Chapter Twenty-Seven
Fate
Those who thought to look up at the great mosaicked ceiling were rewarded with a dazzling reflection of the golden hall below bursting with movement and color. But most of the revelers did not think to look upward: there was simply too much to behold at eye level. Sumptuous aromas wafted from the decadent feast that boasted dishes both exotic and local. Servants laden with jugs of wine weaved expertly through the crowd. The musicians struck a winding, sensual tune to accompany the belly dancer in the middle of the dance floor; it was said she was the best in all Constantinople, and only the best would do for the hosts of this event. Glamor and spectacle reigned supreme at the party of the year - if not century.
Caroline observed the festivities from the high table with a serene smile. Directly across the hall was Rebekah flirting with a swarm of admirers. Elijah was amongst the crowd circled around the famed belly dancer, simultaneously watching her performance and discussing politics with a high-ranking city official. Abambe, regal as ever, smoked hookah in the far corner as she held court over the family's vampire entourage.
A warm breath grazed Caroline's earlobe. "Is it all you desired?"
The bride turned to look at her new husband. She would never get used to the pure contentment in his loving gaze. She smiled and stroked his jawline.
"Everything and more," she promised.
He bent down to fasten his lips on hers, having no qualms about displaying his lust for her in front of the crowd. She opened her mouth to flick her tongue against his and was rewarded with a low growl.
"If you'd be so kind, Nik, some of us are trying to enjoy ourselves," a mocking voice interrupted them.
Niklaus ended the kiss but kept her close as he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Exactly; I'm enjoying myself at…whose wedding is this?"
Kol stepped towards them. "I think the entire Byzantine Empire knows it's your wedding day, brother. Caroline, might I pry you away long enough for one dance?"
Caroline nodded before stroking her hand from her husband's jawline to his throat, where she played with his necklaces.
He tightened his hold on her. "You won't take too long?"
Kol sighed in exasperation. "You have your entire lives ahead of you – I'm asking for one dance."
Klaus lowered his mouth to her ear again. "I look forward to tonight, love," he promised in a husky voice.
A shiver ran through her as he slid the back of his hand down her exposed back to accentuate his words. Seconds later, he was on the other side of the room, sidling up to Elijah and butting into his conversation.
She flashed Kol a grin. "Can you blame him?"
Kol's features softened imperceptibly. "No," he murmured, offering her his hand.
She took it and rose to her feet, allowing her now brother-in-law to lead her out onto the dance floor and press his palm into hers. His dark gaze probed her kohl-rimmed eyes as they circled each other. The many silk layers of her elaborate costume rustled against the floor; the sheer weight of it restricted her movements. The tapered candles in the hall kept glinting off the gold bangles, earrings, and necklaces adorning her porcelain skin.
"I'd say you didn't look like yourself, but you were always destined to be a queen," he said after a beat, glancing at the diadem atop her pale hair.
"I'm guessing that was meant to be a compliment?" she said with a hint of laughter in her tone.
"You are breathtaking, darling."
She blushed. "Thank you, Kol."
"Though, I will probably always prefer you in simple garments, sitting in our humble treehouse with sunlight dappled across your face."
Caroline's smile slipped, and she sent him a sidelong glance as he laid a hand on her lower back and led her forward.
"Kol?" she prompted warily, her thoughts racing. I thought his feelings had faded, I thought this was behind us. "That was a long time ago."
He sighed as he spun her around. "Seems like yesterday."
Caroline finally caught the look of desire in his eyes and her own burned with unshed tears. She blinked them back. On the other side of the room, her husband roared with laughter at Elijah's witty repartee. "Kol…"
"Ah, now. Let's finish our dance," he tutted.
They continued in silence, going through the motions with stilted but graceful poise. When it was over, Caroline gave him a serious look.
"Shall we step out onto the balcony? I'd appreciate the night air," she suggested.
He nodded, and they walked out of the hall, through the fluttering veil, and into the night. Fragrant rose, jasmine, and citrus greeted them as they made their way to the ledge of the balcony overlooking Constantinople. The view of the moonlit city was spectacular, but neither of them paid it much mind. Caroline pushed Kol away from her and paced in front of him, wringing her hands in anguish.
"I thought you'd moved on. You can't do this to us, Kol – to our friendship! And Nik is your brother! We haven't even been married for three hours yet. You can't disrespect our vows by stirring up old-"
He shook his head and kneeled before her, his hands firmly clasping hers.
"Darling, I did not mean to upset you. I slipped up, but let's not let it ruin your special day. I know you thought my feelings had faded years ago. I almost believed it myself – until I saw you today," he confessed, swallowing hard. "Do not concern yourself with my silly unrequited love. It's buried. From the moment I rise, I will be your best friend in the entire world, the supportive brother-in-law and comrade-in-arms, and nothing else," he vowed shakily.
"It's not healthy to hide your feelings," she whispered.
He waved her off. "Please, Caroline. I beg of you – let me deal with this on my own. Forget this moment ever happened."
"I do not want you and Nik to fight; I never have. That's why I-" she stopped herself.
It didn't matter; he knew what she was going to say. "That's why you never let yourself give into your feelings for me."
She pursed her lips, and a faint blush dusted her cheeks.
"I know you."
Her posture slumped as she sighed heavily. "You mean so much to me, Kol."
"Please."
She hesitated before nodding.
He bowed his head and brushed his lips against her perfumed wrists with aching tenderness.
She waited. He did not make to stand.
"You have to get up now," she choked out.
Another tense moment passed, but then he closed his eyes, rose to his feet, and released her hands. When his eyes reopened, they were filled with mirth.
