When Elijah returned to the room, having escorted Esther to the refuge he had found for her—Damon neither knew nor cared at that moment—he caught Damon's gaze. Damon tilted his head toward Finn, who stood motionless, paralyzed by their mother's confession about Freya. Elijah understood instantly. Despite their own turmoil, they were handling the situation better than Nik or Finn, and so the responsibility fell to them. Damon would tend to Nik, while Elijah took care of Finn. A simple division of labour, borne of necessity.

Damon was vaguely aware of Elijah and Finn leaving the room, their departure granting the privacy needed. But his focus was singular, directed solely at Nik, who needed him more than ever. Damon leaned forward, his forehead resting gently against Nik's. He pushed aside his own swirling emotions, concentrating on preventing Nik from losing control and doing something he might regret.

"Talk to me," he urged quietly. "I'm here, whatever you need."

Nik's eyes, blazing with a mix of anger and sorrow, locked onto Damon's. His breath was ragged, each inhale trembling with the weight of his emotions.

"She said she truly had forgiven me for what I did all those years ago. I was willing to forgive her in turn," Nik began, a bitter laugh escaping his lips. "Everything she did—failing to protect us from Mikael, concealing the truth about my father, turning us into vampires, sealing away my wolf side—I was still willing to forgive her. I wanted us to be a family again, for my siblings, for Maya… for me. But this? I don't know if I can forgive her for giving away our sister, especially not for promising what she had no right to offer. Maya is our daughter. Not hers!"

Damon cupped Niklaus's face in his hands, his thumbs gently brushing away the unshed tears threatening to spill over. The intimacy of the gesture brought a semblance of calm to Nik's turbulent gaze.

"Forgiveness is a choice, Nik," he said softly. "It's not an obligation. You don't have to forgive her for what she's done—not any of it—unless you want to. Just like your siblings forgave you, not because they had to, but because they chose to."

Nik's brow furrowed in confusion, the creases deepening as he tried to understand.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying it's your decision whether to forgive your mother or not. No one can force you, and no one can stop you. But right now, when your emotions are running wild, it's not the time to make that choice."

"Right now, I'm so furious I could kill her."

"Me too," Damon admitted, earning a surprised look from Nik. "Maya is in danger again because of her. Maybe it wasn't her intention, but it's the consequence of what she did. So yeah, right now I'm so furious I could kill her."

Nik's expression softened at Damon's honesty, his own rage finding a kindred spirit. Damon's admission was a balm, soothing the raw edges of Nik's fury.

"How are you stopping yourself from doing just that? You sent her away when I couldn't even think straight. How? How can you stop yourself from giving in to the rage?"

"By reminding myself that Maya comes first," Damon replied, his voice steady and determined.

"Dahlia will come for her."

"And when she does, we'll need all the help we can get to keep Maya safe, including Esther," Damon said firmly, the resolve in his eyes unshakeable.

Nik nodded slowly, the need to protect his daughter overpowering the rage that threatened to consume him. Damon's calming presence was an anchor, keeping him from being swept away by his emotions.

"You're right. Maya is our priority. I don't think I'll ever stop being angry at Esther for what she's done. But I can set it aside to keep our daughter safe."

Damon leaned in and kissed Nik softly, a gentle caress meant to offer comfort and reassurance. Nik responded, the kiss grounding him, reminding him of the love and strength they shared.

"We'll get through this, Nik. Together, we can find a way to keep her safe."

Nik shook his head, frustration etched into his features, the lines of worry deepening.

"Esther couldn't stop her," he pointed out, his voice tinged with bitterness. "She was too afraid to try."

Damon took a deep breath, steadying himself before responding, his hand still cupping Nik's face, thumb tracing gentle patterns on his cheek.

"That was a thousand years ago, Nik. Esther was young, alone, and by her own admission had stopped practicing magic. Things are different now. Our family is strong enough to weather any storm, and that's not even counting all the allies we have. If Dahlia comes for Maya, we will make her regret it."

