Author's Note: ANOTHER UPDATE ALREADY?! I just couldn't leave you hanging after that last chapter and, since I'll be on vacation for the next week, I won't have time to write, so the next chapter probably won't be published for another ~3 weeks. Enjoy and let me know what you think :)
Bonnie sucked in a sharp breath, more than surprised at Kai's words. The chill in her spine began to radiate outwards, causing her anxiety to spike.
Kai stepped forward, closer to the space she occupied, but to her knowledge, he couldn't see her so much as feel her. "Surprised you'd come here again after our last tiff. And alone, no less. Bold."
This was an altogether different surprise. He didn't know the other three were there. Intertwining her magic with Freya's had been a smart decision. He didn't have any attachment to the Mikaelson witch, so they were still protected. Bonnie sighed with relief. This wasn't a total failure.
"Come on, Bonster. Make that pretty little face visible to me," Kai continued, tone so saccharine sweet. Naive eyes would assume he was a man thrilled to see his love.
Catching Caroline's wide eyes, filled with concern, Bonnie smiled reassuringly before vocalizing the command to bring down her cloak. Her gaze met his, then and he grinned with childish merriment. "There she is, my queen."
"How could you possibly have seen through my spell?"
"Kindred, Bonster, need I always remind you? We're soulmates." He dragged out the word, tone patronizing. "I'm the one who brought your attention to root magic, if you recall. I had two decades over you to decipher the concept behind it. I'm almost offended you wouldn't think I'd know all the different ways you'd try to hide it." He quirked an eyebrow. "I assume Liv let you in. Tsk tsk. That's discouraging. No allegiance, that one."
"You're not going to hurt her, Kai." Bonnie's voice was firm, demanding. "She only wants what's best for you and the coven."
Kai hummed disappointedly. "So, you're able to show loyalty to my sister and to people who barely know you, but couldn't offer the same respect to the man who loved you. That's interesting." He took a big step towards her, menacing and malevolent. Stefan immediately went on the defensive and shifted forward, ready to attack. But Bonnie sent an inconspicuous zap of electricity towards him, telling him to stop. She couldn't risk the vampire revealing that she wasn't alone.
"You know that's not how it happened, Kai," she said in earnest, but he merely dismissed her words.
A Cheshire Cat grin adorning his lips, he quickly pivoted to another subject. "So, the reason why you're here. Come to thank me for the gift?" He bounced a bit on his feet, like an excited child. "Did you like how I wrapped her up for you?"
Bonnie's stomach churned at the call back to the first "gift" he'd left her, but this one was much worse...so much more grotesque.
"I have to admit, I took a taste," Kai continued, eyes fluttering as he thought back to the moment he'd killed her. "She was delicious, Bonster." The grin on his face became even more vile. "She kept asking me why. When I said it was your fault, she refused to see my side of things. Sweet Carla believed in you until the very end."
Something snapped in the hybrid, the rage shooting to the root of her psyche, ready to lash out. She lurched forward and threw a right hook that almost knocked his teeth out. Without reprieve, she fixed him with a withering stare and put her entire weight behind her incantation. "Phasmatos Morsinus Pyrox Allum".
Kai immediately dropped down to the floor, clutching at his head in agony. Not letting up on the spell, she tightened her hands into fists, causing the pressure within him to build to an extreme crescendo. He cried out loudly, pathetically trying to drag himself along the floor towards her. She backed up several feet and, knowing he was in too much pain to hear anything, momentarily turned her attention to the others.
"Don't step in. This is my fight." She had sensed their anxiety. Knew that they were unsure of their place in the current fray.
Temporarily allowing him a respite, she let Kai catch his breath as he slowly got to his feet. Baring his red-stained teeth, he chuckled darkly as he spit out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth. "You're sexy when you're mad, Baby. I love it when you get like this."
Before he could fire off his own spell, Bonnie slammed her palms onto the desk, causing it to shatter into dozens of pieces. Her hand sailed forward as though she was throwing an object towards him and a piece of splintered wood flung out to land cleanly in his chest.
