Rue | Klaus Mikaelson

Chapter 24

Aurora paid her no heed, focusing instead on Klaus, who couldn't peel his eyes off of Ibeth as he waited to make sure she and the baby were okay. She walked closer to him, withdrawing another small jar of serum, identical to the one Lucien had taken. "All I have to do... is take this, and then I, too, shall be your better. Have you any idea what torment you'll endure then for what you did to my brother? And to me? I will take such exquisite joy in killing you myself."

"Well," said Lucien, "clearly you two have much to discuss. So, if you'll excuse me, I have business elsewhere." He took Aurora's hands, swaying as if they were dancing. "Now, darling, you may have your fun. But, please keep Nik alive. I would so hate to miss his death. And remember to be gentle with Ibeth. The longer he watches her live in agony the more desperate he'll become."

Aurora's lips curled up, turning to Ibeth as Lucien exited the penthouse. "Well," said the redhead, "I suggest you stay right where you are, and nothing need become unpleasant."

Ibeth tilted her head enough to get a glimpse of Klaus, registering the horrified look on his face. He couldn't reach her even if he tried. Anything he did or anything he said could go very wrong and Aurora would simply snap and kill her.

"Is it true?" Ibeth whispered as Aurora walked to fix herself a drink, relishing in their torment. "Is Finn dead?"

He nodded solemnly. "He is. And Kol is unnaturally aggressive. Camille and Davina believe him to be cursed... the spell that resurrected him was tainted by the Ancestors. He will soon go mad."

"What about our wolves? Aurora and Lucien will just slaughter them..."

"I called them off," he said. "This is not a battle they are equipped for. I told them I would retrieve you myself. And I knew... Lucien wishes to command them. He cannot if they are dead. For the time being they are safer where they are. They would make no progress even if they attacked en masse."

"Thank you," she whispered. "That was the right thing to do."

"Love—"

Aurora swept in before he could speak, kicking the log that held him and sending a painful tremor through his body, eliciting a grimace and an anguished groan. "That's about enough of that," she said. "I wonder... when you decided to brick me into that dreadful tomb, did it ever occur to you that our roles might one day be reversed?"

Klaus gulped. "We both know that I buried you alive because I could not bring myself to kill you."

Aurora chuckled blandly. "No, you did it because your little wife asked it of you. You were angry enough to kill me."

"That's not true," said Ibeth weakly, realizing what game he was trying to play. "He would never do anything for me. All I did was give him pause to remember who he was spitting at. Even if I hadn't said anything I don't think he would have killed you." She half-smiled at Klaus. "It was no secret he cared about you."

Aurora chuckled, and leaned over Klaus. "No doubt, you intended to free me after a suitable period of time. And have me instead of this pathetic girl."

"In fact," said Klaus, "my methods were not unlike Tristan's— after all, did he not hide you away in a mountain monastery? The truth is, I still had hopes for us. I knew it was only a matter of time before Ibeth left me for Lucien. It cleared my mind and allowed me to see that I ought to make my way toward someone else."

"And yet you advocate for her life. You feel fear because of her presence here."

"You know very well why. She is carrying my child. I must protect her to protect my unborn son. The wolf within me will not allow me to sit back while you harm her. It's an instinct I cannot help. But even that instinct cannot overpower what I feel for you."