Nik's eyes lit up slightly, the anger diminishing somewhat, replaced by a spark of hope and determination.

"We could just set Narcissa and Andromeda on her. She'd definitely regret that."

Damon huffed out a laugh at the thought of what the formidable matriarchs of the House of Black would do to someone who came after one of their own with the intent to enslave her.

"That can be plan B."

"What's plan A?"

"Killing her ourselves."

Nik's mouth curved into a grim smile, the shared resolve strengthening their bond.

"Now that's a plan I can get behind."

Elijah had taken on the unenviable task of informing Kol and Rebekah of their mother's confession. Finn had always grieved Freya more deeply than the rest of them, being the only one who had known her. Discovering the truth had reopened the wounds of her loss and learning that their mother had lied to him for years added a different kind of grief layered on top. He was too consumed by sorrow to think of their siblings right now. Damon and Niklaus, rightfully so, were focused on Maya and the threat Dahlia posed to her.

Elijah didn't trust that his youngest siblings wouldn't kill their mother in a fit of rage if she was the one to tell them. When they had first been turned, all of them had grieved for the possibilities they had lost. For himself, Niklaus, and Finn, that grief had eventually been pushed aside, but not for Kol and Rebekah. Becoming vampires had taken from each of them the parts of themselves that underpinned their very identities. For Kol, his magic, and for Rebekah, her ability to carry children—losses that had left gaping wounds that had never healed. The truth behind their mother's decision would do nothing to change that.

As a vase hit the wall, courtesy of Rebekah, shattering into pieces, followed by everything else within easy reach of her hands, Elijah knew he'd been right to worry about their tempers. Rebekah's, at least. Her eyes blazed with fury, each crash echoing her internal tumult. The air was thick with tension, the room's atmosphere crackling like a storm about to break.

Kol, on the other hand, was eerily calm. Not a single muscle had moved since Elijah had finished recounting their mother's tale. His stillness was unsettling, more concerning than Rebekah's violent outbursts. Kol was never still and calm like this, even when he was in a good mood. His usual restless energy was conspicuously absent, replaced by a silence that felt like the calm before a devastating storm.

Elijah stood between them, feeling the weight of their reactions pressing down on him. Rebekah's screams of torment and the sound of breaking objects filled the room, a symphony of destruction born from betrayal and anger. Her vulnerability was laid bare in the wreckage around her, each shattered piece reflecting her inner turmoil.

"Where is she?" The serene tone of voice Kol used was just as jarring as his demeanour.

"I arranged for her to stay elsewhere for now. Mother has agreed to stay away until we're ready to talk to her."

"Your little house then." Kol stated with a nod, turning on his heel and speeding away only to bounce of the barrier Elijah had had the foresight to request the Martins put up around the library, before he told Kol and Rebekah the truth.

"That barrier won't last forever, Elijah, so you may as well let me out now," Kol growled, frustration seeping into his voice.

"It will last long enough for you to begin thinking clearly again," Elijah replied, keeping a tight grip on his own turmoil, letting it loose now would only make things worse, he needed to be strong for his family's sake.

"I assure you brother; I'm thinking as clearly now as I ever was. It doesn't matter how long you keep us in here, it will not change my mind."

"If you were thinking clearly, you would not have tried to go after our mother," Elijah countered, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I realize this new information is upsetting, but it changes nothing. You were willing to let it go before, and you need to let it go now. You cannot kill our mother."

"Let it go?" Fury blazed forth in Kol's eyes, his calm facade cracking. "I have never once let it go, Elijah. The only reason I didn't kill Mother a thousand years ago is because Nik beat me to it. And the only reason I haven't killed her these past few days is because I finally had my siblings back, how we were before, and I didn't want to lose that by killing her."

