WAR OF HEARTS ↠ KOL MIKAELSON [1]

3:02

| THE AFTERMATH:
CHAPTER TWO |

"We'll just get Nik to bleed into that chalice," Kol said casually, leaning back in the creaking wooden chair as he rummaged through a satchel of spell components. "Add a few drops of oleander, a spotted owl feather—harder to come by than you'd think—and once I give you the incantation, we should be all set."

He punctuated his words by tearing into a blood bag, the plastic crinkling between his fingers as he took a long, slow sip. Freya watched him with an expression that flickered between intrigue and amusement.

"Impressive," she said finally, arching a brow. "You created this spell yourself?"

Kol gave a modest shrug but there was a glimmer of pride in his eyes. "Well, Rhea did all the legwork. Research, theoretical groundwork, half the translations—she's got a mind like a steel trap. There isn't a piece of witchcraft on this planet we haven't studied together at some point or another."

He set the blood bag down on the table beside them, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand like a schoolboy caught mid-mischief. "But of course," he added, tilting his head, "you already knew that."

Freya chuckled, a light, genuine sound that softened the tension that often hung between the siblings. "You and I met a century ago, didn't we?" she asked, reclining slightly in her chair across from him. "You were relentless. The only witch in town you couldn't charm into doing your bidding."

Kol grinned, unrepentant. "Honestly, I just figured you fancied my girlfriend."

Freya rolled her eyes, shooting him a bemused look. "Of course. Because the only reason a woman would resist your charms must be that she's in love with Rhea Monroe."

"Well," Kol said with a lazy shrug, "it's either that or you turned out to be my long-lost, not-so-dead older sister. Which would make things infinitely more complicated."

That made Freya laugh again, the tension easing between them like morning fog lifting.

After a quiet moment, she added, more softly, "I'm glad you're back, Kol. Truly. You should know... Rebekah kept her promise. She fought for you until the curse took hold. Every day she pushed back against it. But none of us could hold a candle to Rhea. That woman never once gave up on you."

Kol's smile faded slightly. He looked down at his watch, brows knitting together. It was nearly evening. Rhea had asked him to meet her hours ago—some quiet time, just the two of them. He'd lost track of the minutes, buried in spells and siblings and everything in between.

"She's always done right by me, hasn't she?" he murmured, more to himself than to Freya.

Freya gave a quiet nod, her voice solemn. "She went through a dark phase after you died. I've never seen someone spiral the way she did. There was grief—and then there was rage. Pure, undiluted heartbreak. She loved you, Kol. Loves you still. Fiercely. Completely. More than anything in this world."