Chapter 20

(Ryan)

Ryan rested his head against the door leading down to the basement.

"Landon?" he heard Hope ask faintly from downstairs. He could feel the heartbreak through their connection.

Anger. Confusion. Sadness.

Oh God, her sadness made it feel as if his heart had been shattered beyond repair.

He had steeled himself before visiting her—doing whatever he could to close her out. For both of their sakes, she needed to remain in the dark about this. If Huan and Akane realized how deeply their connection ran, they would surely inform his father, spelling doom for them both.

He would have to do what he could to save Hope from the inside…

As he stood there, he could hear the murmur of voices from down below. Surely, Landon was catching Hope up on all that had happened since she entered Malivore's portal.

He was probably telling her how empty his life had been without her, how much he wanted to hold her, how much he needed her in his life…

Once again, Landon was going to get everything that had always been denied to him. The perfect son, the better brother…

Not that it mattered anyway—he was certain as soon as Hope and Landon were delivered to his father, he'd be killed. For real this time…

He found for the first time in his life, he didn't really care. If he was going to die, so be it. But he wasn't going to let Hope be a pawn in Malivore's game, not like him…

He'd get her out. But in order to do that, he'd need to play his part…

(Hope)

"Landon?" she asked, not daring to believe it.

How had he ended up here?

She had failed.

The weight of the realization threatened to crush her. Once again, Hope Mikaelson would spell the downfall for the people she loved the most.

She reached out to remove the gag, pulling it down as gently as she could manage. Landon just watched her quietly, fear in his eyes.

"Hope?" he asked, voice shaking.

"It's me," she said softly, pulling him into a gentle embrace, doing her best to avoid hurting him. He was clearly injured.

"If it's really you, tell me how you like your milkshakes," he said quickly, backing himself against the bars of the cell.

She paused for a moment, taking in his frantic expression.

"Peanut Butter Blast, whipped cream on the bottom," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh, thank God, " he said; the relief on his face was immediate and clear.

What had they done to him?

"Landon, what happened?" she asked. "Why are you here? What happened at the school? Is everyone safe?" As if a dam had broken, the questions flowed out with the force of rushing water.

Every question she hadn't dared to ask since arriving in Malivore.

"Hope, it's been so crazy," he said, running a hand down his face. He frowned when noticed it came back smeared with his own blood.

"When you left…no one knew. How could we?" he asked, voice shaking again. "But then you came back…"

"What?" she asked, feeling the terror bubble up in her chest. "That's impossible…"

"It was," he said. "It wasn't you. It was a kitsune, and somehow she convinced everyone that she was you, even if we couldn't remember her," he explained.

Hope just listened, anger growing stronger by the moment.

"I followed her to the pit," he said, shaking his head. "I trusted her because she told me that we had been together and I was so guilty …"

"What could you have to be guilty about?" Hope asked gently. "It's not your fault that you couldn't remember me," she said reaching a hand out to touch his shoulder, an attempt at comfort, but he pulled away.

"Landon, what happened next?" she asked, trying to hide the fact that his reaction had stung.

"She told me that she knew how to defeat Malivore and that she needed me to go with her to help. So…I went with her," he said.

"Why didn't anyone stop you?" she asked, pushing down her anger.

"They tried," he said, eyes downcast. "But I didn't listen. I had dreams about you, Hope. I recognized her face when she came to me. I didn't have my memory, but I trusted her."

Hope blinked back tears.

"You had dreams about me?" she asked quietly.

"Yes," he answered, smiling sadly. "But Hope, I didn't remember you until we went into the pit. Once we entered this realm all the memories came rushing back and I realized how big of a mistake I had made…"

"You realized she wasn't me," she filled in the blank.

"Yes, and I tried to escape, but she was with this guy, and he was so strong ," he said, gesturing to his injuries. "He had claws, but I don't think he was a wolf…"

"Huan," Hope answered. "He's not a wolf, he's a dragon, a really strong one."

Landon nodded, sinking down to the floor. Hope sat down across from him, pulling anxiously on her pendant. For some reason, their reunion felt strained— and it didn't feel like their situation was to blame…

"Landon, tell me about everyone else—are they okay?" she asked nervously, dreading what his answer may be.

"Yeah," he said. "They're good— Rafael, Dr. Stalzman, MG, Lizzie…"

"Josie?" Hope asked.

"Yep, she's good," Landon said quickly, looking away from her.

Hope quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Did she and Lizzie have a fight or something?" she asked.

"No, nothing like that," he said.

"Oh," she said. Something was definitely off about his behavior.

