"They've promised that dreams can come true - but forgot to mention that nightmares are dreams, too."
— Oscar Wilde
Warmth. Comfortable warmth.
The blanket was so soft and warm and the pillows so fluffy. Caroline smiled and stretched comfortably in her bed. She almost purred at the familiar sensation. At the flowery scent of the freshly washed sheets. At the softness of the teddy bear, she cuddled with.
Her eyelids were heavy from sleep but as she opened them slowly she realized it was day. Sunlight was streaming from the windows of her bedroom and it was warm. Warm, soft, and dreamy.
"Sleep well?"
Caroline's head turned to the side following that voice. She sat up on the bed startled and felt a shiver ripple through her body.
That beautiful voice she has missed so much.
Elizabeth Forbes was standing at her door holding a tray with a plate of freshly baked caramel pancakes and a cup of hot cocoa on it.
"Mom?"
Her mother smiled at her and Caroline felt her lungs seize.
Home.
She was home.
Caroline felt the burn in her eyes but she didn't know why. This was just another school day. Her mom would be here once she would return from school.
She blinked her tears away and shook her head. She felt lightheaded. She tried to clear her thoughts.
Just as her mom placed the tray over her nightstand Caroline looked at the other side of her room. At her window. Right outside. On the sunny day that-
There was an explosion wasn't there?
The thought made the whole room twist around her. Like static in television, the picture broke just for a second. She could hear pained voices. She could smell smoke. Burned flesh. She could-
The cool hand of her mom touched her forehead.
"You are still feverish," her mom sighed.
Caroline watched her mother curiously feeling the ache in her heart intensify. Her mom was here.
"Feverish?" Caroline mumbled confused.
"Yeah, sweetie. Remember? You've had the flu for a few days now," her mom sweetly reminded her and Caroline realized she was right. This was why she had that awful headache.
This was why she had felt so warm when she woke up too. She had the flu. How could she have forgotten that?
How?
How could she forget?
She was forgetting something. It was at the edge of her mind.
Her mom sat at the edge of her bed, reached for her, and brought her closer.
"I've taken the day off. I'll stay with you today until you get better," Elizabeth Forbes promised her as she gathered her in her arms and Caroline gripped at her mother tightly.
She pressed her nose into the hollow of her mother's neck. She inhaled her scent deeply.
God, she had missed this so much.
So…so much. She hugged her mom closer.
"You can sleep now, Caroline."
Her mother's soft voice lulled her to sleep and Caroline felt as if she was floating. Safe and cherished. Home. In her mom's arms.
Her nose skimmed her mom's neck.
Thump – Thump-
Blood rushed through that vein. Rich. Warm. So close. Metallic. It made her mouth salivate. Her throat ached for-
What? Blood?
Caroline inhaled deeply and the thirst at the edge of her tongue vanished.
Her mom was slowly stroking her hair. And tears slipped from Caroline's eyes.
She wasn't a monster. She was home.
Her throat ached. It was so scratchy, raw and the tingling feeling of a thirst unlike anything else she'd ever...her gums hurt…why did they hurt?
She had the flu, right?
That must be it.
She should get back to sleep only… if she slept-
A nightmare. The unsettling feeling that would not recede was nothing but the echo of a nightmare. She was back home.
Her mom made her pancakes.
When did her mother learn how to cook?
Why couldn't she remember?
She had longed for her mom for so long, she had dreamed of her smell, of being in her arms…she had held on to that dream when she was in-
Caroline stiffened as flashes from another life came back. No. Not from another life.
From death.
Her mom soothed her fears. That soothing voice made her body feel heavy again and Caroline wanted nothing more than to hold on to this. To this reality. To this dream. To fade away to sleep.
This was what she had been dreaming of for so long. Until years blended into long decades.
Vivid dreams and the nostalgia that wouldn't falter. She had carried her mother with her. Always in her heart. Always in her dreams. No matter where she would go she had carried her mom with her and right now this hug felt…wrong.
These arms were her mom's but not exactly. That smell was so similar but not exactly. It was drawn from memory but it didn't feel right because it was not.
Caroline slowly opened her eyes and remained very still into those loving arms that glided through her hair.
If only she could stay. If only this was-
"This isn't real," she whispered and the soft bell-like laugh felt like a knife slicing through flesh and bone.
"If you close your eyes you'll feel better Caroline. It's just the fever."
Caroline pushed the hands that held her back and jumped away from the bed as if it was nothing but a hot inferno burning her defenses and her very soul into oblivion.
She stared at her mother that watched her confused.
"Are you alright Caroline? What's wrong?" Elizabeth Forbes asked her concerned and slowly rose from the bed too, "are you feeling worse?"
Caroline watched her mother before she looked around. The room was as she remembered it.
She looked down at her hands. Soft hands. Human hands.
She had a fever. She was sick.
Humans got sick.
Only she wasn't-
She hadn't been-
For such a long time-
"Caroline?"
Her mother's voice called for her but other voices were pulling at her.
If she concentrated hard enough she could hear sounds in the distance. Cries of help. Calling for her.
Josh?
If she tried to remember- a flash of memory would appear in front of her eyes like pixilated screenshots from a film that kept pausing. She was trying to press play, to rewind the scene.
There had been- a blast that threw her body away in smoke and magic.
The pain was still there. Underneath the surface. Under the skin.
Broken bones.
She felt them.
She stirred but she couldn't break free.
Wake up! Caroline!
Caroline snapped her attention back at the woman standing just a few steps away from her. Her image was rather otherworldly actually. Like a soft blur surrounded the aura all around her.
Caroline inspected the room again.
The colors were so beautiful. Taken right of a…daydream. Caroline's eyes now took in every detail. The room was still here but the details were not exactly the same. They couldn't be.
Looking past the utopian sensation Caroline focused on the deceptive nuances that were not that subtle if you knew where to focus. The images in the posters were kind of blurred. The colors of the walls were not the exact shade.
There was a breeze but the curtains were not moving and the flowery pattern of the blankets was all wrong.
And her mom-
Her hair was blonde but not that blonde exactly…and her eyes were…well the color was a bit off but it was her gaze that was rather…cold.
This would have been a far better attempt if Kol hadn't taught her how to guard her mind.
Kol.
She closed her eyes and rubbed them, her head clearing as if the fog was lifting slowly and she could start thinking clearly again. She had to anchor herself to something tangible to her.
Now and always.
