The Travelers guarding Amara fell with relative ease beneath the full force of Elena, Bonnie, and Sheila's power. As soon as the witches were incapacitated, Silas ran through the warehouse, searching for the statue that was his lover.
Finally, he found the one he was looking for and he cupped Amara's stone cheek, his face twisting with sorrow.
"This is my fault," Silas whispered and pressed his forehead to Amara's. "I'm so sorry, my love."
Elena's heart twisted for the man and once again, she was struck with how blind she'd been the last time around. How could she have missed that Silas was nothing but a broken man looking for a way to be with the woman he loved?
She shook her head quickly to dislodge those thoughts. Things were different now and she would help him find his way to the peace he sought.
"Here. We don't have a lot of time before the Travelers wake up and we need to get out of here." Elena pressed a bag of blood into Silas's hand.
That drew Silas out of his grief over the situation and he pressed the bag of blood to Amara's lips. After a long moment, Amara stirred, then cried out in fear when she saw them, trying to scramble away from the people around her.
"Amara." Elena caught the other woman's arm, and murmured a calming spell. "We're here to help you."
"Amara, my love. It's me."
"Silas? You're really here?" Amara whispered, staring at him.
"I'm here now. I'm here." Silas cupped her cheeks, rubbing his thumbs against her skin.
With a relieved cry, Amara threw her arms around Silas, sobbing into his chest.
"I'm here." Silas continued speaking, but switched to his native tongue, which Amara seemed to respond better to than she did to English.
One of the Travelers started stirring and Elena knew they had to get out of here before they all came to enough to try to stop them again.
"Come on. Let's get out of here. They're waking up." Elena led the way to the door.
"Come with me, my love." Silas wrapped his arm around Amara and the ancient beings fell into step behind her.
"We'll be heading back home now," Sheila said quietly to Elena when they reached the cars. "I think you and Elijah have this well in hand."
"Thank you for your help." Elena smiled.
Sheila inclined her head and she returned Elena's smile before climbing into the car.
"Stay safe." Bonnie hugged Elena, then followed after Sheila.
With that, the remaining group stayed silent until they arrived at a place Elena had selected previously for what she knew would be the likely outcome. What better place to die than in a small clearing surrounded by trees and a creek bubbling in the background?
Silas sat down on a fallen log and motioned for Amara to sit beside him. Amara glanced up at Elena and Elijah, her expression uncertain, but Silas said something with a reassuring smile and Amara finally allowed herself to focus entirely on the man she loved.
Elijah caught Elena's hand in his and led her away from the pair.
"Let's give them their privacy," Elijah said softly.
"It's so sad, what they've been through. And then Qetsiyah got their story turned around and twisted up so that Silas was viewed as a monster, instead of her being the true monster." Elena leaned her head against Elijah's arm.
"But you know the truth and are doing everything you can to make things right." Elijah brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.
"Maybe one day, when I've got the time, I'll find a way to make sure more people know the truth," Elena mused. "Because they deserve for people to know what really happened, not the bit of fiction that Qetsiyah and her loyalists spread around."
Elijah tilted his head, listening to something.
"What is it?"
"I think they've become human."
"Should we go back?"
"No." Elijah kissed the side of her head. "This is between them, and us interfering won't help anyone. They've chosen this path and it will be the only way that so much pain and loss will be prevented."
Elena's heart twisted again when she realized that Silas and Amara would be dead soon and they would have the life together that they'd been denied. Only they would be together in the peace of eternity, instead of having a mortal life together.
"We'll bury them together," Elijah said softly, "in the same grave, so they'll be together in death in all ways."
They continued walking in a slow circle, with Elijah tilting his head to listen to whatever was going on with the former immortals who'd only ever wanted to be together.
Finally, Elijah whispered, "It's done. They're dead."
It was then that they headed back to the clearing.
When Elena saw Silas and Amara lying in a pool of blood, their bodies intertwined, tears sprang into her eyes. At long last, they were free of Qetsiyah and her curses, and they were experiencing perfect peace, together forever.
"Let's bury them."
Nodding, Elena raised her hands and created a hole in the ground. Once it was deep enough and wide enough, Elena carefully laid the fallen couple into their grave and replaced the earth. Then, she caused flowers to grow over them, providing them with as perfect a grave as she could.
"Rest in peace, Silas and Amara," Elijah said softly.
No sooner than the words left his mouth that Elena felt a rush of power flow through her, the Nexus Vorti of the deaths of the two immortals and the collapse of the Other Side. With the power, came the knowledge she needed to save the young man she'd grown to love as a son.
Walking away from the grave, Elena went to her knees and held out her hands. As the power flowed through her, a vortex of earth twisted in front of her. Elijah found himself having to take cover as she she used magic to slice her hand open, her blood mixing with the swirling dust and started taking human form. Then it all went still, aside from the dark haired figure lying in front of her.
