Crossed [2] ➳ K. MIKAELSON

Chapter 28

Kol's POV

Where on Earth is Astrid? I know that she isn't Hayley's biggest fan, but she said she was coming to the wedding. It's been hours since the ceremony, and there's no sign of her.

Feeling a tap on the shoulder from Davina, I glance up and see my wife standing at the entrance to an alleyway. Her back is leaned up against a wall, while she wipes fallen blood from her nose. As I speed over to her, she looks up and sends me a weak smile.

"Hey, Kol." my wife wheezes out, struggling to keep her eyes open. "What's up?"

"Love, what's wrong?" I question, horribly worried about her. Letting out a low chuckle, she brushes me off.

"I'm all good. I'm as healthy as a horse." Astrid states, coughing into her trembling hands. I grab them and frown, feeling them to continue to shake under my grasp. 

"Astrid, you're cold." I worriedly tell her, as Jeremy and Davina walk up to us. Sighing, my wife glances up at me with a nervous look on her face.

"Finn...he got a bit pissed off at me when we went to rescue Josh." she admits, shivering in the hot air. "And I...I thought I was going to be okay, but...I'm running out of time."

No. Not again.

~~~

"Transubstantiation. We can combine it with a protection spell." Jeremy suggests to Davina and Rebekah, pressing down onto a page in the grimoire. 

"Finn's spell blocks that. The body calls it, and then she dies." my younger sister retorts, letting out a frustrated sigh. "We need to jump her into a new one."

"We can't just pick another body at a farmer's market. We don't even have a spell for that!" Davina exclaims, waving her arms around. 

They've been at this for half an hour, trying to figure out how to save my wife. I haven't been a witch for centuries, but I know there is no cure. Once someone has been hexed as she has, there's no way to stop the curse. As much as I don't want to admit it, Astrid is going to die again. 

So while the Three Stooges have been searching through spellbooks and dark objects, I have been sitting with my wife, holding her against me as tightly as I can. The three witches continue arguing, until a frail voice pops up. 

"Bekah, D, Jer, can you please give me a moment alone with Kol?" Astrid pleads, before the three nod and exit the tomb. 

Through my silent tears, I glance down at my wife, who sadly smiles up at me. She weakly stands up to her feet, holding her shaking hand out to me.

"I believe I owe you a dance, Mr. Mikaelson."

"I believe you do, Mrs. Mikaelson."

~~~

"I know that we're in a cemetery, and I happen to be terminal...but you've got to admit the stars are lovely." Astrid states, laughing through her pain. Her arms hang loosely on my shoulders, as we sway to the sound of a random Coldplay song. 

"You're on the verge of death, and you're still joking?" I question, silent tears streaming down my cheeks. 

"For once, I'm not." she comments, leaning forward to press our foreheads together. "We're under the same stars. It's some totally non-psychotic girl, and she's with the love of her life. She thinks she's got all the time in the world, and she's right. And I hate her so much."

We both let out a low chuckle, as I slightly tighten my grip on her waist. All of a sudden, Astrid doubles over in another coughing fit, causing a deep frown to appear on my face. 

"Are you okay?" I ask my wife, who nods. Taking a second to catch her breath, she breaks away from my arms and leans up against the wall of the tomb. 

"Yeah." she states, using her hand to lightly brush her thumb against my cheek. "I think I want to be alone for this part."

Before I can object, I hear footsteps from behind us, and a familiar voice pop up.

"Like hell you will, Kai!" Caroline exclaims, causing a chuckle to come from the rest of my good siblings, the Claire witches, and Jeremy. 

"'Always and Forever' is not something you weasel out of, Tri." Nik comments, sharing a sad smile with Astrid. 

~~~

"Dying still sucks! 0/10: would not recommend."

Even when she's on her death bed and coughing up mouthfuls of blood, my wife still somehow makes people laugh. 

After the rest of our family showed up at the cemetery, Nik and Caroline helped me move her into another tomb nearby. I laid her head onto my lap and began brushing my fingers through her hair as a way to comfort her. 

Meanwhile, the Claire witches and Jeremy started trying out every spell possible to stop her death. None of them have worked, but they won't give up. 

Another fit befalls Astrid, causing her to lean forward and cough up more blood. Elijah and Caroline rub circles into her back, before she lays back against me. My sister grabs onto her hand, giving it a tight squeeze.

"Astrid, listen to me." Rebekah starts off, sending a determined look down to my wife. "You don't have long. You're going to die. But you will die a witch, and we will consecrate your body. You will join the ancestors of the French Quarter, and those spirits can be brought back. And I promise you, sister, I will not leave this body, until I find a way to bring you home."

Astrid smiles up at my sister, coughing harder as more blood dripping from her nostrils. Over in the corner of the tomb, the trio finishes their spell, causing Jeremy to rush over. 

"We tried a different spell." he mutters, bawling his eyes out from their failure. Astrid takes her hand in his, giving it a weak squeeze.

"It's alright, Jer. I'm not scared." she details, before glancing up to me with watery eyes. "I love you."

Her body goes limp in my arms, and I can no longer hear her heartbeat. My silent tears turn to sobs, as I pull my wife closer to me.