Grace and Elijah were on their feet before anyone else, already being used to sudden catastrophes, they worked together perfectly. The Original pulled out a large shard out of his chest, but other than that, he only looked pissed that his five thousand dollar suit was ruined. He had shielded Grace mostly with his body, so they were just smaller splinters piercing her skin.
The attacker seemed to have vanished, he was nowhere to be seen in the large room. Groans could be heard all around them from the injured people and the scent of hell a lot of blood hit her sensitive senses. The usual burning in her throat lit up, but over the years she had learnt to control it perfectly.
Her gaze fell onto Elena and her eyes widened in shock when she saw that her sister laid on the floor lifelessly. She had been closest to the bursting window, but at least it didn't seem that she bleed to much. Damon was already crouching over her, yelling for his brother while trying to feed her blood.
"Elijah!"
Grace said and the Original was immediately beside her. She hoped that his Original blood could heal her faster and he seemed to have the same thought, as he pressed his wrist onto her mouth. But she just didn't react, she didn't drink the blood, but her heart was still beating and she was breathing. Something was fundamentally wrong here.
"Get her to a hospital."
Elijah stated calmly, as always the only one who could think straight in all this chaos. Grace was so thankful for that.
Damon looked at Elijah first and then adverted his gaze to his brother who nodded agreeing with what the Original said. Within the blink of a second, he had cradled Elena in his arms and disappeared with her.
The remaining vampires looked at the people around them slowly becoming conscious again. Elijah was already on his way to feed the witches his blood.
"That was cool, wasn't it?"
Suddenly, Kai's voice sounded from behind them and all four vampires swung around to lunge at him, but the witch was prepared. With ease he snapped all their heads with a flick of his wrist.
...
"Grace. Grace, wake up."
Elijah's soft voice made it's way into her painfully throbbing head. Her hand reached for her neck when her eyes shot open and she remembered that still laid in the middle of a massacre. As if this was something unusual.
With a sigh, she sat up.
"Where the hell is everyone?"
She asked confused when she saw that Stefan and Caroline had vanished. But then she took in the sight of blood coughing witches and she raised her brows in surprise.
"Caroline and Stefan were gone when I woke...."
Elijah helped her to her feet and noticed her questioning glance. He had been awake for a while longer.
"...it seems the witches were linked to this...abomination. He killed himself shortly after taking us out."
Grace felt dizzy as she was overwhelmed by all this information. Nodding, she spared a short look at the dying witches before she took Elijah's hand.
"I need to see my sister."
They immediately started walking towards the exit of the shattered hall, stepping over some corpses to be. It was so surreal how one psychopath could cause so many death within less than an hour.
Outside, they were greeted by the full moon shining brightly and a shiver ran down Grace's spine, as if something in her told her, that she wasn't save outside here. And as if faith wanted to prove instincts right, screams, growls and the signature sound of snapping bones could be heard from not too far away. It were the noises of a turning werewolf, something Grace and Elijah were very familiar with.
Elijah pushed her immediately behind his back and stared into the darkness ahead of them. It must be Tyler Lockwood, he must've triggered his curse again.
"Go. I'll take care of this."
He said firmly. His voice was still so calm, so confident, but still Grace didn't want to leave him alone here.
She hesitated. Of course she knew that Elijah could easily take out a wolf, but after shifting they were quite nasty. The bite wouldn't kill him, but since Nik bit her she had gotten a glimpse of how horrible it was. None of them would want to give his brother the satisfaction of calling him here to cure one of them.
"Please."
Elijah looked over his shoulder, his gaze meeting hers shortly. He just wanted her safe, that's the only thing he asked for. Sighing, Grace gave in and disappeared.
Her head was filled with worry for both Elijah and Elena when she arrived at the hospital. She stormed through the wards, ignoring nurses calling after her for simply marching in here like she owned the place.
She found Damon after a short while, fortunately she still knew most of the hospital. He looked pained, exhausted but overall filled with a kind of worry that Grace very well knew.
"How's she?"
