Burnin' Up | J. Saltzman - Legacies [1]

F O U R T E E N

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Stella moves through the Salvatore mansion. Her expression, drawn and blank, prompts even Lizzie Saltzman to ignore her. She holds a warm cup of tea in her hands as she walks into Dr. Saltzman's office. The whispering between adults ceases instantly.

Lexi looks up as Stella closes the door behind her. Thanking her daughter for the tea, Lexi eagerly wraps her hands around the mug. She takes a long, silent moment to drink before she sets it down next to her.

"We have a problem," she says, both to Alaric and Stella. "This monster has brought Mikael back from the dead." She chokes on his name, her grip on the table beneath her tightening. "We need answers from both."

"Why can't we just kill Mikael?" Stella asks. Lexi glances over at her. "Kill him before he causes any trouble."

Alaric looks down at Lexi, a pained expression flashing over his face. "Mikael may have the answers we need," he says as he looks back at Stella. She can tell he is hiding something; he purses his lips as if stopping himself from explaining more.

Stella narrows her eyes as she straightens her spine. "To which questions? The Necromancer knows about Malivore, not Mikael."

"But Mikael is the only one who knows about eljun," Alaric says. "And we need to know more than what these books say."

Stella shakes her head as confusion spreads over her expression. "What the hell are eljun?"

Lexi grimaces as Alaric looks away from Stella. His eyes land on the door while Lexi focuses on her daughter. "None of your concern right now. We need to focus on Malivore and the knife before we add something else."

Stella opens her mouth to ask more, but Lexi sends her a warning look. Stella scoffs and crosses her arms. She clenches her fists to prevent smoke from seeping out.

Lexi looks back at Alaric with a weak smile. "I'll get Mikael as he has always been my problem. Malivore is your's."

She grabs her cup of tea, kisses her daughter on the forehead, and walks out of the room with hunched shoulders; Stella can tell by Lexi's hesitant footsteps, she does not want to go. As the door closes behind her, Stella finds her magic simmering beneath her skin.

Alaric sighs as Stella faces him. The girl's glare does not scare him. "How could you and Hope have been so reckless?" He demands.

"You weren't getting anywhere," Stella replies as she crosses her arms. "We took it upon ourselves."

He wipes a hand down his face like a disappointed parent. "I had it under control—"

"Bullshit," Stella snaps. "Nothing in this school is under your control, starting with the students, ending with this whole knife fiasco. You have made no progress, while we actually got some information out of the jackass."

"That thing is a master manipulator, Stella. It resurrected my fiancé, it raised a cemetery of zombies and it brought back Rafael's dead girlfriend, so let's just talk about the ways in which it could torment you. Starting with your dead pack members, ending with your dead girlfriend. And how about all the ghosts of the people who want to get back at your parents? Not to mention what it can do to Hope."

A growl releases from Stella's throat. Her magic growls around her, but she leashes it. Her magic will not fight her battles for her. Instead, she turns on her heel to walk away.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alaric calls after her.

"Finishing what my cousin and I started." She throws her hand up and the door closes shut behind her. She refuses to listen as Alaric calls for her from behind the spelled slab of wood.