She smirked, the darkness within her bubbling to the surface. It was a hollow victory: causing him the pain he'd caused her. She'd have to beat him at his own game...severely weakening him would make it easier for her to sever the ties.
Stake still implanted in him, she picked Kai up easily with her magic and flung him with all her might. His body sailed through the air and crashed hard against the bookshelves. They practically exploded from the force, paper and wood particles flying in all directions.
He dropped heavily to the ground, every breath causing more blood to pour from the wound. Hands gripping the stake, he tried to pull it out, but Bonnie was quicker. She leapt until she was straddling him, her fingers gripping his. Immediately, she began to siphon, pulling at his magic, pushing aside the part of her that couldn't bear to hurt him.
She had to do this.
"Bonnie, please," he managed to grind out, his words mostly obscured by the gurgle from his chest. His eyes flashed with a familiarity that almost gave her pause. But she had to assume this was a farce.
Bearing down harder, she felt his essence enter her and entwine with her own magic. It was like she was on the most potent of drugs, the dual cores exhilarated to be together once again. The heady sensations were practically euphoric.
The manor began to rumble, snapping her out of her daze. Kai's reinforcements were starting to arrive at the manor. Jolted, Bonnie met her fellow hybrid's eyes, which were ice cold once more.
"I called for them the second I felt you." He was weak, but managed to convey such malice that it almost knocked her back. Taking advantage of the distraction, he managed a weak Immobilus. He knew she'd be able to fight it off quickly, but it gave him enough time to slide out from under her. Taking an anguished breath, he yanked as hard as he could on the offending object, sighing in relief when each inhale didn't feel like shards of glass in his chest.
Bonnie shook the spell off with little more than an inner zap. She knew she had the advantage, having already siphoned at least a fourth of his magic. Backing up and making sure that Kai wasn't looking, she slipped her hands through Freya's and Caroline's.
Go downstairs, stop the others, but don't hurt them. They don't understand who they're fighting for. I'll handle this. She fed them the words psychically, linked through touch. They nodded in affirmation and Bonnie let them go, listening as the three retreated down the stairs.
Kai was back on his feet, swaying slightly from the loss of blood as his body was slow to heal. "You don't have much time. Hurting the kind, reformed coven leader doesn't look good for you, Bonster."
"I'm not worried about them, Parker," she said casually, which caused the glee to drop from his face. It gave her a twisted pleasure, seeing him falter. But it also gave her pause. Her two halves were warring with each other. On one hand was the lovesick woman who'd do anything to save the man in front of her. The other part was the powerful hybrid who'd been wounded deeply by the same man. "It's just you and me."
If he was confused or worried, he didn't show it. His poker face was firmly back in place. "Great, just how I like it."
"Kai, please." She was imploring, a last ditch effort to avoid violence. "I have the upper hand and you know it. You need to turn it back on. For your sake, for theirs."
"Or what? You'll kill me? It'll kill them too, Bonster, don't you remember?" There was that cloying sweetness once again. "We both care so much about them. We couldn't possibly hurt them." A snarky grin graced his lips and never did she want to punch him more.
So she did. A right jab that shattered his nose with a sharp crack.
He sniffed as blood began to stream from his nostrils. His eyes blazed with a fire that, while dangerous, made Bonnie hopeful. Intense emotions were what triggered a vampire to turn their humanity back on.
"Phasmatos Ossox," Kai bit out, his words sizzling in the air.
She immediately grunted in pain as the bones in her legs began to shatter beneath her. The hybrid crumpled to the ground, but the pain was short-lived as the added power healed her quicker than usual.
It was enough time for Kai to fire off another incantation. "Phasmatos exhaurire." His hands were placed solidly against the ground and she recognized the incantation. She rushed forward and slid, effectively kicking him out of place. But it was already too late. Kai had managed to pull some of the ancestral magic and they were even once more. His wounds began to heal, leaving him perfectly unblemished. He smiled wickedly as he straightened himself, fingers flexed as the magic wrapped itself around him. It was though this fight turned him on. Bonnie would not have been surprised if it did.
