Hey guys, sorry it took so long to update. A lot has been going on and I haven't been sleeping all that well the past couple of days so I apologize if this chapter sucks.

This chapter goes back in time a little bit but mainly takes place in Season 2 episode 20 and 21.


Chapter Seventeen: Breaking the Curse

When Elijah woke up groggy on the floor of an overpriced hotel room in Richmond, he was confused. He remembered walking into the room and bits of the conversation he had with the man who was supposed to have information about succubi, but little else. There was ringing in his ears and the taste of sulfur in his mouth. Slowly he came to the realization that he had been immobilized by witchcraft. His immediate reaction was anger, but that anger quickly turned into fear. Fear for Kiara. Even with the little memory of the encounter he had with this person, Elijah knew Kiara was in danger and it was all his fault.

With his cell phone now missing, Elijah was forced to rush back to Mystical Falls in a panic. It was early morning when he finally found himself in front of Kiara's home. All of the windows were broken, but Kiara's car was parked out front so he knocked on the door. Then he rang the doorbell. Until finally he just opened the door and walked inside.

There was no one inside. Furniture was overturned and scattered around the room. The drawers were open. It appeared they had left in a hurry. Elijah tried to remain calm, but there were bloodstains in the living room: on the floor, the walls, the furniture. Some of it was definitely Kiara's. He would know her scent anywhere.

"Elijah?" Elena called out to him as he exited the house. "What are you doing here?"

He paused and watched her walk down the street towards him with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Normally he would attempt to keep the peace. He had agreed to stay away from Mystic Falls until Klaus arrived until he was needed, but things changed. Kiara was missing, possibly hurt, and he couldn't think properly.

"It seems Kiara is missing. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Elijah asked her. "Do keep in mind I will find out if you're lying."

"What? No, of course not. I was just on my way to thank her," Elena told him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thank her? For what?"

"She didn't tell you?" Elena stepped closer to him and lowered her voice. "She saved Bonnie's life last night. Klaus is here."

"Klaus... is here?"

Elena nodded. "He took over Alaric's body and attacked Bonnie at the dance, he knew about her powers. He was trying to kill her."

Elijah squinted at her unsure if she was telling the truth or not. It seemed possible. Klaus was known to magically transported into bodies in the past. It was one of his favorite tricks and it would allow him to move among his enemies without them knowing. This was his only chance to break the curse, it made sense that he would take every precaution. "And so she let him, knowing that Kiara could revive her?"

Again Elena nodded.

"And you're sure that Damon has nothing to do with her disappearance?" Elijah asked.

"I'm sure," Elena assured him. "Do you think Klaus could have her?"

The thought startled him. His first instinct told him the man who attacked him had taken Kiara and he had assumed that this man worked for her father. However, it was entirely possible that this man worked for Niklaus. "He could have… but it's also entirely possible that you're lying to me right now and she's back in the Salvatore basement being tortured for information. Again."

"She isn't, I swear. I will tell you everything that happened last night," she told him. "I'll even help you look for Kiara, but in return, I want you to tell me everything you know about Klaus. We need to work together. I need your word."

"Your ability to make demands has long passed," Elijah reminded her.

"No demands," Elena said. "I'm offering you my help and in return, I want yours."

"And why should I even consider this?" Elijah wondered out loud.

"The same reason that you haven't killed me," Elena said. "You need my help to kill Klaus. Maybe even to save Kiara. And I need you."

Elijah was considering this when her phone rang. It was Stefan calling to check on her. He sounded worried. Elijah envied him for being able to speak to the person he cared for. He listened patiently as Elena tried to reassure her boyfriend that she was alright. However, when Stefan discovered that she was with Elijah, he didn't sound convinced.

"Elijah is a noble man, Stefan. He lives by a code of honor. I can trust him. He knows that I'd be incredibly stupid to betray him again," Elena said, giving Elijah a pointed look as she said this. After a few moments, she hung up with Stefan and Elijah put out his hand, silently asking her for her phone. She gave it to him and looked surprised when he dialed a number from memory. Kiara's number.

But she didn't answer and when Elijah dialed Jonas's cell phone number, he was greeted with his voicemail as well. A sinking feeling was beginning to settle in his stomach. So he did the only thing he could do, he searched the town with Elena.