"How are you even getting around in all those layers? You sounded like a caravan of merchants trying to hawk tacky trinkets as you walked down the aisle," he teased.
Her jaw dropped and she punched him in the arm. "Don't be rude!"
He winked at her. "It's my nature, darling. I'll always be honest with you – isn't that what best friends are for?"
A charged look passed between them. Caroline exhaled in relief; her features softening and muscles relaxing.
"On her wedding day, the bride must be continuously fed compliments," she sniffed.
"Of course; you are right. Forgive me, my queen," he mocked with a slight bow. "Now, are there any delectable witches at this carnival you can introduce me to?"
She looped her arm through his and led him back inside.
"I know one or two who might catch your fancy," she quipped.
"That's all I ask. When we're done partying, I believe I'll do some exploring and try to find a coven that can help me unlock my magic. You know, return to my old tricks…"
As they debated the prowess of Anatolian covens, the bride spotted Rebekah across the hall, dancing with a tan-skinned suitor. She looked happy. Elijah and Niklaus had moved to a small table off to the side for an impromptu wine-tasting. A woman with jet-black hair joined them, and they greeted her joyfully. Her eyes locked onto Caroline's for one brief moment. Caroline tilted her head to the side as she studied the woman's face, distracted by her intense violet gaze. Had they met before?
She turned to Kol to ask him if he knew the woman but froze. The man who had been dancing with Rebekah a moment earlier was now standing in front of her, his dark gaze sliding from her to Kol with sly intuitiveness.
"Yes?" Kol prompted, annoyed.
"A word, Caroline?" the stranger said in a voice laced with urgency.
Caroline frowned. Kol cast a wary look over the man.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"A friend, I assure you," the man shot back.
"It's alright, Kol. I know him," Caroline said suddenly. She did know him, but she wasn't sure how. It was the oddest thing: she did not know his name, but her instincts told her he could be trusted implicitly.
Kol's eyes narrowed, but he bowed and headed for a group of young witches.
"Caroline, we need to get out of here," the stranger hastened as soon as they were alone.
"Are you insane? This is my wedding day! I don't even know who…who you are…" She trailed off in confusion. Her thoughts were all jumbled up, distorted images flashing through her mind. Kol had gone off to flirt with witches, and then I joined Nik and Elijah…
He stepped towards her and grabbed her arms. "You do know me, Caroline. A little over a hundred years from now, you will turn me into a vampire-witch hybrid. This is a dream, a memory. Silas is doing this to us!"
"A hybrid – Wha-what?" she stuttered, her vision coming in and out of focus as she glanced around the room. It seemed to be spinning.
"Caroline," he snapped. "My name is Pacari. I'm your progeny and Rebekah's husband. I should not be here, and neither should Mariko. This isn't real!" His grip on her tightened and he pointed at a vampire with auburn hair who was sitting beside Abambe. "Look – Emmeline is here, too! None of us had been born yet!"
She lifted her chin. "Kindly take your hands off of me, sir. Do you know who I am?"
He scoffed impatiently. "Duchesse d'Ebanne, the only reason I'm lucid right now is because I've been working on counter-spells to Silas' magic for months. I was able to fight his compulsion off, but I cannot get us out of here without you; you're my sire, I need your power. Come on, Caroline, focus!"
Dancers whirled past and the colors of the room warped together. Lights twinkling, glasses raising, laughter… A vial of blood. A volcano. A faraway town. A tattoo of little birds, flying out of two words… But what were the words…
Then his hands were ripped from her shoulders, and Niklaus was in front of her, crouched in a defensive position.
"What is the meaning of this?" Elijah questioned mildly, ever the peacekeeper. The witch with the violet eyes was beside him, frowning as she clutched her temple.
"Caroline!" the strange man – Pacari – her progeny – implored her. He spotted the violet-eyed witch. "Mariko, thank the gods! Wake up!"
"Do you know this man?" Elijah asked Caroline.
She turned to answer him, freezing as soon as they made eye contact. His brown eyes were so similar to Kol's, but he could not be any more opposite his younger brother in temperament. He had always been a compassionate and loyal friend to her; kept her safe and protected and – and – Elijah…
"Elijah?" she said softly, disbelievingly as her memories clicked into place.
His brow furrowed in confusion. "Caroline?"
"Oh, god," she exclaimed, her hand covering her mouth in horror. No, no, no. She turned to Pacari. "What do we do?"
He held out his hand to her. "Just take my hand, Care."
Niklaus snarled at him, but then she waved her arm and he backed away like a man in a trance.
She stepped towards her first progeny. "We need to act quickly as soon as we wake," she told him.
"Go to Amara; I will get Mariko and try to cut off Qetsiyah and the Five," he instructed.
She nodded and looked at Elijah one last time.
"I love you, my dear friend," she whispered. He frowned at her, but she had already taken Pacari's outstretched hand and the vision faded away…
She woke up gasping, crying for Elijah. Next to her, Niklaus jolted awake.
"Caroline?" he mumbled. "Were we dreaming-?"
"Nik, there's no time! We need to get to Amara!" she cried, jumping out of the bed and flashing towards the door. As she rushed down the hallway and up the staircase, she heard him come up behind her. It was a mark of how accustomed they had become to acting quickly on their feet, processing new information in stride.
"It's Silas; he cast a spell on all of us!" she told him as they ran. Seconds later, they burst into the room where they had been keeping Amara.
Caroline's eyes widened as she took in the sight before them. Silas' arms were wrapped around Amara as his lover drank his blood, her mouth fixed on his neck. His blood… The Cure.
"NO!" she cried.
