Chapter 3

The sun that was shining through the windows was not Alex's friend. She had desperately yanked the covers up and over her head to block out the beaming light when she had finally woken up. She had no idea what time it was or what time she had managed to crawl into bed the night before, but the pounding drum that was playing in her head meant Alex had no intention of climbing out from her comfortable cocoon anytime soon.

Rebekah and Alex had both indulged themselves in drinking a large quantity of Elijah's scotch before Rebekah had wished her a good night while heading off to indulge in something better—blood. Alex knew that at some point, she had turned off the TV and stumbled down the hall to pee before tripping into the bed. Sleep had overtaken her before she could change or climb under the covers, but in her sleep, she had wrapped herself up in the quilt, allowing her now to hide from the sun.

There was one thing that mattered, though. Raven's needed to be opened and managed, but Alex knew she probably wouldn't be able to do that. The hangover she was experiencing wasn't the worst she had ever had; after all, she was friends with vampires who could consume enough alcohol that would kill a human and still function normally. However, it would probably hang around for a while, and she would need someone else to take care of the bar.

With a wave of her arm, the curtains in her bedroom all drew themselves closed, hugging the room in darkness. Alex was grateful for blackout curtains. She pulled herself over to the edge of the bed and frowned when she didn't see her phone. She had probably left it in the living room.

Throwing her blankets off, Alex sat up and waited for the room to stop spinning before she stood. Using the walls for leverage, she stepped out into the hallway and used her magic to close every single blind in the apartment before she went too far. The idea of having to clean up her own vomit because she walked into a brightly lit room wasn't appealing.

As Alex thought, her phone was sitting on the coffee table in the living room. She picked it up and huffed when she realised it was dead. She slid along the couch and grabbed the charging cord that they kept plugged in beside the couch and rested her phone on the end table to charge.

It would take a minute to come back to life, so Alex looked at the mess around her. When they were drunk, Rebekah and Alex tended to have a bit of a junk food binge. Chocolate, popcorn and nuts were all over the rug and across the coffee table. She wanted to wave her hand and make the mess disappear, but she decided to just do it herself.

One thing that she found with her magic was that she could sometimes become lazy. Magic allowed Alex to snap her fingers or turn them, and things would just happen for her. It was great and useful most of the time, but she found that sometimes it was better to just do things the manual way or the 'human way'. Alex collected all the rubbish, pushed all the crumbs and leftovers into a bowl and then carried it into the kitchen. She threw out the rubbish, rinsed the dishes and grabbed herself a couple of pain relief tablets. As Alex swallowed the tablets, her phone buzzed back in the living room. She grabbed a damp cloth to wipe down the table with and did that before sitting down and checking her phone.

Alex had two missed calls, one from Elena and one from Elijah. There were also three text messages, two from Elijah. The first read: Sleep well, I love you. And the second: Good morning, did you have a chance to talk to Rebekah about Kol? Love you. Alex sighed when she saw the second one; Rebekah was supposed to have called him. The other message was from Elena that read: Need to talk to you about Kol Mikaelson. Call me pls.

It rubbed Alex the wrong way that Elena suddenly wanted to talk to her about Kol the day after learning that Kol had headed to Mystic Falls. Something wasn't quite right.

Getting more comfortable on the couch, Alex sent a message off to her Assistant Manager for Raven's asking her to open the bar and then dialled Elena's number.

Elena answered, "Hey, Alex."

"Hey you, how are you?" asked Alex.

"I'm good, you?"

"I have a hangover."

Elena snorted a laugh. "Did Rebekah get you drunk again?"

"Technically, yes, but we were in my apartment this time drinking Elijah's scotch."

"What does Elijah think of you drinking all his scotch?"

"He isn't here, so he doesn't know."

"Where is he?"

"Looking for Kol, which is why your message from earlier worried me."

Elena said, "I don't know exactly what's going on with him, but Matt called me because he saw him in Mystic Falls."

"When was this?"

"Yesterday. Matt said he was acting strange," said Elena.

Alex frowned.

"Why is Elijah looking for him?" asked Elena.

"Kol's been M.I.A for a few months, Elijah just wanted to check in on him and make sure he hasn't gone completely crazy, but now Elijah can't find him."

"So it's possible that Kol showing up in Mystic Falls isn't just nothing like I was hoping."

Alex wanted to shrug it off and tell her sister it was nothing. But it didn't sit right with her that Kol had gone back to Mystic Falls.