She remembered him. His voice…from another time…another place…from Hell.
"The mind a powerful tool. Remember, darling… count on your senses but always know you don't need them to see true."
Another voice came into her mind. A whisper.
"However long it takes…"
It was as if a switch was turned on.
Caroline inhaled deeply and every suppressed vampire sense awakened in full force.
She glared at the woman in front of her now. The pain of seeing her mother again, the love, the need, and every emotion in between turned to rage.
Whoever got into her head took advantage of something sacred to her. Her love for her mom. She wouldn't let this slide.
"Who the hell are you?"
The woman sighed and tried to get closer to her but Caroline stared at her coldly making her stop at her tracks momentarily.
Her 'mother' smiled at her and the illusion became more intense. More magnetic meant to pull her in, seduce her back into the dream.
"Enough!" Caroline hissed and the room moved. First in static and then as if an earthquake was shaking the ground. The tiles from the floor started breaking apart, rising in the air before breaking away in pieces.
The ceiling came next. Stone by stone ripped apart. Fragments of her imagination turning to dust right before her eyes.
Veins formed under Caroline's eyes and her mother's beautiful face became a hard mask.
The surroundings around Caroline started fading. The bedroom of her childhood memory started dissolving in liquid colors as if it was nothing but watercolor from a painting that was melting away.
The furniture, the walls, the sunlight were disintegrating in ashes, and then Caroline was standing in Purgatory facing no other than Esther Mikaelson.
For just a second panic, raw and unrelenting infiltrated her senses but Caroline didn't move her eyes away from Esther.
This kind of terror was nothing but a cheap trick. She wouldn't give in to it.
She didn't need her senses to see true.
Caroline smelled the sulfur, she inhaled the vervain, she heard the howling of the abyss that enveloped her in darkness but she didn't have to give in to her fear because she didn't need her eyes to tell her this picture was not exactly right either.
She didn't have to look around to know.
She had been stranded in that Hell long enough to know that no matter the tricks her mind was playing at her this wasn't real either.
"I've been in Purgatory for a really, really, long time," she told Esther leveling a hard look at her, "you think I wouldn't be able to tell the difference?"
Caroline steeled herself and let her senses take over. Beyond the fear, beyond the painful memories.
She felt the walls of her mind closing in.
In a way, she preferred this hellish setting than being in her mother's arms. That lie hurt more.
"What do you want from me?" she snapped at Esther Mikaelson that now stood in front of her in her real form. No more possessed bodies. No more taking the image of her mother.
This was Esther as she remembered her from Mystic Falls when she had been resurrected.
Before Klaus shoved her back into her coffin.
This was the real Esther that Caroline wanted to tear apart limb by limb and she would. One day she would. She would send that bitch straight to hell.
"You," the Original witch told her and Caroline frowned at that. Why? Why did that witch want her so badly?
"Why?"
"I can make the pain go away Caroline," Esther promised her, "I can give you peace."
In a way, Caroline longed for that. It would make things easier if she gave up but she never knew how. If she was one to give up she would still be in Purgatory. She would still be in her coffin. Dead and gone.
Only she was here.
Trapped inside New Orleans.
Here… trapped inside her head.
Fuck. This was not just a hallucination.
Esther was inside her head. She could feel her. Ravaging through the last threads of her sanity.
Caroline's brain started firing up signals until this version of Purgatory started falling apart all around her.
Seconds. She counted seconds from breaking free. She had to try harder. She had to wake up!
She knew how to block invaders from her head but Esther was strong. She had her claws into her brain but this was still her mind. Still her territory. Still, her domain, and no one controlled her in her own head! No one but her own neurotic self!
She glared at Esther and mentally shoved her back until the woman's image blurred but the witch held on.
Esther extended her hand at her.
"Come with me, Caroline. This doesn't have to hurt."
Caroline smirked. It would seem Esther Mikaelson hadn't gotten the memo.
Pain didn't scare her anymore.
Caroline strode at Esther Mikaelson and stood in front of her. Everything around them crumbled and Caroline's scream burned through every nightmare Esther could ever conjure.
"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
Caroline gasped awake.
Fire, smoke, muffled sounds. For a moment she felt as if she was underwater and every sound was distorted, everything she saw blurred but then the world came in sharp focus, and with it so did the pain.
She grunted and moved her head to the side. Esther Mikaelson was not here. She could still feel the tingle of magic, she could still feel her presence in her head but as she frantically looked around she could not see her or any witch for that matter.
But she could barely move.
Shit!
Caroline blinked and tried to assess her situation.
Her eyes were stinging. Water was falling over her face. A pipe had broken and what felt like polluted vervain rain was a constant rush of water that joined the fires that still burned. Caroline could taste the magic in her tongue. Worse she could feel it on her skin. It sizzled.
Those were not simple bombs. Fuck this shit to hell!
She coughed blood and spat the burning water from her mouth.
She had to move but remained unmoving doing a mental check of her wounds first.
The percussive wave of the explosion has tossed her body away and the impact had broken several of her bones. Including her neck which would explain why she had been knocked out. She could feel the bones in her neck cracking back together.
Not an unfamiliar sensation but annoying nonetheless. She was vulnerable and…stuck.
Caroline groaned and tried to move only to realize that a piece of metal was stuck into her abdomen. At least it had not killed her since it was not anywhere near her heart. Yay, for small favors. She grimaced and pulled it away quickly.
She heaved as she got free and tried to get up. She looked around at the chaos. There were voices, and people trapped beneath the rubble. Dust floated in the air with flames and soot, water was falling everywhere, and whatever was left standing from the abandoned amusement park was now even far more destroyed.
Pieces of metal, wood, and stone had scattered everywhere.
Caroline knelt up, gritted her teeth, and with a fast practiced move pushed her dislocated shoulder back to its place. The 'pop' sound made her cringe but she quickly pushed the feeling aside and focused on the voices all around her.
Marcel Gerard was already helping people but there were other voices. It was chaotic all around and she was quite far from the others.
"Caroline!"
Caroline inhaled sharply when she realized that Josh was calling for her. She sped towards his voice. He was under a block of cement from a wall that had fallen a few meters away from her and was trying to move but couldn't.
"Hey, I am here," she told him as she approached him before she yelled to other people and Marcel where they were telling them she'd get Josh.
Josh sighed with relief when she knelt by his side. His face was caked with dirt and blood. He was wet and muddy but at least the water here was more of a drip than a flood.