But it was too late. Amara had pulled away and stabbed herself in the heart. Niklaus flashed towards the Anchor and tried to feed her his blood, but she spat it out. Silas hit the Original Hybrid with an aneurysm, and he fell to the floor. Caroline flashed to her husband's side.
"Let her rest," Silas whispered hoarsely.
Cackling laughter erupted from the doorway and she looked up to see Qetsiyah, her face glowing with vindication and triumph. In slow motion, Silas' head swiveled around to stare at his ex-fiancé. When their eyes met, she could have sworn sparks flew. Fire erupted from Silas' hands as he strode across the room, his eyes black with fury. Qetsiyah smirked, raising her arms in mock welcome.
"Bring it," she taunted him.
Silas swung one flaming fist at her, which she dodged. He chased her out into the hallway. From inside the bedroom, Caroline could hear glass shattering.
"Do you know how old this castle is?!" she shrieked. "Un monument historique! Monstres! Putain de sorcières! C'est ma maison!"
From beside her, Niklaus let out a strangled laugh. "You always do lapse into French when you're irate, ma chèrie."
She assessed him. "You're okay?"
"Get rid of those blighters, Caroline," he instructed firmly.
Her mouth tightened into a firm line and she rose to her feet. Before he could blink, she was out of the room.
Klaus turned to look at Amara's corpse; her blood was seeping into the antique Persian rug laid over the flagstone. His wife was not going to be pleased.
"Well, you could have thought to do it off the carpet," he scolded the inconsiderate dead girl.
Pacari jolted up as the spell broke. Beside him, Rebekah stirred. He placed his hand on her arm and shook her gently, but insistently.
"Ari?" she murmured.
"Wake up, Bekah! Silas compelled all of us into a stupor," he rushed out. "I need to fend off Qetsiyah," he added, stumbling out of their bed and making for the door. "Get Kol and Finn– the Five are in the castle!"
As he ran towards Mariko's room, he could hear the rest of the enchanted players waking up. He came to a shuddering halt outside the Undying Witch's room. He would have barged right in, but she was already exiting, still dressed in her black pajamas.
"Let's go," she said, jumping onto his back. He flashed them up a flight of stairs, pausing in the hallway outside Amara's room. A second later, Qetsiyah sprinted through the doorway, ducking as Silas chased her with flames coming out of his fists, his face wrathful and aggrieved.
"Shit," Pacari muttered. They were too late.
Qetsiyah twisted around to face her ex-lover, contorting her hand into a gripping gesture.
"I've waited for this for so long," she hissed.
Silas gasped. The flames around his fingers disappeared and he clutched his chest. He fell into a large vase on the ground, making it tip over and shatter. From within the room, Pacari could hear Caroline shrieking.
"Monsters! Fucking witches! This is my house!" she cursed in French, bursting out of the room seconds later.
Mariko murmured under her breath as she ran down the hallway, sparks flying out of her fingertips. She flew at Qetsiyah from behind, shocking the witch until she fell to the floor. Caroline grabbed at Silas, but he had already recovered from Qetsiyah's spell. He waved an arm at the blond, sending her crashing into a tapestry on the opposite wall.
Qetsiyah kicked Mariko off of her and pointed at an antique sword on the wall. It vaulted towards Silas. He managed to duck just in time to avoid being decapitated. Pacari flashed towards them, but both of the Traveler Witches flung their hands at him, and he fell to his knees from the force of the aneurysm attacks.
Rebekah made for Kol's room first, barging in with no warning and fully prepared to use any means necessary to wake him. She raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw he was already up.
"Silas?" he guessed darkly.
She nodded. "I'm going to wake Elijah and–" she started but stopped when she noticed the terrible look on Kol's face. Elijah. Her hands clenched into trembling fists. "Qetsiyah and the Five are here. Get Finn and Sage, gather the hybrids, and fend off the Five," she finished flatly.
Kol rose. "And you?"
"I need to finish something."
Damon burst into the girls' darkened room with his heart in his throat. As the door banged into the wall, both of them jumped awake in fright. He beelined for the witch's bed.
"Damon – whuzz going on?" Elena muttered sleepily.
Bonnie frowned at him as he kneeled beside her.
"Do you think you can undo Qetsiyah's linking spell?" he asked as a greeting.
Without blinking, Bonnie nodded gravely. She set her jaw. "I can do it."
"Great," he said, scooping her up without another word and flashing to the door. Elena flung back her covers.
"Where are you two going?" she asked in confusion.
"Elena Gilbert, I love you, but if you care about anyone else in this castle, you will stay put," he ordered before disappearing into the darkened hallway, the Bennett Witch firmly in his arms.
As Jeremy followed the other four soldiers into the castle, he could sense the sheer number of vampires within the ancient walls; it was like a weight pressing upon his chest. Connor led the way, slipping around corners with his crossbow held aloft. He beckoned them forward using military signals.
"Can't you feel how many vampires are here?" Jeremy hissed angrily to Galen. "This is a suicide mission!"
Galen made a cutting motion to silence him. "They cannot kill us without being eternally cursed," he whispered. "We have the upper hand."
Jeremy rolled his eyes; he knew vampires – they did not exactly think before acting. He was also pretty sure Qetsiyah no longer cared about the fate of the Five, now that she was in the castle facing Silas. But what do I know? I'm just a teenager.
Connor halted them with one swift hand gesture. They had reached a grand, open hall littered with cocktail tables, wilting flowers, and half-empty champagne flutes. Some of the candle stubs were still burning.
Galen cocked his wooden bullet-filled gun and nodded at him. Jeremy gripped his crossbow anxiously. Elena, Bonnie, and Tyler were all in this castle – there was no margin for error. He'd only defend himself, nothing more.