Elena drove them to the Grill, the Martin witch's apartment, the school, and even the place where the witches were burned. Bonnie tried to do a locator spell and failed to find her. This wasn't entirely unexpected for Elijah. He had a feeling that no matter who had Kiara, they would have been smart enough to cover their tracks. With no other idea's on where Kiara might be, Elijah and Elena wandered the town. All the while they talked. Mainly to distract one another for the building anxiety they both were feeling. Elena told him everything that happened at the dance and how Damon threatened Luka to get Kiara to bring Bonnie back from the dead. Somehow it didn't seem to bother Elena how they got Kiara to agree. She was just happy that Kiara did as they asked and Elijah had to bite his tongue to keep from saying something. The disregard of another's suffering, Kiara's suffering, so long as it was for Elena's benefit was irritating to him.

"I mean… it was all so creepy," Elena sighed. "We have no idea how long Klaus was in Alaric or what we said to him or around him when he was."

"Yes. That could be a problem…" Elijah said, only half-way listening to her.

The truth was, Elijah could recall Kiara mentioning that she had been spending quite a bit of time with Alaric in recent days. They had remained in constant contact with one another during his absence. Whether it was texting, speaking, or video chat, they were almost always talking to one another. He believed her desire to always hear from him was because of the time period she was born in, but really he quite enjoyed it. It made him worry for her less. Until now. Now he kept getting her voicemail, something he was simply not accustomed to and it made him anxious. Securing her safety was all he could think about.

Then finally, she answered. "Hello?" The voice sounded tired, but it was her.

"Kiara!" He sucked in a breath of relief. She was alive. The confirmation allowed him to relax a little. Then he couldn't keep the questions from rushing out of his mouth. "Are you alright? Where are you? What happened?"

"I'm, I'm with your brother," she told him.

"Niklaus?" Elijah glanced at Elena who was watching him with wide eyes. "Did he do this to your house?"

"No," Kiara said. "It was kind of a group effort. A witch named Gerald Blake attacked me." The name sounded familiar. Then she added, "My father sent him."

Confused now, he asked, "Is Holly with you?"

"No, I… sent her away."

"I don't understand. How did you end up with my brother?"

"He," she hesitated. "Saved me."

Elijah couldn't believe it. Why would Niklaus save Kiara after what she did to him? Surely he was furious with her. He attacked her in his dream that day. It felt like so long ago now. Still, Elijah knew Klaus and there was no way he would have simply forgiven her, but Elijah was almost afraid to ask, "Has he caused you any harm?"

"No," she said.

"And what of the Martin witches?" he asked.

"Gerald…" her voice shook with emotion and Elijah clenched the phone tighter in his hands. "he, they died right in front of me. There was nothing I could do. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, Kiara," he pinched the bridge of his nose. "None of this is your fault."

It's mine, he thought and he wanted to tell her so. Because he knew how kind she was and how she could easily blame herself for what happened to them. She didn't deserve that kind of guilt weighing down on her.

Then with a shaky voice, Kiara said, "I want to thank you, Elijah. For everything."

"Why does that sound like a goodbye?" he asked. His heart was suddenly racing at the thought. When she didn't answer, he said, "Kiara, you listen to me very carefully, everything is going to be alright. I will get you home safe and sound. I promise you—"

"Yes," someone interrupted him. It took Elijah a moment to realize it was Alaric Saltzman's voice. Which could only mean he was speaking to Niklaus now. "That's all very fascinating brother, but I'm afraid we have things to do today and don't have time to chat."

Elijah went to reply, to ask him to spare Kiara, to do the right thing. But then the line went dead. Elijah clenched his jaw and slipped the phone in his jacket pocket, hoping without hope that Kiara might call him back.

There was a part of him that wanted to rush to Alaric's apartment and demand Kiara's release, but he knew how his brother could be. Klaus was impulsive and cruel and, at times, petty. He didn't want Klaus to see how much he cared for Kiara. If he did, he could harm her out of spite and Elijah couldn't risk that.

Instead, they made their way to the Mayor's house so Elijah could have a change of clothes. He still smelled like sulfur and needed to change out of the suit he was wearing. Luckily he had gotten the Mayor off of vervain before Damon managed to dagger him so he was able to get out of the stinky clothes and freshen up in her bathroom.

"So I was right," Elena said when he walked back down the stairs. "Klaus has her?"

"It seems so. Does Niklaus know that Kiara revived your friend Bonnie?"