Kol's furious outburst had silenced Rebekah's own temper tantrum, and she was now staring at him, uncertainty and fear joining the anger and sorrow that masked her face. Elijah sighed, the weight of his brother's words settling heavily on his shoulders, he'd had no idea Kol felt that way.

"Kol, I understand your pain, your anger –"

"You understand nothing!" Kol roared back, "You have no idea of what I lost when mother turned us –"

"– We all lost parts of ourselves, when mother turned us –"

"You don't have a bloody clue, Elijah! None of you do!" Anguish was written in every line of his body, underscored in his words, and Elijah fell silent; he had never seen his brother like this before. "None of you have a bloody clue what it was like to lose my magic. I used to be able to feel everything! The turn of the earth beneath my feet. The changing of the seasons. I could feel life in every seed we planted, I felt them grow, from the smallest shoot to the tallest tree, I felt all of them. And then father thrust his sword through my chest, and when I woke up it was all gone. All I could feel was emptiness.

"I used to be able to reach out and feel every speck of life around us, and now when I try there is nothing there, it's like reaching into a black hole, and it is maddening. The only time I can ever feel anything like I used to, is when I kill, when I drain the life from someone's body, I feel it again, for a tiny flickering moment I can feel the world like I used to and then it's gone again. And I tried, I tried for so long to comfort myself in so many different ways, and none of it worked. All I was left with was with the belief that she did it because she loved us, because she wanted to protect us, and now I don't even have that! It wasn't love, Elijah, it was her own selfishness!"

Every word felt like a knife being thrust into Elijah. He'd known Kol had missed his magic, grieved for its loss, but he had never truly realized the depths of his torment, the agony he must feel every day. How had he never realized how much his brother was suffering? How had he never understood the reason behind Kol's many killing sprees or his constant study of magic he could no longer practice? It was only now, Kol's screamed confession lingering in the air between them, that he understood why. His brother had been searching desperately for a way to regain what he had lost, looking for a way to feel whole again.

Elijah's heart ached with the weight of Kol's suffering, a pain he hadn't fully comprehended until this moment. But it changed nothing, he couldn't let Kol kill their mother, not when they needed to keep Maya safe from Dahlia.

"I'm sorry. I never recognised how much you were hurting. I'm sorry, that I did nothing to help you. I'm sorry that I was so focused on helping Niklaus that I never realised how much you needed me too."

Kol's eyes were fierce, unyielding.

"I don't want or need your apologies, Elijah. What I want is for you to call whichever witch you had cast the spell and get them to take it down, so I can go and kill our mother."

Elijah met his brother's gaze steadily.

"I'm also sorry that I can't let you do that."

Kol finally reacted with the violence Elijah had expected from the beginning. With a roar of frustration, he lunged forward, hands curled into tight fists that he swung wildly. The fight was on. Usually, they were fairly evenly matched, but Kol's eyes were wild, his movements fuelled by years of pent-up rage and grief. Each blow that struck was powerful, but his usual strategic mind was lost beneath the anger.

Elijah focused on defence, blocking and parrying the onslaught as best he could. Kol's attacks were relentless, driven by an almost primal fury. Elijah felt each strike reverberate through his body, but he knew he had to remain composed. This wasn't just a fight; it was a desperate attempt to bring his brother back from the brink.

"Kol, listen to me!" Elijah begged between blows, his voice straining with effort. "Please!"

Kol responded with another powerful swing, his fist crashing forcefully into Elijah's face. The impact sent Elijah reeling, pain exploding across his cheek.

"I'm done listening to you, Elijah! Your words can't fix things this time, brother!" Kol's voice was raw with anger and pain.

Elijah ducked under a particularly fierce blow, using Kol's own momentum to push him back.

"And you think fighting will?"

"Stop it, both of you!" Rebekah's shout went ignored as Kol continued to attack Elijah.

