E I G H T E E N

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"Thank you for showing me love anyway."

Stella looks around the familiar church. The dim lights shower the party decorations; people laugh with each other as they prepare for the parade. The voice echoing in her ear is all too real.

She does not want to face her. She does not want to hear those words again—to see her face again—to see her alive and smiling.

She turns around anyway.

The breath leaves Stella's body as she stares at the brunette in front of her. She is alive and talking and laughing.

The girl shakes her head with a soft smile. "Stella, what's wrong?" She grips the witch's hands lovingly.

"Carter," Stella breathes. "You-you're here."

gif of Cierra Ramirez as Carter Montgomery from google images

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gif of Cierra Ramirez as Carter Montgomery from google images

"Of course, I'm here," she chuckles. She leans forward, pressing her lips against Stella's. A coolness spreads under Stella's skin as she pulls away.

"How are you here?" Stella asks.

"Stella, you're scaring me," the girl says. "I've always been here. I'll always love you."

Suddenly, Stella is on the floor. She stares up at the ceiling. Smoke clouds the once white surface. She can hear screaming and crying. She knows what comes next.

Her body hurts from phantom pain. She knows what she will see if she looks over.

She does so anyway.

She hears herself scream as she scrambles over to the dying girl. She grips the girl's hand tightly, trying to regain some feeling—any feeling at all.

"Stella," the girl rasps with blood trailing down her chin.

"It's ok," Stella says, her voice rough. "I've got you. I can heal you. It's ok." She glances down at the wound and chokes on air. "It won't stop bleeding."

"You can't save me," the girl says, putting on a false smile. "I love you. I love you so much."

"Why'd you do it?" Stella asks desperately.

"I will always love you. I'm sorry—"

Stella screams as she watches the life leave the girl's eyes once more. Heat envelopes her body as she feels a presence before her. She slowly picks her head up, a glare resting on her face as she sobs. "I'll kill you."

The creature in a black veil says, "End it. Give it to me. Bring it home."

"I will kill you!" Stella shouts.

Another explosion rocks the church.

Stella is thrown into the stone wall. Her vision blurs as sticky liquid falls from her head. She struggles to sit up on her elbow and see what happened—to see who else is dead.

"No," she breathes. Through the fogginess of her mind and the pain in her arm, she can tell who is next to her. It's the same magical signature. "Not you too, please."

Stella reaches toward the brunette siphoner standing in front of her. She does not notice the awkward angle of her arm or the blood painting it. She only watches as the witch before her turns and walks over the other bodies in the room.

The Salvatore School echoes with Stella's waking scream. Smoke fills the halls as Alaric, Hope, and Landon race towards the heartbreaking sound. They find her alone in her room, her body slumped over the desk.

Books burn around her as she looks around the room, terrified. Flames lick up the walls, wood burns too fast to be stopped. She does not feel the heat, but she can smell the smoke—the same scent as the church.

"Stella!" Hope yells from the door. No one can reach her past the fire.

Stella begins to furiously shake her head, curling into a ball on the floor. Her rapid heartbeat only escalates the intensity of the flames as her terror multiplies: she can't control it.

Hope's voice falls on deaf ears. All Stella can hear are the screams from the church. She can smell the blood and the pain.

Her eyes fall on her phone lying beside her—her screen is shattered, but an image pops up as it buzzes. She stares at Josie's picture.

A question comes to mind: why can't she control her magic?

Within seconds, the grief and terror are replaced with rage and a killing calm only a Mikaelson could get. Stella waves her hand in the air and the flames disappear from the room. As she stands, she mutters a spell, and everything that was once burnt is replaced. She wipes away her tears as she turns to Alaric. "It's not a Night Hag," she says, her voice dangerously calm. "It's an Oneiroi."

Hope is instantly at Stella's side. The elder witch's hands go to Stella's broken arm and bleeding head. The Hale shrugs her off and limps out of the room. "Stella, stop!" Hope orders as she runs after her. Even with a twisted ankle, Stella is faster than Hope.

The Hale witch only stops when she gets to a particular book left in the library. It is already open to the correct page. "Black-winged shapeshifting dream demon."

Alaric stares at her with a hint of fear in his eyes. "We know, we just figured it out when we heard you screaming."

The fire and adrenaline in Stella's blood wink out. She slumps into a nearby chair, exhaling slowly. "I must have fallen asleep," she mutters as Hope runs her hand along Stella's hairline.

"Sit still while I heal you," Hope snaps. "How the hell did this happen?"

Stella goes silent as her eyes land on the lit fireplace. "St. Anne's," She replies, her voice barely above a whisper. "The explosion at St. Anne's."

Hope's hands freeze over Stella's arm. She glances up at Stella's blank expression before she resumes her healing.

"I didn't mean to burn up half the school," Stella says, glancing up at Alaric. "Please don't tell my mom. I can control it, I swear. It was the Oneiroi."

Alaric and Landon only stare as Hope heals the broken Hale.




For those who read my Lexi books, this should be familiar. If you haven't, this is basically what happened to Carter.

Hope you enjoyed (and maybe cried as much as I did)!

-L

Burnin' Up | J. Saltzman - Legacies [1]Where stories live. Discover now