Grace sat on the other side of the bed after closing the door behind her. Damon barely look up, he just squeezed Elena's hand. It was then when she realized that Damon Salvatore was really capable of love. She hadn't really witnessed how they fell in love, but she had seen how Stefan looked at her and now how Damon looked at Elena. It was a whole different story. For him, the whole world rotated around nothing but Elena Gilbert. He would break without her. That was why he wanted to take the cure. Grace would do the same for Elijah, if they were in this position.
"The doctors keep telling me that there's nothing wrong with her physically...but she still isn't waking up."
Tears flooded Damon's eyes and also Grace had to fight hard to stay strong. It couldn't be. She just got to some degree of peace with her sister and now she was taken away from her again.
"It must be magic. This Kai person...it must've been him...who's a corpse by now."
"Not exactly."
Damon sighed and held out his phone, so she could have a look on it. Matt had informed him that Kai was a vampire and Tyler and wolf form now.
Grace's eyes widened and her hands clenched into fists. Elijah was still out there. With this lunatic running free, fear for her love crept up her spine. If she understood it right, he was a vampire that could use magic now. Thankfully, Elijah was very capable of taking care of himself.
All of a sudden, something slammed against the window facing the patient room and the two vampires jumped to their feet startled. Kai leaned against the window, looking pale and smeared with blood. A werewolf bite thrived on his neck and Grace had to bit her lip to keep herself from smiling cruelly.
"What's going on with me?"
"Encounter with something furry, four paws?"
Damon hissed and they both stepped through the door and into the hallway, staring the heretic down.
"How do I get rid of it?"
Kai's gaze flickered back and forth between them. The bite already affected him, which was very satisfying to see.
"Ask her."
The older Salvatore growled and now Kai looked at Grace confused. She stepped forward, raising her chin.
"One call and the cure will be here before you die. You just have get Elena out of that coma."
Kai grinned, then bursted out laughing and looked quite disappointed when Grace continued to stare him down.
"I can't."
All of a sudden, Damon rushed forward and grabbed Kai by the throat, pressing him against the wall.
"What have you done to her?"
The heretic vampire grinned like a lunatic, his focus blurry because of the bite. Still, he found joy in torturing all these people. He explained to Grace and Damon that he had linked Elena to Bonnie and that she wouldn't wake up until Bonnie died. Rage flared up in both vampires, but before they could get a hold of him and rip him apart, he vanished from the hospital.
Grace growled and immediately wanted to go after him, but Damon grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Where the hell are you going?"
She shot him a death glare and shrugged his hand away.
"The obvious, Damon. First, I'm gonna kill this lunatic, then I'll murder Bonnie so my sister will wake up. Don't worry, no blood on your hands."
Her voice was a hiss, he more ruthless self immediately showing. The people in Mystic Falls still didn't realize that she didn't hesitate when it came to eradicate threats.
"You won't lay a finger on Bonnie!"
Damon shouted at her, to which Grace laughed amused.
"Oh come on, Damon, stop being a liar. As if this isn't the first thing you thought about."
She raised her brows. The older Salvatore was steaming of anger, but she knew she hit a nerve.
"What the hell have they done to you? You simply want to kill off Elena's best friend, do you think that's what she wants?"
Grace rolled her eyes and glimpsed through the window at Elena. Of course her heroic little sister wouldn't want this. But Grace didn't care much about that.
"You still don't get it, don't you? I contrary to you, I do what is necessary. I don't care if she hates me afterwards, at least I know that she's living her life because I'm the one who's able to make a decision. You want me to kill a dozen puppies to save her? An orphan village? No problem, I don't give a f*ck."
Disgusted, Damon shook his head. Grace couldn't believe what kind of hypocrite he had become. As if he wouldn't do the same. Some years ago, he wouldn't have hesitated. But that was probably Elena's saint influence on him.
She waited for the next flow of insults coming out of Damon's mouth, but instead he suddenly grabbed her by her throat and pushed her against the wall. Grace fought him harshly and she managed to land some unexpected hits on the Salvatore, but unfortunately he carried quite more strength than she did. He grabbed a pencil off the tray that stood beside them and stabbed it through her palm and disappeared, so he had a head start.