"No," Elena shook her head. "I don't think so."

Elijah nodded. "Good, then the plan should still work."

"I'm sorry about Kiara."

"Don't be," Elijah said. "If Niklaus wanted her dead, she would be. I will get her back."

"Wow," Elena said, raising her eyebrows at him. "You really care about her, don't you?"

Elijah looked away from her. "I believe we were talking about Niklaus."

"Right," Elena nodded. "Well, Klaus took Katherine too. We think that she may be dead."

"Oh, I doubt that," Elijah smirked. "Not Klaus's style. Death would be too easy for her after what she did."

Elena shook her head. "I don't understand. You say that you want Klaus dead, but you still made Katherine pay for betraying him."

"I have my own reason for wanting Katerina to pay," Elijah told her. "There was time… I'd have done anything for Klaus. He is my brother after all." When Elena didn't respond right away, Elijah thought she may not have heard him so he repeated himself. "Klaus is my brother."

"I heard that," Elena said. "I'm still processing."

"Yes, I'm a little behind on the times, but I believe the term you're searching for is O.M.G." Elijah smirked, remembering when Kiara explained to him what that meant. They texted a lot over the past couple of weeks. She usually spelled out each sentence with perfect punctuation. However, she still used some abbreviations like o.m.g and l.o.l. from time to time. He had asked her about it once. He couldn't understand why she communicated in shorthand with only these expressions and she insisted that spelling out each of those words would change the meaning somehow. It still wasn't something he completely understood, but he found it endearing when she did it.

Soon Elijah found himself explaining everything to Elena. The origin of the vampire race, Niklaus's hybrid nature, and the truth about the curse that she needed to be sacrificed to break. He felt that she deserved that much. If she was going to die, she might as well know why.

Before he finished explaining everything, he handed Elena back her phone. It kept buzzing, but whenever he looked at it, it was not Kiara's phone number. Instead Stefan's name flashed across the screen and each time he saw it, it pissed him off a little bit more. He found the Salvatore brothers especially annoying. Though he recognized that he had a bit of a bias against the two of them ever since they hurt Kiara. It turned out that Klaus had gone after Jenna so Elena insisted on going to her. Elijah was hesitant at first, but eventually, he decided to allow her to go.


When Elena was gone, Elijah learned from Carol Lockwood that an abandoned car containing two dead bodies had been found in a parking lot nearby. It didn't seem like vampires had killed them. But they didn't seem to have died of natural causes either. Curious, Elijah compelled her to bring him along to the morgue so he could see them for himself.

They turned out to be the Martin witches. Although Kiara had already informed him of their fate, he couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt looking at them. He had asked them to look out for Kiara. It wasn't too much of a leap to think that they died protecting her from this Gerald Blake fellow. Looking at them now, he could understand why the humans were having a difficult time understanding what happened to them.

Jonas's neck had clearly been broken. Although they couldn't figure out how exactly, Elijah assumed magic must have been involved. But it was Luka's death that was a complete mystery to the humans. His lungs were black and burned as if he had breathed in some kind of poisonous substance. Yet there was no evidence of any toxins in his system. Even worse, Elijah knew they couldn't have been dead for more than twenty hours, but they seemed to be further along in their decomposition than they should be. Their time of death was estimated to be about a week ago, which was impossible. Luka had been seen at the dance the night before. In all his time on earth, Elijah had only seen one kind of magic do something like this to a body.

Necromancy.

If Kiara's father dabbled in this kind of dark magic, he was more of a threat than Elijah realized.

"I'm sorry," he said to them before following the Mayor and Sherriff out of the room. He felt like he should say something. He had spent so much time with them over the past couple of weeks and although Elijah wouldn't necessarily have called them friends, he knew Kiara did. He also knew that they had died trying to save her. They protected her when he couldn't and he was thankful to them for that. "This is not the ending I wished for you. You protected her when I couldn't. I should have been there, but I wasn't and for that I am sorry."


It was dark outside when Elijah arrived back at the Mayor's house and he didn't have to wait long before Elena arrived. She seemed more determined to get answers now and Elijah was more willing to give them to her.

"Welcome back," he smiled at her.

