Consumed » Kai Parker

Forty Nine

"Took you long enough."

Arms crossed over her chest, Bonnie looks exasperated as I hurry over to her waiting spot by the buffet table stacked with delicacies.

"I'm sorry, I just had to go over something with Kai. Where's Elena and Liv?"

"Come on." Closing her fingers over mine, Bonnie pulls me along with her through the crowd and I struggle slightly to keep up without stumbling over my heels. "I just texted Elena, she spotted Care and said to head toward the end of the hall, by that big sculpture of some goddess, or whatever."

I crane my neck, trying to gain a clearer view above the hundreds of heads blocking our pathway, and make out beige, smooth edges peeking over several feet away. "That one?"

Bonnie squints in the direction I point in and nods, quickening her pace now. "That's it. I hope they're still there. What were you talking to Kai about, anyway?"

As flashes of our lips connected run through my mind, I have my lie prepared, almost a mechanical action of mine nowadays when it comes to my friends. "I wanted to go over the plan with him one more time. To make sure he doesn't end up doing his own thing because with Kai, that's usually something that might get him killed."

So, not a total lie. Progress there. But watching Bonnie mull over this, I wish desperately to be able to convey my worries to one of my best friends, since Caroline–the only one who truly gets my dilemma–is unavailable. It'd be a relief to confide in Bonnie, about how absolutely terrified I am of something happening to Kai tonight, even after he just reassured me that everything will be smooth sailing and I'd see him later. What I wouldn't give to rant to her right now, and have her assure me with her reasonable voice that I appreciate so much, that Kai's smart and he's gonna be okay and so will the rest of us. Instead, I just let her tug me closer to the sculpture, as she responds.

"Well, his powers aren't exactly lacking," she tells me, glancing over before focusing on pushing through the various party-goers. "So, it's not like he won't have a leg to stand on, if Stefan does attack him. And there's Klaus and Damon. I think it's safe to say that one way or another, they'll manage to get Stefan back with everyone unscathed." She half smiles at me. "Okay?"

Genuinely, I return her smile, grateful for the reassurance even if she doesn't understand the magnitude of my concern for Kai's wellbeing. "Yeah. Okay."

We continue to weave through the crowd, and it fortunately began to thin out a bit the farther we got towards the end of the enormous hall where the magnificent sculpture lay.

It isn't long before we spot the girls, milling around near other guests who had appeared to be more interested in conversation than dancing to the upbeat, old fashioned tune filling the atmosphere. Elena and Liv are in full blown chatter-mode with Caroline–actually, moreso on Elena's end, while Liv is merely standing there, glancing around with discomfort that I know she's tying to keep subtle but the signs are in her stiff posture and wandering eyes.

Finding Caroline emits a rush of simultaneous relief and worry through my body, but I do my best to dwell more on the relief, though that's quite an endeavor. Trying to channel the easygoingness with which Kai accomplishes most tasks, I inhale deeply, square my shoulders, and head alongside Bonnie toward the blonde in the sequined, sapphire dress and white feather boa.

"Just act natural, and make conversation with her, like they're doing," Bonnie whispers to me. "And then, we figure out a way to corner her."

"Gotcha," I say, willing myself to believe that the whole process would be as simple as this reply.

She looks at me and when I glance at her, I stop in my tracks, noticing her disapproving expression. "What?"

"That is not a party face. You wanna blow our cover?"

I scoff. "No. What the hell is a party face?"

She plasters on a fake, overly enthusiastic grin instantaneously, grabbing my hand. "This. Now, dance with me."

"Uh, Bon–"

Giving me no time to argue, Bonnie twirls me around, snaking her fingers around my flailing free hand in the process. I nearly bump into surrounding strangers during the impromptu dance, but I soon realize her intentions when a couple of spins and sways later, I'm bumping into a sequined back with fluffed blonde curls.

I stare with wide eyes as Caroline whirls around, pausing her conversation with the girls and her eyes automatically zero in on me maliciously. "Hey, watch it."

"Sorry, I was just dancing with my friend, B–Bella." I catch Liv's horrified look, and Elena's eyes briefly shutting in consternation, before continuing. "This is our first ball. We're kind of, like, really excited."

She appraises the two of us silently for a moment and Bonnie takes this as an opportunity to take over. "Yeah. I've met so many interesting people here. It's so different from back home, in Cali. Do you live in the area?"

Caroline chuckles. "No. I just needed a change of pace, since everyone at home is so blah."

"Where are you from?" I ask, cocking my head with feigned intrigue.

She narrows her eyes at me. "Do you always interrogate people you bump into at parties? It's weird."

Swallowing thickly, I try again with a nervous titter. "You caught me. I really just wanted to ask about your dress. It's amazing."

Smirking, she tosses her curls over one shoulder, resting a hand on her waist. "I know. Yours isn't half bad, either. Where'd you get it?"

Internally sighing with relief at the offer Caroline extends for further conversation, and eventually, a chance to corner my friend, I answer, "Oh, just one of the shops around here. The girls and I," I gesture to Bonnie, then Liv and Elena, "got them in a hurry after hearing about this party. We're here on a little week-long hiatus from college."

"We actually just found out that Caroline here," Elena says with forced enthusiasm, wrapping an arm around the vampire's waist and tugging her too close, judging by the way her eyes narrow irritably, "is the hostess. Isn't that insane? She put all of this together."

Even with her emotional side dormant, Caroline's pride in planning every detail of an event to precision and perfection is evidently still capable of being triggered with the compliment. She not-so-subtly shoves Elena to the side, causing my sister to stumble a bit and a flash of annoyance to cross her features, and smiles at us, though the key Caroline Forbes sunshine-like glee is missing from the gesture.

"Well, I love a good party. Just what everybody needs here and there to spice up their otherwise dull and drab lives. Some of these poor, misguided souls might never attend a party of this caliber ever again." She examines her nails, snorting. "Kinda pathetic, when you think about it. But I'm glad to be of service in showing the locals of New Orleans a real night they won't forget. And..." she squints at us analytically. "The tourists, too. Where did you guys say you were from?"

