gaze fixed on him, Kai might have thought she had stopped listening.

He had heard of comfortable silence, when two people could be together without speaking and still feel at ease. The silence that hovered between him and Bonnie was not comfortable. It was tense and unsettling. Bonnie kept looking at him expectantly, as if she had asked him a question a while ago and was still waiting to hear the answer.

Kai started talking to fill the quiet. He didn't know what to say, so he just voiced his thoughts out loud. "It is kind of unusual that his first time using magic was a telekinetic spell. Most people start with incendiary spells. The first time I used magic, I accidentally set one of my father's antique pocket watches on fire. Oops." He shrugged and chuckled, affecting a light-hearted mood, hoping Bonnie wouldn't notice how much the memory had shaken him.

She didn't seem to care. There was a faraway look in her eyes, like she was lost in a memory, the same way Kai had been only a moment ago. "I think Micah also might have used magic to light the candles on my nightstand."

Kai nodded. "Well, I can teach him how to control his magic, maybe teach him a few fundamental spells." He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward until he was on the edge of the swing. "First, I have to see him perform magic obviously, to get an idea of what level his natural ability is on." He had barely finished speaking before Bonnie responded.

"I don't think that would be a good idea."

Kai wiped a palm over his face. It had been a long day. He and Jo had started the drive to Mist Haven early in the morning. Now it was late at night. Everything was quiet, the kind of quiet that only existed in those few hours between midnight and dawn. The rest of Mystic Falls was asleep and Kai could pretend that he and Bonnie were the only two people in the world.

Bonnie's lip curled as if she knew what he was thinking and the idea of Kai being her only companion was repulsive to her. Of course she didn't have her doppelgänger's telepathic ability. Her contempt was directed at what Kai had said - his offer to teach Micah magic. "I don't want Micah getting attached to you again. I know I said I needed you, but I don't want you to think you're welcome in this house."

Bonnie barring him from his own childhood home should have bothered Kai. He had grown up there. He had lived there for almost two decades. Still, Bonnie's words didn't prompt any strong feeling in him. He had never really felt welcome in that house anyway.

The reminder of his own lonely childhood brought Kai's attention back to his nephew. "Micah needs someone who understands him. You don't know what it's like being a heretic. I've felt isolated from everyone else my entire life. There was no one I could talk to about it, no one who could teach me about magic. I had to figure it out all on my own. Micah doesn't have to grow up the same way."

Bonnie still hovered by the threshold, leaning against the doorframe, exhaustion clear in the slump oh her shoulders. "Micah isn't alone. He has me. He will always have me."

"How are you going to help him with magic when you don't know anything about it?" Kai tried to keep his frustration in check but Bonnie's stubbornness wasn't making it easy. "I can help Micah. I want to."

Bonnie didn't look convinced. She shifted from foot to foot, drawing Kai's attention to her comically-cute fluffy slippers. Something about them made it hard for him to take her seriously, despite her very stern tone and stony expression. "Am I supposed to believe that you genuinely care about Micah? You didn't exactly show much interest in him before. Now you want to help him for completely unselfish reasons?" She waved her hand in the air, dismissing the idea. "I don't buy it."

Kai's hair was still a little damp and when he ran a hand through it, he could feel all the clinging grains of sand that were going to be a pain to get out. "I wish I had known another heretic when I was growing up, so I didn't have to feel like some abomination, like there was something wrong with me. My father treated me like crap because I was different. He was going to send me away to a prison world." Although he knew Bonnie didn't know what that was, he didn't want to waste time explaining it to her. He could still remember the moment he found the ascendant on his father's desk, along with a scroll detailing a spell that could banish a witch to a prison world. It had been the day before his nineteenth birthday, the day he realised that his father would never accept him. "He wanted to get rid of me because I was a heretic, like Micah." Just as he hoped, Bonnie's expression softened at that. Maybe she would be able to understand. If someone threatened to harm Micah just because he was a heretic, wouldn't she do anything to protect him? Kai had never known his mother, had never had that kind of support from anyone, so he always needed to protect himself. "I did what I had to do. I got rid of him before he could get rid of me."

Bonnie winced, her almost sympathetic expression stiffening again. Kai didn't care. He didn't want her pity or her forgiveness. He just needed her to know his side of the story, to make sure she understood that there was more to it than whatever Damon had told her. What he did was more preemptive self-defence than some calculated patricide.

"I don't think anyone should have to grow up the way I did. That's why I want to help Micah." Kai didn't feel tired anymore, despite the late hour and the long day he'd had. Curiosity about his nephew kept him wide awake and freshly energised. "Will you let me do that?"

It wasn't a lie. Some part of Kai did feel a strange kinship with his nephew. They were two of a kind, bonded not just by blood but by their shared uniqueness too. Bonnie was still kind of right though. His reasons weren't completely unselfish. If he was giving Micah magic lessons, Bonnie would have a reason to keep him around. She would need him. He wasn't sure if that was the way soulmates were supposed to work but he didn't really have other options.

Bonnie stifled a yawn with her fist. "I have to think about it."

It sounded like something people said when they meant 'no' but didn't want to say it.