"I know," he let out a pained moan, "you wouldn't wake."
So it was his voice she kept hearing in her mind. She had to thank him for that actually. And she would. Once they'd get out of this mess.
She looked around. They were still in danger. She could feel it. They had to evacuate the premises. Fast.
"I tried to come to you but I am a bit tied up at the moment," Josh apologized humorously and Caroline smiled at him.
"I can see that," she snorted and started moving the debris from his body. Supernatural strength came in handy at times like these but it would seem Josh hadn't been accustomed to his new abilities. He was still bound by human instincts instead of putting in good use his vampire strength.
He kind of reminded her past self. The one Kol hadn't trained.
"I can't move," Josh complained, fear crippling his tone, and Caroline hummed.
"You will," she promised him and with her hands moved the part of the wall that had fallen on top of him and finally realized why he couldn't move.
His whole body was impaled by several iron beams. Josh was a vampire but a young one. This kind of pain was new to him. And the shock made him revert to his human reactions instinctively.
He wouldn't have been able to get out of here on his own. At least not for quite some time. And the magic she felt in the air was sucking their energy. She could feel it.
Josh looked down at his body and at the piece of metal that was coming out of his sternum and flinched when Caroline quickly freed his arms and legs. He was bleeding but he would heal.
There was one metallic piece left.
"It's close to-"
"Your heart," Caroline finished for him and Josh's head dropped back again.
"It's going to be okay Josh," she assured him with a soothing voice, "I need you to stay still," she warned him. She'd have to pull the metal fast making sure not to graze his heart, "This is not going to hurt…much."
Before Josh could respond she quickly pulled the rod from his chest and he screamed.
"You lied," he complained and Caroline smiled but her smile died at once when she realized Josh was is starting to turn grey.
Josh's eyes widened when she pushed her hand in his chest.
"What the fuck?" he croaked in pain as she moved her hand through bone and muscle as she would through butter.
"Hey there," Caroline commanded him sharply when he wouldn't stop moving, "I need you to stay very very still now."
The tone of her voice seemed to instill in him the kind of fear that made him move past the pain and the squishing wet sounds her hand was making in his gut.
He was still turning grey. Veins were creeping up his neck.
"What's happening?" Josh mumbled terrified, his voice growing weaker.
"Do. Not. Move."
Caroline wasn't looking at him. She was trying to concentrate.
"Caroline-"
"Stop talking!" she hissed.
She had to find-
Bingo! And …crap!
"Shrapnel got in your bloodstream. Metal and…wood," she grumbled and Josh swallowed harshly. Tears fell from his eyes.
She pressed her lips. She couldn't get-
"Somehow your heart has magnetized one piece in particular and it's getting closer. The more I try to pull it back the more it pushes forward."
"How is this possible?" Josh whispered but Caroline took in a deep breath.
Fucking magic that's how.
She could feel the edge of it. It was more like a grain of rice and she felt in his bloodstream the sharp edges of more pieces. She had wrapped her hand around his heart making sure that nothing would move past her fingers closer to the muscle.
But one piece, in particular, was doing all the immediate damage. An inch closer and Josh would die.
If only she could move her fingers a bit to the side and trap the material between them.
She couldn't reach it. It was so slippery. Or her fingers were. She couldn't tell. If she loosened her grip, however…A wrong move and-
She looked at Josh willing him to understand. He kept very still so she could tell that he knew what was at stake here.
"I know it hurts Josh but you need to hang in there for a little while longer," she coaxed before she gave him a serious look, "I have wrapped my fingers around your heart," she told him evenly as if she was talking about the weather, "I can't let go and you can't move. That thing is lodged very close to your heart," she said keeping her voice clinical, "My finger is pressing on it but it's really slippery and if you move even an inch-"
She didn't have to tell him what would happen if he moved.
Josh closed his eyes.
"Fuck."
"Don't even breathe," she ordered him making sure to sound very certain and calm, "I need to get it out. I just need you to keep still."
She tried again but it was impossible and Josh could not stay completely still. He was not used to this kind of pain.
"It isn't working," Josh cried and Caroline pressed her lips. She called Marcel but wherever he was he couldn't hear her or couldn't come. She could swear she heard battle sounds. It was not just the bombs. Their attackers were here too and it was just a matter of time before they would come at them too.
They were running out of time. Josh's heart was barely pumping blood but whatever few drops it did pump pushed the pieces closer.
"It's okay Caroline," Josh whimpered in a defeated tone.
She looked at him with a pained expression but then her gaze transformed to grim determination.
Like hell, she would allow Josh to end in Purgatory today. That wasn't happening. Not on her watch.
"I don't like wasting my time Josh," she scowled at him, "I haven't spent all these last weeks training you for you to die on me," she joked but sobered up quickly, "so here's what we are going to do. You are going to take a nap and when you wake up I'll teach you how to stay still under immense pain because this just ain't working," she mumbled and locked her gaze with Josh's.
"You will wake up," she promised.
Her voice held an edge and a warning and she locked her gaze with his. Josh looked at her for some long seconds before he nodded solemnly.
"I trust you."
She gave him a reassuring smile.
"See you in a while," she promised and with her other hand broke his neck.
The moment his heart stopped pumping blood was the moment she needed. She had to be quick about this and it would not be pretty.
She looked around and took another piece of metal from the ground and literally hacked Josh's chest into pieces tearing him apart. She kept her fingers wrapped around his heart. It was the only thing that had to stay in place. Everything else would heal and all she had to do was get all the shrapnel out.
She tore a few of his ribs and she knew Josh would have a hell of a painful awakening but it would still better than the alternative.
"Come on," she muttered impatiently taking out piece by piece, "you ain't dying on me!"
She worked quickly and finally Caroline breathed out slowly when she took out every last shrapnel that was stuck in his body and bloodstream. Especially the one that had been so near in his heart. That freaky thing had broken in her fingers and what was left had been smaller than the head of the thinnest needle.
Caroline pushed her hand outside of Josh's chest and her shoulders sagged in relief.
Josh would be fine. She fell by his side and winced at the grotesque image of his body. She had to get him out of here and get him some blood.
She had to-
Her thoughts short-circuited when her whole body tensed from pain.
Every nerve ending of Caroline's body screamed in agony. She barely had time to shield Josh's body with her own before the pain overwhelmed her to the point of actual paralysis.
Caroline tried to look up at the figure of the woman that approached her through the smokey ruins and the flames that still burned.
