Kai must join forces with Damon and Stefan against his father in order to save Elena's casket. Meanwhile, Bonnie must deal with canceling Lucy and Enzo's wedding affairs, and her grieving cousin. Finally, Kai gives Bonnie the most unexpected surprise that will change their lives forever.
There was a knock on the door. Who could that be? When Bonnie peeked through the frosted glass of the hallway window, she could only see a silhouette of a person before deciding to open up the front door. She was rather staggered by who she found outside.
"Stay away from us."
In front of her stood Stefan Salvatore, who was slightly hunched over in her doorway.
"Bonnie... Please just hear me out," he blurts out.
"How dare you make demands," a voice interrupted. Bonnie whipped around to see Lucy standing behind her. It wasn't long before her cousin marched to the front door and stared Stefan down. "We don't want to hear anything you have to say to us."
Leaning heavily against the door frame, Stefan takes his time to answer. "Lucy, I understand. I'm sorry for my actions. I needed to explain myself."
The older Bennett woman looked tired and wrung out, but she didn't look nearly as pissed. Just sad. "Nothing you can say to me. You took away the most important person to me. Now I'm going to have to live my immortal life without him." Lucy paused as soon as the word left her mouth. "You have no idea how much pain I'm carrying with me."
Stefan lowered his chin and took a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry I let things get out of control. I didn't fight hard enough against Cade or my bloodthirsty urges."
She considered that. "I've only been a vampire for a year. But I'd never do something so cruel to someone I thought was a friend. After everything, Enzo's done for you and your brother."
"I know. Enzo was a good person. I fucked up big time. I'm not here for your forgiveness. I just want you to know that I plan to spend the rest of my human life looking for ways to atone." Stefan looked nauseous as he explained himself. "I'm leaving Mystic Falls for good. I have no right to be here anymore."
Lucy was silent at this.
"What about Caroline? Is she running off with you?" Bonnie asked, not surprised. Irritated that her best friend was still pining for this man.
He looked a bit shocked, but then he squared his shoulders. "Of course not," Stefan answered. "Just because Valerie and I are over doesn't mean I'm going back to Caroline. She belongs with Alaric and her daughters. My path is different now. I need to find my own way, with someone else who understands."
Bonnie thought for a moment.
"For fuck sake. New Orleans." Bonnie said bluntly. "You're running off to Klaus Mikaelson." Her eyes rolled, because who else would take Stefan in.
Stefan sighs heavily, looking totally dejected now, and turns to leave. "Please don't tell Damon."
Bonnie was looking at him strangely. "He and I aren't on good terms either." Bonnie had no plans to forgive either of the Salvatore brothers. "Have a nice life."
With that, she slammed the door in Stefan's face. Bonnie turned and noticed Lucy reaching for the house phone.
"I need to call the caterers to cancel that delivery. And return that dress that I ordered, which, funny enough, they messed up on the measurements. The damn thing didn't even fit." Lucy said softly, fiercely.
"Lu, you don't need to do that. I can handle everything for you." Bonnie spoke to her faintly, calmingly, and Lucy relaxed just a little.
Lucy's eyes even blurred with tears, held a look of gratitude. "I can't just sit around here. I can't keep sitting and mopping over…"
"Enzo died a couple of days ago. You're allowed to grieve for weeks, months, even years. I will take care of the wedding stuff. Just go back up the stairs and rest."
For a moment, Bonnie thought she would break, but Lucy only shook her head. "Bonnie…"
"We finally got one Salvatore brother out of Mystic Falls. Kai and I will work on getting rid of Cade and then kick Damon to the curve."
Lucy took another moment, staring out the small window before turning back to face Bonnie, studying her cousin. "I heard you two last night."
Bonnie found herself blushing, and said lightly, "Oh fuck..."
"Yep. How about having a little respect for Gram's house?" Lucy gazed at her in sympathy. "Is it true about Kai's father?"
She rubbed her eyes, tiredness washing over her. "He escaped hell, yeah. Damon and Kai are tracking him down."
"Should we be more worried?" Lucy eventually managed to ask.
Bonnie felt her eyes stinging with sudden, unshed tears at her question. She couldn't help it. Bonnie was afraid for Kai. She knew the negative hold Joshua Parker had on his son.
"Probably. Kai thinks he can handle this. But something tells me we're in for a world of hurt if people can just walk out of hell."