A hissing murmur trickled from the corners of the hall.
Connor whipped around and shot his crossbow. Feet away from them, a vampire crumpled as the stake pierced his heart.
Jeremy looked up from the corpse with dread. They were surrounded.
Li released the pins on three vervain grenades and tossed them while Galen and Wyatt shot indiscriminately into the crowd and Connor reloaded his crossbow.
One of the demonic-faced vampires flew at Jeremy, rolling him into the ground. Instinctually, he slipped a stake out of his belt and stabbed it in the back.
The grenades exploded. All around them, vampires were snapping and snarling in fury and pain. Jeremy shoved the dead one off of him and grabbed his crossbow.
Great. Now we've pissed them off.
Their opponents all momentarily incapacitated, Silas and Qetsiyah circled each other wildly.
"When Esther told me Amara was the Anchor, I was almost impressed with your audacity. After I got over the initial blinding rage, I realized I wasn't even surprised. It's like part of me always knew," Silas hissed. "You never could just get over it."
"I created that elixir for us!" she snapped at him with a livid expression.
"And I loved Amara, always. Never you, you pathetic, simpering psychopath!"
She responded by sending a blast of fire at him, which he deftly waved off.
"You should have been smarter than that, Qetsiyah," he taunted. "You should have known my love for you wasn't real!"
"Don't worry – death has cured me of my naïveté," she shot back.
He pounced, but she flew into the air and shot a spell at him, breaking his right arm. He howled in fury. Witches and hybrids were storming into the hallway from all sides, cornering the two ancients. Caroline, Pacari, and Mariko had all recovered.
"It's over," Caroline said, joining hands with Mariko and Pacari.
Emmeline stepped forward to take Mariko's other hand. The four of them began to mutter in unison. Silas and Qetsiyah both sank towards the ground from the force of their magic.
"Incapacitate only!" Kol ordered from the back of the hall. "Do not try to kill them!"
He nodded at Finn and Sage; the latter immediately leapt over the crowd of vampires and hybrids to latch onto the back of the lead hunter. She pressed into his pressure point and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Klaus burst through the double doors on the opposite end of the hall and took in the chaos.
Finn glanced at his younger brother. "Will the excitement never end?"
"In this family? I hope not," Kol said, running towards the rest of the Five.
He watched as a hybrid sparred with one of them, narrowly avoiding the stake the Hunter wielded expertly.
"How'd you like to take on a real opponent?" he asked, pushing the hybrid away to take his place.
The Hunter glared at the Original. "It'd be my pleasure, Vampire."
Breaking through the combined magic of four of the most powerful creatures in the world was no easy feat, but Qetsiyah was the reason they all existed, and Silas was 2000 years old and nothing if not cunning. He locked eyes with Qetsiyah in determination.
"Don't you agree that this is between us?" he asked.
She glared at him, yet when he offered her his hand, she only hesitated for a moment before accepting it. They sent their own curse at the quartet, breaking their hands apart and disrupting their spell.
It was all the distraction he needed. He released Qetsiyah's hand, jumped forward, and hoisted Emmeline into his arms, sending his ex-fiancé a mocking salute before crashing through a window.
Damon carried Bonnie down several flights of stairs, pausing when he saw the battle commencing in the great hall.
"Find Jeremy," he said as he lowered her to her feet.
Her eyes went wide with horror as she spotted her boyfriend in the middle of the action, slashing at hybrids in self-defense.
"Jeremy!" she screamed, jumping into the fray and pushing past the numerous supernatural creatures in the hall with Damon at her heels.
"STOP!" she heard a familiar voice cry out. She saw Kol restraining the hybrids, but his eyes were on her.
She threw her arms around Jeremy as soon as she reached him; he hugged her back hard. When she pulled away to look up at him, Damon was beside them, his eyes roving over the teenager in relief.
"Greetings, Little Gilbert. Do you have any idea where we can find my baby brother?" he asked. "We're in a bit of a time crunch here."
"They left him vervained and chained up in the woods right outside the castle. Head due north," Jeremy told him, trying to keep calm. He was finding it hard to be in such close proximity to a vampire, even one he knew. It was the excitement of the battle. He hoped.
Damon nodded and turned to Bonnie expectantly.
"See you in a bit, Jer," she promised before letting Damon carry her out of the hall.
"Bonnie!" Jeremy called after her, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to face Kol.
"She'll be fine with him," the vampire assured him.
Jeremy opened his mouth to argue that fact.
"Rest now," Kol said as he pressed his hand into Jeremy's neck until he crumpled into the floor.
He turned to face the crowd around him. Klaus had one of the Hunters in a chokehold, while four hybrids were in a deadlock with the remaining two.
"Knock them out and chain them up. The fun's over," he ordered.
Silas' legs broke with a sickening crunch from the force of the fall. Emmeline rolled twice before leaping to her feet and snarling at him, fangs descended.
"Are you out of your mind?" she yelled.
"Clearly," he grumbled, wincing in pain. "I need to ask a favor."
He waved his unbroken arm up at the smashed window, casting a blocking spell. Emmeline saw Caroline and Pacari try to jump down, then turn away when they realized what he had done. Qetsiyah's maniacal laugher trickled down through the opening.
She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "What did you hope to accomplish by doing that?"
"I wanted to get away from all of them," he explained, his voice laden with pain. "But more importantly, I needed to weaken myself."
"Mission accomplished, idiot."
"I want you to siphon away my power," he said plainly.
She froze. "What?"