"I don't know at this point, but Elijah was getting a flight there today. Hopefully, he will find the brat and end all the confusion."

Elena chuckled. "Did you really call Kol a brat?"

"I did. It's probably the nicest name for him in my vocabulary," said Alex.

"Do you know why Kol would go back home?" asked Elena. "I remember him complaining about it more than anything."

"He did. It makes me think that someone may have lured him back. But the who and the why eludes me." Alex tucked her feet beneath her and sighed. "Did Matt say anything in particular about how he was acting?"

"Not really."

"Alright. Can you send my Matt's number?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, of course. I already sent Matt yours just in case he has another run-in," said Elena.

"Great, thank you."

"No problem."

The two sisters fell into momentary silence.

Elena broke it and said, "Besides the Kol drama, how have things been?"

Alex couldn't stop her huff. She didn't like to share the drama that happened with Elena; she didn't want to worry her sister. What she wanted was for Elena to enjoy her human life as normally as possible.

"You know," said Alex, "same old, same old."

"There haven't been any more witch attacks?"

Alex didn't like to share, but she wasn't going to straight out lie to her sister.

"There was one."

"When?" Elena's tone deepened.

Alex could only imagine that Elena was thinking the worst.

"Yesterday. He showed up at Raven's. I knocked him out before he could do anything, and he has been taken care of now. There is no need to worry about me," Alex rushed out.

"You weren't hurt?" asked Elena.

"Nothing a few drops of vamp blood couldn't heal."

"You needed blood? How bad were you hurt?"

Alex sunk into the couch.

"Alex!"

"I don't really know; it was probably only a few broken ribs. I am fine." Alex rubbed her hand over her face, trying to ignore the thumping of her headache. "If something bad had really happened, I would have called you. But it was fine."

Elena fell silent, and Alex could hear her moving about. A door clicked on her end, followed by a huff.

Elena said, "I didn't mean to yell. It's just that you are so far away, and I hate not knowing what is going on."

"I know. But I promise I am fine. I have two powerful Original vampires around me all the time, along with my own magic. If anyone has a right to be concerned, it's me. My human sister is dating a vampire, best friend with a vampire and is the Petrova Doppelganger."

"That may all be true, but I also don't have a coven of witches with god complexes hunting me down."

Alex couldn't argue with that. "They aren't doing a very good job of it."

"That's not the point."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"Sometimes I wonder who the older sister is," said Alex.

Elena let out a soft chuckle. "I better go; I do have a class I need to get to."

"Alright, off you go. Be the good college student."

"Don't I always. Love you, sis."

"Love you too."

Alex disconnected the call and sighed. It made it difficult being so far away from her family, but Atlanta was a place she had been able to start fresh. There was no major Council presence in Atlanta for one, and there were no bad memories there. It just sucked that it was an eight-hour drive to go back and see Elena and the rest of her family. However, the distance also meant they couldn't easily be dragged into any mess that occurred in Atlanta.

But something just wasn't sitting right with Kol's situation. It wasn't the first time he had fallen off the radar; more than once, Elijah has gone to check on him, but the longest it had ever taken was two weeks. The story was always something petty or ridiculous. But this time, it just felt different. Kol had up and vanished when it seemed that a particular witch had been keeping his interest in New York, and his choice of location was odd.

Alex wondered if maybe the Council was involved. Their most recent attempt lined up perfectly with Kol's disappearance. Was it possible that they lured Kol away so that Elijah would go after him, leaving Alex down one protector and more exposed? Or maybe there was something else that they wanted from Kol.

She glanced over to the duffle bag she had placed beside the couch when she returned to the apartment yesterday. It was full of possible answers. It could explain everything. It could also be a waste of time; from what she had read yesterday, the profiles covered everything she already knew.

Alex laughed at herself; she felt paranoid thinking about all of the possibilities. There was plenty of time to wonder, but first, she needed a shower, then she needed to call Matt. Maybe once she had washed away the grime of the day before, things would make more sense. Alex also needed to call Elijah back and check up on him.

Climbing into the shower, the hot water relaxed Alex's muscles and the headache that had seemed prominent for most of the morning finally started to fade. She took her time, scrubbing her body and washing her hair, even taking a moment to shave her legs. Once she felt clean and more human, she dressed and tied her damp hair into a loose braid.

She made her way back out into the kitchen and checked the time. It was almost noon, and she was hungry. Alex grabbed the Lucky Charms and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She inhaled a few mouthfuls before placing the bowl on the dining table and collecting the back from the living room.