When he pushed the door open. Kai wasn't at all surprised at what he saw.
"You're running away?" His expression had twisted with fury for a few seconds.
Stefan says nothing at first. He drops his bag next to his mattress on the floor and looks around.
"I have no reason to stay anymore. I think it's better if I just leave Mystic Falls for good." Stefan responded honestly, and Kai snorted at that.
"What about Valerie?" Kai asked, and leaned his weight against the door.
Stefan shrugged him off. "Val broke it off. What I did to Enzo was unforgivable. It's time for me to walk away from all of this."
"Might not wanna run off so fast," Kai demanded, his eyes narrowing in on Stefan's duffle bag. "My father escaped hell, and he stole Elena's coffin. Right now Damon's trying to find him."
"Hang on, your father is alive," Stefan said, rolling his head to look at Kai. "How is that possible?"
"He's not really alive. He's more of a phantom. He got out the same way Cade did, and he promised Damon he'd wake Elena up, then he double-crossed us and now we can't find him." Kai could practically hear the gears in Stefan's brain grinding.
"Use a locator spell on the coffin." Stefan makes it sound like a rational suggestion.
"Did you forget cloaking spells are my dad's specialties," Kai reminds him, shaking his head. "I can't locate him or Elena. We have to do this the old fashion way."
"He probably plans on turning Elena over to Cade, so that Cade can get control over Damon. That way he'll leverage his freedom." Stefan guessed, sounding a little irritated himself. "I can't help, not like this. I'm human now, all I'll do is get in the way."
"Look, I'm glad you're skipping town. In fact, I want you to take Damon with you. But with Joshua on the loose, and Cade roaming the earth, you and Damon owe it to the rest of us to clean up this mess."
"You really want to team up with me, after everything I've done to you and Bonnie." He's not convincing himself, much less Kai.
"You owe us, Stefan. After this, you can run back to Klaus Mikaelson and hide at his supernatural haven for the rest of your pathetic mortal life."
Stefan was looking at him again, and Kai stared back. The other man wasn't smiling. That steady gaze, green eyes calm, yet clouded by guilt. "How did you…?"
Kai grinned at Stefan's forced reaction. "Once word gets out about your mortality, nowhere else is safe. I'm sure Klaus will take good care of you."
He didn't miss that light blush on Stefan's cheeks.
"You told me you were over him." A booming voice overtook the armory. "I've asked you so many times over the years if you were over him, even during therapy sessions you said you were over Stefan."
"I thought I was. It was so easy to pretend in Texas."
"Oh, is that what you were doing, faking it with me the entire time." Alaric kept shouting. "I've been in love with you all these years. I've made it work, we were happy."
Caroline frowned at Alaric, who was still pacing back and forth across the floor. "You were happy, Ric. Stefan was my dream guy, and I lost him to the huntress. I got pregnant because of your wife's coven. All I ever wanted was Stefan."
Damon shuddered at those words.
"Well, how's that gonna work? He's human now. Neither you nor Valerie stand a chance, he's probably going to run off and find a human girl."
"Not if I go with him."
Alaric rounded on his wife, glaring at her. "You'd really leave us. Leave your family for him. That's a lousy reason to abandon your children for some guy."
Caroline's eyes went wide, and she glared back at her husband. "I love him, Ric," she confesses. "I love Josie and Lizzie too. I want to be in their lives still."
"Fuck off, Caroline." Alaric acted as though he hadn't heard her. "Go be with Stefan. I will raise my daughters on my own. We don't need you, we never did."
Damon decided there was no need to keep hiding in the shadows any longer.
"Sorry to interrupt this tragic end to your relationship. But we have a tremendous problem." Damon heard Alaric take a breath.
"Can we have a moment, please?" Caroline demanded, shortly.
The vampire pulled his glasses off and regarded both his friends steadily. "Joshua Parker is alive, sort of." Damon announced. Alaric's jaw dropped. "Apparently he was such a shitty father. It landed him a one-way ticket to hell. Seems like that bell didn't just wake up Cade."
Caroline and Alaric caught on at once.
"Is he the only one?" Alaric demanded, and Caroline shifted uncomfortably when she glanced between him and Damon.
Damon dropped his hands and crossed his arms over his narrow chest. "For now, the last person I want to encounter is my father. So we should really figure out how to find him and…"
Alaric blinked at him. "Find him? You don't know where he is?"
