sleeping beauty [the originals]

lvii.

After that announcement, everyone left the room to call different people. Isla stayed at the table, trying to process what just happened. After twenty years, she had met the remaining Parker siblings, minus Kai. She just hoped none of them remembered her or that she lived with them for a few months. At some point, Liam had come back with the wine. Isla sighed, getting ready to get up and leave, but then she heard Jo on the phone.

"Ric, listen to me. If my dad knows that you want to open Kai's world, he'll think you're willing to free him. He's going to retaliate." Isla's eyes widened and she sat right back down, pulling out her phone. "And I hate to break it to you, Ric, but you traveled three thousand miles for nothing. The ascendant's with me." Isla dropped her phone, looking up at Jo. The brunette heard the noise and noticed Isla looking at her.

All of a sudden, Jo collapsed on the ground. Elena came rushing in.

"Jo? You okay?" Jo shook her head.

"Something's wrong." She shakily stood up and stumbled over to the table.

"Jo, what's wrong?" Elena asked. Isla stood up as Jo gripped onto the table.

"I think my dad..." She knocked over a glass and fell back onto the ground.

"Jo, what the hell is going on?" Jo brought her hands up to her head.

"My dad's trying to kill me." Elena looked over at Isla.

"Help her." Isla took a deep breath, then ran over to the brunette.

"Move her to the couch." Elena and Liam moved Jo to the couch. Isla sighed. Now or never. She held out her hands and closed her eyes. She went with a protection spell she had remembered from her mother's grimoire, since she didn't know what kind of spell Jo's father was using. Elena was getting impatient, so she bit into her wrist.

"What are you doing? Your eyes..." Liam asked her. Elena was about to explain when Jo's eyes shot open. She sat up and took a breath.

"I'm okay." She breathed out. Elena turned around and walked away, Liam going after her. Jo looked over at Isla. "Thank you." Isla nodded.

"No problem." She went to grab Jo's phone. "You should probably call Ric. Let him know you're okay." Jo grabbed the phone, and Isla went back to grab her stuff. Her next stop was her hotel room. Now that she knew Jo had the ascendant, she could get to work on trying to find the spell to use it.

On her way back to the hotel, she saw Stefan pulling up. No doubt he was trying to find Caroline. She chuckled, keeping on her way until her phone rang. She pulled it out and saw who was calling her. She answered it and brought it to her ear.

"How did the trip go?" She asked.

"Well, you probably heard that we mostly wasted our trip. Jo has the ascendant. I got attacked by her dad. Pretty much a bust, except for one thing." She heard a sigh on the other side of the phone. "When were you going to tell me you know Kai Parker?" Isla stopped in her tracks, almost dropping her phone.

"W-what did you just say?"

"Kai Parker. The sociopath who murdered his siblings and got trapped in a prison world. The guy Bonnie and I were stuck in a prison world with. You didn't think to mention that you lived at his house?" Isla's breath quickened. How did he find out?

"How, uh... how do you know this?" Damon scoffed.

"So you do know him. Kai's dad recognized your name in my phone when you texted and I saw a picture of the two of you in that house. So, were you ever going to tell us? Does anyone know? Does Jo know?" Isla was hyperventilating now.

"I don't know. I didn't know he had done all that. I honestly didn't think it was relevant, and I certainly didn't think I'd run into his sister. I don't think she knows who I am. You're the only one who knows, unless you told Ric or Stefan, who will tell Jo."

"I didn't tell either of them. I just want to know why you agreed to help get Bonnie back when you were obviously close with Kai." Isla sighed, starting to walk back to her hotel room.

"When you asked, I didn't know the two were related. I had no idea Kai was even in a prison world. I lived with them for a few months in 1990, the first time I woke up from my mother's spell. But I only lived with them for a little bit before Esther found me and put me back in that box. I only found out Kai was in a prison world at dinner tonight. I swear, I had no idea." Damon sighed.

"Well, do you know anything about the ascendant or how to use it?" Isla shook her head.

"No, I have no clue. But I'm going to look through my mother's grimoire. She made some kind of deal with Kai's father to get me in that box so she has to know something. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"But you're not working with him, are you?" Isla scoffed.

"No! In case you forgot, I was locked in a box under a sleeping spell four years before he was put in a prison world and I've been in New Orleans for the past year. If I had been working with him, how would I contact him and why would I help you?" Damon sighed once more.

"Okay. Ric's trying to get the ascendant back from Jo. I'll let you know when he gets it." Isla nodded.

"Alright, well I'm going to look through the grimoire. Bye, Damon." She hung up the phone and made her way back to her room. The entire time, she was internally panicking. She wanted to help get Bonnie back, but at the same time, if they let Bonnie out, they would let Kai out. She didn't know how to feel about that.