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

Chapter 17

"Wake up sleepy head!" Kol chirped as he opened wide the thick and heavy curtain. "We have a very busy day ahead of us."

A fresh wind blew through the opening and the room suddenly got colder as light flooded in. From the bed, the shapeless mass hidden under several quilts let out a groan and Kol avoided a flying pillow. It flew all the way through the window and ended up outside in the mud.

"Your aim is improving," he said cheerfully.

"You. Out." Nora growled at him.

He crossed the distance between them in a few strides and sat on the bedspread, a leg folded over the other and his elbow resting on one of his knees. Nora didn't bother to move away, preferring instead to bury herself deeper under her covers. The only thing visible was the top of her head and her long red hair fanned out across the pillow in an odd but strikingly well-done imitation of the Gorgon Medusa.

His eyes twinkling in amusement and his lips tilted in a smirk, he pulled on the quilts to reveal her face and used just enough strength to make sure she couldn't stop him. Blurry, sleepy eyes glared at him before Nora sighed and rubbed her eyelids. She then sat up, the covers falling down on her lap. The white fabric of her nightdress was too thin for his eyes to not see right through it and he had to force himself to keep his eyes on her face.

"Now Darling," he said while snatching a lock of her hair to twirl it around his finger, "did you hear me? We have many things to do today and, sadly, not enough time."

"It is too early," she muttered, barely understandable.

As she tried to moisten her chapped lips, Kol grabbed the cup of water he had brought for her. She took him without a word, her brain still too asleep to truly think, and chugged it in one gulp. Slowly, the last remnant of sleep disappeared from her eyes.

He wasn't close enough to feel her breath on his skin but the soft sound of her heart beating inside her chest was one of the most beautiful music he had ever heard. The way it sped up the closer he got, in particular, made him wish he could kiss the skin under which her heart was hidden. Sitting face to face, their eyes met for a too short moment.

"Nora, for you, it is always too early for anything," Kol chuckled while slightly moving back, only too aware of the shiver running down her spine.

It was happening more and more often as of late. She had always looked at him, even when she was scared, but now her gaze were different. Softer, sometimes, with a glimpse of something he was sure was reflected in his own eyes. The sound of his voice, especially when he laughed, never failed to left her shivering. He particularly adored seeing the blood rushing to her cheeks and listening to her pounding heart.

"Besides," he continued as if nothing had happened, "the roosters are all out, have already sung and gone around the barnyard. They even had enough time to woo a few hens."

"And I suppose you had a front-row seat to admire them," she replied in amusement, her tiredness already forgotten.

"Of course I was," he grinned, "someone had to be there to support that little white hen and her remarkable efforts to ignore the rooster in front of her."

Her eyes briefly went to the hair he had in his hand but she said nothing. Instead, she glanced back at him, the warm blue of her gorgeous eyes shining. The grouchy mood that always accompanied her awakening was gone and in its place was a serenity that left him breathless for a few seconds.

"Are you speaking about the chicken Svetlana calls Lunch?"

"Yes," he said solemnly. Or at least, as solemnly as he could manage.