"Take my magic away; I no longer want it. I don't want to be a witch as long as it means I'll go to the Other Side. I need to be with Amara."
"She's dead! Without an Anchor, no one can access the Other Side," she pointed out. "There's no reason to waste time and energy trying to make you a human. You're going to be with her no matter what!"
"Haven't you learnt anything as a witch? There is always a loophole! Qetsiyah will have planted one; someone will replace Amara," he hissed in disdain. "I need to be sure!"
Emmeline shook her head. "Even if you're right, you're too powerful, Silas. I won't be able to take your magic."
He reached up from the ground to grab her hands and press them into his chest. "You have to try; I didn't just break my body for nothing."
The Siphoner hybrid kneeled beside him and sighed. "You are too old. There's no way."
"Yesterday you absorbed Esther Mikaelson's magic! I said, TRY!" he screamed, his eyes blackening with compulsion. She responded immediately, placing one hand on his chest and the other his scalp. She closed her eyes in concentration, muttering under her breath.
"I can't let you do that, Emmeline," a voice said from behind her, breaking Silas' compulsion.
Emmeline looked up to see Qetsiyah and Rebekah standing side by side, watching them.
Qetsiyah glided towards the pair on the ground imperiously, halting once she stood over them. Her gaze seared into her ex-fiancé's, their mutual hatred apparent.
"I'll be right behind you, my love," she crooned, a beatific smile gracing her lovely features.
He opened his mouth to reply, but her hands shot out and snapped his neck. His head lolled into the gravel.
"I get the final word," she proclaimed, her eyes gleaming in triumph.
Emmeline bowed her head. Her Catholic upbringing always returned to her in extreme circumstances.
"Dominus te salvet atque culpam liberantis," she swore. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up.
Caroline, Mariko, and Pacari finally caught up with them.
Emmeline glanced up. "Amara killed herself, Qetsiyah."
The witch's smile grew. "I know."
"He won't be on the Other Side; he's moved on," she told her.
Lightning cracked across the sky. The tree-line glowed neon blue for one brief flash. Natural and supernatural energies were clashing in Auxor, the world reacting tumultuously to the deaths of the star-crossed lovers.
The Traveler Witch's smile turned into a knowing smirk. "What, you think I don't have a backup plan? There is always a loophole, Siphoner. Always a cycle," she taunted. "I'm ready now, Rebekah."
The rest of them looked at the Original in confusion as she stepped forward.
"Only too happy to help you out with your blood debt," Qetsiyah said smugly, tilting her neck to the side in submission. "Oh, and Mariko?"
The Undying Witch raised her eyebrows in silent question.
"Good luck."
It was the final utterance of the last Traveler Witch before Rebekah ripped into her neck. She crumpled to the ground, her hand falling against Silas' in a display of fateful irony.
Rebekah wiped Qetsiyah's blood from her chin neatly and looked beyond her family to the witches who had gathered behind them. She locked eyes with Cecile and Verenice.
"Is the favor repaid?" she murmured.
Cecile nodded firmly and Rebekah nodded back in relief before rushing into her husband's arms.
Kol stood off to the side with Klaus as the hybrids bound the Five and carried them off to the dungeons. Finn and Sage were holding hands a few feet away from them.
"Are we really just going to let him walk around as if he weren't trying to kill us yesterday?" Kol muttered with distrust, his gaze focused on his eldest brother.
Finn stiffened, clearly hearing Kol's words, but he did not turn around.
"Best to let it go," Klaus said bracingly.
Kol frowned in shock.
"I'm not saying I'm ready to be his best mate," Klaus clarified. "But our parents are finally gone, and he's reunited with Sage. Besides, we have ourselves to blame for Elijah's death, not him," he finished darkly.
Kol gnashed his teeth at the reminder.
"Something is happening outside," Sage said suddenly, interrupting them.
The brothers turned to look out the windows, where the morning sky was turning blackish purple and the wind was thrashing the forest. A crash of thunder shook the bones of the ancient castle.
They ran out of the hall.
"Is this your doing, Bon-Bon?" Damon asked, his eyes focused on the virulent sky.
She glanced up at him from her spot on the forest floor, crouched in front of his brother.
"No, I'm not using my magic anymore," she said.
Stefan muttered incoherently beside her. Damon's gaze snapped away from the sky as he assessed his brother.
"It worked," he marveled.
"I watched Caroline and Riko do the same spell only a week ago," Bonnie told him. "Did you doubt me?"
"Bonnie Bennett, I could never doubt you," he complimented. "Will he be okay?"
Bonnie grimaced. "I hope so. But at least he's alive."
Damon tossed Stefan over his shoulder unceremoniously and jutted his head towards the castle.
"Let's go see what those maniacs have gotten themselves into now."
The skies finally opened, releasing a downpour on Auxor Castle, saturating the grounds and releasing the smell of wet soil. Mariko watched impassively as hundreds of figures appeared on the field, shimmering iridescently in the rain. Lost souls trapped in the Other Side, come through to help her transition. A few paces away from her, she heard Caroline gasp. A brunette woman dressed in Medieval garb was embracing her old friend. It was Alix d'Ebanne. Mariko smiled, glad her friend was able to see her mother again. She turned to look back at all the figures circling her. When she saw the woman less than a foot away from her, her mouth fell open in shock.
"Kon'nichiwa, Mariko," her mother said. Behind her stood all the witches in their bloodline who had chosen death over living without their magic.
"I'm the new Anchor, aren't I?" she asked softly.
Machiko bowed her head.
Mariko nodded in acceptance. "I knew my reckoning was coming for me eventually; I just didn't think it would be so soon."
