Tainted | Finn Mikaelson

Chapter 25

Katya felt she deserved to suffer.

The only ones who seemed eager to be kind to her were Hayley, Davina, and Elijah. Klaus was even more angry at her than he had been when they first started out on their mission to find Freya. The eldest sister was grieving, and just chose to ignore her.

Kol was seemingly the angriest of all, spouting insults, which Davina was keeping from reaching Katya's ears (though Katya knew he was saying something foul, because the word 'bitch' was not hard to read off of his lips from across the room).

"Don't listen to them," said Hayley, holding her close as Katya continued to sob. "They're being ridiculous. This isn't your fault, Katya."

"Yes it is," she insisted, her face feeling almost swollen from how much she'd been crying. "Finn is dead because of me. Lucien never would have bitten him if I hadn't been impulsive and killed Aurora."

"If you hadn't killed Aurora, Lucien would have given her the venom, then she would have come back to kill Cami and Klaus, and there would be no coming back from that. At least Finn is in the pendant—"

"With his mind shattered! He's broken and suffering because of me. They have every right to be cruel to me."

"No, they have no right to do that. They've all done horrible things to Finn. You're the reason his soul even made it to the pendant. If you hadn't been there, the venom wouldn't have been moved anywhere, and he would have been dead for good. They're hurting, but so are you, and you didn't yell at them about all the shit they did to their brother when he was alive. That's not fair, Katya. They don't get to treat you that way."

Katya squeezed her eyelids tightly together, pulling away and bringing her hands to her head. "What if this is it?" she whispered. "What if I never see him again? If Freya can't find him in there, then he's lost. I-I don't remember the last full conversation we had. I can't remember how many times I ever told him I loved him. He thought I was gone— he was hallucinating. What if he didn't know how much I loved him?"

"He knew, Katya," said Hayley, rubbing her back soothingly. "He knew how much you loved him. It was the last thing you said to him, and I know he heard it."

There was a knock at the door, and Hayley tensed when she saw Freya. "If you've come to be rude to her, you should leave," said the hybrid, her eyes glowing as the witch walked in.

"No," she said, hanging her head in shame. "I'm here to say that I need her help."

"With what?" demanded Hayley.

"She needs to be the one to go into the pendant. I'm the most experienced witch in this entire city— I need to be working on a way to defeat Lucien. I've taught the spell to Davina. She can sustain it and send Katya into Finn's subconscious. If she can find him, she can save him."

"How can you be sure I'll find him?" mumbled Katya, not looking up at her.

"You know him best, out of everyone in this house. You share a strong emotional connection with him. If there's anyone who'll know where to find him, it'll be you."

Katya didn't really have a choice. Though she felt she was not the most competent, and not the best choice for this mission, she accepted. Armed with only her fists, she was laid down in a circle of salt and herbs.

"You'll most likely be transported into some sort of room or corridor," said Freya. "There will be doors leading to memories. You'll know you've found Finn when you find a version of him you can touch. A version you can see clearly. Because his memories will come from his point of view. Grab him, and bring him into the main room, and it will save him."