Nothing Dark Can Stay, Either

Chapter 27

He almost didn't catch her when she jumped into his arms.

"Woah there— still human!" he said, hands flying to her hips. "You move way too fast for me."

"You should be used to it by now," she said, a huge smile on her face as she dipped down to kiss him.

He had kissed her back, setting her down and gripping her bottom roughly as she draped her arms around his neck. "I'm guessing you beat Dahlia?" he chuckled in a brief moment when she pulled away, her forehead resting onto his.

"Yes," she sighed. "I wasn't there to see it, but Klaus texted Marcel— how are you here? What— what happened?"

"Well, I went back to Mystic Falls and tried to be nice," he mused. "Worked out okay-ish, but no one really believes that I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. You remember Damon? Apparently, his mommy is one of the vampires trapped in the 1903 prison world. He and his little girlfriend Elena want to go in and get her because his brother shut his humanity off."

Beatrix leaned back and furrowed her eyebrows. "His mother is one of them—?"

"From what I've gathered, she's the one that was a regular vampire— the rest are Heretics like you, just born from the Gemini Coven. They want me to go with them."

She frowned. "What? Why?"

"They need Bonnie to go, but she's still really salty that I left her behind in the prison world... so before giving her the 1903 Ascendant I found, I told her I'd only go if she went. I actually want to apologize for what I did. After she got out— that was a whole mess, by the way— I got to thinking about how they trapped you here, and I just... I felt guilty. I want to be better."

She let her hand run down his face. He was growing a beard and mustache again, which suited him. Her fingertips traced back up his jawline, running into his hair. "I'm proud of you," she said, finding herself smiling even more. "That's a good start."

He smirked. "Right? It feels really nice. The problem is, Bonnie doesn't trust me. Honestly, I don't blame her. So, she said she'd only go if I brought you along. She doesn't want to be alone with me. Dunno why she can't just accept that I actually want to be a good guy."

"I don't mind going. It'd be cool to meet the other Heretics," she said. "There were... six of them, I think? Three women, two men."

Kai made a face. "I don't know if we're going to meet them. Damon is very clear about only going in and getting his mother. My guess— he actually doesn't know about his mommy having any traveling buddies in there. I mean, I didn't even know— you were the one who told me about them."

"Now, what's all this about?"

Beatrix turned to see Klaus, holding a sleeping Hope in his arms. He cast Beatrix a smirk. "Is this the boyfriend that you won't stop calling?" he inquired with a devilish look.

"Klaus, this is Kai," said Beatrix, her cheeks reddening a bit. Even though Klaus was a past lover and a close friend of hers, considering what'd happened earlier, now it felt like she was introducing a male friend to her father. "Kai, Klaus. Oh, and little Hope."

Kai awkwardly waved, and Klaus just rubbed his daughter's back. "Granted that tonight is a celebratory evening, I am inclined to allow you to stay the night, siphon," said the hybrid. "As long as Beatrix does not neglect her silencing spells."

"Klaus!" Beatrix hissed. Kai merely laughed, and stepped forward to glance at Hope. "So this is the one who the fuss is all about. She's really adorable."

The hybrid nodded. "Well, I shan't keep you two from getting into your throes of passion," he said, making Beatrix growl. "I expect you both to attend breakfast. We can further this discussion there."