Alex pulled out all of the folders and documents. There was enough paper before her that she could see herself spending the whole day reading over the files, but she really hoped that wouldn't happen.

Her phone buzzed from the living room. Alex took another bite of her cereal before going to check it. She let out a small sigh of relief to see her Assistant Manager, Jamie, had responded and confirmed she could open the bar. Alex sent back a quick thank you.

The phone started to ring in her hand, and Alex smiled when she saw Elijah's name.

"I was going to call you back, I swear," she answered.

Elijah chuckled softly. "I have no doubt."

"How goes to search?"

"Nowhere. I arrived in Mystic Falls this morning, and there isn't a trace of Kol. I checked Klaus' mansion to see if he had perhaps decided to take up residence there, but there was nothing, not even his scent. And I also looked in any other place I could imagine that he might go, but nothing."

Alex frowned. That wasn't good.

"Could you try tracking him again? See if you can get any closer?" asked Elijah.

Alex unplugged her phone and grabbed the map she had used the day before. She walked into the kitchen and said, "I can, but it will be the last of Kol's blood."

"Hopefully, it will be all we will need. I am rather done with chasing after my brother."

Alex bite her tongue. She had been tempted to make a comment about him not knowing how to do anything else but chase after his family, but now wasn't the time for snide comments. It probably wouldn't offend Elijah; he normally rolled his eyes at her and forced her to apologise by tickling her until she couldn't breathe.

She collected the last bit of Kol's blood from Elijah's study and laid the map out on the opposite end of the dining table, away from all of the other files. She didn't need to get blood all over them. Putting her phone on speaker and placing it down beside her, Alex poured out the blood and started to chant. Opening her eyes after a moment, Alex frowned at the map and stopped her chant.

"What's wrong?" asked Elijah.

Alex tried again, chanting the locator spell, but Kol's blood didn't budge.

"Alex?"

"Something is blocking me," she said. "Kol is either being hidden by a cloaking spell, or he's…" Alex didn't finish her sentence. There was no way Kol could be dead. Someone had to be hiding him.

"Who would be cloaking him?"

"He could have several witches that he has bewitched."

"But for what reason?"

Alex sighed. She looked up at the piles of paper she had sitting opposite her. "Maybe it's the Council."

Elijah asked, "Why would they take Kol?"

"I don't know. I just have this feeling that somehow Kol's disappearance and yesterdays attack are connected." Alex ran her fingers through her hair. "I sound so bloody paranoid."

"No, sounds like your being logical to me."

"Am I?"

Alex wasn't really sure what to think. There could be a number of reasons for Kol's actions. They hadn't seen him in months; he could have involved himself in anything.

"I have a mountain of information that the witch from yesterday left behind; I'm going to go through it and see if I can find anything," she said.

Elijah sighed. "Alright. I'm going to reach out to a few contacts and see if they can learn anything…oh, Rebekah did call me."

"She did? Good."

"If I listened to her, I would be on a plane home today."

Alex smiled. "Sounds like great advice to me."

He laughed. "I would love nothing more than to be back with you, but I need to find and throttle my brother first."

"I understand; just be safe."

"I promise. I love you, Alexandra."

Alex rolled her eyes at her full name. Elijah seemed to be the only one who could get away with calling her that.

"I love you too."

The idea that something else was going on couldn't be ignored. Alex still didn't know if the Council was involved, but she knew that they would need to find Kol sooner or later, preferably sooner. She would like for Elijah to return home sometime soon. But first, she needed some answers.

Not forgetting that she needed to call Matt, Alex sat back down at the table, ate her cereal and started to devour the information before her. She started with her own file. Skipping over the details she had already seen the day before, Alex read through the other case notes. A lot of it was general information about her magical abilities and fighting style. There were also plenty of details written down that were scanned reports signed by Renee; it seemed Renee had updated the Council often on her progress over the years. There were also details from when she had been in school; pages about her family, Gilbert's and Ravenwood's. Alex was surprised to see what looked like sections of very detailed records of the Ravenwood's lineage, about four pages worth, but it was incomplete.

When Alex had been a part of the Council, working for them and with Renee, they had never been open about her heritage. The Ravenwood family records had been sealed and were unavailable to everyone, including her. Alex had never liked that the information was kept from her, but she had trusted Renee when she had claimed that it was better for everyone if she left the past alone. Now she knew it was more to do with the details about how the Ravenwoods turned against the Council for being corrupt.