"California," Bonnie and I blurt out, at the same time Elena and Liv hastily answer, "New York."

We exchange looks with them, a panicked twist in my gut at the failure of our stories to match up. Caroline cocks her head an inch to the side, almost lazily assessing us, like she's barely interested, which reassures me slightly. 

"That's funny." Even though her squinted stare tells me it isn't, not in that ha-ha way, at all. "I was under the impression you all attended the same college, and came from the same town. How's that work?"

"We are," Liv answers, and I admire the way her voice hardly wavers, whereas I'm too nervous to trust mine at the moment. "From the same town, I mean. Anaheim, in Cali, born and raised, but...Camille and Bella stayed behind, while Emily and I went to New York for school. We've always dreamt of the city."

Camille and Emily. I might have snickered, had it not been for the serious nature of the mission.

"Right." Elena nods, grateful for this save. "We're in love with it. But the girls and I met up for this outing. It was so needed."

Caroline just looks at them, but I decide we're in the clear when her expression portrays no puzzle pieces being put together one-by-one that would make her discover that we are, in fact, her best friends. "I think I myself might make a trip to New York when I'm done here. Kinda on a hiatus of my own."

"Are you?" I ask, with intrigue. "Alone, or...?"

She smirks, as if enjoying an inside joke. "Oh, of course not."

When she doesn't elaborate, I press for more. "I take it you're with someone special."

I focus on her face for a flash of something, as the thought of the guy she deep down still has a crush on is brought to her mind, even though it's silly to expect a flicker of meaningful emotion with only a simple reminder. But I'm grasping at threads here, hoping they'll weave themselves together in the place we need them to be. It's just never that easy, a lesson that's long ago been learned and yet doesn't prevent my tendency to hope.

Caroline glances to the side at nowhere in particular, watching the crowd with an expression I fail to read. "Special." She snorts softly. "Stefan is more like a partner."

"Oooh," Elena gushes, and Caroline rolls her eyes, unamused.

"A partner, in the most businesslike sense of the word."

"Well, as your partner, you must spend a lot of time together, right?" Bonnie insists. "Perfect chance for a connection, is all I'm saying."

"If you're into that lovey-dovey sort of thing," Caroline replies condescendingly. "Which we aren't. We just have mutual interests, which is a relief considering everyone else I know are a bunch of stick-in-the-muds."

We all exchange looks, but refrain from reacting to this jab.

"Now." She sighs, flipping her hair. "I'm gonna go dance."

"Wait!" I say too loudly, mentally smacking myself when the girls send me warning looks and Caroline pauses, looking at me flatly.

"For what? You to ask me more nosy questions about my personal life?"

"They weren't–" I exhale. "I just, um, really want us all to hang out. We have several more days here, and been hoping we'd bump into someone fun. And with you, planning a party like this? I mean, it's so awesome. Look, we haven't befriended anyone around here, and we're dying have those legendary vacation stories with new people that stay with us for a long time, so it'd be great if we could get to know each other more." I realize I'm kinda rambling, but she seems to like the compliments, despite the wry amusement lingering in her sharp stare, so I go on. "If you're up for that?"

Caroline points a finger at me. "You, seem exactly like the kind of pathetic person I was referring to early, that has never experienced a party like this in their lives and probably won't again."

Oh, if she knew just how wrong that assumption was. I've experienced far too many, enough to last me a lifetime–an unavoidable occurrence, when Caroline's one of your best friends.

"So," she goes on, eyeing me and dropping her hand. "Guess it'd be a shame to let you go a second longer without knowing me."

I beam. "This'll be fun. Maybe we should go somewhere more private, talk for a while?" I glance at Bonnie, Elena, and Liv, hoping they're on board with the flip-the-switch plan that's about to kick into high gear, and they seem to understand.

"Somewhere private," Caroline says, "would be perfect."

The smile she gives me then is downright unsettling, as it's not unlike how a predator may appraise its prey. It takes me a second to realize that it's the signature vampire look for instances in which they're planning to feed from the succulent blood sources themselves, which is likely the only reason she's agreeing to my ridiculous, spur-of-the-moment excuse to keep her from leaving. While discomfiting, the realization isn't terrifying, not when I have my sister and friends by my side and plan to enact, unlike the last time Caroline and I faced off.

"Come on, I saw a bunch of unoccupied rooms down that hall earlier. We can play twenty questions, truth or dare..." Elena is still listing off options as we walk further away from the lively party, into a hallway with only a few drunk attendees stumbling around and one couple making out sloppily against a door. Eventually finding an empty room, similarly set up to the lounge area I'd pulled Kai into moments ago, we walk inside and I brace myself for the events to soon follow.

"Okay," Caroline sits down on the edge of an arm chair, crossing one slender leg over the other. "I don't have a lot of patience for ice breakers. Let's get straight to the good stuff." She scans each of us and I swallow hard. "Couple pretty girls like you have gotta have some juicy secrets. Why don't we share?"

We look at each other, not having anticipated this and unsure of how to proceed. It's me who answers first, albeit carefully. Just play along.

"Um, sure, I guess. What kind of secrets do you wanna hear?" I step closer, facing her smirking face.

"Your deepest and darkest," she says, chuckling. "I mean, it's only necessary, if we're going to be such good friends."

"Right." I rack my brain for something to appease her pressing. "Well...I'm..." Actually your friend in a magical disguise. In a secret relationship with a man that I'm falling harder for each day, and my friends and siblings don't know, because if they did, they'd never look at me the same. Linked to the life of a crazy ex-coven leader. So many secrets, none that I could say out loud. "...not too sure I have any, that would interest you anyway."

"Oh, please." She rolls her eyes. "Everybody has secrets. What about you," she points to Bonnie, "Bailey, or whatever your name was."

