WAR OF HEARTS ↠ KOL MIKAELSON [1]

2:20

| THE STAND:
CHAPTER TWENTY |

"Not that long ago, we developed a contingency plan."

Aya's voice echoed off the stone walls of the Davilla Estate's underground sanctum, cool and sharp like the edge of a blade. Her posture was upright, regal—every word she spoke was calculated, precise, deliberate.

Marcel Gerard stood across from her, jaw clenched, arms folded across his chest. His eyes were narrowed, watching her with the measured suspicion of a man who had been lied to one too many times. And yet, even he couldn't hide the flicker of interest that crossed his face as Aya continued.

"There is a reason I recruited Rhea Monroe." Aya began to pace, her heels clicking softly against the ancient floor. "You see, with the right witches, the correct spell, and the precise binding agent, there is a way to eradicate our link to our sires." She stopped, looking directly into Marcel's eyes.

"To sever the chain once and for all—freeing us from the Mikaelsons. Forever."

Marcel's breath caught subtly in his throat.

For a moment, Aya allowed the weight of her words to settle between them like dust on an untouched altar.

Marcel remembered it—the plan. His plan. It had been two years ago when he first asked Davina to do the very same thing. To break the sire link. To sever himself—and others like him—from the Mikaelsons' control. Back then, Davina had hesitated. The spell was incomplete. The power required had been enormous.

But now...

Aya was standing here with that same fire in her voice, only this time, she had the pieces to finish the puzzle. And apparently, she'd had them all along.

"Then, and only then," she continued, "will we have true independence."

She moved closer to him now, her tone lowering. "Rhea is onboard. Her desire to bring back Kol Mikaelson has made her more... flexible. And Davina Claire?" Aya's smile twitched ever so slightly. "She came soon after. Wanting to help her friend. But she's... obstinate."

She turned her back, walking a few slow steps away before glancing over her shoulder.

"She will listen to you." A beat. "So tell me, Marcel. What do you say?"

Aya stepped forward once more, her voice quiet, pointed, and sharp as a dagger's tip.

"Will you lead the Strix to freedom?"

Marcel didn't answer right away.

He looked down, exhaled slowly through his nose, and rubbed the back of his neck.

The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the ghosts of betrayal, ambition, and choices yet to be made.

And Aya waited.