There was still lots she didn't know; Elijah had been kind enough to share what he knew about her family from his time with her grandmother, Nadia, but the rest of it was still being locked away by the Council.

She knew not to dwell on it, though. Alex knew that if she could one day connect with her ancestors, then she would be able to learn from them directly, but she didn't have time to practice that at the moment. Alex closed her folder and decided to move on; there wasn't anything useful to find in her own folder.

The next lot were individual files on the Mikaelson family. Each member had their own file; all of them were different thicknesses. Alex wasn't surprised to see that Klaus' was the fattest of them all. It was the one she chose to start with to get it out of the way. There were pages of detailed accounts of Klaus' deeds over the centuries; plenty of bloodshed and death, ramblings of monster and demons. There were copies of pictures and paintings, notes had been made on different pages many times, and some were so worn that it was difficult to read. It seemed that Klaus file had been constantly added too up until five years ago. The last records date his success of breaking the 'Sun and Moon Curse', but he had been silent since. Which made sense; Alex had him desiccated and sealed in a coffin.

The flicking through each Mikaelson's folder continued for some time. Elijah's was fairly similar to Klaus'; they had spent their long lives together after all. Kol's and Rebekah's were much thinner, only having chucks of history from when they were awake and not sleeping. And Finn's was the thinnest of them all; no picture, no real details besides that he was an Original, had turned one vampire, Sage, and that he was the eldest sibling. There were no details about anything from the past five years, which was kind of reassuring; they wouldn't need to worry about him.

The last folder was labelled Esther. It chilled her bones to read the name; from everything Elijah had told Alex about his past, she hated the woman. Both Esther and Mikael were possibly the worst parents ever. Alex could understand the desire to protect one's family, but to force them to turn into vampires, to murder their own children was horrifying.

The details about Esther was short by simple. It detailed the Sun and Moon Curse, there were details about the steps taken to create vampires, but it seemed more speculation than actual fact. What did caught Alex's eye was a page that had notes splashed all over it. The main body paragraph talked about a linking spell. It mentioned specifics of a ritual and ingredients required—the blood of each party and a binding agent. Alex froze when she saw a note that read: Binding Agent – Doppelganger Blood?

It seemed that the witch, Roman, was trying to link a group of people together. It didn't specify whom, but Alex couldn't help but think of the Originals; it would make sense that they would need something as powerful and rare as Doppelganger blood to bind such powerful creatures. If they could link together all of the Mikaelson siblings, they would all be bound by one another's fate. Instead of having to try and kill five Original vampires, they just needed to kill one.

The only thing stopping Alex from panicking was that if this was the Council's plan, they couldn't get to all Mikaelson siblings. Klaus was locked away, protected from everyone. The Council wouldn't risk only trying to eliminate most of the problem; they would want to do it all at once. If Kol's disappearance was linked to this idea, then it was possible they would try and force Alex's hand into either handing Klaus over or waking him up. She wouldn't let it happen, but she needed to know exactly what the outcomes could be.

Alex felt like her theory was plausible. Kol was being cloaked by someone, and for some reason, he had gone back to Mystic Falls. It made sense. Closing the folder, Alex leant back in her chair and fiddled with her phone. She needed to let Elijah know what she had found, but she also needed to know more.

Open her messages, Alex found the latest message from Elena, which contained Matt Donovan's phone number and called him. The phone rang three times; Alex's palm tapped the table which each ring.

"Hello?" Matt answered.

"Matt, it's Alex."

"Alex, great. Elena said she spoke to you."

"That she did. I need to know anything you can tell me about Kol."

"There's not much," he said. "Kol seemed really out of it, almost like he was high or drunk or both. If he wasn't a vampire, that would have been my first assumption."

"Right…where did you see him exactly?" she asked.

"Just outside of town. I was doing my nightly patrol when I saw him walking along the road. When I recognised him, I pulled over and tried to talk to him, but he didn't even really seem to notice that I was there."

Alex didn't like the sound of that. Not many human drugs could mess up a vampire in that way, and it would take an enormous amount of alcohol. Alex considered that a witch might have been the cause, a spell perhaps.

"Did he try and attack you at all?" she asked.

"Nope," said Matt. "He just muttered to himself and then just ran off."

"Huh."

"Yeah, it was weird. That was why I rang Elena."

"Yeah, thanks for that. If you could keep an eye out for him and ring me if he does reappear, I would appreciate it."