The room was a blur of motion and sound, Kol's wild swings meeting Elijah's precise blocks. He couldn't get through to his brother when he was like this, he needed to end the fight and force Kol to listen. With a swift, calculated move, Elijah caught Kol's next punch, twisting his arm behind his back and forcing Kol against the wall. Pinning him there with an arm across his throat, he wouldn't be able to hold Kol for long, he needed to find a way to end this permanently without snapping his brother's throat and putting him down for a short nap that way.

"Kol. Brother. I am begging you, think of Maya!"

Kol didn't stop struggling to escape Elijah's grip, but there was a noticeable pause, and that gave him hope that he could get through to his brother.

"I am thinking of her." Kol spat back, "She'll be better off with mother dead!"

"Did you not hear what I said earlier? Dahlia will come for Maya; we need Mother's help to protect her from that fate."

"Protect her? The same way she protected us?" Kol's voice dripped with sarcasm and bitterness.

"Mother is not going to hurt Maya," Elijah insisted.

"A thousand years, and all she's ever brought us is pain and suffering. It's only a matter of time before that extends to Maya. Our niece will be far better protected with Mother dead than she is with her alive!"

"Mother is the only one who knows Dahlia!" Elijah yelled, his patience finally wearing thin. "She is the only one who can tell us what her sister is capable of, who can tell us how to protect Maya."

Kol finally stopped struggling, a defeated look on his face as Elijah's words began to sink in.

"And how long before mother decides that the best way to protect Maya from her sister is to kill her?" he asked quietly.

"We will not let that happen." Elijah promised, "We need mother alive; we need her help to combat Dahlia, but if she makes a single move that threatens Maya, I will kill her myself."

Kol's eyes searched Elijah's face for any sign of doubt or hesitation, but he found none. Elijah's gaze was unwavering, filled with determination and an unspoken promise of protection.

Elijah let go of Kol, stepping back and glancing over at Rebekah, who stepped forward now that the fight had ended.

"I understand you're both still angry and hurt by this. I won't ask either of you to forgive mother for what she's done, but if we're going to keep Maya safe, it will take all of us."

They both nodded in assent, understanding that their personal wounds took a back seat to the very real threat they were facing.

"Of course." Rebekah replied, "What's our first step?"

Maya knew something was wrong the moment she got home after Quidditch practice. She could see it on both her dads' faces, the upset and the tightly controlled anger. It was situation normal for them both to be waiting for her when she returned home, ready to hear about her day. It was a tradition Babbo had started when it had just been the two of them. One Dad had chosen to slot himself into with no complaints from either of them, the part of the day that Maya considered 'their time,' just the three of them. But the usual warm and welcoming atmosphere was missing, replaced by an underlying tension she didn't understand.

She hadn't broken any rules recently. Well, none of the major ones anyway. She was pretty sure the contraband she had hidden in her room didn't count as a major infraction, and she doubted they'd found it anyway. Her room was her space; Babbo had made that clear from the beginning. They were only allowed inside when she was in there, and only with her permission. So that probably wasn't it.

If rule-breaking wasn't the issue, then that meant something else had happened. Given the past week, her mind immediately jumped into a scary dark place. Before she could even ask, Babbo had jumped up and pulled her into a hug that was a touch tighter than usual. Her dad looked like he wanted to do the same, but they weren't really there yet. She hadn't even got to the point of calling him Dad out loud, even if that was how she thought of him in her head. Babbo's hug lasted longer than usual, and that only made her fears spiral even further into the rabbit hole of potential loss.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly, the minute Babbo let go. "Is some –" she broke off, not wanting to say it out loud. "Did something happen?"

Babbo and Dad exchanged a quick, worried glance, which did nothing to quiet her fears. She wanted to beg them to just tell her, quick and easy, like ripping a band-aid off. But at the same time, she wanted to stay ignorant just a little while longer, to live in a world where everyone she knew and loved was alive and safe.

"Sit down, kiddo. There's something we need to tell you," Babbo said, gently but firmly.