"Why did you call me?" Kai had asked that same question before and it had elicited quite an intense reaction from Bonnie. He could still see bits of the broken lightbulb scattered around the porch. "You could have told me about this over the phone, but you asked me to come back. You wanted to see me. You wanted me here." He leaned back, lifting his feet so the swing rocked back and forth.

Bonnie looked away from him, turning her head towards the driveway. Kai hadn't realised how intently she had been staring at him until she stopped doing it.

He could smell vanilla - the scent he had come to associate with Bonnie, sweet and subtle, like the tea candles on her nightstand. He had missed that smell.

When she looked at him again her gaze was sharp and chilly. She might as well have been pressing a knife to his throat. "It's late. I think you should go."

Surprise flickered on her face when Kai stood up and started to walk towards the stairs. She must have been expecting him to argue, to fold his arms across his chest and stubbornly refuse to leave.

Kai knew he was running out of time, that his magical disease was getting worse, but he felt an odd sense of calm. The whole day seemed like a dream, hazy except for a few snippets that stood out crystal clear in his mind: Jo telling him more about his mother on the drive to Mist Haven, Gina and Rhys at Crescent Cove assuring him that their plan was going to work, Bonnie's voice over the phone asking him to come home, finding out that Micah was a heretic just like him.

It was as if time had slowed down. He had all the puzzle pieces in his hand and a vague belief that they would all somehow fall into place. He let that strange feeling of hope grow and fill him up like a helium ballon, making him feel light enough to lift off the ground.

As he stood just a few footsteps away from his soulmate, the person he was destined to be with forever, he realised there was no need to rush. Winning Bonnie over wouldn't be that different to picking a lock - which was something Kai actually had a knack for. He would take his time, make sure all the components were lined up just right before giving that one final prod and letting everything click into place.

"Think about it." He met Bonnie's gaze, holding it for what was probably considered an uncomfortably long time. It was only when he saw Bonnie nod - a tiny inclination of her head - that he looked away and turned around to descend the stairs.

The unreasonable thought that Bonnie might call after him made Kai stop on the bottom step. He could imagine her yelling at him to wait, to come back. She had thought about it and he was right. He needed to stay and teach Micah magic, teach her magic. They needed him.

His interactions with Bonnie were always a lot easier in his imagination than in reality.

The deathly quiet of early morning was interrupted as she shut the door behind him. When he turned to look back the porch was empty and completely dark without the light spilling from the hallway.

Kai could have left. He could have gone to Casandra's house or maybe even back to Jo's. It would be fun to annoy Alaric a little more. He could sleep on their lumpy couch for a few more days and wait for Bonnie's call.

She had made it clear that she didn't want Kai anywhere near Micah but he needed to see his nephew. Finally, he had found another heretic. He had waited ten years for this. There was no way he was just going to turn around and leave.

Kai crept around the side of the house until he reached the window of his childhood bedroom, that was now Micah's room. It was a particularly dark night, the moon barely a sliver in the ink-black sky. Kai would have been stumbling around, walking into bushes, tripping over uneven ground, if he hadn't grown up there.

It was almost too easy for him to get to the magnolia tree without making any noise at all. Some of the big white flowers littered the ground and he felt them flatten under his boots as he approached the window right next to the tree.

The lock on the window had broken a long time. Kai had been experimenting with metal-bending magic, an experiment that resulted in twisted light fixtures and a battered lock. It hadn't mattered to Kai. The traditionally simple light fixtures needed modernising and he preferred to leave his bedroom window unlocked anyway, so he could sneak back in late at night.

He placed his hands on the vintage grid of the window, preparing to slide it up. There was no way to know if the lock had been replaced in his absence.

The room was dark, black as the starless night sky above, which made Kai feel strangely uncomfortable. His room had never been completely dark. He could still picture the lava lamp on his nightstand with all its swirling luminescent colours and the glow-in-the-dark stars on the wall arranged in his favourite constellations. He was sure that decor would be considered outdated now but he still missed it.

Kai pressed his palms against the window and pushed upwards. It didn't budge at first, making him think that the lock had been replaced along with his lava lamp and glow-in-the-dark stars, but then he tried bracing his arms against the glass and giving it another thrust. With a shudder, the window slid up and Kai was able to squeeze through the gap. His boots landed on what felt like a bunch of oddly-shaped pebbles that rolled around as he fumbled to regain his balance and close the window.

The light-switch was still in the same place it had always been. Kai flicked it on. To his surprise, the bed was empty and neatly-made. He turned his gaze towards the window and then lowered it to the floor that was scattered with multi-coloured crayons. So that's what he had stepped on.

The empty room only puzzled Kai for a moment before he quickly recalled that Micah sometimes slept in his parents' bedroom.

He switched the light off before stepping into the gloomy hallway. Farther down the passage, he could see that the light was on in the kitchen and he could hear the faint humming of the microwave. It seemed Bonnie had decided to have a late snack before going to bed.

Kai crossed the hallway to her bedroom slowly and carefully, one foot in front of the other, like he was walking a tightrope. The door was slightly ajar. Kai nudged it open more until he could slip through. The candles on the nightstand weren't lit but their vanilla scent still lingered. In the dark, he could just about see the outline of a small bundle on the bed. He crept closer towards it.