Damon took a deep breath, then spoke the words he'd been dreading to say. "He ran off after he stole Elena's coffin."
Caroline spluttered. "He has Elena."
His eyes darken. "Yes. Right now Kai and I are looking for him, but he has magic and is cloaking himself."
"Damon, does he know about Josie and Lizzie?" Alaric asked suddenly.
The vampire stiffened as much as his undignified position allowed. "Yeah, but that's not important."
"The girls are siphoners. We all know how he felt about Kai." Caroline met his gaze steadily. "The Gemini Coven aren't accepting of siphoning witches."
"You don't think he'd go after them?" Damon asked, looking at the broken couple.
The blonde shuddered at Damon's question. "I'm going to pick them up and bring them here."
Alaric just looked tired and sad. "Don't bother. Just call Kai and tell him to swing by their school. He's on the emergency guardian list."
Damon watched as Caroline turned her back as she reached in her pocket for her phone to warn Kai. His eyes glanced at Alaric, who was a nerve wreck.
The glasses went back on. "I need to ask a favor from you."
"Josette and Elizabeth were picked up by their grandfather about an hour ago."
"You're fucking kidding me," Kai muttered and he let out a breath as he felt something like pressure down by his abdomen.
"Thank you, Ms. Holland." Stefan thanked the teacher, pushing Kai forward back to his car. "We need to find them."
Kai looked at Stefan sharply. "How? We don't know where he's taking them."
Stefan laughed and shook his head. "Kai, you're literally the current Gemini Leader. You have all that power beneath your fingertips. Think?"
The heretic just rolled his eyes and glared at Stefan. "Joshua is way more powerful than me. He's been a witch for six and half decades."
Stefan spoke long before Kai was ready for him to. "He's also been dead for four years." Stefan reminded him. "Are you really going to let your father win? He's going to do everything in his power to ruin your happiness. He has Elena. He's taken your nieces. Who do you think he'll go after next?"
Kai felt a cold flush run through his body at the words and he froze in place, processing what the older man had just implied. "Bonnie."
Stefan repeated softly, "Think about her. She's your weak spot and once Joshua knows it, he'll go after her. And without her magic she's vulnerable."
"He's going to kill them." Kai shook his head slightly, trying to clear it. "Josie and Lizzie both are siphoners. Joshua, he doesn't think they're worth anything, he'll only see them as monsters."
"You need to stop him. Lure him out." Stefan continued, and this much Kai had expected.
He took a deep breath. "Appara Vestigium" Kai felt a gust of wind blow around him. When his eyes traced the ground, he noticed footprints: two sets of little ones and one adult size.
Stefan ran a hand through his hair. "Is that?"
"The spell reveals traces of magic, in footprints and track marks," Kai explained. "We should follow the trail."
Alaric wasn't sure about this. When Damon told him he had a plan to eliminate Cade, he thought it should be second priority to finding Joshua. It was Peter Maxwell and Matt who rang the bell the first time to let Cade on earth. Now, Damon was asking him to use the bell once again at 8:00 p.m., claiming he had the answers to all their problems.
What really made Alaric more concerned was that his daughters were missing. Kai called hours ago and told him Joshua took Lizzie and Josie from school. Alaric wanted to meet up with Kai and Stefan to go hunt down his former father-in-law, but Kai promised him he could rescue the girls alone. All Alaric could really do was help get rid of Cade for good and then worry about killing Joshua, after.
The clock struck at 8:00 p.m. and Alaric started ringing the bell. He paused the second his phone started ringing. The number looked familiar, but he was unsure.
"Hello."
"Mr. Saltzman, it's been a very long time." That voice. "I have to say the girls resemble my wife, especially Elizabeth. And that fighting spirit they got from my daughter, Jo."
"Where are you?" Alaric growled. "If you hurt them?"
"Now, now. Calm down. I have no plans to hurt these girls, not unless I get what I want."
"What is that?" Alaric asked for a lack of something better to say.
"I'm setting a trap for Malachai, I know he's chasing after me. However, he needs to pay for his crimes against our family. And if I can trade his wicked soul to Cade, I will probably be free from hell."
"I don't know what sort of evil you've done to end up in hell," Alaric whispered, his voice carrying in the silence. "But I promise you if you lay a hand on my children, going back to hell will be the last thing you'll be worried about."
"Again. Mr. Saltzman, I have no plans to harm my granddaughters. I need Malachai to do whatever I ask of him. For that, the girls will be safe."
