𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟. 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐧.
Humans reveled in the idea of immortality, but those who possessed it were...
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The quiet stillness that hung over the Mikaelson compound was stifling, the air thick with the lingering stench of blood. Despite the vampires in the house, Astra had been the first one to make it to Camille and the godforsaken box.
She had moved so quickly it put the others to shame, but when she reached for the box, she couldn't bring herself to remove the lid. She already knew what she would find and wanted to hold off the pain that was only inevitable for just a moment longer.
Elijah was suddenly behind her, his hand resting on her lower back as he reached around her, his hand stilling above the box. He adjusted her position, his hand sliding around her waist to pull her into him, her head tucked securely into his chest.
The entire household seemed to wait with bated breath as he slid the lid off the box slowly. Astra didn't bother turning to look at the contents of the box. All she needed was the stiffening of Elijah's body to tell her what it was.
"No, no, no," the word fell from her lips as she felt her heart cleave in two, her mind attempting to process the overwhelming weight of emotions, and not just her own. She felt a wave of denial, shock, grief, anguish, and sympathy wash over her. It was suffocating.
She felt her body being lowered to the ground as Elijah sank to his knees with her, "Breathe Astra, deep breaths."
She knew Elijah was only trying to help but his words did little to calm the panic that had settled in her bones. The room was spinning and nothing could stop it.
"Astra," Elijah's quiet voice had an edge to it. "Hope is upstairs."
She suddenly realized that the room wasn't spinning, it was shaking. And it wasn't just in her head. She was shaking the whole foundation of the compound.
Astra focused on Elijah's deep eyes that were wet with tears. She allowed him to guide her breathing, taking one deep breath after another. And slowly, more slowly than Klaus was happy with, she found her own breathing and the house settled.
"It's Ari, isn't it?" Elijah didn't need to respond to her desperate plea, the look he gave her confirmed everything.
"I'm going to kill them all," she growled, although from her crumpled position on the ground, she did not seem like much of a formidable enemy.
"You are in no shape to take on the Strix," Elijah wiped her face gently before pulling her to his chest. "I will make sure they pay for this."
"This is a direct attack against our family," Klaus chimed in. "It will not go unanswered."
Freya quietly moved forward, taking the card out of the box as Keelin put the lid back on and moved it out of sight.
"What does it matter?" Astra gasped. "None of it matters. No matter what we do, we will just keep losing anyone we care for."
