Tainted | Finn Mikaelson

Chapter 2

Katya was understandably nervous.

It was too much to process. Vincent Griffith, the kind, thoughtful, psychology advisor was not who he said he was? He was a witch, first of all, which was hard enough for Katya to believe. She'd seen Hayley's powers as a wolf-vampire hybrid. But she'd yet to see a witch in action.

Second of all, he was a Mikaelson? According to Marcel, Finn was the oldest of the siblings, and he'd been daggered for nine hundred years. That had, of course, made him hate his brothers and sister with a burning passion. Unfortunately for Katya, Marcel didn't have all the information she wished to know prior to the meeting, therefore, she had to cope with not knowing for a bit longer.

"We're gonna be there the whole time," promised Marcel, having come to her apartment to pick her up before she went to talk to Finn. "Gia and I will be right outside if anything happens."

"What if I can't distract him well enough? What if he suspects I'm stalling and just snaps my neck magically?"

"Cami reckons he likes you enough to be thoroughly distracted. Don't worry, Katya. Loosen up, or then he'll really suspect it's you."

"How long do I distract him for?"

"As long as you think is necessary. The longer the better, though. Cami will text you when Hayley succeeds in rescuing Oliver. Just remember, we're all trying to find Elijah too, so it would be better if we keep Finn out of the cemetery for a good hour."

Katya forced a smile. "Should be simple."

Marcel patted her arm. "You're gonna do just fine."

She wished she could believe that.

"Vincent," she said, doing her best to remain calm as he came to sit at a table with her. "I'm glad you were able to meet me here."

First rule: Don't accidentally call him 'Finn.'

"Well, when a beautiful woman asks you to meet her somewhere," said Finn, smiling, "you don't stand her up."

She forced a laugh. "I'm sorry there hasn't yet been a change in venue for our meetings. Kind of hard to meet anywhere else when I'm always on call in case someone doesn't show up to work."

"I get it," he said. "It comes with being new on the job. They have you being evaluated. I do hope I'm not causing any trouble for you by coming around and talking to you this often."

Katya shook her head. "No, it's perfectly fine, they want me to engage with customers. As long as I don't end up on top of the bar with you, reenacting a moment from Dancing with the Stars, I think we'll be okay."

He blinked, then chuckled, as if he had no idea what Dancing with the Stars was, but knew he should go along with it. "So," he said, changing the subject, "how has everything been, applying for Tulane?"

"It's been manageable," said Katya. "A lot of stuff I have to do as part of the application, but I should be okay. I just hope they accept me, because otherwise, I'll get even further behind."

"I do find it curious," said Finn, "that you came to settle into this city prior to knowing whether you'd be attending the university or not."

Katya gulped a bit, and took a careful sip from her drink. "You know what they say about manifestation. If you want something, you have to be willing to take the first step, no matter how big. I've been wanting to go to Tulane for years, mostly because I always wanted to live in New Orleans. After graduating, I figured, I might as well complete the application in the environment I'll be in for the next four years— see if I like it, and help make it all a reality. I'm applying to other schools either way, they're just not my first choice."