"Of course, no problem."

"Great…also Matt, have there been any strange things happening around Mystic Falls that would be more magic related than vampire?"

Matt seemed to think about it for a moment. "Not that I know of…let me check, and I will get back to you if there is anything."

"Great, thanks again."

"All good, bye Alex."

"Bye."

Ending the call, Alex sat back. Someone had messed with Kol; whether or not Kol had been willing was another question. But it was a start. Alex looked back at the folders and decided she needed to finish going through it, just in case there was something more.

The sun was shining so brightly that Elena hadn't been able to resist heading outside to do her homework on the grass. She had grabbed a picnic blanket from Caroline along with some water, laptop and her headphones. She found a perfect spot beneath a tree and got herself comfortable before cracking down on her work. Finals were in a few days, and she had one last assignment that she needed to finish before then.

Her laptop sat open with her main essay document, which was almost finished. On her knee rested her notebook and a draft on her conclusion that she had rewritten two times now. She was almost happy with it but was trying to find the perfect last sentence; she wanted it to end on a good note.

Elena tapped her pen as she considered her wording when her phone rang. She pulled out an earphone and smiled when she was Stefan's name.

"Hey," she answered.

"Hello, how has your day been?" he asked.

"Not too bad, yours?"

He sighed. "It's been okay. Damon is being Damon."

Elena cringed. It had seemed that since Christmas, Damon was acting up. Stefan had been unable to pinpoint what exactly was causing his brother to 'be a dick', and it was infuriating him. Elena hadn't wanted to get in the middle of it; she had seen the damage it could cause when Katherine had placed herself between them, and Elena wanted to avoid that as much as possible. And while that was her plan, Elena also knew it probably wouldn't last. Especially since she knew the exact reason, Damon was being a dick.

Christmas had been exciting for Elena, Alex was coming to visit, and since she hadn't been able to come to Mystic Falls for Thanksgiving, things were meant to be even more special. Instead of having dinner at the Gilbert family home, Damon had offered to host it at the Boarding House since they had more room. Everyone had thought it was a great idea, and everyone still believed it had been a great night. Elena had mostly enjoyed herself until towards the end; she took it upon herself to start cleaning up, and Damon had been the first to join her. They quickly made work of the mess, but it devolved quickly into a fight with bubbles that ended up including Stefan and Alex as well. When the fight was over, and Elena claimed victory, Stefan had pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When they had pulled back, Elena had noticed that Damon's mood shifted.

Over the last few years, Elena had come to consider Damon, her friend. She knew that there had been complicated feelings on his end, and she understood that, but she had hoped that he understood that she loved Stefan. It had never been her intention to lead him on, and it was only out of concern for her friend that she went and found him. He was sitting in his room, drinking scotch—a fairly common occurrence for him—and he looked at her with such lost eyes.

Elena couldn't pinpoint the moment it happened or for how long it happened, but Damon kissed her. When it had clicked in her mind that she couldn't let it happen, she had pulled away, and out of instinct, smacked him. Neither of them had mentioned it since, but Damon had been harsh towards her. Not in a mean way, but more cold and uncaring. She knew that his feelings were hurt, but she couldn't explain that to Stefan.

"Maybe you should try some brotherly bonding," Elena suggested.

Stefan scoffed. "No, that is the last thing I want to do right now."

"Whatever is up his ass, he will get over it."

At least, Elena hoped he would. She didn't want to hurt Stefan over something that had meant nothing to her.

"Maybe…did you speak to Matt?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"I did have a look around town for Kol, but I didn't see him. I did run into Elijah, though."

"Alex said Elijah was looking for Kol. Apparently, he has been M.I.A for some time."

"Strange choice for him to come to Mystic Falls."

"That's what I said."

"Did they have any idea what was going on with him?"

"No."

Elena hadn't known what to think about Kol. It worried her what him running off could mean.

"Alex seemed worried," she said.

"I'm sure Kol will be fine. He is an Original after all," said Stefan.

Elena sighed. He was right.

"Anway, enough of the drama, you ready for finals?"

Elena stayed on the phone with Stefan for another twenty minutes. She caught him up on her week, and then they made plans for when she got back to Mystic Falls. They hadn't seen a lot of each other recently, her studies keeping her occupied. It was a month until she graduated from her Undergraduate Degree, and then she would be applying to medical school. There had been a few that she was considering, and it looked like depending on whereabouts her school was, Stefan had wanted to move there with her. It seemed to be something they were discussing a lot, which made her excited for their future.