"What about you?" he asked. "Clarke did this, didn't he? I'm so sorry, Hope, I should have been there to protect you—"

"No," she said, cutting off his rambling. "I pulled Clarke into Malivore, not the other way around," she explained.

"What?" Landon asked, disbelief coloring his features. "Why would you do that? He's dangerous!"

"I know," Hope answered, feeling her insides twist painfully. "We were working together for a while, but he betrayed me," she finished quietly.

She could feel the prickling of tears in her eyes, but she angrily brushed them away with the back of her hand.

It didn't matter anymore. He didn't matter.

"Hope?" Landon asked, brows drawn together in confusion.

"I'm fine," she said, forcing a smile.

"I'm just so glad that everyone at home is alright—and I hate that you're here, but it's so good to see your face," she said, reaching out to take his hand.

He squeezed her hand back weakly, giving her a smile as strained as the one she had just given him.

"Landon, what is it?" she asked. "Is it the pain? Because I can try to heal you," she said, moving closer to him.

"No," he said, holding up a hand to stop her. "It's not that…it's just that I have to tell you something."

"What?" she asked, a feeling of unease building in her chest. "You can tell me anything," she assured him, although she feared whatever it was he had to say.

"It's about… Josie," he said.

"What about her?" she asked. He had told her that Josie was safe, so what could be making him this upset?

Suddenly, realization struck her.

"Is this about the merge?" she asked. "Did she tell you about her and Lizzie?"

"Yes, she told me," he answered.

So that was it.

She felt a sense of relief wash over her.

"It's going to be okay," she told him. "We still have time. And when we get out of here, we're going to help them figure this out. Dr. Saltzman would never let anything bad happen to them, he loves them so much—"

Something about the look on Landon's face caused her to pause.

"You…love her too," Hope whispered.

Landon put his head in his hands, drawing his knees up to his chest.

It was all the confirmation she needed.

"When?" she asked.

"Over the summer," he said.

"How long have I been gone?" she asked.

"Months," he answered mechanically.

"And does she feel the same way?" she asked.

At first he didn't answer—they just sat there in a painful sort of silence. The kind of silence that threatened to consume you.

"Yes," he finally choked out.

Hope sucked in an unsteady breath.

How was she supposed to deal with this?

"I'm sorry," he said in a small voice.

She considered him for a moment—hunched over in his own misery. She felt like the walls of the already cramped prison cell were finally closing in.

"It's—it's not your fault," she said finally. "You didn't remember me…remember us."

"I didn't, but…" he let the thought trail off.

The realization cut deep, he still wants her.

"You're still in love with her," she said, trying her best to suppress her tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day.

"Hope… I'm so sorry," he said, reaching out to take her hands in his.

She wanted to scream, to cry, to run.

His touch brought nothing but a feeling of cold emptiness.

"I still love you too," he said, looking into her eyes, "But it's just so complicated… Josie and I had this— connection. It feels like I'm tied to her somehow, in a way I never expected, " he explained.

A connection… Tied to her…

Hope looked down to her wrist, where the red ribbon had once connected her to Clarke.

She recalled the look of pain in his eyes, the way he had pressed his cheek into her hand, the way he had healed her back outside of the cave…

The coldness she felt the last time she tried to reach out to him through their bond…

She finally succumbed, letting out a broken sob— she let the tears flow, hot and angry.

How could things have gone so terribly wrong?

Landon moved closer to her, putting his arm around her.

She had no idea how long she had cried, but to his credit, Landon passed no judgement, allowing her to cry her heart out on his shoulder.

When the tears finally subsided, she felt nothing but anger and a resolute sense of purpose.

She would utterly destroy Malivore for ruining her life.

Luckily, no one did revenge better than a Mikaelson…

It had been hours since Clarke and Akane had come down to deliver Landon to prison cell.

Hope was getting impatient, trying to distract herself by making casual conversation with Landon.

But everything felt wrong. She had told Landon little about what had happened between Clarke and herself since arriving in Malivore.

She could tell that he had a lot of unanswered questions, but he was smart enough not to ask her for an explanation.

It was still too raw—she was betrayed, what else was there to say?

They eventually fell silent, content enough to sit side by side, alone in their own minds.

"What is that?" Landon asked, breaking the silence.

There was a strange silvery mist drifting into the cell.

She knew that mist.

"Gwyllion?" she asked in disbelief.

She saw a hand materialize in the mist, beckoning her to take it.

She reached out, clasping the faerie's hand, solid and real. She felt herself being pulled forward, through the bars as if she was made of nothing more than smoke herself.