Elena didn't say exactly what Klaus had done to Jenna, she just pulled off her jacket and demanded to know the truth. And Elijah respected that so he told her about Klaus's relationship with their father, how it was revealed that Niklaus was not Mikaels's son, and ultimately how the curse came to be placed on him in the first place. Then Elijah explained that only a witch could kill Klaus while he was in transition after the curse was broken. However, it would kill the witch to channel that much power. Elijah estimated that if Bonnie could simply bring Niklaus to the brink of death, he should be able to finish him off.

It seemed crazy that he had ever helped Klaus in his attempt to break his curse. Elijah knew that a hybrid would be a threat to all species. But he had loved his brother and love was known to make people do stupid things.

Years ago, Elijah searched for a way to spare the doppelganger in an attempt to save Katerina's life. He had begged Niklaus to consider trying to save her. And he remembered what Niklaus said to him in response.

"Are you so foolish as to care for her?"

"Of course not," Elijah had told him.

"Love is a vampire's greatest weakness and we are not weak, Elijah," Niklaus had said to him. "We do not feel and we do not care."

"We did once."

Niklaus hesitated. "Too many lifetimes ago to matter."

Standing there now, knowing what he knew, Elijah recognized he should have known that Niklaus was beyond saving. That any being without the ability to love was simply broken beyond repair and yet, he didn't give up. He had wanted so badly to save his brother he allowed his cruelty to continue. Hoping one day he may be redeemed.

Elijah might have still attempted to save Katerina despite Niklaus's wishes, but she had taken matters into her own hands and became a vampire instead.

"What have you done?" Klaus had stormed into the sitting room where Elijah was reading.

"I don't understand," he told him, closing the book.

"Katerina is gone. She has fled."

"No," Elijah stood.

"What did you tell her?" Klaus asked.

"I told her nothing," Elijah said, but Klaus grabbed him and slammed him back into a wall.

He was so angry his vampire traits revealed themself. "Do not lie to me!"

"I will find her," Elijah told him. "You have my word."

"If you do not, I give you my word you will be dead."

Elijah lost any hope of having a happy family on that day and his ability to care for another with it. For a long time, he believed he could never have either of those things again. Until recently.


That night, Elijah paced the Salvatore house. He flipped through the collection of books in their library. His eyes tracing the lines of the written word with no ability to focus enough to process it. He was restless. Alone now, he was unable to keep his mind off of Kiara. Sleep seemed impossible knowing that she was at Klaus's mercy. It didn't matter that she claimed he had saved her life. Klaus had been present during their last conversation, listening, and ready to jump in at any moment. Elijah couldn't trust anything she had told him to be the truth.

He debated going to Alaric's apartment, tearing through Niklaus's minions, and getting her out of there, away from him. But Niklaus would fight him, dagger him, maybe even take her from him. No. His best option was to kill Niklaus. Only then would Kiara be safe from him.

Suddenly there was screaming at the front door. "Get out!" Jenna said. "Get out!"

With a house full of vampires, everyone was next to her in seconds. What they found wasn't entirely surprising to him. Klaus had to leave Alaric Saltzman at some point before the ceremony and now here he was standing in the doorway with his hands up in the air.

"Jenna, put the crossbow down, okay. It's me." Alaric told her.

"Stay away from me," she said.

Stefan spoke up first. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's me, Elena, I swear, okay?" Alaric said. His eyes searching for someone who would believe him. "He let me go. Klaus let me go."

"Prove it," Damon said.

"Okay, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to—"

"It's him!" Jenna told them.

"Why did he let you go?" Stefan asked.

"I, uh, I helped him with something. Kiara James, she was there with him. She had been stabbed with this dagger that only a human could remove. After I pulled it out, he let me go, but he wanted me to deliver a message," Alaric said. "The sacrifice happens tomorrow night."

They all gathered in the library to talk to Alaric and figure out what he knew. He sat on a couch facing them.

"You said Kiara had been stabbed with a blade?" Elijah asked.

"Yeah," Alaric rubbed his legs uneasily. "I woke up and she was laying in my bed with this thing sticking out of her chest. Klaus basically forced me to remove it."

"So you don't remember anything that happened?" Stefan asked, pacing the room.

"No," Alaric told them. "It's like I blacked out and woke up three days later. Katherine and Kiara were there. Katherine was under compulsion."

Stefan nodded. "Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can."

"What about Kiara?" Elijah wondered, trying not to sound as worried as he felt. "You mentioned you removed this blade from her, why wasn't she allowed to leave with you?"