Bonnie doesn't even bother to correct her, probably having forgot the fake name as well. "My boyfriend–or, sorta boyfriend, things are weird–cheated on me with this girl and now she's dead."

I cringe slightly, remembering Jeremy's misguided affair with Anna, the ghost girl. I briefly ponder over what exactly is the relationship between Bonnie and my brother right now, because it's certainly been overly friendly but the complications remain an obstacle nonetheless.

Caroline laughs. "Now that's intriguing. Kinda sounds like you killed her out of jealousy, hmm?"

Bonnie snorts. "Not the jealous type, trust me."

"No? That's admirable, maybe a little naïve, but I bet you know how to pick your battles. See, I'm not afraid to remind a bitch to back off. But ultimately, you shouldn't have to, because a smart guy knows your worth. Word of advice? Kick him to the curb."

Bonnie is frowning slightly as Caroline quickly moves on, like a teacher selecting students to answer the lecture's queries. "You, with the crazy curls. What's your secret?"

"None that I'm telling you," Liv answers flatly and I shoot her a look, but she avoids meeting my eyes, instead staring at Caroline head-on. "We said we're gonna get to know each other. Which includes hobbies. Not our darkest secrets. So, chill."

A tense silence falls over the room, as we all look from Liv to Caroline, awaiting some sort of blow-up. Caroline laughs under her breath, seemingly impressed, and a little pissed.

"Oh, I get it. How 'bout I share one then? Even the playing ground a bit." She gets to her feet, striding toward us with measured steps. "I have a really dark secret. I'm extremely hungry...but not for food, per say." She stops in front of me and I hold my breath, heart beating wildly. "No, no, I go by a special diet. Kinda like the ones you see on those infomercials? Except, well, deadlier."

Veins sprout underneath her eyes, red spilling into the whites of them. She bares her teeth at me, fangs descending and prepared to sink into flesh. I'm about to reach for the stake gun, until I remember I'd left it on the floor during my showdown with Stefan, cursing internally. But this appears to not be necessary, much to my relief, as Caroline is thrusted far backwards into a loveseat, knocking it over.

Head whipping to the side, I see Bonnie with her palms outstretched, wearing her battle-ready fiery stare like a challenge.

"Shit," Liv breathes.

"Are you okay?" Elena asks me, her hands grabbing at my arm and I gently shake her off, nodding.

"I'm fine."

Caroline gets up swiftly, vicious now. "You're not just some human tourists looking for a party, but that, I was beginning to figure out all on my own. Now, it's even clearer." She pauses. "Bonnie. And I'm willing to bet..." She looks over the rest of us. "This is the rest of the crew, all teamed up to make me a good little neurotic freak again who cries about her dead mom all day. Sorry, but I have to pass."

She rushes Bonnie, but in a flash, Elena stops her, pushing her against the wall. It's hard to fully panic when I saw this coming, because of course we knew the glamours wouldn't fly under Caroline's sharp radar for too long. Now that she's aware of our identities, we're even closer to reacquainting our friend with the emotionally-intact self she abandoned in a misguided, spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Stop this, Caroline!" Elena shouts, as the two are in the midst of their scuffle. "Just let us help you!"

Bonnie quickly waves a hand in the air, flickering sparks of magic trailing over all of us and presumably lifting our masks. Caroline throws her head back and laughs, just as she throws my sister off of her.

"Oh, wow. You guys really don't know how to take a hint, do you?" Her face darkens. "I don't need your help."

She runs for the door before any of us can react, but in a startling moment, bounces right off the air. Launched backwards a few feet, she lands on her feet, whirling toward Bonnie with an if-looks-could-kill worthy scowl.

"You're gonna regret that."

Liv steps forward beside me, holding a palm out, and Caroline hisses through gritted teeth, as blood cells are popped like balloons in her skull. She clutches at her hair, furiously turning on Liv.

"Actually, that was me," Liv says, eyes narrowed. "We didn't come all this way for you to escape so easily. Maybe you should just make this less of an ordeal, and cooperate."

"Where's Stefan?" She demands, expression still screwed in pain and fury.

"Being taken care of," Bonnie responds.

Now, she smiles, like she feels sorry for us. "So you guys genuinely believe you can control a Ripper? Well, in that case, I hope you're prepared to lose a few team members tonight. Because trust me on this, not all of you are making it out of here alive."

Her assured statement rattles me down to the very bone as I worry yet again what the hell is going down between in the battle between the guys and Stefan just a few yards away. Please, please be okay.

Having regained control that was temporarily unsettled by Liv's magic-induced aneurysm, Caroline lunges angrily for my best friend and I throw myself in her path.

"You don't mean anything you're saying right now," I tell her insistently, as she cocks her head with a fire dancing in her stare, as if daring me to block her from enacting physical damage for a moment longer. "And I don't care how hard you try to resist, we did not come all the way here to not bring you back home with us. So, enough already. I know you're scared to face your grief, but we'd never let you do it alone. We're your family, just like your mom was, and everything might feel hopeless right now, but it won't always be that way."

She just stares back at me, unfazed by my pleading, but I push on regardless. "Care, trust that I know what I'm talking about. Elena and I lost both our parents. Bonnie lost her Grams. Liv lost her brother. Loss is a part of life, the worst part, and it's terrifying. But take it from us: it's nothing that you can't survive."

We look at each other for a moment that seems to stretch on forever. The only noise I can register is my heart is thudding against my chest, as if it's desperately trying to reach out to Caroline and get her to use her own.

But the next words that fall from her lips violently squash its hopes to bits. "You're wrong."

Her hand lashes out and I flinch, eyes squeezing shut, braced for whatever impact may come. And then, oddly, nothing does.

Slowly opening them, I find Caroline frozen like a statue, her arm awkwardly hanging in mid air where she'd been aiming for me, the other limp at her side. Blinking in confusion, I look at Bonnie, who's walking closer now, accompanied by Elena.

