Blue ▹ The Originals [2]

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
THE END OF ALWAYS AND FOREVER

"Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     "I'm leaving tomorrow." Henrik hadn't meant to say those words to Freya, least of all right before they brought back Elijah from the dead. He hadn't wanted her to be distracted during the process, and he knew his announcement wouldn't be received very positively. The entire family would be expected to gather around Elijah when he was back, but Henrik knew that being crowded would be the last thing Elijah would want. He glanced up from where they were setting up the spell and saw that Freya had gone still. He shifted on his feet. "After Elijah is back, of course." It took Freya a very long time to answer, but when she did, her voice was soft.

"I thought you would stay a little while longer," she admitted, though she didn't need to. Henrik already knew what she had thought. He considered his next words carefully for a moment, then decided there was no harm in the truth. She would never tell Klaus, not before Henrik was out of the city, at least.

"I have someone I need to get back to," he said, glancing down when she glanced up. "I'm sure he's worrying." Silence welcomed his words. He distracted himself by lighting the rest of the candles in the room. He had managed to avoid looking into the coffin until that moment. He caught one look at Elijah's body and immediately turned away, feeling sick.

"I always wondered why you disappeared for most of the day Klaus's sireline was severed," Freya whispered. She had connected the dots quicker than Henrik thought she would, but he was glad he didn't have to spell it out. "Now I know." Henrik nodded and went back to the small table where they were preparing the spell, setting the lit candle back down. There were so many candles in the room that he could feel the heat of them now, pressing uncomfortably against his covered arms and back.

"Nik is going to put the pieces together after he finds out Francis is still alive," Henrik explained, voice getting lower out of habit. Klaus hadn't been cruel to him in a very long time—not since Hope was born, not intentionally—but it was hard to break the habit of lowering his voice in fear that Klaus would hear him. He fought to get it back to normal. "I need to be as far away from his as possible when he does."

"He'll understand," Freya declared, with the confidence of someone who hadn't lived with Klaus for a thousand years. Henrik wanted desperately to believe her, but he simply couldn't. He had too much experience with his brother, too many examples of him not understanding to count.

"Will he?" Henrik asked, raising his eyebrows. "You know how he reacted to Kol tonight." Freya frowned at him.

"Kol betrayed us."

"So did I." Henrik's betrayal hadn't been as recent, and he hadn't allied himself to something like the Hollow, but it still could have had detrimental consequences. It had nearly cost Elijah and Klaus both their lives. Just because it had been a handful of years ago didn't mean it was any less a betrayal. Freya let out a soft sigh and reached across the table to squeeze Henrik's hand.

"He'll understand," she repeated. "I'll talk to him." Henrik managed to smile at her and squeeze her hand back.

"I don't think it'll do much good," he admitted, "but thank you, Freya." She smiled, opened her mouth to say something else, only to immediately snap it shut. Henrik took his hand out of hers and bent his head over the grimoire spread out on the table. They could both hear footsteps coming toward the office. Whoever was approaching wasn't bothering being quiet, which was why Henrik wasn't surprised when Klaus walked through the door. It was Henrik's first time really seeing him since he had arrived in New Orleans. Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah had been so busy killing the Hollow's followers and tracking down every weapon that could kill them that Klaus was rarely actually in the house. Now he finally had enough time to talk to Henrik properly.