"I want you to know how proud I am of who you were and who you are, my daughter. And I am so sorry."
"What for, Okaasan?"
"Everything."
They were soaked through as soon as they stepped out of the castle. Klaus zoomed to his wife's side, confused by the state of the field, which was brimming with ghosts. Kol followed his brother slowly, his eyes narrowing as he spotted the Undying Witch talking to a ghost he recognized as Ota Machiko: her mother. As he approached his family, he noticed that all of the figures were starting to circle around them – and their focus was on Mariko.
"What's going on?" he asked once he reached Caroline and Klaus. The blond's tears were mixing with the rain, and Klaus was running his hand down her back soothingly.
Laying in the mud at their feet were the bodies of Qetsiyah and Silas. Kol looked at Mariko as she let out a sharp cry. She was doubled over in pain while her mother held her hand and whispered words of encouragement in Japanese.
"Iki?" he asked, stepping towards his old friend. His brother caught his arm before he could get any closer, though.
"She's becoming the Anchor, Kol," Klaus said grimly.
Kol felt like his heart would wash away with the rain. He staggered from Klaus in horror, his eyes flashing to the immortal witch.
"No…" he muttered.
Mariko gasped out another shriek of agony as Qetsiyah passed through her to get to the Other Side. A jagged bolt of lightning lit up the sky as thunder erupted over the castle.
Not her. Not Iki…
The Five realized Silas' death had rendered their sacred mission complete; their duty was fulfilled. Though all the Hunters retained their amplified strength and agility, they were no longer compelled to kill vampires. They were free from all mystical ties - and thus freed from the castle's catacombs. Galen, Connor, Li, and Wyatt left Auxor a few hours after the fight, bidding Jeremy good luck and promising to keep in touch. Jeremy met with his sister in the kitchen soon after they'd gone, grateful to be out of the dungeons and in a somewhat normal setting. He'd been with the Five less than a month, but he realized in retrospect he'd already adapted to their adrenaline-fueled lifestyle. The aftermath was like coming down from a high, and like his junkie-days, he wasn't entirely sure what to do without it.
"Uh… How's Jenna?" he asked over hot chocolate.
Elena winced. "Well, Damon and I followed you less than twenty-four hours after you and Stefan were taken, so…not great. I've talked to her twice. Let's just say I'm going to be finding lots of indoor hobbies for myself when we get back."
"And me?"
"You were kidnapped, Jer. You're forgiven," she retorted. "She's probably going to buy you an Xbox or something."
He laughed. "I'll take it."
"This summer has been so weird," his sister muttered, glancing across the room, where Tyler was leaning against the fridge talking to another hybrid.
"Where's Bonnie?"
She folded her arms on the table and rested her chin in her hands. "Talking to Riko," she said gloomily. "Everyone's a mess. Yesterday, Elijah died, and now Riko's the Anchor."
"That sucks for her, but I'm not shocked Qetsiyah had a back-up plan. She was psychotic yet genius."
Elena arced her brows. "Yeah, she was."
"At least Stefan was there with me; I would have been really wigged if not for him," Jeremy continued. "Is he okay?"
She slumped further into the table. "Bonnie thinks he'll make a full recovery."
"And is that not a good thing?"
"Oh my god, no! I – no – I just – I have a lot on my mind," she insisted hastily.
"Anything you want to talk about?"
"How 'bout you ask me that when we're back home?"
"Sure thing, 'Lena."
Bonnie was sitting at Mariko's bedside when Kol arrived. He paused in the doorway, but the Bennett Witch looked up at him with a strange expression on her face.
"It's alright; you can come in," she told him, getting up.
"Just think about it," Mariko said.
Bonnie nodded at her, brushing past Kol as she exited hurriedly.
"Warning her to stay away from me?" he jested, closing the door behind the witch.
Mariko sighed. "Kol, why does every member of your family think everything is about you? I was telling her she would excel at Des Cendres."
"And why did you have to tell her that right now?" he questioned suspiciously, his eyes roving over her form.
As long as he had known her, he had never seen her look so weak. Her almond-colored skin had a pallid sheen to it and her black hair fell limply around her heart-shaped face. Even her beautiful amethyst eyes had dulled. He sat down in Bonnie's vacant seat and clasped his hands together, waiting.
The Undying Witch pursed her lips and stared up at the ceiling. "I'm the Anchor now, Kol. Do you know what that means?"
"You experience the death of every supernatural entity as they cross through you into the Other Side," he answered succinctly.
"And does that sound like a happy fate to you?" she asked.
His eyes narrowed. "No, Mariko – it doesn't. But I can't really sit here and tell you I think either of us had very happy lives to begin with."
She laughed. "I suppose you're right about that. You know I'm a fighter. I always have been – but this might be too much even for me."
"You aren't a fighter, you're a warrior," he corrected. "You cannot accept this. We will find a way to fix it."
She turned to face him then. "You do know who you sound like, right?"
He grinned. "There was a reason Caroline and I were best friends."
"Ah, you are again, or will be soon. I've seen it," she told him, tapping her temple lightly.
"She does seem to be warming to me, doesn't she?" he noted.
"Once her memory returned, she remembered what her grudge did to her humanity."
He bowed his head and they lapsed into silence. Mariko stared up at the ceiling again and Kol glanced out the window to watch amber-hued leaves blow through the rain. The storm continued to rage outside the castle; nature was still in turmoil.
"You know, you were my first friend," Mariko said suddenly, breaking the companionable quiet.
Kol smiled softly. "I know."
"I'm sorry I betrayed you," she continued.
"Water under the bridge," he said dismissively. "But thanks, all the same."