"Whether you'll let us in or not," Bonnie says firmly, "we're going to get through to you, Care." It's a sincere promise, but judging by the anger in Caroline's face, you'd think she'd just been threatened.

"Whatever little emotional stunt you have planned, won't work," she retorts. "And when it doesn't, I'm going to kill all of you and maybe then you'll understand why it's important to listen to someone when they tell you to leave them alone."

Her hard expression morphs into a malicious grin. "But, by all means, I'd love to see your sad attempt. I could use a laugh. Go ahead, girls." Her tone is irritably mocking. "Give me your worst."

"Now, Liv," Bonnie says evenly and Liv nods, reaching up to hold the sides of Caroline's face firmly in her hands. The blonde just blinks back at her, amused.

"Yeah, Liv. Would love to see what you've got up your sleeve. But, I mean, no offense, wasn't your brother the one who was actually good at this stuff? Granted, he's dead now, so...maybe he wasn't all that good." She clucks her tongue and I glare at her.

Liv stiffens, but I encourage her, "Liv. You can do this."

Squaring her shoulders, she stares into Caroline's cold, bottomless eyes, and begins the chant that will open a window for her into Caroline's most meaningful memories.

A few Latin repetitions later, and both of them are still, eyes shut, like they're caught in a trance.

I look at Bonnie and Elena, lip pulled nervously between my teeth. They seem to share my nervous sentiments, and we all huddle a little closer together in an act of silent comfort, waiting to see if the girl that emerges from Liv's spell is the one we love.

"I really hate to interrupt, but I come bearing bad news."

We all jump at the sudden male voice slicing through the silence, besides Liv and Caroline who are still deep in the spell, and turn toward the door to discover the culprit. Kol is behind the invisible barrier still present in the doorway, peering in at us.

My stomach drops. "What do you mean, bad news? Is someone hurt?"

The way his eyes steadily meet mine, an uncharacteristic caution apparent in his demeanor even from where I'm standing, causes a lump to form in my throat and heartbeat to kick up several notches. Deep down, if I think about it, I realize I may have the answer to my own question, but I can't bring myself to acknowledge the dreadful thought. No, there's no way. Nobody's hurt. There was just a problem getting Stefan to flip his switch, he was being stubborn, and now, there's going to be a delay. They just had to tweak the plan a little. That's all he came to inform us.

But Kol is still staring at me in a manner of irritating trepidation, like I'm a bomb that's about to detonate and need to be tiptoed around and handled with the utmost delicate care.

"What?" I demand, louder. "Just say it."

"Char," Elena says, slightly shocked by my sharpness, but I ignore her, staring expectantly at Kol.

"Apparently, Stefan had a hold of some sort of potion we weren't aware of."

Breath caught in my throat, I stare at him dumbly, unblinking. No.

"Something toxic, but its effects are specific to siphoners. Your friend, Kai, drank it accidentally when Stefan slipped it in the water."

My head is starting to spin, the words refusing to sink past the surface of my brain. Mere fragments at a time are pushing through the stubbornly hazy barriers: Kai...potion...toxic.

"He's passed out. Klaus is dealing with Stefan now, but we aren't sure of what the potion consisted of or how to snap the Gemini out of it. He currently...isn't responsive to anything."

Like water has been doused over me from head to toe, startling me back to reality with abruption, I start for the door. A resistance suddenly prevents my advance and my head whips around to face Elena with such quickness that she rears her head back from mine. Her hand is wrapped around my elbow and I must look positively wild then, my eyes blown wide and shoulders heaving.

"Let go."

"Charlotte, wait, we're still dealing with Caroline–"

"She's under the spell," I reply, struggling to yank myself free, a losing battle with her vampiric grip. "There's nothing that I can do here, Elena. I need to help him!"

"What exactly can you do for him, though?" Bonnie questions, trying to reason. "Like Kol said, he's unresponsive and under a magical potion. Magic isn't your expertise, Char, I think you just need to distance yourself right now–"

"I have," I hiss through clenched teeth, "to go. He came with us to help, and we're not gonna extend that same courtesy when he gets in trouble?"

Bonnie and Elena look at each other reluctantly, a little guilt in their eyes, but I don't have time for it right now. Kai is somewhere in this building, unconscious, because of a potion that his dad created with the intention of weakening the very nature of the son he despises. And I'm still here, instead of there, being by his side, doing everything I can to save him. He's been there for me countless times, and I'll be damned if I can't do the same for him, human or not.

"Elena." I look at my sister, pleading now, my hardened exterior cracking under the crippling worry I'm feeling for my boyfriend. Above all else, despite how much she may disagree with me leaving to go to him, she's still my sister and can read the desperation in my face clear as ever. So with a silent nod, she lets me go.

Turning on my heel, I run for the door where Kol is waiting, ignoring the aching in my feet from shoes that definitely weren't made for exercise. Kol stops me and I look up at him incredulously.

He holds a hand out to me, offering a smile that I can't return right now. "No offense, love, but I can get you there much faster."

Without bothering to argue, I grab his hand, and in seconds we're standing in front of the room I'd faced off with Stefan in moments ago.

I enter the room with lightning speed that may have even made a match for a vampire, and only pause to take in the scene I just walked into.

Stefan is laying in the middle, motionless, and Klaus is peering down at him with a cocked head.

When he notices me, he explains casually, "Snapped his neck. He was far too much of a nuisance."

Barely acknowledging this, I look in the far left corner, spotting the man I came here for. My heart plummets when I discover his limp figure on the floor, next to a shattered mirror and the glass shards all around and underneath him. Damon is leaning over him, insistently pressing his wrist to the witch's slack mouth.

"Come on, you idiot," he's mumbling, frustrated. "Drink my damn blood."

