lifeline ⇾ kai parker

36┃cross my heart

CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

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THE ONLY THING MORE discouraging than plunging into a bottomless pit that has imprisoned all kinds of supernatural creatures for centuries, is trudging your way out of it. And that's exactly what Mila was doing, summoned forth and emerging like one of the monsters that often plagued Mystic Falls.

She was drenched in black, viscid residue from the pit that seemed to weigh heavy on her even when she managed to crawl out of it. Her wedding gown, once a delicate shade of ivory, had turned ebony; she blindly reached down to lift the skirt up so she could stand, sensing how mushy the fabric felt from absorbing the vile substance she drowned in. Her struggling body had sunk, been swallowed whole, until she reached a realm of vast nothingness and desolation.

Hands reach up to wipe her eyes, which almost didn't know how to process the streams of light coming in through glass-stained windows. Mila had been accustomed to the shadows for a long time, but she didn't know exactly how long. Thousands of questions invade her isolated mind, but what concerned her the most was who was behind her rescue.

The everlasting hope residing within her rose to the surface. She expected the silhouette in her line of hazy vision to be Kai. She allowed herself to believe that he had managed to remember her after all, that he fought for her everyday she was gone because that's just what he does. That's what they do for each other.

"Welcome back. I take it that wasn't your idea of a honeymoon?" The gravelly voice and its mocking tone revealed their identity before her squinted eyes focused on the person in front of her.

Her mouth morphs into a scowl, stepping forward out of utter anguish. "You have a lot of nerve."

Her voice croaks while spitting out the reply, but the venom still drips from her every word. Mila glares at him with resentment. She wants to flip over tables, shove objects off shelves, and throw anything she can get her hands on. It's the very least of what he deserves, but she manages to control herself, clamping her hands into fists and anchoring herself to the stone floor.

"You mean a lot of mercy," the Necromancer corrects. "I could've left you to your miserable banishment."

"Then why didn't you, huh? Why throw me in just to pull me back out?"

At these series of questions, the wretched creature behind her entrapment remains silent. His blackened lips flatten into a line. His haunting eyes roam the expanse of his crypt instead of offering up a belittling stare. He does not want to admit the reason why, but it allows Mila to connect the dots herself.

She straightens, tilting her chin up in realization. The only thing left for her to do in her exile was replay every moment that led her there. She did not forget about the Necromancer and his threats, his foolish plans that involved utilizing Kai and fitting him to his image.

"You didn't come here to save me out of the goodness of your heart, so don't pretend that you did. You did this for yourself. You thought you could control him and when that failed, he quickly turned into a threat, didn't he?" Mila told him, shaking her head. She watched the Necromancer's frown deepen at her assumptions that held too much truth. "One you have probably failed to neutralize, too. Bringing me back was your last option."