"I'll pass on the message." Alaric hissed out.
"Be sure you do so," Joshua said, voice drawn, low, stiff. "And please, no funny business. I still have my magic and I can easily hurt these two. I'll be in a cave vault."
The phone went dead. Alaric threw his arms up in the air, wanting nothing more but to scream. Instead, he quickly called up his kids' uncle.
A click sounded through the line and then, "Ric, we're moving as fast as we can. I think Joshua is leaving false clues everywhere. Nothing but dead ends."
"Forget that, he just called me."
"What?" Kai screeched. The pitch in his frustrated voice was so high that it made Alaric grimace and visibly shrink into himself for a moment.
"He wants to meet you alone. He's heading to the armory." Alaric said, raking a hand through his hair.
"Where are the girls?" Kai asks and Alaric feels his face heating up.
He sighed. "No clue. He called me at this familiar number. I need to track it, but I'm stuck here."
"Where the hell are you?" Kai asked, confusion clear.
"Damon asked me to ring the hell bell. He has a plan to get rid of Cade for good." Alaric pressed on.
"Hold on, what?" Stefan's voice interrupted. "He went to fight Cade alone."
"We don't have time for Damon and his fight with Cade," Kai said, voice firmer and there was anger creeping in there, too.
Stefan's voice turned desperate. "I can't let him do this alone."
"Hello, my children are missing," Alaric shouted. His face was flushed, his body tense.
"And you're supposed to help me get your ex-girlfriend back from my dad, remember." Kai's voice cracks with displeasure.
"We should split up," Stefan said tightly. "Kai needs to go find Joshua. Ric, you should call Matt to trace the phone number and get the location. The twins are probably tucked away safely. I'll go after Damon."
An annoyed and exasperated breath carried over the phone.
"Who died and made you boss?" Kai shot back through gritted teeth.
"If we can save Lizzie and Josie, get rid of your father and Cade in the next couple of hours. This will all be a blessing." Stefan said conveniently.
Alaric sucked in a breath and he closed his eyes as if that might make the situation go away. "He's right, Kai. Cade is ruining our lives. If Damon's plan is going to work, he's going to need backup. You and I can handle the rest." Alaric knew what had to be done. He just needed Kai on board.
"Fine," Kai said gruffly.
Alaric then rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Also, I should warn you, this is a trap. Joshua doesn't plan on going down without a fight."
Kai chuckles on the other end of the line, "I expect nothing less from him."
The line went dead before Alaric could process exactly what he'd meant, but when he figured it out, he resisted the urge to bang his forehead into the screen.
Somehow, Bonnie ended up at the floral shop late at night. Lucy wanted to get rid of all the wedding stuff she had at the house and Bonnie needed a break from Lucy's antics. She agreed to head down to Ms. Wu's floral shop and canceled the flower order.
"The wedding has been called off Ms. Wu."
"Mr. St. John spent $1500 on flowers, the down payment has been made and the flowers are coming trimmed and ready for the big day."
Who spends that sort of money on flowers for a small wedding?
She closed his eyes and wiped at her face. "Mr. St. John died a few days ago, there won't be a big day."
Ms. Wu blinked in surprise. "I am sorry, but you still cannot get a refund."
Bonnie rolled her eyes. Why is she even surprised?
"Just trash them, okay."
She bolts out of the shop, gasping for breath. When she got outside, Bonnie couldn't see. She can't see anything. It's completely dark. Pitch black.
Her breathing was ragged, and her heart was hammering against her chest. She was not in control. Bonnie feels dizzy and weak. As she tried to turn back into the shop, her eyes began to sting so badly, until all of her body felt the same. Like burns. She was burning. She was on fire.
A single tear rolled down her eyes. Her head throbbed with pain. She saw flashes. Elena. Her coffin. They were covered in flames.
She exhaled. At least she wasn't hallucinating.
Bonnie doesn't understand how her feet were just moving. She was running. Running in a direction she was unfamiliar with. Her mind had no clue where her body was taking her. She was confused as to why she was out in the woods. Until she heard voices.
"The question is, which soul will you save? Elena's Or your brother's?"
"Stop trying to make me choose."
"Okay then, maybe our little visitor can help you make that choice."