My feet carry me forward in a sprint on their own volition, my mind buzzing too much with overwhelming emotion to even fully realize I'm moving at all. Hands trembling violently at my sides, I drop to my knees next to Kai, not caring at all about the glass that cuts my knees in the process. Tears spring to my eyes and I furiously blink them away, frantically observing the mangled state he's in after what surely must have been an encounter-gone-wrong with Stefan.

"M-move over." I swat Damon away, unsure of whatever he's saying to me then because the sight of my collapsed boyfriend holds my rapt attention and the ground appears to sway underneath my knees.

Blood gushes from a sizable gash along the side of his head, trickling into his matted-down dark hair and soaking the white collar of his shirt as it trails down his neck. A purple bruise covers his right cheekbone, reaching down to the outline of his parted lips, the bottom one split and speckled with dried crimson.

Kai's worry-free laugh from just moments earlier creeps into my frenzied train of thought.

Charlie, you're making me feel like I'm walking into death row.

Trembling, I rest the side of my head against his chest, desperate to hear the heartbeat that's brought me comfort during so many shared nights.

I'm going to be fine.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I sigh in relief–but not enough to replace the pain and terror that washed over me since the second Kol filled me in–as I register that familiar thump, thump, thump. But now, it's much fainter than usual, like he's on the verge of giving out and his heart is fighting to cling on to whatever thread of energy it has left.

I'll see you in a few. Sound good?

The weak rhythm sets off a new wave of panic and I whip my head up to face a cautious Damon, but the look on his face isn't quite the handle-the-bomb-with-care look Kol was sending me. More like I'm a puzzle he's missing a few key pieces of.

"Feed him your blood." I gesture in Kai's direction wildly, while tugging at Damon's jacket. "Hurry."

"Already tried that," He tells me flatly, but eases me off with a gentle touch. "He won't take it."

"Well, we can't just sit around and do nothing!" I lean over Kai, gently gripping each side of his head. "Kai." My voice breaks. "Can you hear me? You have to wake up." I shake him slightly. "W-wake up, wake up, please."

"Hey....easy there, Char." Damon's fingers curl around my elbow, trying to tug me away from the unconscious witch and I fight him off.

"His heart sounds like it's about to give out any second, and look at the state he's in!" I scream at not only Damon, but the other two conscious vampires lingering in the room. "Don't tell me to take it easy–get him help!"

"I'm just a little preoccupied with my brother, Char. Dealing with a magically comatose witch wasn't on my agenda tonight."

Frustrated tears well up in my eyes and I groan loudly through clenched teeth. "I could give a shit, Damon, it's on your agenda now. He's here with us, whether you wanted him to be or not, and we don't just abandon each other when somebody's hurt."

Ignoring his silent stare, I look back down at Kai, tracing my fingers over his cheeks and trying to prevent the next onslaught of tears begging to be set free.

Then, a mocking laugh sounds from behind me and I stiffen, knowing exactly who it's coming from.

Lifting my head slowly, I barely manage to get a lid on the anger boiling as I turn to face Stefan. He's standing up now, besides a mildly annoyed Klaus who looks prepared to snap the vampire's neck once more.

"Wow, you'd think it'd take more than a measly potion to take him down, wouldn't you? And yet, bam. He's out like a light. Probably has a good, oh, hour or so left. And that's being generous."

Logically, I realize I'm a human whose strength can't realistically stand a chance against a Ripper, but that reasoning doesn't matter, not in this moment. Not when he's the reason for Kai being beaten and bloody and unable to wake up. Not when he's the reason we're here in the first place.

I storm at him, fists already flying. Then, an arm wraps around my waist, pulling me back, leaving Stefan's smiling face just out of reach.

"Get off of me, Damon!" I shout, thrashing against the arm caging me in. "I swear to Go–"

"I'm hurt that you haven't gotten my name right by now, love," Kol says in my ear and I turn my head towards his in shock, then my eyes narrow to slits.

"Kol, let me go."

"Yeah, Kol," Stefan pipes up. "Come on, let her have a go at me. I'd love to see this."

"I'm sure you would, but I'd be a little worried if I were you right now. She's off her rocker at the moment."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here," I remark, but turn back to Stefan now. "You're gonna fix this, Stefan. I know Joshua has an antidote of some sort, and I'll make you tell me what it is." I fight against Kol's hold again, breathing heavily.

Fueling my agitation, Stefan chuckles. "Oh, please, make me, sweetheart. Let's see how long this'll go on before I go ahead and snap your neck."

Damon rushes forward, grabbing Stefan by his jacket. "You won't touch her. Enough chit chat and tell us what you know about that damn potion so we can get back to business."

Stefan grins at him. "I know just as much as you do, brother. That it weakens a siphon. Didn't care for details, definitely didn't go asking about an antidote. Hey, when he dies, Liv and Jo do too, right? That's rough. Send Alaric my regards, would you?"

Shoving his brother off of him, Stefan is on the other side of the room in one swift motion and I wriggle around in Kol's unrelenting hold to turn toward him. He yanks Kai's limp body up by the back of his suit jacket, hanging him on display for all of us to view. The way his head lolls forward, arms and legs swinging, rendered unable to retaliate, makes my limbs tremble with fury.

"This is your all-powerful Gemini coven leader?" Stefan cocks his head to the side, examining the witch. "Yeaaah, not impressed."

"Leave him alone!" I kick Kol hard in the shin and he grunts, distracted enough for me to break free and sprint toward Stefan. He seems pleased at my reaction, like it's just what he wanted, and extends Kai's body out a little farther in my direction.

"No need to get feisty, we're all civil here. You want your little coven leader? Take him." Stefan tosses him like a rag doll and I gasp, throwing my arms out wildly to catch him before he slams against the floor.

Kai's dead weight falls on top of me and I huff with the effort of keeping him safely upright, shaky arms wrapping around his torso. His chin is tucked over my shoulder, hair brushing the side of my cheek and I gulp down a sizable lump in my throat. Holding him to me for dear life, our chests are pressed together and I feel his weakened heartbeat thumping like a dire warning. Somehow, his current proximity makes the situation much more overwhelming and the tears well again, but stubbornly, I blink them away, only a single one managing to escape.