The witch had her hand extended at her and Caroline tried to move but couldn't. She groaned and felt as if her body was pulled in every possible direction.
Her eyes filled with blood, her fangs dropped but as the woman came closer the magic became more punishing.
Her blood was starting to boil. Vervain was rushing in her veins.
How could she have been so careless? She had been so focused on saving Josh and got distracted despite knowing the danger that loomed.
They had been infiltrated. The explosion was set to diffuse Davina's magic and take them out. Take her out. And this was still zone zero.
Caroline heard the noises in the distance. More witches attacked. They were coming from all sides taking out every vampire in sight.
A distraction.
All so to get to her.
If Esther had gotten into her head it meant they were either with the Original witch or worse they wanted to get her out of the way before Esther could get her.
Either way, she was screwed.
Caroline heaved and tried to move but couldn't. The witch was powerful. Caroline could see she was alone. The chaos around them was a diversion for one witch alone to come and end her. One was all it would take. After all, she was a young vampire. So they thought.
"I am sorry for this," the girl that came closer to her now mumbled and Caroline tried to speak but no voice would come out. She felt as if her head was splitting in half.
She looked up. The eyes that watched her were filled with something akin to regret and…disgust but more so Caroline could tell whoever this girl was she wasn't Esther Mikaelson.
She didn't know how she could tell but she could. She wasn't possessed. Something was missing from her gaze. Something very specific that every Original had, Esther included.
"Kol said we had to protect you no matter what," the witch said and then viciously pointed a new wave of excruciating magic at her.
Hell, it hurt!
Time seemed to move slower. All breath left her lungs.
Kol. Where the hell was Kol? His witches did this! Right under his nose damn it!
"No witch should die for a monster who carries the devil's mark," the witch raged glaring at her.
Despite the pain, Caroline frowned.
What the actual-
"The devil's… what?" Caroline heaved, every word coming out in agony.
Her nails dug into the mud underneath her knees. She had to ground herself. Pain wasn't something new. She could breathe through it.
The witch was immobilizing her with pain but the fact that she could move her fingers was progress. All she had to do was push through it. Concentrate. Remember. She had to remember. Purgatory. The pain. Channel it. She had to.
The woman's eyes slit into thin lines as she realized how she was withstanding her magic and Caroline hissed when the witch telepathically threw her body meters away. Again and again, as if she was nothing but a ragged doll someone was pulling on strings. She could feel her bones curling inside her body, snapping like taut chords of a harp someone was plucking over and over again. But they were not breaking. They were not shuttering. She could do this.
She growled and the next wave of magic that hit her felt more like a caress as she adjusted to the pain and dug her heels on the ground.
The witch gasped when she saw this and with her other hand sent a piece of wood flying like a stake towards her heart.
Terror and undiluted rage consumed Caroline blinding her senses to the pain. She would not die again by a fucking stake in the heart! Never again!
Her fingers wrapped around the wood catching it midair before it could pierce her skin.
"How are you doing this?" the witch muttered and Caroline's vampire senses went into overdrive. She was starting to stand up despite how the witch was trying to throw her back into the ground again. Gravity felt thousand times more powerful but she withstood it. The pain was insufferable but Caroline felt as if she was floating outside her body. She would not die today. She would not return to Purgatory.
"Impossible," the witch cried and forced more of her power against her.
The stake started burning but Caroline didn't let go despite how it sizzled in her hand. She pushed through the magic and the pain and no matter how forcibly the stake was still directed towards her heart she would not let go. Her knees buckled again. The strain was too much. It felt as if she is trying to push back a truck. Tears filled her eyes and the pain magnified.
"Stop," Caroline whimpered, "please stop!"
Sweat, blood, and tears leaked down her face and the witch shook her head looking at her with regret.
"I am sorry…she can't have you!"
Caroline tried to breathe. The world was closing around her. She had to kill the witch but she couldn't move. She could only hold the stake and stop it from entering her heart…but for how long?
Why was no one helping her?
She wanted to scream but she couldn't. The magic was too strong.
"Who?" she muttered even though she knew the answer. She knew who the witch meant but she had to buy time. Time to get accustomed to this pain. To fight through it. To distract the witch long enough.
Long enough to-
The stake fell from her hand. Light as a feather.
The weight of the suffocating magic lifted, the pain lessened and Caroline blinked in surprise.
She stumbled back but the magic coiled around her and kept her still. She still couldn't move.
She looked up at the witch that was now standing so very still with her eyes closed. Her one hand was still directed at her and made sure she would be unable to move but when her eyes opened Caroline saw-
There it was-
That glint in the eyes. She could recognize it everywhere now.
"Esther," Caroline spat and tried to break free.
Esther was now smiling at her. She was possessing the witch.
Fuck. This had just taken a turn for the worst.
"You need to come with me now Caroline," Esther spoke through the witch she was possessing. Caroline hissed and tried to attack but Esther was holding her back and she was starting to lose consciousness.
Slowly drifting.
Drifting away.
No. No. No!
She had to stay awake. She had to fight. She had to keep her eyes open.
She couldn't let go. If she did she would be lost.
Everything blurred. She was falling.
Dark was surrounding her. Cold dark. Empty. So hollow.
Snap!
The sharp sound of bones breaking was deafening.
It brought back sound and color and all her senses.
The magic that held her captive was finally broken.
Caroline stared down in awe.
The witch that attacked her, the one Esther had possessed, was lying on the ground dead. Caroline's gaze rose slowly to see Josh heaving behind the dead witch, clenching his still torn chest.
Josh had broken the woman's neck.
He saved her.
The witch was dead, Esther was for now gone and Caroline breathed out in relief falling down just as Davina finally came in taking out the few witches that were left standing that Marcel had not killed.
Exhaustion was coming out of her in waves. Caroline felt drained and as if her body had turned to a huge knot that should she try to untangle it would come apart at the seams.
She hadn't left the amusement park. She stayed and helped those that survived while counted those that died. Josh had now returned from the hospital and was handling out blood bags but for the first time in such a long time, Caroline didn't feel the demanding bloodthirst she always felt ever since she had returned from Purgatory. It seemed as if her body was shutting down. Or more likely as if it functioned only on adrenaline. She didn't know what would happen once the adrenaline rush would die out.
She had almost died today. She could have very easily ended back in Purgatory. The thought made her shiver all over and the dread made her heart pump harder. She looked up at the starless sky and felt her eyes burn.
