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

S I X T E E N

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Well into the midnight hours of the night, a knock jolts Stella out of her focus. Open books litter the floor as she rubs her eyes. She squints at the clock across the room, groaning at the blinking 3:00; it has been hours since she began her crusade and nothing—not a single mention of what might be happening.

She grunts as she gets to her feet and stumbles over to the door. She swings it open to reveal Hope. "What's up, cus'?" Stella asks as she leans against the threshold.

Hope narrows her eyes and glances at the books all over Stella's room. "I was going out when I saw your light on. What are you still doing up?"

Stella looks down, spying the car keys in Hope's hand. "Research. Where are you going with Saltzman's keys?"

Hope tenses. "I wanted to get him a peace offering after yesterday—oil change."

"At three am?" Stella deadpans. Hope rolls her eyes. "Let me get this straight: you were gonna commit grand theft auto, which is a felony, you're ditching school right before midterm exams, and you're furious at Saltzman taking responsibility of you."

Hope shrugs.

"You wanna tell me the truth?"

In response, Hope raises her arm. Stella narrows her eyes at the glowing watch on her wrist. The minute hand points southwest, shaking slightly. The Hale girl raises her eyebrows as Hope explains, "It's a supernatural compass of sorts."

"And where does it point?" Stella asks, taking Hope's wrist gently to examine the object.

"Landon."

Stella rolls her eyes but pauses when she sees the flicker of panic on Hope's face. "You really like him, don't you?"

Hope scoffs and shakes her head. "Like is a strong word." She crosses her arms over her chest and pouts. "But if this watch is glowing, that means he's in trouble. I have to help him—I promised."

Stella sighs, running a hand over her messy bun. It is then that she realizes that her hair had come undone in the hours pouring over books. "Be safe, ok?"

Hope nods with a frown. "Don't you want to come?"

Stella looks back at her room. "I have some stuff I need to figure out first."

The Mikaelson witch watches as Stella runs a hand down her face. The younger cousin is tired—her eyes are red with irritation, and her face has lost its natural tan. "What's wrong?" Hope asks.

Stella shakes her head. "I don't know." She takes a deep breath, putting on a smile as she faces her cousin once more. "That's what I'm going to find out."

Pursing her lips, Hope nods once more. "Get some sleep," she says as she walks away from the Hale witch.

The moment Hope turns the corner, Stella shuts the door. She sits back down on the ground, pulling an open textbook into her lap. "No time for sleep, Hope," she mutters. "I've gotta find out what's wrong with me."

~~~~~

The car races through a stretch of open field, tensions making the air difficult to breathe. Hope looks down at her watch as Alaric drives, his eyes focused on the road. Landon leans between the two, saying, "H-he's a fish man on land. How fast can he be, right?"

Something rocks the car, causing all three to yelp.

"Turns out he's pretty fast," Hope sighs as the arrow on her watch switches to pointing forward.