She almost jumped out of her skin. Bonnie moved from behind the tree she was watching from. There, Cade greeted her with his plastered smile. Meanwhile Damon was surprised to see her—blue eyes widened almost comically, and his lips were twisting into a snarl—and then his face settled down to coolness.
"Miss Bennett, who deserves to live. Elena Gilbert or Stefan Salvatore?"
Bonnie blinked, but Damon said nothing.
No insults. Not even a smirk.
"Neither," she said as she stood in his line of vision. "Both were bloodthirsty monsters as vampires. They did nothing but kill and hurt innocent people."
"So you are saying. I should take both of them." Cade said, and it sounded like he was laughing.
Her eyes burned, and she squeezed them shut. "There's nothing Stefan can do now to repent. Maybe there is hope for Elena, but not if she stays with Damon. He brings out the worst in her."
Cade thought about that for a minute. A long minute. "So maybe I should do the world a favor and kill both Stefan and Damon. Free you all from them."
"Maybe you should." Bonnie cocks her head to the side, almost amused at the other's obvious annoyance.
Damon's cheeks went a little pink at this. "Bonnie, I know things have been awful for you. But please, spare Stefan. He's human now…"
"And that makes everything okay. Enzo is dead. Tyler is dead. Jeremy and Lucy both have to live their lives without the person they love. And you think you deserve happiness with Elena. You think I'd be okay with Stefan hiding in New Orleans behind Klaus. Carving out some weird happiness for himself, while Caroline chases after him."
"The girl raises a good point. Tyler Lockwood was at least innocent. You showed zero remorse for killing the Lockwood boy. Meanwhile, the guilt of Enzo has been weighting Stefan down." That made Bonnie's stomach drop. Did Damon not feel anything for killing Tyler? Was he that cold?
Bonnie gave a little exasperated shake of her head. "I won't fight for any of them. The only people that I care about are Lucy and Kai," she said sternly. "Do whatever it is you want with the rest of them." Bonnie could see Stefan meters away from her, slowly stirring up from being knocked out earlier before she arrived.
"You see, Damon, Bonnie, and I share the same psychic gift. I thought for sure she'd come swooping in to save your soul, and risk shattering her mind to keep you alive. Yet she gave up on you. How sad."
Nostrils flaring, Cade takes another step toward Damon and raises his arm slightly. His ability allowed for him to grip Damon by his shoulders and to his throat, slowly squeezing down on his bones. Damon's hands flow toward his neck on pure reflexes, scratching at the invisible vice. It's unfortunate, but even he wasn't able to stop his body from panicking at the threat of his bones crushing. His eyes didn't leave Cade's, though, and he does everything he can to keep his gaze steady.
"Any last words?" Cade asked, not loosening his magical grip on Damon's throat.
"Bonnie…" Damon croaks, his eyes stinging. "I love you, I'm sorry…"
Cade growls, and the vice around Damon's neck tightens, making his eyes bulge. He tries to gasp, his hands scrambling frantically at his throat.
Maybe she was wrong. Maybe she could give Damon another chance. But at what cost.
Bonnie was almost ready for Damon's entire wretched life to flash before her eyes when Cade drops his hand and his grip dissipates. Damon hit the ground, and Bonnie hadn't noticed Stefan getting up and moving behind Cade, jamming him with a weapon. The devil gasped and exploded. Probably back to hell. Damon groans loudly.
Stefan gave his brother a steady look. "You okay?"
He blinked sheepishly. "Yeah," Damon glanced at Bonnie. "Look, about what I said…"
She shook her head. "I need to find Kai."
Bonnie didn't squander another second with the Salvatores. She was willing to let them both die tonight, not willing to waste her time or energy to save them. All she wanted was her boyfriend. And his father was still on the loose with Elena.
"Joshua, come out, come out wherever you are."
Kai sings-song at the entrance of the vault's cave.
"Malachai, you came." Joshua appeared to him. "Alone, I hope."
Kai held up both hands in surrender, half expecting his father to walk away. But he didn't. Joshua just took a deep breath and glared at him, waiting. "I'd hate to give you a reason to kill those girls."
Joshua tapped his chin and then smirked at his son. "Not that I trust you either way. As promised, I won't lay a hand on Josette and Elizabeth."
"Where are they?" Kai asked slowly, his eye narrowing.
"Tucked away safe. Somewhere where they could get a sense of their mother." Joshua said flatly. "How awful it's been for them to not have Josette raising them."