More than a dozen vampires were now stranded in Purgatory. Lost in the horror. She knew their names and she would now never forget them.
Her heart ached at the thought. Many of those that died she had trained during the last weeks and now they were gone…because of her.
Deep inside she knew this mess was somehow caused by her.
She looked around at the disarray. At the plumes of smoke that wafted from the dying embers. At the wreckage.
The last remnants of magic could still be felt. Caroline felt them in her bones, in her very soul. The same magic that had threatened to pull her over.
The darkness of the dream Esther gave her still beckoned her. It left her with a longing and a void she could not fill.
Caroline sat down on a concrete bench and pushed her head into her cold palms. She wanted to scream but instead, she rubbed her eyes and tried to breathe. Her hand by instinct went to the pendant she wore. A death mark around her neck. A reminder. Forbin had been her killer once and today she almost had another. She almost died. Worse than that was that she almost fell into Esther's hands and something told her that would be a fate worse than death. She shuddered at the thought and gripped the pendant harder before she tucked it under her half-shredded shirt.
Footsteps came and stopped in front of her.
She stared up to see Marcel Gerard looking down at her with a hard look.
"Is Davina gone?" she softly asked him.
"She went to retrieve her grimoire. Conventional magic is not providing enough protection apparently," Gerard bit out and Caroline nodded tiredly. They would need to install more wards and spells that would be far less breakable and would detect hostile magic. They would also need to be on alert and far more efficient with their security after this mess.
At least that was if Marcel would allow her to stick around after today.
"This had been a distraction," Marcel said, not bothering to beat around the bush any longer, "They were coming for you."
Caroline didn't try to deny it. The guilt was almost overwhelming as was the anger.
"I know."
Marcel's lips curled in anger.
"From all sides," he added frustrated.
This had been orchestrated and at the same time chaotic. Despite the peace treaty, she was a wanted woman to the point where witches retaliated against the Mikaelsons and the other factions. To the point where Esther herself came out of her shadows to retrieve her.
"I know Marcel!" Caroline grumbled and got up.
She started pacing back and forth unable to keep her composure. She should be smart about it. She should play the game with cunningness and strategically but she had almost died. She had survived by damn luck but others had not. Purgatory had gained more residents tonight and she could do nothing about it. She hadn't been able to help them. She had barely been able to help herself and now corpses were piling up.
"What is it that I do not know about you, Caroline?" Marcel demanded but Caroline only shook her head. She didn't know how to explain this mess. She didn't even know from where to start.
"You told me that I should protect this city and its people," Marcel gestured at the destruction around them, "This explosion left corpses in your name!" he accused her and Caroline gulped down violently. "Your secrets cost lives. So you better come clean!"
Caroline watched him with a pained expression and Marcel snarled when she said nothing.
He took a step and stood right in front of her. An inch away from her face.
"I let your ripper incident behind us but this?" he paused and glared at her, "this is a whole different story."
Caroline stepped back and braced herself. This was her responsibility. Her fault. She knew that. But she didn't know how this came to be. She didn't know the reasons and the secrets that led to this. And for as long as she was left in the dark she'd be a sitting duck.
"You already know I can't leave this place," she told Marcel before she let out a harsh breath, "It's Esther that wants me," she said, her stomach tightening. "Obviously the witches that don't side with her decided that can't happen either and wanted to get me out of the way."
Marcel's expression became pensive.
"Why does the Original witch want you?"
Caroline met his stare and grinded her teeth. The bloodlust returned with a vengeance and her frustration grew.
"I don't know," she admitted, her mouth going dry as she started pondering all the possibilities. All the things she didn't know.
She was drowning in secrets. Deadly secrets that somehow surrounded her and somehow were connected with her before she ended in Purgatory.
But why?
She wasn't special. She wasn't a doppelganger or a Bennett witch. In her whole life, she had been unremarkable. The second choice. The girl that always remained on the fringes and had to fight hard to get noticed.
And now?
Well, she was noticed now alright and she hated it.
She hated how she didn't know which way was north.
How many more things didn't she know? Her mind wandered back to the attack. To the witch's words.
The Devil's Mark.
The witch had said she carried the Devil's Mark.
'What the hell is that?' she thought and felt the need to scream.
Instead, she flattened her brow and looked at Marcel that was studying her with a sharp look.
"I don't know," she repeated trying to keep her voice calm just as Marcel's face contorted with rage.
"Don't lie to me!"
"I am not-"
Before either of them could say anything the air shifted between them and Klaus Mikaelson was standing in front of her.
Caroline didn't have time to react when Klaus' hands wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her closer. He inhaled her scent as if he wanted to assure himself she was truly unharmed. Caroline remained stiff in his arms but didn't push him away. A part of her felt grounded by his presence even though she would not admit it. More so she felt…safe.
Klaus didn't seem to care that he was hugging her like this in front of Marcel and everyone else who watched.
He didn't seem to care for the way they had left things off either.
Caroline barely heard Marcel muttering how Davina had to find better magic deterrents for intruders because her magic could not keep Klaus Mikaelson away either.
Klaus ignored Marcel completely as he slowly pushed her away, just enough for his concerned eyes to roam up and down her body. Finally, his eyes settled on her face.
"Are you okay?" he asked her and Caroline hummed softly before she seemed to remember where they were and how she was supposed to keep her distance from him. She detached herself from his hold and took a few steps back trying to mentally recollect herself.
She couldn't though. She was wound tight and Klaus being here both added to her stress while helping her breathe somewhat easier. It was a contradiction and it was maddening.
She wrapped her arms around herself and could not help but notice Klaus' grim gaze. Need and pain reflected there. Both were drawing her closer. But everything else was pushing her away.
She was being pulled apart. In pieces.
It hurt.
Damn it. Damn him.
She hated this. She hated feeling like this but she had to rationalize it. Too many things kept happening in the span of days. It was normal to be emotionally unstable. After all, she was a vampire. Everything was heightened and she had just survived a lethal attack.
This feeling, this deep unrelenting feeling had nothing to do with Klaus Mikaelson.
…Liar, a little voice whispered in her mind.
"Caroline-" Klaus insisted. He waited for her to tell him she was fine. Or maybe he wanted her to tell him how she needed him.
She struggled to tame her racing heart.
"I am fine," she mumbled and looked away. She could not get into this with Klaus right now.
Klaus' lips stretched into a thin line and the vulnerability he had carried only moments ago vanished. It got replaced by a simmering fury that put her on edge.