Grace hissed raging and took a deep breath before pulling the makeshift stake out.
"Next one on my murder list."
She mumbled.
"I'll gladly help you, but unfortunately Damon has to wait a while."
Elijah's voice sounded from behind her and Grace let out a relieved breath when she turned around. Her eyes quickly scanned him, but apart from his destroyed suit, he seemed fine. No bite to be seen.
"We need to end this."
Grace stated and Elijah nodded agreeing. At least she could trust on the fact that Elijah wouldn't hesitate when things had to be done.
...
Damon was nowhere in sight when they arrived back at the wedding location. He probably was looking for Bonnie, thinking that she wasn't stupid enough to come here and face Kai. But Grace expected exactly that. She heard the witches shout a conversation from inside.
Elijah and her exchanged a short look. He begged her to be careful. She smiled lightly before she walked inside the massacre site. Grace listened carefully before she suddenly rushed towards Bonnie and slammed her head onto a table so she would fall unconscious.
Kai stared at her with a baffled look, but lowered his hand.
"If you just wanted Bonnie dead, why didn't you just ask?"
She raised her brows after sparing a short look to Bonnie, checking if she was still breathing.
"Wow, that was hot as hell!"
The heretic laughed maniacally. With surprised Grace noticed that the wolf bite was gone. That was special. But it only assured her that her plan was working. They could just go up to him and kill him.
"No offense, darling, but I wanted Bon Bon to suffer a bit. How...considerate of you to take that away from her."
Grace just shrugged, but then tilted her head when she saw that Damon stormed inside.
"Grace! What the hell are you doing?"
He shouted bewildered, not believing that Grace was really ruthless enough to do this. The vampire just rolled her eyes and pointed her heel on Bonnie's throat, so Damon wouldn't dare to come closer.
"I told you I'm gonna kill her. But now, Kai, let's negotiate your departure."
She turned back to the heretic, ignoring Damon's cursing completely. Her gaze bore coldly into Kai's.
"And here I thought we had some kind of a thing."
He chuckled and Grace only grinned amused.
In the exact same moment, Elijah jumped out of the darkness, knowing that the heretic vampire was too distracted by Grace. In his trademark style, his hand ripped through Kai's flesh.
"I don't bode well with disrespect."
Elijah said coldly before ripping the heart out swiftly. With slight disgust on his face, he let it fall to the ground and pulled his handkerchief out to wipe his hands.
"Quite favorable to have an Original around from time to time, right, Damon?"
He said arrogantly. But Damon ignored him and rushed forward and pushed Grace violently away from Bonnie. He again pressed her against a wall and Grace started to grow really annoyed of it.
"What were you thinking? Is that your new way, simply put everyone in danger to do your plan?"
Thankfully, Elijah immediately ripped the older Salvatore away from her, a warning visible in his angered eyes. No one would hurt Grace, not under his watch.
"It worked. We got rid of this maniac for you, I think you should thank us."
Grace shrugged and lit Damon's temper again. He shot Elijah death glares when he didn't move aside when he wanted to go right into Grace's face again. Then, he just shook his head, picked Bonnie up and disappeared.
The Original and the younger vampire shared a look and sighed. They just wanted to get out of that horror house. Together, they walked back towards the Mikaelson mansion to have a shower and change into clean clothes.
...
An hour later, they all gathered at the Salvatore home to say goodbye to Elena. The whole atmosphere was filled with grief, but still, when Grace and Elijah entered, Damon managed to show his usual hostility.
Grace's gaze flickered to Bonnie who stood in front of the coffin that carried Elena's body and the witch looked fearful when she saw the vampire. Damon immediately stepped in front of his friend, looking grimly at Grace. She just rolled her eyes and lifted her hands.
"Relax, Damon. I haven't killed her so far, I won't now. I just want to say goodbye to my sister."
She would wait for him to do it himself. He probably wouldn't hold his promise up for long. Elena was the love of his life and Damon would do anything to have a life with her.
Stefan padded his brother's shoulder and Damon stepped aside, still keeping an eye on Grace while Bonnie and Caroline were the first to enter Elena's mind.
