[1]𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳- KOL MIKAELSON

05. 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩

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TW— mentions of suicide.

It had been a couple of days since Damon and I argued. They hadn't called me — which, if I'm being honest, kind of hurt.

But I figured Damon was giving me space. In his own way, he probably knew they were in the wrong. Knew that letting this happen again was messed up.

Still... they were too deep in with Elena. And I got it. I really did. Didn't mean I supported it.

I'd laid low the past few days, mostly working on my magic and other things I hadn't touched in a while.
I felt lonely. I hated admitting it, but I missed having people around. Not enough to reach out first, though. Not right now.

That was, until my phone rang. Damon's name lit up on the screen, and before I even answered, I already knew — they'd gotten themselves into some kind of mess.

"What did you idiots get yourselves into now?" I sighed, already grabbing my keys.

"Well... Stefan's stuck in a tomb with Katherine, Elena's up to no good, and—"

No apology. Not that I expected one.
"I'm on my way. Thanks for the apology." I hung up before he could say anything else.

I knew things wouldn't be the same.
Everything changed the second Katherine came back.
She made me lose my brothers once before, and now it felt like Elena was about to do it again.

I didn't want to put it all on them. My brothers made their own choices. But at the moment, I was angry at everyone — so I blamed everyone.

And sure, leaving Stefan down there with Katherine sounded like satisfying revenge... but I couldn't do that.
I had to keep playing nice.

Revenge was something I was good at, but this wasn't my move. Not yet.

Someone needed to open that tomb. Bonnie wasn't strong enough — not yet, though the girl had potential if she ever stopped doubting herself.

Which meant I had to do it.
But I also needed to make sure Katherine stayed exactly where she was.

And there was only one person who could guarantee that.

I pulled out my phone while I drove into Mystic Falls and called the one person I knew could help.

"Valeria," Elijah answered, his voice smooth as ever. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I need you to do something for me. I need you to compel Katherine."

"You're fully capable of that yourself," he pointed out.

He wasn't wrong.
But I wasn't about to reveal two secrets at once. One storm at a time.

"Because I'm already using my magic to take the barrier down. Elijah — you know it's dangerous if people find out I'm here."