Maya sank down onto the sofa, trying to convince herself that if someone was dead, they wouldn't have waited for her to come home to tell her. Surely, they would have come to the academy instead. They wouldn't choose to leave her ignorant of something like that for any longer than necessary. Right?

"Mother asked to speak with us today," Dad began.

Professor Bloodworth, Professor Aradia, and Healer Francine had all examined Esther after Lilith had been captured. They'd all confirmed that nothing was wrong, that it had been a true resurrection, restoring Esther to life—not a zombie or inferi, but a true living being, that she was just like anybody else. But maybe they'd missed something, maybe Lilith had done something to make it so that if she died, Esther would too.

Maya was torn between worry and relief. If this was about Esther, then everyone she loved was probably okay. Not that Esther dying wouldn't be sad, but Maya had only had like two conversations with her so far. She didn't love her yet, not like she did everyone else, but she also didn't want anything to happen to her, because Esther was her grandmother, and she would come to love her eventually, once she knew her better. Plus, it would make her family sad if Esther died, and she didn't want her family to be sad.

"Is she okay? She's not dying, is she?" Maya asked, her worry clear in her voice.

"Not yet," her dad muttered crossly, while Babbo shook his head, an angry frown on his face.

Maya frowned, now getting the impression that their anger was directed at Esther, but she wasn't sure why.

"She's fine, kiddo," Babbo reassured her, though his tone was tight.

"And everyone else is okay too, right?" Maya asked, wanting to make sure.

"Everyone else is fine, little wolf," her dad answered, his voice softer as he tried to ease her worries. "This isn't about anyone being hurt or dead. It's about something we learned from Esther."

She relaxed at that assurance. Clearly, whatever Esther had told them was behind their anger, but as long as no one was hurt or dead, then she could handle anything else they had to say. Her dads exchanged glances again, clearly picking up on her quiet relief. Babbo stood up and crossed over to take a seat next to her on the sofa, pulling her into another hug.

"We're sorry, kiddo. We didn't mean to make you think someone was hurt," Babbo said gently, holding her close. "We'll try to do better next time we have something important to discuss with you."

Maya leaned into his hug as a bit more of the tension melted away. Her dad moved to sit on her other side, the anger in his expression softened with concern. There was still a little bit of worry about whatever it was they wanted to tell her, but being held in her Babbo's arms, with her dad right there next to them, made her feel safe, like nothing bad could ever touch her.

"Damon's right, we should have done this differently, little wolf." Dad sighed, reaching out and running a gentle hand over her head. "What Esther told us today was concerning, and it affects you…"

Babbo kept his arms wrapped around her tightly as her dad explained the whole story, everything Esther had told them while she'd been at school. She wasn't sure how to feel about it all. Maybe it hurt a little to realize her own grandmother had done everything possible to prevent her from being born. But she also felt removed from the situation; she didn't know Esther, so she couldn't really consider it a betrayal, not like her dad obviously did.

She felt sorry for her dad and her aunts and uncles who'd been hurt by the decisions Esther had made. She also felt a little sorry for her grandmother. She'd made the Rumpelstiltskin pact, so she must have been desperate. Maya couldn't imagine her agreeing for anything less. She shouldn't have done it, but Dahlia shouldn't have made that the condition either, not when her little sister was begging her for help. Maya couldn't imagine Caroline doing something that cruel to her, or vice versa.

Maya didn't question their certainty that Dahlia was still alive and would eventually come for her, even if this had originally gone down a thousand years ago. A consequence of knowing so many immortal beings and so many methods of becoming immortal, she supposed. Nor was she worried, Dahlia didn't seem anywhere near as scary as Lillith had been, and they'd beaten her. She couldn't even say she was honestly all that shocked about the reveal in general, one too many 'there's someone in the world who wants to hurt you' conversations, probably. What she was left with though was questions. Starting with…

"So, if Dahlia came for Freya when she was five. Why didn't she come for me when I was five?"