Consumed » Kai Parker | Rewritten

One

"Are you ready?"

The intent concern in Liv's eyes radiate the question she truly means to ask. Are you sure you want to do this?

I stared at her in contemplative silence, knowing my friend would take my next words as the irrefutable incentive for our descent into a strange magical realm. She'd honor my agency, even when it seemed everyone else wanted to remind me that I was human, only human, without a thread of magic to my name or a lick of venom tinging my canines.

It was what I loved about Liv Parker. And why I felt confident that I could answer her without a trace of defensiveness.

"I'm ready," I told her, adding a smile for her benefit. If she saw the wobbly edge to my mouth, she said nothing.

In my thoughts, where I was safe from the hedging concerns of my friends and family, there was no denying that I was nervous about traveling to a magical prison that operated outside the rules of reality. One question kept floating around in my mind, accompanied by warning bells: what if something goes wrong?

But that was a risk we'd all been willing to take. Because if this went as we hoped it would, Bonnie and Damon would finally be home again–after four grueling months without their presence. The simple chance, that glimmer of hope, made the decision as simple as the fact that the sky was blue: there was no other option.

We had to try.

So I square my shoulders, suck down a hefty lungful of air, and prepare to be pulled away from the world. Just for a few minutes. Tops.

For Bonnie and Damon, I sternly remind myself.

"Be careful, Charlotte," Elena says, failing to hide the worry in her voice. I smile softly at my older sister and nod.

"You too, Liv," she adds, turning to the witch. "I want you guys back safe."

"Thanks." Liv manages a smile. "We should be okay."

Stefan, Elena, and Caroline watch me in silence, as if waiting for the moment that I'll change my mind and stay behind. I could, conceivably. Liv wouldn't hold it against me for a moment, but what mattered now was I'd never let myself live it down.

Since I'd discovered that the supernatural world existed just beneath our noses, with none of that power reserved in me, my life had been a culmination of keeping my head down and trying not to put myself in situations that my friends would need to save me from. And I'd mostly been successful in that, with a few snags. Ordinary, academic life was an anchor to keep me from being swept away, but still, still, the moments would slip in where the truth was clear. I could never do for my friends what they could do for me.

But I could try. And today, I would.

It was less of a strain on Liv's magic to bring me along, as opposed to a vampire, which was a plus. Lucas might have fared better in that scenario, but asking for his help was out of the question. He'd made it clear that he disapproved of being our, in his words, "magic monkeys."

"Liv can go alone, you know," Stefan had told me the day before, after we'd just discussed the plan at length in the Salvatores' kitchen. He had pulled me aside after, eyebrows furrowed. "You don't have to put yourself at risk. There's nothing you need to prove here."

The statement made me bristle though he'd voiced it as gently as he could. Because Stefan had been a vampire for centuries, immune to the woes of mortals, and couldn't possibly understand just how much I needed to prove to myself.

"Stefan," I sighed. "You may not understand and I'm not sure I can explain it, but I have to do this, okay? And for Bonnie and Damon, I'd do more if I could. This is nothing. I'll be back in barely an hour." I squeezed his arm in reassurance. "So don't worry about me."