"It meant something, Kol. Whether or not you helped me because you wanted to use my magic, I still appreciate it. I may have tapped into my true potential when Caroline entered my life, but you taught me to stop living in fear of my power," she confessed. "In fear of myself."
He reached out and laid his hand on hers. "Iki, I don't have the words for what that means to me. But why does it sound like a deathbed confession?"
She twisted her neck to face him. "I'm still immortal; it would take much more than this to kill me."
He frowned and leant towards her. "Okay…?"
"It's not my time yet. My plan is to have Caroline desiccate me."
Kol froze. "Excuse me?"
Mariko shrugged. "I've been fighting and pissing off the spirits for as long as I've been alive. I'm ready to rest."
The Original rose to his feet so abruptly he knocked his chair to the floor. "You want the same fate as Amara?"
"Well, it worked for her for two millennia, didn't it?" she joked weakly.
"And now her blood will forever stain the floor of Caroline's ancestral home. She went batshit crazy, Iki," Kol argued in fury and confusion.
"Who will protect the Other Side if not me? I must do this, but I will not do it while simultaneously attempting to live a normal life. If I'm desiccated, the pain of the deaths might be dulled."
"Tell that to Amara!" he snapped.
"The Other Side-"
"Fuck the Other Side!"
Mariko pulled herself up into a sitting position. "I concur. But as the Anchor, I am in no position to destroy it. Perhaps you'd like to research it?" she suggested with a hint of smile. "Bonnie seemed interested."
"Yes, seeing as you're not taking an invested interest in your well-being, I guess we have to," he snarled. "And how dare Caroline agree to such a thing!"
Mariko suddenly seemed very fascinated with her bedspread.
Kol chuckled darkly. "She doesn't know your plan."
"I'll broach the subject in the morning."
Kol rolled his eyes. "Like hell."
Before the witch could say another word, he spun on his heel and stormed out of her room.
He nearly crashed into his sister in the hallway.
"Caroline sent me to find you," Rebekah informed him.
He frowned. "Yes, I need to – what? I was just going to find her…"
"Witches," she sniffed, as if that explained the whole thing. In a way, it did.
"Well, where is she?" he asked impatiently.
An ironic smile flashed across her face. "Where she turned."
He met her in the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the castle, right outside the Ebanne family crypt. She was leaning against a wall with her arms crossed. A magnificent sword swung from one hand.
"Do you know what Mariko is planning on bloody asking you?" he demanded as soon as he was within shouting distance.
Caroline scoffed. "Of course, I do – I know everything that goes on in this castle. Don't worry, I'll deal with her."
Kol sighed in relief. "You'll figure it out?"
"I'll figure it out, Kol," she murmured. "I'm not desiccating her."
He felt the tension release from his shoulders, and he took the time to appreciate their surroundings; he had not been down in the catacombs of Auxor for a very long time.
"Don't tell me you and Mariko have concocted a new way to send us into a coma?" he asked with a wary eye on the sword dangling from her grasp.
She did not smile. "This cannot hurt you."
He tried to get a better look at the weapon; he thought he could make out tiny crosses etched into the blade, but he couldn't be positive. "Where-?" he started to ask, but she interrupted him.
"Thank you for meeting me; I'll keep things brief," she said haltingly. "It's been a long enough day as it is."
"Yes," he agreed in a sober tone. "I feel as if the centuries I spent sleeping caught with me in the last 48 hours."
"We have a lot of bodies to bury and Elijah… We'll need to bring his ashes to Texas," she said, biting the inside of her cheek.
His throat went dry as tears pricked his eyes. He cleared his throat and clenched his fists. Caroline looked at him empathetically.
"Everyone's experiencing some guilt. You, me, Nik, Bekah, Elena… I suppose none of us ever imagined it would be Elijah we lost. But he knew what he was doing when this started. We all did," she sighed.
He glared determinedly at the stone walls of the catacombs and let the memories of his first visit to Auxor wash over him. He remembered carrying Elijah's unconscious body through the dark tunnels – running from Mikael, as always. The vision he'd seen on the battlefield had still been racing across his mind, but he needed to ignore it, get his brother to safety, find the rest of his family… Then Mikael had tried to kill Bekah, and Caroline had taken the blow for her. "Why did you want to talk down here?" he asked without meeting her level gaze.
"I wanted privacy," she told him.
"Aren't you worried Nik might get jealous?" he asked slyly, needing a distraction from his guilt-ridden grief.
"We worked through that a very long time ago, Kol. It's called communication. I know you tried to sabotage our relationship that night in New Orleans," said Caroline as she glowered at him. "Your last night. I guess you wanted everything around you to burn in your wake."
"I did sabotage your relationship," he boasted lamely. "But I did it with honesty."
"Honesty! You basically told Nik you and I were in a relationship in Africa! That we slept together!" she hissed, stepping towards him.
He shrugged. "Sorry, darling; perhaps not total honesty, but I needed to hit you where it hurts."
"Fuck you, Kol."
"I may have embellished a bit."
"A bit?"
"But I wasn't lying about my feelings for you."
Caroline massaged her temple. "Kol, I swear to god, if you are about to admit your undying love for me again, I'll stab you again, and this time, I'll make sure no one but me knows where to find you."
"Don't be absurd, Caroline. I don't feel that way about you anymore," he told her with derision.
"That's what I told him," she said suspiciously. "You better not make me a liar. We've been over this before."
"At the time, I did think my extreme feelings of hatred meant I was still in love with you, but I realized during my little coma that it came down to something much simpler."
She said nothing.