Alaric shrugged. "Klaus didn't really give me a chance to ask any questions. As soon as I removed the dagger, he was walking me to the door."

"Surely you must have some kind of idea as to why he's keeping her there?" Elijah frowned.

"From what I can tell…" Alaric said, meeting his eyes. "Klaus wants her there. She seemed to have some kind of… influence on him."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked.

"It's hard to explain. It was all really strange. I asked her what happened to her and when she went to answer Klaus said he didn't want to go through the whole story," Alaric recalled. "Then she gave him this look… and he explained it for her. Suddenly he seemed to be trying really hard to be nice to me like he knew that she wouldn't want him to hurt me. But as soon as Kiara started to get upset, he was back to threatening me. He nearly crushed my shoulder he was gripping it so hard."

Elijah was even more confused by the end of the conversation. But he waited until Alaric had the chance to answer all of their questions and learn what Klaus had done while in his body before asking him for a favor. He wasn't about to leave Kiara there, but he needed to be invited into Alaric's apartment to get her and Alaric agreed to do that for him. For Kiara.


In the morning, Elijah was forced to recount everything he had told Elena to the others in the Salvatore home. He showed them the elixir that he had acquired for Katerina some 500 years ago and Elena seemed hopeful it would work. Damon, however, did not.

"A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon scoffed. "You want to come back to life, what about Kit-Kat? At least we know she can get the job done and she already agreed to do it before."

"I'm afraid that is no longer an option," Elijah said.

"Why just because Klaus has her?" Damon asked. "You said you're gonna go get her anyway. What's the big deal?"

"Because she's just been through an ordeal and I won't risk her safety for people that don't even care about her."

"Why? What's Klaus want with her anyway?" Damon asked him.

Elijah glared at him, but the truth was he didn't know. He had been wondering the same thing himself. Agonizing over it really.

"You don't know, do you?" Damon raised an eyebrow at him. Again Elijah didn't answer. "You ever think that maybe she's been working with Klaus this whole time and is just manipulating all of us? I mean.. She's a succubus, right? Manipulative is kind of in their job description."

In a blink, Elijah was holding Damon up in the air by his throat. "You are not a very smart man, are you?" Elijah asked him, ready to rip his head from his body. "Not to mention, ungrateful. Elena told me how Kiara saved the life of your witch. You should know it was at great personal cost to her. That on top of the other atrocities you committed against her already makes the prospect of your death all the more appealing to me so I suggest you refrain from speaking ill of her in front of me."

"What do you mean it cost her?" Stefan ashed, not at all bothered by the fact that his brother was dangling in the air by this throat.

Elijah turned his head to look at him. "Upon returning home that night, Kiara was attacked by a witch who had been sent to kill her. The Martin witches died trying to keep her safe. She was too weak after reviving Bonnie and evidently being stabbed with this mystery blade to bring them back so Kiara lost the first friends she may have ever had."

"How do you know?" Damon gasped, trying to pull himself free. "It's not like you were there."

"Because if Kiara could have saved them, she would have," Elijah said with a tone that suggested that was obvious. "You may think you know her, but you are wrong. I have been alive for over 1,000 years and I've never met another like her. She has become quite precious to me and now her life is at risk once more. Allow me to make one thing perfectly clear, if any more harm comes to her because you left her there in that apartment, I will kill you."

"There was nothing I could do. Vampires can't get in," Damon said.

"And yet if it had been Elena you would have found a way," Elijah's eyes were cold as he stared at the younger vampire. "Kiara needed help and even after she saved your witch, you left her there. Now because she may be of use to you once more, you want to help her? I should kill you where you stand."

"You're right," Alaric spoke up. "Damon's a real shitbag for leaving her there"

"Hey!" Damon croaked.

"It's true," Alaric shrugged. "but we can right that wrong now. I can invite you in and we can get Kiara out of there. I will go with you right now, just let Damon go."

Elijah released Damon and stepped outside to get some air. He could still hear them discussing the options to save Elena. At this point, Elijah didn't much care what happened to her. He knew the elixir was her best option. Whether or not she chose to use it didn't matter to him. He was too worried about Kiara to care for much else.

The only thing that was keeping him calm at the moment was knowing that Alaric had just seen Kiara alive only a few hours ago. She said on the phone that Klaus saved her and Alaric seems to have confirmed that. Elijah couldn't understand why exactly. Niklaus Mikelson was known for many things and saving damsels wasn't one of them. But Kiara wasn't just any damsel, was she?