But she couldn't let him knock her off-kilter. "Fluctus inpulsa." Shockwaves formed, undulating and shifting the air in front of her. The force hit him solidly in the chest and he collided with the other wall of bookshelves, effectively destroying the last intact portion of the office.
He quickly rose up, filled with ire and the essence of his ancestors. "Phasmatos navaro pulsus sanguinox."
He hovered cheerfully as she buckled and hit the floor, her blood seeming to boil within her veins. Her lifeforce turned to acid, it was flaying her from the inside out, disintegrating her arteries and then burning through them again when the walls regrew. She let out an anguished cry, the pain draping over her like a heavy tarp that kept her down.
"I always wanted to try this spell on somebody who couldn't die from it," Kai said breathlessly, clearly enthralled at what he was doing to her. "Do you think the agony itself would kill you, Bonster? How much of it could you take? Maybe you'd off yourself?" His delight was disturbing.
But it also distracted him, which lightened the spell enough for her to throw out a counterspell. "Ponderosus ferrum."
Kai seemed like he was getting sucked down, his limbs becoming too heavy to hold up. She'd reciprocated by turning his blood into molten steel, the lava inflicting the same torture he'd given to her. She kept her focus on him as much as possible, so that the spell wouldn't relent.
His cries assaulted her senses, but she had to ignore it. For all intents and purposes, this was an enemy she had to take down. Hurting this version of Kai would bring back the real one. The one worth saving. Careful to not let her thoughts wander, she kept one fist aimed at Kai and crouched to press her palm down to the ground. "Phasmatos exhaurire." Bonnie lurched at the immense power that began to force its way up, using her arm as a conduit. There was an initial hesitation; the Gemini ancestral line could choose to reject her and potentially hurt her for trying to steal what didn't belong to her. The fear was unwarranted, however, as Kai's ancestors took to Bonnie immediately, accepting her and allowing her to draw from them. She was on the right side of this fight. The energy was raw, nurturing her, feeding her. She'd never felt so omnipotent, like she could destroy everything, or save everything, with a quick snap of her fingers. The force filled her with a light that shone upon every inch of her. It was exhilarating.
Every bit she absorbed made it easier to control the spell against Kai. Her blood pounded in her ears, which was a blessing because she couldn't hear his tortured howls.
The feeling soon began to overwhelm her, however, as the euphoria became a heavy burn that caused her to break into a sweat. It was as though her body could no longer contain the magic she was consuming. She was breaking apart, the power causing cracks within her. Not caring if he heard her - and knowing that it didn't matter at this point - Bonnie called out for help. Immediately, she heard footfalls behind her as Caroline and Stefan hurried up the steps.
"Freya's putting up a barrier spell to keep everybody out," Caroline breathed out, taking in the scene before her. "We had to physically remove some of them, but nobody was harmed."
Bonnie shook her head, not caring what was happening at the moment. She needed to relinquish some of this magic. "Dirimo et partio." She practically screamed the words, sobbing in relief when the other two vampires were able to take on a part of her burden.
While she knew the magic wouldn't hurt them, she also understood that, for the rest of this, they'd be little more than containers, the force freezing them in place. Nonetheless, she met their eyes apologetically since she was essentially keeping them trapped.
"It's okay," Caroline said softly, breathing hard as her body became ensconced, rendering her physically useless. But she could still support her friend. "You got this, Bon."
Nodding thankfully, Bonnie finished the task at hand, taking all that the ancestors had to give her until she drained the line dry. She took in a deep breath and straightened to her full height. Her eyes opened, she turned her attention back to Kai. Walking towards him, making sure the spell was still in place, she crouched down to his level. The air around her seemed to ripple, as though there was an invisible force field around her.