"What the hell happened here?"
Klaus' anger seemed to be directed to Marcel now that kept watching the whole interaction amused.
"Didn't your spies inform you?" Marcel taunted Klaus with a cool voice that reflected boredom.
Caroline would have enjoyed Marcel's attitude if she hadn't seen the amber flame that ignited in Klaus' eyes before he stifled it with difficulty.
"I am not in a mood for games Marcellus," Klaus all but growled and Marcel crossed his arms in front of his torso. His amusement was a trick of the light it would seem because as quickly as it had appeared just as quickly it vanished.
"Neither am I," Marcel Gerard answered with equal force just as his gaze shifted toward her, "Your girl here," he tossed back making her flinch at the label he used for her, "seems to attract the wrong kind of trouble."
Caroline glared at Marcel that arched a challenging brow at her.
Klaus tilted his head and looked at her.
"It's true then," Klaus realized, his eyes darkening considerably as his attention zeroed in at her, "This attack was meant for you?"
Caroline narrowed her eyes at him.
"You didn't know?"
"I was told the park was blown up," Klaus hissed, his anger a palpable thing to match her own, "I didn't get the specifics."
Caroline understood what he meant without him saying it. He ran straight here when he found out and didn't have the time to ask or get the details.
"Running short on capable spies then?" she mocked him and Marcel barked a laugh as she echoed his previous jab.
Klaus walked closer. Each step an intimidation.
"That's the thing, love," Klaus said in a voice dripping with ice, "every person I put on your security team-"
"Stalking team," she corrected him angrily earning another chuckle from Marcel that seemed to gravitate closer to her earning a death glare from Klaus.
"Has been taken out," Klaus finished his sentence as if she hadn't interrupted him. He approached her until his frame towered above her casting a heavy shadow all around her, "In a calculated strike it seems. Timed to ensure there would be a window of opportunity, an opening to get to you."
Caroline felt her mouth going dry.
"Great," she sighed just as Josh slowly came closer but kept silent. His eyes were friendly and Caroline knew he came to offer her his support. He had heard the whole thing from Klaus' lips and Caroline now couldn't help but wonder how many people would now blame her for what had happened today.
She gave a sidelong gaze at Marcel who remained stoic.
"This is the only thing you have to say?" Klaus seethed and Caroline lifted her chin.
"What do you want me to say?"
"Don't you understand the danger you are in?" Klaus cursed and Caroline's eyes blazed.
"I don't need you to tell me that!" she yelled at him.
"This is no joke! You are going to get yourself killed," Klaus yelled back and Caroline literally saw red.
"I am going to get myself killed?" Caroline exclaimed, "Oh, this is rich coming from you!"
Klaus looked appalled.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"This is your mother's handiwork!" Caroline exploded," you go around and make a laughable peace treaty and dangle everyone around you like puppets on strings and here we are today."
Something violent brewed in Klaus' eyes but Marcel now watched her with admiration.
She didn't care though. She was past caring. All she knew was that because of Klaus' and Kol's lies and secrets she could not defend herself properly. She was lost in a maze without an exit. Because of them and their crazy family.
"I have a target on my back because of you!" Caroline pointed an accusing finger at him, "people died and now I have to keep looking behind my back everywhere I go. I need to protect myself and those around me from yet another Mikaelson because no matter what I do I can't get rid of you," she gestured angrily barely seeing the way Marcel now backed her up and stood by her side, "Your mother put me on a leash. I can't get out of New Orleans and she is now hunting me down. And I don't even know why! Because you won't tell me!"
"I don't know why she wants you, Caroline!" Klaus lashed out, desperately trying to make her understand, "All I know is that I can't protect you if you don't let me!"
Caroline shook her head, her next words coming out softly in a resigned sigh.
"It is not your protection I want."
Klaus tried to reach her but Marcel slid his body between her and him earning a menacing glare from Klaus.
"Caroline-"
Klaus gave her a suffering look and she knew he was about to obliterate Marcel for standing between them like this.
Caroline's hand wrapped around Marcel's arm and pushed him to the side. She didn't need anyone to shield her. Not from Klaus.
Her gaze remained locked with Klaus' just as he was looking at her desperately. She knew what he wanted. He wanted her to follow his lead and let him protect her. To do as she was told while he took charge of the situation and her life. She would do either.
"You know what I want," she reminded him. Their confrontation was not forgotten. It forged them into something different and it was bitter and broken, "and it may be the only thing that can save me now."
The truth.
The only thing that could help her was the truth. She could not lose any more time searching for hidden secrets. Secrets that cost lives. Secrets that Klaus and his family knew. She was wasting time and her life was literally in Klaus' hands.
Forbin, his mother, her death. There was something that connected everything and Klaus knew what it was. He knew it and he kept her in the dark.
Klaus's jaw clenched but he kept his mouth shut. Something was shuttering in his gaze but he would not relent. He would not be honest. Not even now. Now after this. She was not his first choice. His plans and hidden motives were and he would not put her first even now.
"You need to leave," Caroline stated and took a step back.
She stared at the King of New Orleans and they communicated silently. She had asked for a truce and now Marcel Gerard accepted. He offered her his protection and his alliance.
It was time to take it. Josh came and stood beside them too.
Caroline squared her shoulders and faced Klaus that looked as if was about to snap.
"As you can see I am fine."
Her declaration was given unwaveringly and rippled between them. It was a wave and it was like a serrated blade, sharp and pointed, made to plunge straight into the heart.
Their interaction from the night of the ball echoed between them now.
"In war, we must always choose sides."
Caroline saw the murderous monster that was rearing its ugly head inside Klaus as the cold deepened between them.
"Are you afraid I am not going to choose your side?"
"Yes…"
She had been honest with him, however. She would choose her own side instead of what he offered if he couldn't give her what she asked him.
He should have believed her because she meant every word.
Klaus' throat worked as he seemed to realize exactly that.
Their gazes met and battled.
Klaus was poised to strike and he was barely holding back. It should have worried her but her own monster wanted to equally strike back. She wanted to cripple and maim, to draw blood and make Klaus feel how betrayed she felt by him too.
If he was not going to stand by her side honestly then she would not choose his side. She had warned him after all.
Klaus' nostrils flared and his hands turned to fists.
"You are not safe here," he insisted warily.
He was trying to get through to her but she would not lower her walls for him. Brick by brick she started building more walls to keep him out.