After Damon force-fed Elena with his blood, he disappeared. Alaric insisted that they find him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid and Elijah reluctantly agreed. Thankfully he had been easy to find. Alaric texted him to let him know that Damon was wallowing in self-pity at the Grill and that's where Niklaus found the two of them when he arrived. Elijah entered the Grill through the back, not wanting to speak to his brother just yet and waited until he left to approach Alaric.

"Damon," he didn't even look at the younger vampire. "Alaric."

"Sorry can't chat, we were just leaving," Damon said, getting to his feet.

"To go speak with Katernia," Elijah said. "I'm aware."

Damon glared at him and then Alaric. "How did he even know we were here?"

"Someone has to look out for Kiara," Alaric shrugged. "With Holly out of town, who else does she have?"

"Who cares?"

"I do," Alaric told him. "Now let's go. We don't have time for this."

The three of them walked to Alaric's apartment building and stood in front of his door. Alaric looked at them silently asking if anyone was in the room before unlocking the door and opening it. He leaned against the doorway with crossed his arms as Katherine stared at him.

"Look who's dumb enough to come back," Katherine smirked.

"Well someone had to invite them in," Alaric said, looking back at them. "Damon, Elijah, would you like to, uh, come in?"

Damon entered the apartment first.

"Are you trying to get me killed?" Katherine frowned at him.

Damon grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back into the wall. "I gave you vervain, now I'm here to collect. I got it from here, Rick."

"You sure?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, only one of us needs to get blamed for this. Go back to the house. Keep Elena from handing herself over."

"Okay," Alaric said and left.

Katherine pushed him away. "Get blamed for what?"

"I need to know where Klaus is keeping his werewolf," Damon told her.

"Why?" Katherine shifted on her feet. "What are you going to do?"

"Dead werewolf equals no ritual."

"No. You can't interfere, Damon. Klaus will kill you and everyone you've ever met."

"She's right you know," Elijah said, bringing their attention to him as he wandered the room. "Hello, Katerina."

"Elijah," she said.

"Don't worry, I'm not here for you," he told her, seeing how nervous she looked at the sight of him. "Where is Kiara? I was told she would be here."

Katherine looked at the bedroom door. "She's in there."

Without a word, Elijah approached the room. His heart was beating rapidly against his chest. It felt like a lifetime had passed since he last saw her and he couldn't deny his excitement of finally laying eyes on her again. To know she was alive and safe again.

But Katherine stepped in front of him before he could open the door. "You can't go in there," she told him.

"Why not?"

"Klaus had the door spelled," Katherine told him. "His witch will know if you open it and he'll come for her. He already thinks you two were conspiring to kill him. If he finds you here, he will kill her and he has the means to do it."

Elijah shook his head. "Why would he save her life if he believed she planned to kill him?"

"I don't know why he saved her. He wouldn't tell me."

"And why should I believe what you say?"

"Because…" Katherine sighed. "She fed on me recently."

A look of understanding passed between them. "And now you can't do anything that would cause her harm."

"Worse," Katherine raised her eyebrows. "I don't want to."

"I will find out if you're lying," Elijah told her.

"I'm not," Katherine said.

And he believed her.

"If any harm comes to her before I return, I will hold you personally responsible," Elijah told her, and then he left.

His body resisted every step he took as he exited the building, but he told himself he would be back. Soon. Undoubtedly.


Elijah had not expected that Damon would rescue Caroline Forbes and Tyler Lockwood in an attempt to stop the ritual from being performed that night. And he certainly had no way of knowing that Niklaus would take Jenna as Caroline's replacement in response. When Stefan decided to offer himself to Klaus as Jenna's replacement, Elijah called him honorable and he promised Stefan that he would end this, that he would kill Niklaus when the time came. And when the moment finally came, he was prepared to do just that. But then Niklaus said something that made him stop in his tracks, something that changed everything.

"You're killing her," Klaus said, his voice strained from the pain of having Elijah's hand in his chest.

Elijah frowned. "What did you say?"

"Kiara, she's linked to me," Klaus said. "If you kill me now, she dies as well."

"You're lying."

"I'm not. I swear. But if you release me now, no harm will come to her. She told me that you want to be reunited with our family. Kill me now and you'll never find them," Klaus said.

