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

T H I R T Y - E I G H T

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Sitting alone in the twins' room, Stella looks out the window at the students mulling about. The sun shines down on the Salvatore school; the breeze makes the trees sway to the sound of silent music. A pair of cousins sit at the docks, talking quietly. A smile blooms on Stella's lips as she thinks about finding a quiet tree with shade to sit under and read or play the guitar.

She is knocked out of her daydream when Lizzie walks in. "Hi," she greets as she stands.

"Hey," Lizzie replies, handing her a crystal prism. "Knock yourself out. The first time's kind of freaky, because you're basically talking to your subconscious."

"Thanks." Stella takes the prism and turns it over in her grasp before she hands the two books in her hands over to the blonde. "These are for you. The first one, I remember researching some other things when the Merge come up."

"Doomed Magical Partnerships: a Commentary on Soul Bonds and Unbreakable Ties between Magical Parties? Not ominous at all," Lizzie mutters.

"The Merge is right in the middle. It goes alphabetically," Stella says.

"What else is in here?" Lizzie asks, thumbing through the pages.

"Mated pairs, dynamics in a pack, linking spells. Things like that." Lizzie hums as Stella gives the second book to her. "I saw your dad reading this one. He kept it locked in his office, so it's bound to have whatever Josie's looking for."

"How did you get it? Last I checked, Hope is the one with the weird relationship with my dad."

Stella shrugs. "I stole it."

The blonde laughs. "For once, your affinity for stealth actually comes in handy."

"Are you sure you don't want me to call my mom?" Stella asks, trying to keep the smirk off of her lips. "She might answer. Aunt Freya would definitely answer. They might know about this Merge thing."

"No," Lizzie replies. "It'll all be ok. We don't need to blow it out of proportion."

Stella shakes her head. "Right, just be careful. If your dad's hiding something, I'm sure it's for a good reason. I mean, the last time my parents hid something from me, it was my grandfather who was a mass-murdering sociopath hell-bent on killing his kids."

It takes Lizzie a moment to blink the information away. "I'm sure I can handle it, whatever it is. I just have a feeling that everything is gonna work out just fine. Can you feel it? It's like the whole school is vibrating." Lizzie wraps her hands around Stella's shoulders. "We're both gonna get our people back."

Offering a small smile, Stella nods. "Let's get them. Text me if anything happens."

"I'll text you constant updates!" Lizzie squeals as she runs from the room.

Stella shakes her head with a laugh as she closes the door behind her. Without needing to check, she heads down to the docks where a blond man and blue-eyed Mikaelson sit.

She plops down next to her brother with a wide grin on her face. "Hay, fam," she says. Teddy jumps in surprise as Hope rolls her eyes, scooting away from them. The movement causes hurt to flash across Stella's face, but her determination not to lose the confidence Lizzie instilled in her keeps her going.

Her phone dings. She glances down.

From Lizzie: It's been like 2 mins, why isn't she here yet?

Stella holds out the prism, saying, "I know you don't want to talk, but I mooched this off of Lizzie. It simulates conversations, so maybe it'll help you with your Landon issues."