Like in the past she could hide their connection with hostility, she could keep him at bay.
Yet somehow this time it felt a thousand times harder compared to how it used to feel.
It felt like a losing battle.
"Of course not," Caroline agreed, "no one is safe from you and your lunatic family! Anywhere I go it's a death trap," she murmured before she added with a numb voice, "I almost died today."
Sheer terror flashed in Klaus' gaze before he could hide it. It was as if he was finally realizing how much of a close call this had been for her today and how much it was truly affecting her and Caroline hated to see how much this was also affecting him.
She let her guard down only for a fraction of a second and considered him for a moment but then she armed her heart with steel.
"Today people died in this attack and the people you see here saved me," she confessed giving a smile of gratitude at Josh before turning her attention back to Klaus Mikaelson, "So I'd say I am much safer with them than I would ever be with…you."
Klaus remained still. As if he was made from granite.
Caroline knew she had hurt him but she could not take the words back now. And even if she could she would not.
Marcel Gerard took a step forward.
"You heard her Klaus. You need to leave now."
"I am not going anywhere," Klaus denied Marcel with cool disdain before he regarded her with a scorching gaze, "Not without her."
A shiver traveled up and down her spine.
"I am not going anywhere with you."
"This is not where you belong," Klaus claimed, his words spoken with utmost sincerity and certainty as he gave her a knowing look, "You know it as well as I do."
He didn't need to speak the words she saw reflected in his expression. According to Klaus, she belonged by his side. She could see it written on his face.
But this belonging was coming with caveats and strings attached. There were limitations in Klaus' offer.
"Maybe," she accepted making Marcel and Josh look back at her surprised, "But I will be the one to decide that," she countered, "and if I am to find out where I do belong this is just as good of a start as any."
"Caroline is a vampire Klaus," Marcel noted, "That makes her one of my people for as long as she desires to be."
Klaus' gaze flitted towards Marcel and the emotional turmoil he had directed at her transmuted into something ruthless.
"Ah yes, the benevolent King of New Orleans that is here to offer the protection of his Kingdom to the damsel in distress," Klaus mocked and Caroline's hands turned to fists as she realized she would now have to face his asshole tendencies too.
Before she could say anything Josh started pulling her back.
"From what I am seeing Caroline Forbes is many things but a damsel in distress?" Marcel chuckled shaking his head, "Come on Klaus. If that was the case you wouldn't be here for her. You wouldn't care," Marcel drawled and Caroline sucked in a sharp breath.
"Stay where you are love," Klaus warned her without taking his eyes from Marcel and Caroline pressed her lips annoyed. She hadn't any intention of leaving anyway despite how Josh was trying to haul her away.
"This is beyond your might, Marcellus. You want to shelter a girl you barely know only to spite me but you saw what happened today," Klaus pointed out "Are you willing to take this risk?" he condescendingly challenged him, "to sacrifice your people for…her?"
Caroline felt the overwhelming need to punch Klaus.
She knew Marcel saw right through Klaus' manipulation but she still couldn't help herself.
"Her…is standing right here!" Caroline ground out, "And I don't like both of you speaking as if I am not!"
Marcel gave her a crooked smirk.
"My apologies Caroline," he laughed and Caroline rolled her eyes.
Marcel gave Klaus his focus again.
"But the answer to your question is …yes."
"What of your people then? Are they willing to take the fall for her?" Klaus smirked looking so sure for himself and that hurt her because she knew that she was stranded in this city all alone. Besides Klaus and Kol and maybe Cami, she didn't have any friends or family and Klaus knew it. He knew it and he was taking advantage of it.
"Yes we are," Josh stepped up and Caroline blinked.
Klaus' smirk vanished at Josh's statement and Caroline found herself smiling. Josh bravely confronted Klaus despite how much Caroline knew the young vampire feared the Original.
She inhaled deeply.
She hadn't felt like this for a long time. So long. Kol may have been her mentor and eventually her friend but their bond was twisted and complicated.
What Josh offered was pure and light and reminded her nights when she, Matt, Elena, and Bonnie laughed, went to the movies, and ate curly fries at the grill. It brought comfort and an ache in her heart. It made her feel warm in places that had been cold.
So cold.
"You got your answer old friend," Marcel addressed his sire with a gloating expression.
"You were always foolish Marcellus," Klaus breathed out, his patience waning.
"I guess a student many times falls into the same steps as the teacher," Marcel shrugged.
Klaus's lips curled to an ironic smirk before it was wiped from his face. His features turned to stone.
He watched Marcel and Josh dismissively before his eyes found her.
"This nonsense lasted long enough," Klaus declared. He appeared unruffled and calm. Too calm. Caroline had seen this smooth behavior in him before and she knew it was always followed by unparalleled cruelty. "You are coming with me now Caroline. We are leaving," he commanded her, "Now."
His tone made it clear this was not negotiable.
Caroline stood her ground firmly.
"I have already told you I am staying."
"You will be safe in the Abattoir," Klaus stated as if she hadn't spoken at all.
"Seriously?" she scowled at him, "Are you being obtuse on purpose or just deaf?"
Klaus' expression didn't change.
"I need to keep a close eye on you and ensure my mother won't get a hold of you," Klaus said unemotionally, addressing her as he would a stubborn child that refused to go to bed.
Caroline was starting to get more and more frustrated.
"You are not listening to me, Klaus!"
"No love," he intoned; his tone was smoothed by his accent but somehow instead of having the effect of temptation it usually had it now chilled her to the bone, "You are the one that is not listening."
Caroline froze realizing where this was leading to. She couldn't stop it. She couldn't stop him.
She had pushed him too far.
She knew what this meant. Klaus vacant gaze told her anything she needed to know. This Klaus was not to be trifled with. This was the Original that had carried his family in coffins for centuries and called his obsession necessity out of love.
The spark she was seeing in his eyes right now… she had seen it before. A long time ago when he had stabbed her with a lamp and bit her with every intention of letting her die.
Only he had promised her to never hurt her again. And yet she knew what he was about to do would be far worse.
"If you take my choice away I will never forgive you," she whispered and utter silence enveloped them.
Caroline saw the words that Klaus would not form in his eyes and she let him see how she meant what she said.
The problem was that Klaus let her see him too. He let her see his raw self. His most base instincts and it was as if the thread that was a red line between his logic and all that was manic inside him snapped.