When standing while supporting both my own and Kai's large frame proves to be an unlikely feat, I cradle him close to me as I lower myself down to the floor. He's slouched against me, still entirely oblivious to the actions around him, and I carefully brush some mini glass shards off of his jacket sleeve.

"Aw, what's wrong?" Stefan pushes out his bottom lip in a pout, studying the two of us. "Finally realized your boyfriend's just not that strong and he's likely to, you know," He mimes a slicing motion across his neck, "kick the bucket within the hour?"

Reflexively, my reaction to Caroline referring to Kai as my boyfriend at her costume party had been a quick, panicked, "He's not my boyfriend." Immediate denial, because the thought of everybody discovering the relationship we'd been keeping buried deep from them is terrifying. But now, that fear is strikingly trivial in comparison to the greater one overpowering every fiber of my being right now: the fear of losing Kai. Protecting him is all that I give a shit about in this moment, not protecting some stupid reputation for the people that are supposed to love and support me regardless of where we disagree.

So, instead of denying Stefan's label or even ignoring it altogether, I lift my chin, meeting those taunting green eyes while prioritizing the blue ones hidden beside me.

"One thing you clearly never realized in your little deal with Joshua Parker is that he's a coward. But Kai? Barely knows the meaning of the word. He's one of the strongest people I've ever known, and the fact that you think a potion will be what causes his end is just embarrassing. Don't worry, Stefan." I pause, looking down at Kai's head resting on my shoulder, his own softly rising and falling, and find the strength to steer myself toward the truth, at last. "My boyfriend is going to be fine."

The silence that envelops the entirety of the vast hall after the confession is said would've been excruciating, if it weren't for the blatant fact that bigger things are at stake. My heart is pounding, a part of me still too reluctant to look Damon in the eye and gauge his response to the secret I've just released into the open for him to prod at and analyze and irrationally freak out over.

"Look at that." Even Stefan is a little taken aback, but he smooths it over in a second. "She's not embarrassed about sleeping with the sociopath anymore. Our Charlotte, all grown up."

His comment isn't worth a reply, and I focus on Kol instead. "You know a lot about magic, don't you? Is there anything we can get to help him? A spell, another potion, something?"

"I can–"

"Woah. Hey. Bomb just dropped. Huge one actually. And I don't see how you're just casually stepping around it and going about business as usual," Damon snaps, speeding over to stand above me with a slitted scowl.

"Do you expect me to have a full discussion about this right now, Damon? Now?" I fire back incredulously. "There you have it, Kai and I are together. What's left to explain?"

"What's left to–everything!" He erupts, throwing his hands up. "First of all, what the fuck? No, I know what happened, the little shit brainwashed you–"

"No–"

"Used one of his weird coven's mind-fuckery spells to get you to hop into bed with him because he's lonely and pathetic and no sane woman would ever give him the time of day–"

"Stop it, Damon, that's–"

"And now you're convinced that you're going to have a happily ever after with this idiot, but I have news for you, he'll dump you the second he gets bored of you or he'll hurt you because it's not in his nature to be good, Char. He's not boyfriend material, he's a–"

"Enough!" I yell and to my relief, he does shut up, but the scorn and disappointment never dissipate from his burning stare. "I don't care, Damon! The only thing I care about at this very moment is him," I gesture to Kai, "not dying. So, save it, save all of it, I don't wanna hear another word about how stupid I am for being with him because you can't even begin to understand."

"Just wanna clarify I was way ahead of the curb on this gossip," Stefan throws in, waving a hand. "How's it feel to be in the dark all this time, brother?"

Damon growls. "You stay out of this."

"Did I tell you about the time I stumbled upon the two lovebirds making out at Caroline's costume party?" Stefan chuckles. "Talk about awkward. Hey, didn't you think Kai was hurting her when you came along later?" He guffaws, clutching his stomach. "Far from it, am I right? If I hadn't shown up, they probably had been about to fu–"

"Shut your damn mouth, Stefan, or I swear to God, I'll let Klaus bite you right now and you can forget about getting a cure," Damon snaps and Stefan grins, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"Are we seriously shocked?" Klaus says, rolling his eyes. "When she took off to talk to him in private a few moments ago? It's rather clear what that was code for."

Damon just shakes his head slowly, jaw clenched. "I really thought you were better than this, Charlotte."

His statement is like a harsh slap across the face, but I refuse to let his words linger past the surface level of my brain when all of my concentration needs to be on Kai.

"Come on." I jump slightly at Kol's voice being significantly closer all of a sudden, and glance up to his figure towering over me. "I'll take you to my sister."

I frown. "Wha–Rebekah?"

"No, my other sister, Freya. She's a powerful witch, and I'm sure she can figure out what to do."

The mention of this new Mikaelson sibling I'd certainly never heard of or met before is baffling, but with no time available for hesitance or questioning, I nod. "Okay. Let's go."

Eyeing my struggle as I try to lift Kai back up and stand, Kol shakes his head slightly and easily takes him from me, throwing him over his shoulder.

"Be careful with him!" I hiss at the vampire, jabbing a finger into his chest. "He's already injured enough."

He merely smiles, vaguely amused. "Apologies."

Huffing and ignoring his free outstretched hand, I push myself to my feet and sigh in exasperation when Damon is in front of me in a flash.

"You think I'm letting you out of here, alone, with Kol Mikaelson?"

I stare back at him flatly. "I don't need your permission. You don't control me, or what I do, and if you try to get in my way right now, I won't be speaking to you anytime soon."

"Oh, boo hoo, I prefer you giving me the silent treatment because you're pissed off rather than dead."

"Mate, don't you think that's a tad dramatic?" Kol interjects, staring at the ceiling in annoyance. "I can see you've got your knickers in a twist because you weren't clued in about every little detail of your friend's life, but we could do without the overbearing act right now, seeing as I've got a witch over my shoulder in a magical coma."