"Alaric's wife has been doing a damn good job with them," Kai said with a huff, flexing his shoulders.
Joshua smiled and said. "That vampire, we forced them in. Yes, well, not surprised that she managed to get attached."
Kai blinked, not attempting to conceal his astonishment. "Why did you do it? Was it this that landed you in hell?"
The silence that settled thereafter was thick and more than a little disconcerting. Joshua's mouth formed a solemn line, and he nodded tightly to himself. Manifest conviction clouded every strain on his face before he glanced away. "Protecting the last of the coven should have granted me a safe spot in heaven with your mother and siblings, sadly it wasn't enough."
Kai furrowed his brows. "What the fuck did you do?"
"I failed to stop you from ruining our family." Joshua shook his head firmly. "I should have listened to the coven, listened to your grandfather. My biggest regret was not killing you when we found out what you were." Kai was frozen in place. He knew he should put forth his plan to get rid of his father for good, but he couldn't help but have questions for him. He needed the truth.
"There was nothing wrong with me." Kai continued and shot his father a meaningful glare. "I've met others like me, the things that I can do..."
"You mean those monstrous heretics. They were nothing but bloodthirsty killers. Of course, you fit in with them." Joshua said with open amusement in his voice. "From what I heard, they all died, one by one."
"Not all of them," Kai muttered. "One of them is still alive. Valerie, she's my best friend…"
His father chuckled. "Don't tell me she's your girlfriend. Someone finally took pity on you."
"Not Valerie," Kai said after a beat, looking up at him. "She's nothing more than the sister I've always wanted. Sometimes she reminds me of Jo."
"I guarantee you, Jo is nothing like that creature. She was superior, she was supposed to still be here. Leading the coven and preserving our way of life."
"Your way of life is what tore our family apart." Kai shot back. "You are still too blind to see it. You all were wrong. I won't let Lizzie and Josie kill each other to merge. We're finding a new way."
"Is that so? When the time comes, those girls will have no choice." There was a meek edge to his voice, and Kai felt his anger deflate somewhat.
"I got nothing but time, dad." He allowed himself a little smug grin. "I'll figure something out, I always do."
Joshua moved back with a jerk and a hiss, looking both disoriented and scared. Not an emotion Kai had ever really expected to see on his father's face. "Enough of this. You know why I called for you to come here."
He watched him for a long minute. "You want me to take your place in hell."
"I don't belong there." Joshua snarled back, then took a breath.
"How should I know? You still won't tell me the truth." Kai stepped closer to his father. "For the last time, tell me what…"
"Casser les Os."
Kai felt his bones cracking violently.
The heretic waved his hand. "Immobilus."
Joshua froze in place as he stood. Kai could feel his bones mend themselves rapidly. Standing tall and marching over to his father.
"Phasmatos superous em ainmi…"
Kai subdued his father.
"No more games, in case you forgot, I'm far more powerful than you and I'm not some unmerge siphoner. I'm a heretic now." Kai reminded him. "Tell me what you did? Veritas tempus," Kai chanted a truth spell on his father.
"You just don't know when to give up." Joshua choked out. "Alright then. It was your mother." Kai blinked, taken aback. "She didn't die during childbirth. I had her euthanized after Oliva and Luke were born."
Kai went still, eyes closed tightly, exhaling fast. "Why? Why would you do that?"
"Because she was weak. Alway interfering when it came to raising you. Wanting me to spare you. Your grandfather thought having your mother around was making me weak. Making the coven weak. We agreed after Luke and Oliva were born, to get rid of her. Doctor Samuel did the procedure while she was asleep."
Kai only shook his head, leaning forward, the strain obvious, face pale and wet.
"You fucking bastard."
"I did what was best for all of us," Joshua murmured with a sinister smile. "I should have gotten rid of you that day too."
Kai was shaking with anger.
"Fo yato si," the fire lamp in the cave exploded, and Joshua was able to recover himself, while Kai fell backward. "No matter, you'll be in hell soon enough. And I will restore our coven, taking back my place as the coven leader."
"You think Cade will let you live? You're a monster just like me." Kai felt a vibration in his back pocket. He had a feeling it was Bonnie or Alaric. "Just tell me where you took Lizzie and Josie, let them go and I'll offer myself up to Cade."
A quiet, bitter laugh rushed over Joshua's lips. "You'd really do anything to save those freakish children. No surprise there, you sort always stick with your own kind. Those two are nothing but an abomination to witches everywhere."