He blinked and sat up, staring around him in shock. He ran his hand across the grass, wonder in his eyes.
"You did it!" he breathed when he saw Elena sitting there, gasping for breath.
Elena smiled as she stood up, holding out her hand, helping him to his feet.
As soon as he was standing, Elena threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. He was here and he was safe from the nightmare, at least for now. Yes, Malivore would raise his head and try to cause trouble later, but for now, he was safe.
"You're here. You're finally here," Elena mumbled, a joy reminiscent of the feelings she felt when her children were born bubbling up inside her.
"I can't believe it. You got me out. You actually got me out!" Ryan pressed his face against her hair, clinging to her.
"I promised I would save you. Blood of my blood, you are my son now." Elena pulled back just a bit, cupping his cheek as she examined her son's face.
"You didn't pull my body out?"
"No. Just your consciousness. You're no longer Malivore's son. You're mine."
"You actually made me your son?"
"I did." Elena smiled up at him.
"Your nose. It's bleeding!" Ryan reached for a handkerchief and handed it to her.
"Channeling so much magic to break through Malivore's barriers to get your consciousness away from him took a bit out of me," Elena admitted as she pinched her nose.
"Here." Elijah offered Elena his bleeding thumb.
Taking his hand in hers, Elena kissed the blood off his finger, grateful for the little boost in energy it gave her and almost immediately, her nose stopped bleeding.
"I'm okay now. Thank you." Elena kissed Elijah on the cheek.
The intimacy of the moment had Ryan looking down at the ground, shuffling awkwardly, which drew Elijah's attention.
"Hello, Ryan," Elijah greeted in a soft voice.
"Hello." Ryan gave an almost bashful smile as he looked up, though he kept his face lower, as though he was afraid of Elijah rejecting him.
"It's good to finally meet you." Elijah clapped Ryan on the back, as if sensing that Ryan wouldn't be able to understand or accept any other form of affection from Elijah.
"You as well."
"Elena's told me so much about you, but I thought I'd be talking to you in the darkness first before meeting you physically face to face."
"Same here." Ryan's brow furrowed a little, as if confused by Elijah's acceptance of him.
The younger man shoved his hands into his pockets, as if unsure what he was supposed to do with himself and Elena's heart broke. Her poor boy. He didn't know how to react to a man who wanted to show him how a father was supposed to treat his son.
"Come on. Let's get back to the car. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go home."
"Yeah." Exhaustion stole through Elena at the mention of home and she blinked heavily, then yawned.
"I thought we'd have a few more weeks to get things set up, so your room isn't ready yet, but a few phone calls should get it started so there'll be at least some furniture and personal care items," Elijah said to Ryan as he scooped Elena into his arms and led the way to the car.
"You're serious about wanting me as a part of your family?"
"You're now Elena's son and I love her, so I've grown to care about you as well, and for me, family is always and forever." Elijah glanced back at Ryan, a slight smile on his face.
Unable to process this acceptance from both Elena and Elijah, Ryan sniffed and rubbed his sleeve across his eyes.
"Don't cry," Elena mumbled sleepily. "Please don't cry."
"You actually want me in your lives? You didn't pull me out just to find out more about my father?"
"Not just our lives, our family. You're family now and Malivore can kiss my ass for how he treated you. Gonna kill that slime ball for what he did to you. No good dad would ever treat their kid the way he treated you. So you're mine now."
"Elena, it's okay. Calm down. Right now, all you need to do is rest, we'll take care of him later," Elijah assured Elena, grinning at the way she was rambling in her exhausted state.
"Good. He's a jerk."
Elena allowed the rocking of Elijah carrying her to lull her into a more dreamlike state, that point right between waking and sleep.
When they reached the car, Elijah set Elena in the passenger's seat and buckled her in. Then, he leaned the chair back so she could sleep more comfortably. Elena curled up as much as she could on the seat and tucked her hand under her cheek.
"How can someone so good want someone as worthless as I am in her life?" Ryan asked a few minutes later as they pulled out onto the road leading to the highway.
Had they been talking? Elena wasn't sure. She couldn't remember if they had or not. Maybe they had been, but their voices hadn't registered, which frustrated her since Ryan sounded as though he was still struggling to accept that he was wanted for more than his knowledge of the monster that monsters feared.
"How can someone so good love a monster like me?" Elijah countered.
"Why does she let people like us in?"
"Elena sees the good in the people she cares about and fights to get us to see it in ourselves. Sometimes to her own detriment."
"Shhh," Elena mumbled, unsure if she was actually hearing the conversation or even actually speaking or if it was just a dream. "No sad talk today. Ryan's coming home and the Other Side is gone. It's a good day. Tough stuff can come later."
"Go to sleep, Elena," Elijah chuckled.
"Kay." Elena sighed, content now
It truly was a good day and she drifted off, reveling in the peace. Yes, there were so many more monsters to fight, but for the moment, all was right in her world.