Micah's curls were spread out on a pillow, his fists bunched in the blanket that was pulled up to his chest. Not wanting to startle him, Kai gently prodded Micah's shoulder with a finger.

When there was no response he dropped down on one knee so his head was almost level with Micah's. He poked his shoulder again and whispered to him. "Micah."

The boy let out a muffled groan.

Then the microwave dinged, three successive jarring beeps. Kai knew Bonnie wasn't the kind of person who ate in bed but he still glanced over his shoulder anyway to make sure she wasn't anywhere near the doorway. He had no idea what he would say if she did walk in. His only focus was the boy in front of him. He had waited so long to find another heretic. It had started to feel like he might never find one, but all that had changed when Bonnie told him about what Micah had done. It seemed almost unbelievable. He had to see Micah perform magic, to make sure it was real and he wasn't getting his hopes up for nothing.

"Micah. Wake up." He whispered a little more desperately.

Micah shifted, twisting around under the blanket, and then blinked his eyes open. He quietly stared at Kai for a moment, like he wasn't sure if he was awake or still dreaming.

"Uncle Kai" His voice was loud and excited, no hint of sleep in it.

Kai brought a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound. He looked over his shoulder, making sure the boy's exclamation hadn't drawn Bonnie's attention away from her food. He had teased her about being a slow eater before but now he was grateful for it. He tried to capture Micah's gaze, hoping the boy was paying attention. "Your mom can't know I'm here. You have to be quiet."

Micah sat up and wriggled out of the blanket until he was sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed and facing Kai. "You're back." He leaned forward, his arms reaching around Kai's neck to draw him into a hug.

Kai wasn't sure what to do. Although he did have a special interest in his nephew now, he still didn't feel very comfortable interacting with him. Micah was a heretic but he was also a child, and Kai just didn't have much experience with children.

He felt frozen, too awkward to do anything. He thought if he just stayed still Micah would take the hint and let go but he didn't, so Kai ended up speaking to the boy's neck instead of his face. "Yeah, but I don't want your mom to know I'm here, so you have to be quiet."

Micah let go of Kai, settling back in his cross-legged position. "Are you playing hide-and-seek?" His whisper was still a bit too loud, making Kai grimace.

"Uh. Yeah."

"Can I play?"

"Let's play a different game." Kai reached for one of the tea candles on the nightstand and held it in his open palm. "Can you light this?"

Micah pointed to the nightstand. "There's a lighter in the drawer, but I'm not allowed to use it."

"Can you light it without the lighter?"

Micah mumbled something and lifted his shoulders in an exaggerated shrug.

Kai wasn't sure what to make of that. He had been confident when he made the offer to Bonnie but now he was starting to doubt his ability to teach Micah magic. It required a level of patience Kai didn't have. He had been older, in his early teenage years, when he started to teach himself magic. This was going to be a lot different.

"Micah, listen. This is very important. I need you to focus on the candle." He waited until Micah's gaze lowered to the candle before continuing. "Now imagine it's already lit. Picture the flame burning." That's what Kai did as he let his eyes drift from Micah's shadowed face to the candle. If he still had magic, the candle would have sparked immediately. It used to be that easy. Envision what you wanted to happen…and then let it happen. "Can you see the flame? Feel the heat from it? Is the vanilla scent getting stronger?" Focusing on the sensory details usually helped to execute magic, to turn thought and feeling into action.

It didn't seem to be working for Micah. His bottom lip was caught between his teeth and he shook his head in response to each of Kai's questions.

Kai tried to think back to when he first began learning magic. He had been religious in his study, memorising every spell he could, repeating the words over and over until the ancient latin started to feel like his native tongue. Eventually, he didn't need the words to perform magic. All it took was a flick of his wrist or a tilt of his head. Although, sometimes he would say the simple spells out loud too just because he enjoyed the dramatic flair.

Maybe that's what Micah needed. A word to focus on. Something a little more concrete to channel his energy towards.

"Okay. Forget that." Kai's hand flapped in the air, trying to erase everything he had said before. "Close your eyes. Try to think of a time when it was dark and you were scared and all you wanted was for it to be light again. Now repeat after me. Incendia." It was a struggle to sound emphatic while also keeping his voice down. "In-cen-di-a." He emphasised each syllable, figuring it would help Micah mimic the unfamiliar sounds.

"Incendia."

It wasn't quite right, the severe latin word sounding garbled in Micah's inexperienced mouth. He giggled, like he was being tickled, apparently amused by the funny new word he had just learnt.

The sound was surprising. Kai didn't know what to do. He was too baffled to think about correcting the boy's pronunciation, too distracted to notice that someone was standing in the doorway behind him.

The room was flooded with light, too harsh and too fluorescent to be from the candle. When Kai looked down at the tea candle on his palm it was still unlit but he could see it clearly now - black wick poking out of white wax, silver holder glinting in the light from the spiral bulbs overhead.

Bonnie's usually sweet voice sounded dangerously close to a growl. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"