Damon opens his mouth to fire back, but I hold up a hand. "No, no. Not hearing another word. Kol, please, let's get him out of here." My nerves are jumping into my throat now, heart in a frenzy with fear that worsens the longer we drag this out, and not being on the move toward a cure for Kai's state only doubles that terror.

"Aw, if this isn't just a pathetic sight." Stefan watches us, hands in his pockets and his head shaking in pity. "Let me save you a long and unnecessary trip. Kai? Gonna die veryyy soon. Cure? No exist." He speaks in babying tones, enunciating every word, and I grit my teeth.

"Do me a favor," I say, addressing Klaus and Damon. "Get rid of this moron, and bring our Stefan back."

"Will do," Klaus drawls, waving, while Damon adamantly refuses to look at me.

"Hold on tight," Kol murmurs to me, and I clutch his arm, shutting my eyes as I feel a strong gust of wind blowing strands of my hair around my face, and then it's still. Eyes fluttering back open, I find that we're outside in front of the hotel where various cars are lining the road.

Kol pulls open the back door to what I presume to be his car, bending down to slide Kai's body onto the seat in an odd, slumped position. He's about to shut it, but I stop him quickly, receiving an interrogative stare.

"I wanna stay with him in the back," I whisper weakly and he nods once, letting me climb inside beside Kai, before pushing the door closed. As he slides into the driver's seat and immediately brings to pull away from the ball, I can't find it in me to take my eyes off of Kai's battered and bruised exterior.

Bothered by the uncomfortable way his chin presses down against his chest and head angles out to the side, I wrap my arm around his shoulders, guiding him down delicately to lay across my lap. Adjusting him so his face is up toward the ceiling, head resting on my legs, and back flat against the leather seat, I run my fingers through his hair, focusing on the way the street lights whizzing past us illuminate his still features.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to him, my voice cracking. "I shouldn't have involved you in this. You didn't need to be here."

It takes me a few more seconds of trailing my fingers through his hair and over his face to realize that my hands are shaking violently.

"Charlotte," Kol says quietly.

My voice is meek when I answer with a hushed, "Yes?"

"Don't go apologizing for anything, this isn't over. Your boyfriend is going to be alright."

I don't say anything for a moment, as we speed through the streets of the city, my heartbeat still thudding with a fervent pace.

"Your sister, Freya," I break the silence. "You're sure she can help him?"

"Yes," he says with an instant confidence that has the tight muscles in my body unwinding. "There's little that she can't handle. Reversing the effects of a potion is like child's play to her."

I stroke the side of Kai's face, taking this in. "Even this one?"

"While I don't quite understand all the technicalities of this Gemini substance, it's still a weakening potion at its core, with the basic elements of such that my sister will surely be familiar with. Everything else, we can figure out."

The faith Kol appears to hold in his sister's power is reassuring, but nonetheless, that nagging fear of Joshua's mechanisms being too complex for the witch to decipher still gnaws incessantly at me. But Kai's survived worse, fighting his battles with determination and admirably coming out victorious. He has told me multiple times before that he won't ever let his father win, and I trust that statement to ring true in this situation.

"That was quite brave of you, by the way."

I look up, meeting Kol's eyes in the overhead mirror. "What?"

"Going at the Ripper like that." He chuckles. "Granted, it was a foolish move, but impressive regardless."

I shrug. "Was too distracted by my anger to even consider how dumb it was, to be honest."

"We've all been there, when it comes to the ones we care for."

"Yeah," I murmur, tracing Kai's cheekbone with my thumb. Inhaling shakily, I drop my head back against the seats, staring out at the windshield. It's starting to rain now, the droplets spattering against the window sporadically at first, until it begins to come down harder moments later. I focus on the windshield wiper controlling the collection of water on the glass, swishing back and forth in a hypnotizing rhythm. I try to time my breathing with the wipes: left, inhale, right, exhale.

As much as I'd rather be kissing you, I have a time-sensitive appointment with a Ripper, his playful voice echoes in my head.

Left. Inhale. Right. Exhale.

The breathing exercise proves to be futile when I make the mistake of glancing down at Kai in my lap. My hands are still shaking and my face crumples, strength diminishing, when Kol speaks.

"So, was it my speech that inspired you?"

I glance up. "What?"

"You know, the advice I gave you earlier." He smiles. "Because between then and now, you found the courage to tell one of your friends the truth. I find it difficult to believe I didn't play some role in that."

I'd even surprised myself with the revelation, but when the words "my boyfriend" finally fell out into the open, it's like I couldn't fathom another lie taking their place. How could I have possibly still found it in me to care about what Damon will think of my relationship, when all of my energy was going into worrying about the wellbeing of the man that's taken up so much of my heart in so little time?

"I was thinking about what you said," I admit, "but, more than that, it was just...it felt so stupid all of a sudden. Going through all this effort to hide a relationship that makes me happy from the people that are supposed to want that for me. Especially now, when Kai–" my voice cracks, "when he's hurt...I mean, what kind of girlfriend would I even be if lying about us still mattered to me then?" I shake my head. "And to protect what, my reputation? Right now, I just want to protect him." I look down at Kai, breathing in deeply. "Damon can say whatever he wants about that. If he's my friend...he'll understand."

Kol doesn't respond for a minute and just as I'm certain he isn't going to at all, his voice breaks the soft silence in the car only accompanied by rain pattering against the windows.

"Do you know what? I think that may actually be the bravest thing you've done tonight, running at a Ripper considered."

Our eyes meet in the overhead mirror and I manage a smile. "I don't know if I'd describe it that way."

"You should. It's never easy letting your secrets out into the open like that, so I think it's only fair you give yourself credit where it's due."

Pondering this, I rest my cheek against the cool leather, watching the rain slide down the glass while my fingers gently rake through Kai's soft hair. The tension in my muscles increases with each passing second, stress clenching my stomach.