It was the shift in the air. That minuscule but so significant change. She tried to take a step back but Klaus' eyes held warning. It held far more than just a warning. She saw the madness in his eyes. It was like a light switch had been turned on. It glinted, sharp and cruel.
Marcel blocked Klaus' way.
"Klaus-"
Klaus raised his hand with the kind of authority that stopped even Marcel in his tracks.
"I raised you and sired you, Marcellus. Our ties span centuries. So you tell me now," Klaus drawled, his mouth quirking to the side in a twisted smirk, "what happens next?"
"Caroline…run!" Marcel yelled but before she could Klaus had swat Marcel back like a fly and flashed towards Josh.
It all happened in less than a second.
Caroline knew she should have listened to Marcel.
She should run in the opposite direction.
She should have, but this was the one and the only lesson Kol Mikaelson had been unable to teach her.
This had always been her weakness.
The one thing Purgatory hadn't purged into unholy fire. Kol had tried to teach her not to care. To fend only for herself and let others go down. To let others take the fall and turn her back on them so she'd survive. Make everyone else cannon fonder. See everyone as expendable pawns. Kol and Klaus called them collateral. She called them her blind spot.
What Kol had tried to teach she couldn't do. She couldn't do it in Purgatory either. She couldn't leave Kol back. She couldn't leave that hell without him even when she had the chance.
And now…now she couldn't leave Josh behind. She couldn't let him die.
And Klaus knew it.
Klaus saw right through her. He saw the things she couldn't hide. The things she couldn't bury.
Her weakness. Her one and only weakness.
Caring.
Caroline blocked Josh' body with her own. She saw Klaus' intent. He would have ripped his heart out otherwise. It was either her or Josh. Josh that saved her today. She owed him and she hadn't saved his life for Klaus to take it.
Josh was her friend after all.
He was her friend…and her distraction.
She tried to dodge Klaus' move but in her attempt to save Josh's life Klaus had the momentum and they both knew it.
She wouldn't be fast enough to save Josh and simultaneously stop Klaus from-
Caroline's unconscious body fell into Klaus' waiting arms.
The unnatural angle of her head saddened Klaus but this nonsense had to end. He snapped her neck so fast making sure she wouldn't feel any pain.
Klaus picked her up in his arms and looked down at her pale skin. She was so still.
He held her close feeling the conflicting emotions of protectiveness and guilt rushing through him. The latter feeling he ignored. Caroline's life was on the line and he couldn't protect her if she refused to see reason. His mother was after her and now New Orleans' witches were after her too. He had to keep her close. It was the only way to ensure she'd survive. Even if he had to chain her into the Abattoir and throw away the key.
If she was an Original he would have already locked her into a coffin but unfortunately, she was not. She was fragile and breakable.
Death had claimed her once. He would not allow this to happen again.
She would hate him for this. He knew she would. Along with every other reason she had to hate him now but it didn't matter. She could hate him as much and for as long as she desired as long as she was alive to do so. Maybe in a few years or centuries, she'd forgive him. Maybe she would not. It mattered not. What mattered was the eternity that loomed ahead and he would make sure Caroline would endure it even if he had to sacrifice any chance of her staying by his side…willingly.
In time she would adjust. His siblings had.
"I would suggest both of you to get out of my way now," he advised Marcellus and Josh that now blocked his way.
Both men didn't move and Klaus rolled his eyes at their bravado.
Marcel's eyes fell on Caroline and Klaus tightened his hold around her body. He didn't like the way Marcellus was looking at his girl. He didn't like it at all.
"I do not know who that girl is or what she is hiding but she is one of my people now and she ain't going anywhere she doesn't want to go," Marcel stated and Josh nodded next to him.
Klaus gave them the kind of deadly glare that brought terror to his enemies. Marcel didn't react to it but Josh seemed to pale and yet even the youngest vampire didn't move. Instead, Josh gulped before he gave him what seemed to a gaze that meant to reason him.
"She doesn't want to go with you," Josh tried to persuade him carefully, "if you care for her this has to mean something."
Klaus looked at Josh. It meant something. It did.
But Caroline's life meant more to him.
He sighed and then slowly walked towards the stone bench and gently laid Caroline on it. He pushed some hair out of her face, admiring her flawless beauty fondly, before he walked towards Josh that almost stumbled back.
Almost.
'Brave lad,' Klaus thought with mirth as he smirked.
He had been keeping an eye out for Caroline and knew she had grown quite fond of the boy. And this fool was obviously ready to fight for her.
Caroline would hate him if he killed him. Besides as he had just proven he could use the people Caroline cared for as leverage. Thankfully Purgatory hadn't changed her to the degree she believed it had. She was still foolishly loyal to those she considered friends. Such ties were for him the equivalent of the daggers he used against his siblings and he would wield them just as easily.
Marcel tensed as Klaus stood in front of Josh and examined him from head to toe.
And without warning, he shoved Josh away with a flick of his wrist.
Josh let out a pained sound when he hit the ground. Klaus heard that particular sound. The sound a spine made when it broke. From the corner of his eye, Klaus saw Josh trying to crawl just as he reached for his phone. He would probably call that useless witch. Davina. To save them all when her feeble magic had been unable to shield them and protect Caroline in the first place.
He would deal with Davina in due time.
In the meantime, he had to deal with Marcellus that tried to attack him in retaliation. Klaus easily fended him off but Marcel kept coming. He was swift and deadly and maybe Klaus would have enjoyed it if he hadn't had to end this quickly. He had to get back to the compound before Caroline woke up. He would hate to have to break her neck again.
When his old protégé tried to push him back Klaus only laughed and sunk his fangs into Marcel's forearm before throwing him away with as much ease as he had done with Josh.
More vampires gathered and looked at their leader in shock. Klaus licked Marcel's blood from his lips.
"Step aside Marcellus," Klaus advised him with a polite and eerily calm tone that contradicted his bloodied lips and his crimson coated teeth, "I won't ask twice."
Marcel cast him a glower full of hate while he held his festering wound with his hand. He rose in full height.
"You can go straight to hell for all I care. Caroline stays," Marcel wryly defied him just as his hybrid venom poisoned his bloodstream.
"There won't be a coin to save you this time," Klaus warned him and when Marcel didn't move back he grinned.
Every vampire around him went into defense mode. Marcel braced himself as he stood into the warrior stance Klaus had taught him centuries ago.
Klaus' eyes turned to amber.
A last warning.
One that no one would heed.
Klaus smiled.