As soon as she found herself on the other side, the mist vanished. She turned back to see Landon watching her in disbelief.

"What was that?" he asked.

"A friend— I think," Hope said.

She reached out to pull on the cell door, but it was still locked.

"Gwyllion?" she called. "Where are you? You have to help Landon too!" she pleaded.

Nothing but silence answered her.

"Hope," Landon said, "You need to go, get out of here!"

"I can't," she said. "I'm not leaving you here."

"You have to—" he said, sadness in his eyes. "You're the only one who can destroy Malivore."

"I'm going to get the key," she said, ignoring him.

The last time she had seen the key, it had been hanging off of Clarke's belt.

Shit.

She focused her energy on casting an illusion spell, making herself invisible. She wasn't sure how effective it would be against a creature of illusions like Akane, but it was better than nothing.

She made her way up the stairs, doing her best to feel for Clarke's energy, no matter how much it hurt.

She emerged from the basement stairs into a long hallway, which was thankfully abandoned.

She made her way to the door at the end of the hall, knowing Clarke was waiting on the other side.

She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Clarke was laying in a large four poster bed, seemingly asleep.

She stopped dead in her tracks. This room— it was the same one from her dream.

Everything from the bed to the dark wallpaper on the walls matched. The shock nearly knocked the wind out of her.

What did it mean?

Clarke tossed fitfully in his sleep, bringing her attention back to the task at hand.

She scanned the room, searching for the keys, hoping he would have left them on the nightstand or hanging somewhere…

Just then, Clarke turned over again, revealing the keys still attached securely to his belt.

Hope swore under her breath. This was just perfect.

Hope leaned over him, reaching out for the keys with a trembling hand.

Just a little more…

Suddenly, Clarke's hand shot out, grabbing her wrist, pulling her down on top of him.

The shock of it caused her to lose focus on her invisibility spell, leaving her both shocked and fully visible as she straddled his chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked, voice low and angry.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked, still in shock.

"I could feel you," he hissed through clenched teeth.

She moved to get off of him, but he reached out, grabbing both of her wrists, making it impossible for her to move.

"How did you get out of the cell?" he asked, eyes narrowing.

"That's none of your business," she shot back. "Now, Let. Me. Go." she spat, struggling against his grip.

"I don't think I will," he said, sitting up, bringing his face mere inches from her own.

"I don't know what you think you're getting out of this," she said. "But I'm going to save Landon, destroy Malivore, and then I'm going to make sure you regret ever crossing a Mikaelson," she said, still straining to free herself.

"You have no idea what's going on here— I have no choice," he said, eyes burning into hers.

"We always have a choice, Agent Clarke," she said, leaning forward.

She needed to distract him. She made a split second decision—

Hope leaned forward, closing the gap between them by pressing her lips to his. The feeling was so much more than she expected— so much stronger than the fleeting moments when he had merely brushed his lips against hers.

After a moment, he relaxed beneath her, releasing his grip on her wrists, moving his hands to her hips, trailing higher, lifting her shirt around her waist in the process. Every inch of skin he touched left a burning trail of heat.

She moved her hands to his hair, pulling him closer—she could hear as much as feel the low growl he let out as she buried her hands in his curls.

The way he kissed was demanding, consuming her like oxygen. It was a battle of wills, pushing and pulling at each other like magnets, lips battling for dominance.

It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before…

She broke the kiss, pulling the keys off his belt in one smooth motion.

"Don't" he commanded, voice dark. "Please…" he added.

"You have no right to demand anything from me," she said, getting off of the bed.

"Give those back," he said, reached out a hand for the keys.

"No way in hell," she said, backing towards the window.

Suddenly, the keys were ripped from her hand, flying straight into Clarke's waiting hand.

"How the hell did you do that?!" she asked in shock.

It was as if he had used magic…

Clarke looked almost as confused as her, before breaking out in a self-satisfied smirk.

"Thanks for the kiss, Hope," he said, "Not exactly as I would have expected, but at least I knew you were real this time…"

Hope froze at his words. Did that mean the dream… was real?

He was watching her, gauging her reaction with calculation in his dark eyes.

Just then, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

"You have to get out of here," he said, casting a glance towards the window.

"I'm not leaving without Landon," she said defiantly.

"You have no choice," he hissed.

She heard the doorknob begin to turn— dammit, she really didn't have a choice!

Reluctantly, she pulled the window open, pushing herself through the small opening.

The last thing she saw was Clarke's unreadable expression before she made her way out into the darkness.