He sighed and continued. "I missed you, Caroline. I missed our friendship. When we lived together in the Congo, it was one of the only times in my long life I truly knew peace. Each time we betrayed each other and committed another act of vengeance, we grew further apart, further away from that peace. Before Iki, you were the only person I trusted with confessing my desire to reclaim my magic; there's a reason for that."
She let his words linger in the dark crevices of the tunnel before she responded.
"Losing every memory Niklaus had been even remotely connected to made me forget that my feud with you nearly ruined my marriage – and it did, Kol, Nik and I were on the brink of collapse. But forgetting that allowed me to assess my life from another perspective. It was an out-of-body experience, as if I was looking down at someone else's mistakes. Now that my memories have been restored, I see the gift this summer has been," she declared.
He stepped closer to her and bowed his head solemnly. "I am sorry for killing your girls, Caroline. I lost control that night. My rage, my loneliness, my bloodlust; it all came to a head. That little one from Constantinople set me off – her blood called to me."
She drew in a sharp breath. "Please, don't."
"Alright, no details. I will simply say this: what I did was deplorable," he admitted.
She gave him a shrewd look. "Nik told me once I was partly to blame, since I sent you to England to take revenge on them for Jeanne," she told him.
He winced. "I won't make any excuses for myself."
"I appreciate that. It wasn't only about the massacre, you know. I'd seen carnage before, experienced loss, even caused terrible bloodshed myself. But for over 300 years, I had no purpose. Immortality strengthened me, but it also felt like a curse at times. There were days I felt like I was just drifting through life. Then I found Jeanne and realized I was meant to be a protector and champion of young women. I would raise them, train them, shape them as warriors and leaders."
"And I killed that dream," he murmured.
She smiled sadly. "Yes, for a time. But then I came back from my isolation and started it all over again. You did not defeat me, and I should not have acted like you had."
They locked eyes.
"I'm sorry for everything I did with Mariko," she apologized abruptly.
"I deserved it."
The seconds ticked by as her blue-green eyes bored into his brown ones. Over half a millennium's ruinous cycle of heartbreak, betrayal, and wrath had brought them to this moment. Both of them had learned the hard way that nothing lasted forever. Monarchs were beheaded, governments overthrown, religions transformed, technologies invented, entire cities demolished and then rebuilt from the ground up, hearts changed, and on and on and on.
"They never tell you how exhausting immortality is," Caroline remarked with a hint of a smile.
Kol stepped closer to her. "Are you tired, Caroline?"
"Incredibly."
"As am I," he admitted. He offered his hand. "Good bloody day to end a vendetta."
For the first time since the 15th century, Caroline took Kol's hand in her own, a smile spreading across her face.
"I agree."
As they shook on it, Kol felt an overwhelming sensation of relief flow through him. A moment later, Caroline held up the sword and offered him the hilt.
"We should swear on the sword, just for good measure," she said.
"Is it going to give me an aneurysm?" he asked skeptically.
Her smile morphed into a smirk. "Of course not. This is the sword of Jeanne d'Arc."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and inspected it more closely. There were five crosses etched into the blade – it was Joan's. "You've kept it all these years?"
"Of course. She gave it to me. When Mariko turned me into a hybrid, she used this sword in the spell," Caroline explained deliberately. "I would accept nothing less."
Kol immediately realized the implication of her words. "This is the only weapon that can destroy you," he said in awe, understanding what it meant that she was trusting him with this knowledge.
She nodded wordlessly and offered him the hilt again. He took it, and as they grasped it together, a warm breeze flowed over their hands.
"Did you just curse us to never harm each other again?" he inquired, only half-joking.
But her eyes had glazed over. "I think that was a message from Jeanne. She is happy we have made peace."
"Well, thank you, Jeanne, but I think we're beyond truces. I think we're ready to be besties again, seeing as you saved my life and all," he prodded, following her as she walked into the crypt and placed the sword in a vault. "And showed me how to kill you."
"Don't push your luck," she teased before sobering. "You once accused me of becoming a hybrid out of spite."
He bowed his head in shame. "I'll admit; not my finest moment."
She waved him off. "I get why you said it. I'm sorry, Kol. But there really is no way for you to be a hybrid. You don't even have the option of the Cure, since Silas is dead, and Bonnie destroyed all of his blood."
"I knew I liked her," he said with a smirk, leading the way out of the crypt. "That was damn quick-thinking on her part. Damn good witchcraft."
"Kol-"
"I have no desire to be a human again, Caroline. You know that."
She looped her arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked.
"Good, because if you were, I'd probably eat you," she teased.
"You cheeky thing!"
Caroline giggled. "So, what are you going to do about Bonnie Bennett?"
Kol sighed in exasperation. "What is there to say? She's definitely too good for my sorry arse."
"Well, obviously."
"Remind me why we became friends, darling? I'm having trouble remembering."
She slapped his arm. "We just made up – you're supposed to be nice to me."
He snorted. "That goes both ways, love."
They continued bantering as they meandered back up to the castle, taking their time. Kol made sure to keep the discussion light: he wanted to enjoy every second of it.
He had spotted the White Oak Stake in the crypt as she put away Joan's sword, and a plan was forming in his head as they walked.
He would need to be very discreet – the witching hour would probably be the most appropriate time.
In the meantime, he would enjoy these stolen last moments with his very best friend.
A/N: I had some of these scenes written for a very long time, it was just a matter of filling in the rest and editing and reediting and editing some more. These final chapters are precious to me; I really want to make sure I do the characters and story justice. Although Caroline is the main character of the entire story, it's Kol who has the biggest arc. I've known his fate since I started writing this beast back in 2016 - a lifetime ago. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! All the best ~ L