Kai cocked his head unsympathetically. "They'll be more powerful than you'll ever imagine. And years from now, they'll carry on the Gemini legacy on their own terms. Choices you gave none of us."
Joshua turned his back, reaching down for something. Kai took this opportunity to get his phone from his pocket. He quickly noticed a text message from Alaric. He had the girls. They were safe. They were tucked away in Jo's old apartment at Whitmore.
Kai glared up at his father's back. He noticed the long wooden stake in his hand. Kai knew he had to act fast.
"That girl who took pity on me." Kai started up, Joshua's shoulders tense at his son's voice. "It was Bonnie, Bonnie Bennett. Sheila Bennett's granddaughter, she's my girlfriend."
"Didn't you do a number on that young woman, torture her, abandon her, and then link her life to her best friend? What could she possibly see in someone like you?"
"The real me. Not this sad, twisted version of me you fed to me my entire life." Kai confessed. "I've done some messed up shit in my life. I know that. I screwed up and I regret everything I've done, especially to Jo. But I'm owning up to it. I'm doing better, for Bonnie, for Lizzie, and Josie. For myself. I'm sorry I killed Luke. I'm sorry about Jo, Liv, and the coven. I'm sorry I killed you too."
"If you expect me to apologize to you…"
Kai shook his head, limbs tired. "I don't. I know you hate me. You always have. There's nothing I can do to make you see that I'm not the person you keep making me out to be. Doesn't change the fact that I am sorry, sometimes I wished you had killed me. Spare me all those years of abuse and torment."
Joshua scowled and took a step forward. "You deserved it. And Cade will know the factual truth. I don't belong in hell."
"Lihednat Dolchitni." Kai chanted, rapidly restricting his father's airways, stopping air from flowing in his lungs. "Phasmatos Somnus," he rendered Joshua unconscious.
After all that. Kai was pretty stunned. Now the question was, what to do with his father.
"Apné sà mene."
The doors to the cell room opened automatically. Bonnie walked through the room. It was then she watched as Kai chanted a room isolation spell.
"So you finally caught him." It was the first thing out of Bonnie's mouth.
"Ric found Lizzie and Josie, they're safe."
Jesus, Kai sounded exasperated. It shouldn't have surprised Bonnie, but it did.
"One more good thing came out of this awful night," Bonnie told him, while she slowly walked closer.
Her boyfriend hummed, clearly trying to look only mildly interested. "Wait, what else happened?" he asked, abruptly registering a hazy sense of recognition.
"Cade is dead." She confirmed with a frown. "Stefan killed him with an old rusty dagger."
"So Sybil was telling the truth. The weapon really worked, huh." Kai said, momentarily dizzied. "Joshua won't be getting out of here. I'm going to keep him locked away for good."
Bonnie wished she could express the relief she felt at this. "Maybe you could create another prison world and put his ass away for good. I'm sure Lucy could assist you, with the help of my blood, of course."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Kai said with a cheeky grin, "I love it when you get all sinister."
Bonnie ducked her head and shook it. "It's what he deserves, after everything he's put you through. Kidnapping his own granddaughters. I'm sure Alaric wants to rip him apart."
"He… he had my mother killed," Kai explained unsettlingly. "She didn't die during childbirth. He had her euthanized after she gave birth to the twins. He and my grandfather planned it out."
"You're joking," Bonnie said, looking horrified.
Kai's jaw twitched. "For some reason, I always thought it was my fault. The stress from dealing with me and my bullshit led to her death. I thought I was the problem. I know I fucked up bad Bonnie, but I'd never hurt her."
"I know. I'm so sorry." Bonnie fluttered, her brow furrowing as she fought to pull her thoughts together. "At least now you know the truth. I'm proud of the man you've become. You are better than him. In every way. You're a great friend, a fun uncle, and a loving boyfriend. That's who you are. Not an abomination, not a monster or a freak."
"I don't deserve you," Kai said and cupped his hand against Bonnie's cheek and pressed his lips to hers lightly, gently. Surprising Bonnie. Kai's lips were cool and dry, his skin cold too.
It lasted only a second and involved only the barest touch of tongues. "You have been everything I could have ever wanted. You're damn near perfect for me."
Kai's fingers were tunneling through her hair with a reverence that made Bonnie quiver. "Let's get married."