Even through the torment, he still met her gaze with an intense defiance. "So, you figured out...how to do it," he managed to spit out, gritting his teeth. "But...you'll need...to siphon...from me. And you can't...do it...while...you have this spell on me."
This was true. In order to siphon from him, she'd need to lower her hold, which would give him the opportunity to attack. And she knew, deep in her heart, that Kai would fight her to his death. She also knew he understood that was the last thing she wanted.
But she grinned easily, which caused him to balk. She heard more footsteps behind her, knew that Freya was coming."Well, then, it's a good thing I brought help."
The other witch dropped her cloak and threw out a hand towards the Gemini leader. " Corporis impetus."
Bonnie immediately dropped her spell and saw Kai deflate in relief. But he was now immobile, save for his eyes, which burned into her with shock and pure hatred. She had no idea what came over her, but she leaned forward and brushed her lips tenderly against his forehead.
"I'm doing this for you, Kai. I'm sorry." With that statement, she laid her hands on his forearms and siphoned from him. Since there was a bit more time to spare, she was much more gentle. As she pulled, he seemed to be lulled into unconsciousness, his body no doubt exhausted by what she'd put him through. But he never broke his gaze, his glare furious and betrayed until he had no strength left to keep his eyes open.
She'd made sure to leave him just enough to keep him alive, but he was extremely weakened and his magic depleted. She smoothed back his hair affectionately and stood, her attention back to Freya.
"You have a half hour, tops. I warded the compound, but there's a lot of them and they're fighting to get in," Freya said calmly, unruffled by all the chaos.
"I'll go as fast as I can, but I need to safeguard as I go so they're unaware that I've severed their ties to him." Inhaling deeply, Bonnie let the magic flow from her and wrap itself around Kai. Her voice steady and clear, she began to speak the incantation. Stefan and Caroline looked on in awe - and Freya with something akin to pride for her fellow witch - as a large, bright mass manifested in the center of a room. It looked like a sloppy spiderweb, with golden strings all over the place, leading to nowhere, and a number of them attached back to Kai.
Hardening her focus, Bonnie worked methodically, using the spell to guide her through the order of which connections to cut. Each time she severed a tie, she had to, in a sense, cauterize the ends so that the coven was none the wiser that they were no longer joined to their leader.
The work was laborious and it drained her, but the Gemini ancestors spurred her on, pushing her to finish.
Twenty three minutes in, the manor began to shake, signalling that they had little time left. Bonnie was relieved to see that there weren't many links to go through, but a slight panic rose within her, making her nervous. Steeling herself, she drove forward, her incantations becoming louder and faster. Next to her, Freya began to chant as well, hoping to buy them a few minutes by adding more layers onto her barrier.
"Deep breaths, Bonnie," Stefan said softly, to her right. "Don't get nervous. It's going to be fine."
Like a soothing salve, his calming tone seemed to rub away her fear and she opened her mouth wider to suck in more air. More and more ties were severed until, finally, there was only one still connected to Kai. "Adurendum," she shouted ceremoniously after the final tie had been cut, "singeing" the ends.
Relief washed over her, but their work wasn't done yet. She needed to feed the magic back to the ancestors. Placing both palms flat on the ground, she pushed the Gemini force back into the compound. "Relinque." The energy left Stefan and Caroline first, who were incredibly happy to have their motor functions back.
"They broke through the last layer," Freya called out, but she didn't have to alert them.
Bonnie knew from the cacophony of noise downstairs that they'd been breached. The last of the ancestor line left her and she quickly grabbed Freya's hand while laying the other on Kai's chest.
"Grab hands," she shouted to the two vampires, who quickly did as they were told.
It could not have happened a second later. They managed to teleport out before the first coven member made it up the stairs.
I know a lot of people who read the last chapter were probably like "Seriously?! Can't Bonnie catch a break!?". Even though she's hurt...and naive on how to navigate love/relationships, I promise I never forgot how amazingly badass she is. And I hope I showed that here. Thanks for reading, all! Your response to this has given me life :)