And Elijah believed him. So he let Niklaus go and he went to her. Without a second thought. Without even blinking in Stefan's direction. He raced to her side.


When he arrived, Kiara was crying on the floor of the living room with Katherine cradling her in her arms. There was dried blood all along Katherine's arms and neck. It was as if Kiara had been scratching her all night. The bedroom door had been blown on its hinges. All glass within sight had been shattered. Suddenly he knew what happened to Kiara's house.

"Kiara?" his voice constricted as he slowly stepped into the apartment.

Kiara lifted her head from Katherine's chest. Her face was red and blotchy. Her hair was a mess from trying to rip it out of her head. Klaus had told him the truth. She had felt everything. He had had his hand in Niklaus' chest, squeezed his heart, was ready to pull it out in the blink of an eye, and Kiara had felt it all. Then she felt every one of Niklaus's bones break, she had felt him shift into a wolf. She was in pain. She was scared. And it broke him.

He fell to his knees in front of her. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Please forgive me."

"He's alive…" Katherine said. "Isn't he?"

Elijah ignored her. Instead, he watched through blurry eyes as Kiara struggled to move towards him. Her hands reached out to grip onto his shirt so she could pull herself closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her. The familiar tingling sensation from her touch spread over his skin and he took in deep breaths allowing her scent to calm him down a little.

"I'm sorry," he repeated again. "I'm so sorry."

"He's killing people," she murmured into his chest.

"What?"

"I can feel him," she lifted her head to look at him. "Klaus. I can feel tendons in his teeth and blood on his face," she shook her head. "It's horrible. I can't take it."

Elijah's mind was racing. They needed to be unlinked, but there was no way Bonnie would help him now. Not after what he did. He needed another witch, but there wasn't anyone other than Bonnie in the immediate area that he knew of.

"I don't understand," Elijah rubbed his hand up and down her back. "Why did he do this? Why did he link you to him?"

"It was the only way…" she said.

"The only way to do what?"

"To save her," Katherine told him. "It was the only way to save her. That blade was spelled to suck out a succubus's life force, when they linked her life to Klaus it made that impossible."

Elijah glared at her. "Why didn't you tell me they were linked earlier? I would have had Bonnie unlink them before he broke the curse."

Katherine crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I couldn't do anything that would hurt her, remember? Even if you wouldn't hurt her, Damon definitely would have, especially if it meant getting to Klaus and saving Elena's life."

"Or you were hoping I would kill Klaus before learning the truth."

"Believe whatever you want," Katherine shrugged.

Elijah's muscles tensed like he might move. He wanted to hurt someone, anyone really, and Katherine happened to be there. He probably would have wrapped his hand around her throat, but Kiara stopped him.

"Please," she tightened her hold on him. "don't hurt her."

"Kiara, she—"

"She's my friend," Kiara said.

"Katerina doesn't have friends. She can't be trusted."

"There are people who would say the same thing about me," Kiara said. "And you. Your brother killed her entire family. She's spent 500 years living in fear, running for her life… don't you think she's suffered enough?"

Elijah bit his lip. He knew what she was saying. Niklaus was Katerina's Mikeal. They should understand her pain more than anyone. He wanted to find a way to justify his actions but ended up nodding his head yes in agreement instead. "Perhaps," he cupped her face and kissed her head. He carried her back to Alaric's bed so she could be more comfortable. "I must go. I will find Niklaus and bring him back here so you can be unlinked as soon as possible. In the meantime, please rest."

Kiara nodded.

"I realize your desire to protect Kiara will be fading soon…" Elijah said as Katherine followed him to the door.

"It faded a couple of hours ago," Katherine told him.

Elijah tilted his head. "When I came in, you were comforting her. Why would you do that if you didn't have to?"

Katherine raised an eyebrow at him with her hands on her hips but didn't answer.

If Elijah could have, he would have questioned Katherine more. Despite Kiara's insistence that they were friends, he still didn't trust her. He couldn't. But Kiara was watching them with wary eyes, sweat still coating her skin. He had seen people linked before, but never like this. The spell must have amplified the empathic abilities she has as a succubus. It was obvious she was suffering as Klaus had his fun. He didn't want to cause her any more pain. So he let it go. He walked away and focused his attention on finding his brother.


Thanks for reading.