✔ The Way We Burn || Kol Mikaelson (Complete)

Chapter 16

"Let me get this straight," Nora said, a spoon twirling in her hand and bits of millet porridge landing on the table, "your mother was a less bearded version of Merlin and decided that changing her children and the dastard she called husband into vampires was the best way to protect them from werewolves?" She snorted. "Talk about overprotection."

"Do not forget the part where she and daddy dearest killed us. And who is Merlin?"

After finding a minor lord and his castle the night before, Kol had been quick to compel him to give them free lodgings for the duration of their stay. The lord and his household were also forbidden to ask any question or even speak about them outside the walls of his dwelling. Kol had then claimed the whole guest wing. His initial plan had been to leave the castle in order to feed in the surrounding houses once Nora had settled in her room, ready for bed. However, a good initial plan wasn't one if it didn't fall through. As he went to leave Nora's bedroom, she had caught his wrist and thanked him for saving her and not leaving. She thanked him. Him. Now, he had been thanked before. Usually by people he never saw again. By people he actually cared about though? No. In the last three decades, his siblings had certainly never thanked him, no matter how many times they had asked for his help. As for Nora... Well, she was dead.

And now the younger version of the redhead had thanked him, even though she only knew him as the man who left her to die in France. It had been as sudden as unexpected and he had almost fallen in love all over again with the woman looking at him with frank eyes, without any disgust or fear for the monster he was. Only a true gratitude, a sign that she was perfectly aware of what he had done for her.

After that, he had waited before her closed door, a lost expression on his face, unable to bring himself to leave the castle walls, even once her breathing changed to regular and deep breaths.

Inside these foreign walls, in a time she knew nothing of and which terrified her, she had fallen asleep quickly. Maybe he was overthinking it, maybe he was only projecting his own desires, but it did look like a sign that she trusted him to protect her. Despite her disgust at having to be dependent on him, she did feel safe with him around.

With that in mind, he went to feed on the lord and his wife. They were still alive and healthy, barely tired from the small amount of blood he took. Even now, sharing the morning meal with Nora, he felt no thirst, no desire to lose himself in the blood until only the vampire remained.

"Merlin is," Nora began before she stopped and frowned, her spoon still twirling, "a major future spoiler so I'm going to close my mouth and you, sir, are going to forget I ever talked about the legendary god-like warlock."

He raised a brow, his lips drawn back in a mocking grin, and only had to wait for a few seconds before she realized, cursed loudly and hit her head on the table. It was a good thing he had given the command to be left alone in the dinner room.

"Now Darling, there is no need to hurt that pretty little head of yours," he said with a falsely haughty tone of voice before kindly patting the top of her head.

"I'm so bad at this," Nora muttered and a slight change in her scent told Kol all he needed to know. Meaning, a possible panic attack. It was only the second since she woke up, which was quite the improvement in comparison with the day before.

"You are doing just fine Nora. Look, I promise you to forget all about this Merlin until I meet him. Alright? Now, raise your head and admire my handsome-self and think about how lucky you are to be able to do so. It is, after all, quite rare for lowly people to be in the presence of such perfection."

She lifted up her head and tossed a pea at him, only to pout when he caught it with his mouth.

"The only place you are going to meet him is in a book and," she narrowed her eyes, amused, "we would not want you to hurt your pretty head, would we?"