Her mouth dropped as her stomach dropped to the soles of her feet. What the hell had he just said? Her heartbeat thudded against her eardrums as she swallowed a lump of nerves bundled at the base of her throat. "Did you just propose to me?"
His gaze softened, eyes focused on her seriously. "I love you. You love me. We both want a future together. Doesn't matter what that future looks like for us," his voice cracked slightly, and he tentatively licked his bottom lip. "You are the most amazing, funny, intelligent, strong-willed, and beautiful woman I have ever met. And despite everything else, you were willing to give me a third, no... a fourth chance."
She could feel her eyelids aching from how wide they were. Her throat went dry.
He was on one knee, his hands were up, and he was holding open that black velvet box, a silver ring inside it. Even at a distance, she could tell the ring was a family heirloom, possibly his mother's, and her heart fluttered. Kai looked up at her, his eyes still droopy from the long day he's had. "I love you. I've loved you since the moment I set eyes on you in that prison world and I still loved you when we were fighting all those years ago, and I love you even more now. Bonnie, I can't imagine life without you. Will you…"
"Yes!" She pounced on him, knocking him to the ground, and slithered atop him to kiss him repeatedly. She couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying or both at once, and it didn't matter. She lifted her head and smiled down at Kai, her heart pounding so hard she was sure he could hear it. "Yes, Kai. A thousand times. Yes."
"I had expected better from a Bennett witch." Joshua's voice entered from behind the glass. "You women are all the same. Opening your legs for any man that gives you a bit of attention."
Kai raised his hand against the glass to attack his father.
"Kai, don't." Bonnie stopped him. "He's not worth it."
He listened, glaring deeply at Joshua, who sat in his cell with a smirk on his face.
"The boy actually listens to you." Joshua mocked. "You Bennett women always had a talent with your mouths."
Her boyfriend snapped his hand away and slowly stepped backwards. "You motherfucker…"
"Kai!"
Joshua furrowed his brow, pretending to be in deep thought. "I know all about your family's sexual history with vampires. The rumors about your grandmother's affair with that Salvatore brat. And your cheap mother's entangled with Mikael Mikaelson."
She blinked. A pause, and then, "My mother would never."
"Why do you think Sheila was so willing to help us trap Malachai in that prison world?" Joshua asked, then stopped short. "She called on the coven for a bit of a favor. After her daughter's disgusting affair with Mikael, they needed a spell to neutralize Mikael and stop him from getting his hands on the doppelganger. I offered my services to Sheila. And she kindly returned the favor a couple of months later."
Kai cringed visibly, and a light pink covered his cheeks as he brushed a hand through his messy, dark hair. "Don't listen to him, Bon. He's nothing but a liar."
A brief silence. "Didn't you find it odd that your mother just left your father? Sheila claims Mikael compelled Abby. But I never believed a powerful Bennett woman could get compelled by a vampire, even an original. No, she must have fallen for him, just like your grandmother fell for Stefan Salvatore, and now you've fallen for my son."
Bonnie didn't know what to say — or do. And Kai seemed shaken by all of this.
Joshua's voice was very quiet when he spoke up again. "No matter, as sweet as that little proposal was. You can forget about another red wedding..."
"It must eat you up to see me happy." Kai interrupted him firmly, not entirely able to keep the wince of pain out of his voice.
Joshua sighed, shrugging. "I honestly don't care one way or another. Now that Cade is gone, our plans for hell are finally happening."
Kai stared at him uncomprehendingly for a minute. "Plans? What plans?"
"When Stefan killed Cade, he didn't destroy hell." Joshua put his back to the glass barrier and folded his arms. "Better yet, hell is being run by someone a little more qualified."
A light tremble seized Kai's body. Then Bonnie felt callused fingers almost desperately stroking over her shoulders.
"Goddamnit, would you cut the bullshit. Tell us what you know."
Kai looked confused, the dead-serious expression breaking up into a lot of brief expressions that ripped certainty right off his face.
"This town's worst nightmare has just begun." Joshua snorted a laugh. "Katherine Pierce is the ruler of hell."
Sweat and fear and surprise — or not. A soft, unreadable shadow fell across her face. Bonnie felt her world end.
AN: Can you believe it? Two more chapters left. Bonnie and Kai are having a June wedding... sort of. Katherine is back and plotting to ruin everyone's lives. And Lucy gets closure from her one true love. The next chapter will be a teary ride. Get ready for it.