But she needed to focus on the now more and her future less at that moment. She silenced her phone so that there would be no more distractions and got back to her essay.

The town square was busy with people. The sun was shining down; everyone had decided to spend the day outside. Spring had blessed Mystic Falls with a vibrant day, and while Elijah would have normally enjoyed such a fine day with Alex by his side, the two of them enjoyed just walking through the streets together; he was instead trying to locate his brother. He seemed to have hit a dead-end and contemplated his next step while sitting on a park bench in the town square.

The last time Elijah had come to Mystic Falls was with Alex to celebrate Christmas with her family. They had rented a room at a 'Bed and Breakfast' just outside of town and had spent Christmas Eve until New Years Day there. It had been a nice change, the two of them enjoying the cosy hotel and then spending the chaotic days with Alex's family.

That was a few months ago now, and the small town looked the same as ever. Nothing ever seemed to change in Mystic Falls, and Elijah could never decide if that was a good thing or not. He was confident enough that he knew for certain that Kol wouldn't return to Mystic Falls without reason. Something or someone had brought Kol back, and he had done a good job of covering his tracks. The only person who had seen any sight of Kol had been Elena's friend, a Sheriff Deputy. Elijah had searched the area in which Matt had seen Kol, but there was still no sign.

It was starting to frustrate Elijah. Kol had a history of stupid choices and leaving a trail of destruction, but now he had done a good job of keeping himself hidden, too much of a good job. Elijah had pondered forgetting about Kol and returning to Atlanta; he missed Alex and hated the fact that he had been so far away from her when another Council witch had shown up. He had more important things to do, like find a way to destroy the bloody Council; chasing around after his little brother was a nuisance.

The main thing keeping Elijah from heading home was Alex's concerns. She seemed to believe that the Council were somehow involved with Kol's disappearance. It was a known fact that the Council had always looked for a way to kill him and his siblings; if the myth about their sire lines were true, they would only need to kill five Originals instead of thousands of vampires. Elijah could see the appeal.

It made him wonder if the Council had found a way to kill them. There was no known White Oak left; they had made sure of that. So what other way would they kill them? It would have to be a spell of some kind, possibly something that would weaken them. He wasn't sure.

Elijah's phone rang in his pocket. He read Rebekah's name on the screen before he answered.

"Hello, Rebekah."

"Elijah, how goes your hunt?" she asked.

He sighed. "Nowhere. Kol still eludes me."

Rebekah chuckled. "Sounds like you are stumped."

"It feels like it. Alex tried to track him again for me, but this time it didn't work. It seemed that someone has cloaked our brother."

Rebekah clicked her tongue. "Do you think Kol is trying to hide?"

"That is unclear. However, Alex also believes that the Council could be behind his disappearing act."

"Why would they hide Kol?"

"The Council have always sort a way to kill us, you know this. Perhaps they finally have a way."

"And so they took Kol to kill him?"

"Maybe."

"Why do you sound so calm about that? Shouldn't we be more concerned?" Rebekah asked. Her voice had gone up in pitch.

Elijah cringed at his sister's voice. "Panic will not help anything. I just need some breadcrumbs."

"Have you contacted the Salvatore's? Maybe they can help you."

Elijah wouldn't want to ask those brother's for help if they were the only thing standing between him and death. They were childish and obsessive.

"Or maybe a local witch could help?" offered Rebekah.

"The only witch I trust to look for our brother is Alexandra."

"Ask her friends, the Bennett witch and Sarah."

"Both of them are still at Whitmore. They won't be back in Mystic Falls till after finals."

Rebekah sighed. "Fine then. Alex and I will catch a flight to Virginia. Clearly, you need our help."

Elijah frowned. He hated admitting that he had failed, but if things could be worse than he originally thought, then it would be best that they were all together.

"How is Alex?" asked Elijah.

He had spoken to her earlier; she had assured him that after the attack yesterday, she was fine, but he hated not being able to see her and make sure she was safe.

Rebekah said, "She is perfectly fine. Maybe a little hungover."

"Good. Thank you."

Rebekah snorted a laugh. "Please, she saved me ass yesterday. Try not to underestimate her so much."

Elijah spoke to Rebekah for a little longer before hanging up and standing from the bench where he sat. Rebekah and Alex would fly to Virginia and hire a car from the airport. Elijah needed to find a safe place that would allow them privacy; a small bed and breakfast wouldn't work this time around.