The Red Queen | Lucien Castle & Tristan de Martel

Chapter 27

Vivalda held out her swords. "I will not mind killing your messenger, Dahlia," she sneered.

"My child," said Dahlia sweetly, "I prefer Aunt Dahlia."

"I'm more inclined to call you a raging bitch."

"You dare enter my home?" spat Klaus, standing beside his sister.

Dahlia sighed boredly. "I only came for what is mine." Josephine's throat began to bleed profusely, "The time has come to add the child's power to my own. Though, I do not detect her here. I see you've used a spell to cloak her. No matter– such spells will yield, as will you. Say your farewells. You have 'til nightfall tomorrow, and then the child shall be mine. Be a dear and inform the mother? No reason we can't be civilized about this."

Vivalda thrust her swords forward, slicing Josephine's head off and letting her body fall. Without bothering to wipe her swords, she turned to Klaus. "Get us those bloody ashes," she demanded, "or so help me I will make good on my promise to neuter you. Rebekah, if you'd like, I think you might have the best chance of getting Freya and Finn to help us again. Kol, I'll have Ariane and Madison come here to help you plan the resurrection. Elijah... it will fall on you and I to dig up Esther's body."

It was a strange way to bond with her brother, but Vivalda enjoyed it. The two of them went ahead to the old, burned-down plantation house, shovels in hand and ready to undo the thing Vivalda and Rebekah had warned them about a year ago.

"There is something we ought to discuss," said Elijah as she dug her shovel in, doing her best to move quickly but also not splatter them both with too much dirt. "Something I recently became aware of. When Mother seized control of my mind, unleashing those monstrosities that lurk behind the red door... I saw something. Aurora was there."

Vivalda's heart skipped a beat, knowing exactly what he was about to say. She realized why he'd never said anything– he didn't even remember it himself. A part of her hated that he'd done it, the other part grateful because she knew he wouldn't have survived it before. Even now she worried his shaky voice was clueing her into the fact he was being eaten alive by the truth.

"I compelled her," said Elijah sadly. "I made her break our brother's heart."

"I know," whispered Vivalda.

His eyebrows shot up. "You do?"

"Tristan and Lucien told me awhile back. They asked me not to say anything. And I ask that you don't tell anyone else. Rory isn't ready to talk to Klaus about it. One day she will be."

He sighed. "I am glad I was able to admit it to you. I thought you should know. I... I cannot claim to have always been the best brother. Perhaps Finn is right, I did like it when he was gone, I liked being the family patriarch and deciding where we went and for how long. I enjoyed the control, I relished in being the one in charge. But it was wrong of me. I made decisions in the heat of the moment to protect our family. Some did more harm than good. And you, my dear sister, you fixed things along the way. You cleaned up all of our messes, not just Niklaus's. You were the one who returned to the Trinity with apologies. Because of that, we've not had to fear the retaliation of The Strix. They aid us and you have rightfully earned the position of The Strix Queen. I should have let you create them with me long ago. I never ought to have pushed you and your ideas aside. I want you to be happy, Vivalda, no matter who you are with. I am glad you have found not one but two people who value you and love you, who bring out the very best in you. All you've accomplished, all your sacrifices... you deserve this."

"Oh, Elijah," she sighed, taking a break to lean onto him. "I love you, you know that? I'm very bad at saying it. I don't really let myself express it often to any of you, but I should. You've been a good big brother. I looked up to you a lot back then. I still do."