The Red Queen | Lucien Castle & Tristan de Martel

Chapter 2

Kol delivered her new phone.

"Elijah kept track of our lieutenants over the years," he said, tossing it into her waiting palm as he entered her bedroom. "I've got one contact ready and you have two. Lucky your sirelings spoke more with Elijah's sirelings than any of mine."

"Wonderful," she said, clicking at the screen until she managed to call one. "Yes, am I speaking to Toni? No? Get her for me." She waited. "Antonella. Good to hear your voice again. Yes, darling, I'm alright. Awake again. Pass this number along to the others, please. And make sure my old associates are informed too. Yes, that means them, too. Good girl. Thank you. Talk to you soon." She clicked again until she managed to end the call.

"Antonella?" asked Kol. "The hot one."

"My most trusted confidant after you," said Vivalda, crossing her legs.

Kol was Vivalda's favorite. He indulged her when she asked him to help her train, to stay strong, so that if Mikael ever found them, she would be ready to fight. No matter how much Klaus and the others got on her nerves, she would have given her life for them. He taught her what he could about witches and magic, knowing she'd been jealous of him when they were children and she'd realized she wasn't able to do magic. Thanks to him, she'd finally grown to understand herbs and spellwork. She could never hope to perform it, but if she ever had a witch on her side, she could pitch in some ideas.

Deep down, she would say that she did love her other siblings. If she really hated them, they would be dead without a doubt. She had the strength to dagger them, she just didn't. Had her ire been great enough, she would have daggered Elijah and Rebekah with ease and teamed up with her father to kill Klaus. Simple. Very simple. They knew what she was capable of. They no longer underestimated her. But, as siblings often did, they still irritated her.

Rebekah always bickered with her and never shared any of her belongings, often criticizing Vivalda's style then outright refusing to let her wear one of her gowns. But if anyone dared to challenge Vivalda or wronged her in any way, Rebekah was the one who joined Kol, the two standing behind Vivalda as she tortured anyone who accused her of being weak. On rare occasions, Rebekah would braid her hair and tell her about her own experiences with love. She was always more gentle with her fingers than Esther was, having to yank Vivalda's hair because it was so tangled.

Elijah was always scolding her. Ever since Finn had been daggered, he seemed to think himself a father to the rest of them. Vivalda had already had one annoying experience with a father who criticized her for everything. And if anyone was to be a substitute father, she preferred Finn to Elijah— the elder of the two was much less controlling when he gave his advice. She knew Elijah just wanted to protect her, but she wished he'd leave her and Rebekah alone. They had been considered adults for so long, it was rather unnecessary for him to lecture about responsibility. They had no jobs. There was nothing to be responsible for. Still, he was the only one who consistently listened to his sister's ideas, who never brushed her aside when she was seeking out someone who'd give her a little bit of attention. He found a way to make time for her no matter how busy he was.

Klaus got irritated with her easily, and yet, she was the one he painted the most. His littlest sister and her many types of angry faces. All the pouts he'd ever seen on her, depicted so he could practice working with shadows and the way a face could contort. He claimed her face was the hardest to paint and he had to practice it more than the others. But Vivalda knew that deep down, he cared for her, despite how jealous he'd always been that Mikael preferred her to him.

(Sometimes, she could swear that Klaus wished she was his full biological sister. Wished he had someone he could fully relate to. Vivalda had once been certain that she wasn't Mikael's child; she looked far more like Klaus than the rest of them and they were more similar in terms of behavior and habits than anyone else. It was bizarre to think they didn't share both parents. But as the years went on, there was no denying that Vivalda was Mikael's child. Not to mention she hadn't turned into a wolf after her first kill.