𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐀 | 𝐬. 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞

47

Instead, she takes in a deep breath and exhales it as she looks at Elijah. "The full moon is in a week, and we have to break the curse by then. When is Klaus going to be here?"

"If I'm being honest, he already is,"

"What?" Damon snaps, looking at Elijah angrily. "Why wouldn't you tell us?"

"Because I don't know for sure," Elijah glares back at him momentarily. "Klaus would never come here without observing a little bit at first, and he's very fond of body-jumping, so he could be any stranger in town or even someone we know."

"Great," The vampire sighs, a wry smile on his face. "So, there's a possibility that an Original is walking around town wearing the face of a waitress, or a janitor or something. That's just what I wanted to hear."

Athena huffs a humorless laugh at him. "Or your best friend's face. But he'd have to be a damn good actor to pretend to like you."

──────

"So, what's going on with you and Stefan?"

Athena looks up as Lexi walks into the room, a tentative but curious look on her face as she approaches the goddess. Sighing in borderline irritation, she flips the page of the magazine in her lap lazily. "Why didn't you tell me you knew what I was when we first met?"

"Because your brother told me in private, and I wasn't the person you needed to hear it from. Your turn. What's going on?"

"Stefan's been compelled by an Original and it's affecting our relationship at the moment. I'm sure we'll be fine,"

Lexi scoffs at Athena's obvious anger, but she takes note of the resigned defeat in her voice. "You can't just hope you'll be fine eventually, soulmates or not you have to make an effort."

Sighing again, Athena glares up at the blonde vampire who remains unperturbed. "I'm making all of the effort, Lexi, that's why I'm so pissed off. I've done everything but kiss the ground he walks on, so it's his turn to put some work in. Besides, I can't even trust anything he says right now, so it doesn't matter. It just– doesn't matter."

"So you're just going to let some stupid Original ruin your entire relationship? It took you months to get with him, and you're just going to throw it all away?"

"I'm not throwing it–"

"Yes, you are," Lexi cuts her off, glaring at her. "Yes, Stefan's compulsion doesn't excuse his behavior, but it doesn't give you an excuse to shut him out and pretend you aren't completely freaking out."

Athena shakes her head, throwing the magazine to the side as she looks up at Lexi. "Of course, I'm freaking out! For six months my entire life has been vampires, witches, werewolves, and stupid doppelgängers who think the world owes them something! And– and gods and goddesses and idiot fathers who lie to you for seventeen years about who you are!"

She laughs coldly, her shoulders slumping defeatedly. "My life has been absolute chaos for months, I can't remember the last time I thought about something normal like what I'd wear to a school dance or what I want to do when I graduate."

She drops her head into her hands, swallowing around the lump in her throat. "Some days I still wonder why I survived the car accident, and I wonder why my father did what he did, and I have so many questions that I'll never be able to ask, and Stefan– Stefan makes it all better. He's supposed to make it all better."

She sniffs, smiling pitifully for herself. "Waking up to him smiling makes my mornings a little easier, and holding his hand in the hallway at school makes every boring class worth it. He makes sarcastic jokes, he teases me, and laughs at me. When he knows I'm bored in class, he'll say something that only I can hear just because he knows it makes me feel better."