A short while later, she helped Alaric and Tyler into Elena's mind. It became so easy to enter other people's minds, she got barely exhausted by it.
The whole time, she silently stood by, a few feet away and watched. To be honest she was afraid to face Elena. Grace wasn't good with goodbyes and she feared she would ruin it.
Her sister was strong. She comforted Alaric so much. She just got that talent that everyone around her felt better. The whole group would probably fall apart without her. Elena had always been the one to keep them together. Grace just never fitted into that.
After Alaric was ready, she exited Elena's mind and sighed. It was her time to say goodbye now. But she wasn't really ready. She had no clue what to say.
"Gracie?"
When she heard Jeremy's voice from behind her, she swung around surprised, her eyes widened. Her face, having grown cold and hardened over today's events melted when she walked towards her little brother and pulled him in for a tight hug.
"Gracie...can't...breathe..."
Jeremy padded her arms and Grace remembered that he was just a human again. She immediately let go of him and smiled apologetically. He greeted Alaric shortly before turning back towards his oldest sister. Someone must've already filled him in on what happened.
Grace took his hand and hers as they stepped towards the coffin. Jeremy's eyes watered with tears when he glimpsed inside to see a seemingly lifeless Elena in there. She looked so dead. Grace at least could hear her heartbeat.
"Are you ready?"
Her little brother's eyes flickered shortly to her and Grace shook her head. But still, she closed her eyes and went back into Elena's mind.
The place for Jeremy was the stoner pit at the school and it made Grace smile. She again took her place a bit farer away, not sure if she should simply go to her siblings. Her hands clenched into fists.
"Gracie, will you finally come here?"
Elena called for her and giggled, holding out her hands for her older sister. Jeremy smiled welcoming, too. For a short second she hesitated, but then she felt her feet walking towards them. She sat down next to Elena, so she was in the middle between her and Jeremy.
"I want you to know that I will always love you. I can't wait to see what you've done while I'm gone."
Elena had this cheering smile on her face, but tears fell onto her cheeks and she obviously held back a sob. Grace tried her best to keep herself together. She could cry later, she didn't want to ruin this.
"Well, I'll be old and wrinkly when I see you again."
Jeremy said and they all chuckled.
"Hey, at least I'll still pass as your sister. I'll remind you both how good it is to be eternally young and hot when you sit in rocking chairs and get weird."
Grace grinned and for a moment, the siblings were so at ease. Just like they've been before their parents died. She felt like their big sister again.
Elena took her siblings' hands and squeezed them lightly.
"I'm gonna miss you so much. I await at least three nieces or nephews, Jer. And Grace...whatever it is you do in New Orleans...just be happy."
It was a sound advice coming from her sister. Just be happy...as if this was so easy. But Grace knew that happiness was right in front of her. She just needed time to grasp it. Fortunately, she had enough of that. Or at least she thought so.
The siblings hugged each other for a long time before they knew it was time to go. Tears came pooling in her eyes in the exact moment Jeremy and her left Elena's mind.
Both siblings' hands were shaking heavily. Grace spared a last glimpse at her sister's sleeping face before she stepped into Elijah's arms. He kissed her forehead lovingly and held her until she stopped trembling.
"May I?"
He whispered, his gaze adverting to the coffin. His eyes were asking Grace and Jeremy for permission to direct some words at Elena, too. The siblings nodded and Grace wiped her tears away as Elijah went to the coffin. Everyone seemed quite surprised, as they all knew that Elijah and Elena never were really close. Only Grace wasn't surprised, it was just so...Elijah. Honorable through every cell in his body.
A minute later, he stepped back away again and took Grace's hand. It was time to go now. Of course they could've stayed longer, but Grace wanted nothing more than to go home, far away from this wretched town. Nothing good happened here.
She kissed Jeremy's cheek and hugged Alaric and Caroline before leaving the Salvatore estate together with Elijah.
Grace didn't ask him what he said to Elena. She already knew.
I will protect your sister. You have my word on that.
...................
Thank you so much for 200k reads! I can't really believe that number.