WAR OF HEARTS ↠ KOL MIKAELSON [1]

3:03

| THE AFTERMATH:
CHAPTER THREE |

"You should know by now," Finn's voice slithered through the shadows, sharp and cold as ever, "if you're looking for Kol, all you have to do is follow the screams of the innocent."

The sound echoed off the walls of the darkened corridor as Rhea came to a slow stop. The ancient sconces lining the stone hall flickered from her sudden stillness, magic crackling softly in the air around her.

Perfect.

The man she'd been hunting had just stepped into her path.

With a slow, deliberate turn, she faced him. Finn Mikaelson stood at the end of the hallway like some sanctimonious wraith, arms folded, face as disdainful as ever.

Rhea gave him a wry smile, her voice smooth as silk and twice as sharp.
"Actually," she purred, "I was looking for you."

Finn stepped forward slowly, an indulgent scoff escaping him. "Poor, naïve little witch," he said, circling her like a predator testing the strength of its prey. "You could have been so much more. All that raw power burning inside you, yet you waste it... guarding the most chaotic, unhinged of us all. Loyalty to Kol? Forgiveness for his countless sins? You call that love? I call it delusion."

Rhea tilted her head with dangerous amusement, but her hands were already twitching with contained power. "You know the difference between you and Kol, Finn?" she asked, voice venom-laced. "He's changed. You? You're still the same bitter, power-hungry coward who murdered the only person I've ever loved—just to make a point."

And then her hands lifted—and the air exploded.

Finn barely had time to brace before invisible force slammed into him like a freight train. He dropped to his knees with a grunt, his body shaking as Rhea's magic wrapped around him like coils of iron.

Her eyes glowed faintly now, lips beginning to move in a steady chant.

"Sanguinem hostis vertam in gladium. Praeteritum fiat pœna. Ex dolore, potestas..."

Finn snarled, teeth gritted as a searing burn spread across his chest. His body jerked, convulsing with agony as Rhea advanced slowly, never breaking her rhythm.

A brand began to form over his heart—seared into his flesh by her magic, ancient and irrevocable. A symbol in the shape of a key.

"You were planning to jump into a new host," she said calmly over his screams. "A nice, clean vessel to start your twisted little redemption arc. But I thought—what's the fun in that?"

Her voice dropped, fangs of steel in every syllable.

"So instead, I bound you to the body you loathe. You're stuck, Finn. No more body-hopping. No more new beginnings."

The spell ended. Finn collapsed forward, panting, drenched in sweat and fury.

"What... have you... done to me?" he gasped, the sight of the mark on his chest draining the color from his face.

Rhea stepped over his trembling form, crouched to his level, and leaned in close.

"I've just made sure that you spend the rest of your miserable life in the very skin you tried to escape. Congratulations, brother," she sneered. "You're finally just as trapped as Kol was."

And then, like a switch had flipped, Finn's rage ignited.

He lunged—fangs bared, eyes wild—grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the wall with bone-cracking force. Rhea choked, kicking out, struggling as his fingers clamped like steel around her neck.