"We're here," Kol suddenly announces and I instantly sit upright, breathing out a sigh of relief. He pulls up in an empty space beside the sidewalk and we've barely reached a full stop when I'm pushing the car door open.

Gently easing Kai's head off of my lap, I step outside, unfazed by the cold rain ruining my styled hair and streaming down my bare arms. Leaning back inside, I tuck both of my hands underneath Kai's arms, pulling him out until his upper body is mostly resting against mine. Taking it from here, Kol slightly nudges me and I move aside to let him pull Kai out the rest of the way. To my relief, he's more careful this time in the way he carries his unconscious body.

"Come on," he says to me and we hurriedly run through the rain, until we're safely underneath the awning of a shop  by the name of Jardin Gris Voodoo Shop. It looks more like a tourist attraction than anything that will be helpful to Kai, so I send Kol a questioning stare.

"My sister often comes here," he explains to me briefly. "It's like a spot for the local witches."

Not pressing further, I push the double glass doors open, triggering the twinkling chime of a bell. Kol and I walk inside, met with racks and shelves filled with confusing knick-knacks, unknown substances with labels scrawled over the jars, and disturbing dolls. Suppressing a shiver that isn't only due to the air conditioning on my wet skin, I move further into the shop, arms crossed over my ribs.

"Hello?" I call out, looking around at the empty shop. "Is anybody here?"

A door in the corner of the store that I hadn't initially noticed swings open upon my query, answering it in full. A woman with straight, blonde hair up to her shoulders stands in its entry, wearing a laced black tank top and dark jeans. Her eyes travel right past me, landing on Kol and narrowing in confusion.

"Kol? Why are you here?" She cocks her head, eyeing Kai's body. "And who the hell is that?"

"Freya," He says by way of greeting. "We need your help."

•••

Kai is laying across a wooden table that Freya quickly cleared for us to place him down upon, his feet dangling off the edge. I stay directly at his side, my hand moving over his heart to assure myself that it's still beating despite the weak nature of its rhythm.

"I've never seen a siphon-witch in real life," Freya says with interest, examining Kai. "Only heard the stories. They're quite rare."

"Do you know if you can help him?" I ask urgently.

"Well, it's a weakening potion like any other, except this one in particular is suited specifically for his kind, which I'm not too familiar with." She glances up at Kol. "Care to explain how you came across this man in the first place? I'm certain he isn't from around here."

"Charlotte and Kai are visiting from Mystic Falls," Kol explains. "They're here on business."

"Business," she muses. "Is that what you call the little party that everyone seemed to attend tonight, without bothering to send me an invite? I had to hear about it from some randoms."

He rolls his eyes. "We weren't exactly going for recreational purposes. You've heard about the two vampires intruding in our town, the ones who've flipped their switches. We went to track them down."

"And I see that worked out astonishingly well," Freya says, pointedly looking at Kai. "This is why you need to stop leaving me out of the loop."

"We can discuss that later, sister, but right now, I'd like if you could pull this bloke out of his magical coma."

I watch her anxiously as she inches closer to Kai, peering down at his face with pursed lips. "As I've said, this is new territory for me. I'm not sure if I have the means to pull him out of this."

"Please," I beg and she looks at me with a frown. "I know it's a lot to ask but I-I don't know where else to turn and he can–" I inhale sharply, getting a hold of myself before I ended up crying in the middle of the voodoo shop, "he can die if we wait any longer. So, whatever you can manage right now would be better than doing nothing. Please, Freya."

She stares at me for a long time with a conflicted expression, her eyebrows pulling together, and I feel like I'm holding my breath. Then, with a sigh, she nods. "Alright. I'll just need to get a feel for the potion's magic."

Closing her eyes, she raises her palms above Kai's chest, inhaling as the golden wisps of magic glow around her hands. She murmurs indecipherably under her breath, her lips barely moving, fingers fluttering. The magic mingles with a gray essence radiating from Kai and she hums, furrowing her eyebrows like she just discovered something out of the ordinary. She waves one hand over his heart, clawing her fingers a bit and slipping her tongue between her teeth in concentration.

Shaking her head in mild frustration, she drops her hands and opens her eyes, still looking at the area where her magic had joined with the potion's essence.

"What is it?" I ask, my heart racing. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes meet mine reluctantly. "The potion...it's feeding off his siphon nature, which is the crucial center of his entire being. So, it's practically attached itself to his life force..." She slowly presses the tip of her index finger against where mine had been moments earlier to check the pace of his heartbeat, and my stomach drops. "At his heart. The magic from the potion is wrapped around it, and giving that it's such a delicate area of his body, it makes the process of alleviating the potion's effects that much more complex."

"How so?" I say in a hushed voice, afraid of the answer.

"Now, I have to focus my magic there as well, which may be too overwhelming for him to handle in combination with the potion. Since the potion's essence has basically morphed itself with his life force, I'd practically be battling his heart, which is, from the feeling I got out of it, already far too weak."

Tears prick at the corner of my eyes but I swipe them away. He's still going to make it out of this. He has to.

"But," She continues, albeit hesitantly, "as long as I'm careful, and use just the right amount of precision, I believe I can remove the potion's hold on his heart without harming him."

I nod, looking down at Kai through a glistening gaze, trailing my fingertips over his arm. "And...he'll wake up?"

"He will," she confirms and hope surged back through me like a tidal wave. "It'll just take some time for his powers to fully recover, give or take a few days."

"As long as he's alive," I say, feeling Freya's eyes linger on me for a moment before she refocuses her attention on the unconscious witch.

Pressing her hands firmly over Kai's heart, she looks between Kol and I. "I think...if I form a temporary shield around his heart, I can push the potion's magic out of his body. It may not be the most comfortable experience for him, so bear with me."

"It's going to hurt him?" I clarify, my stomach tightening.

"Only for a moment," she assures me. "But it's the only way I can free him."

She lets her eyes fall shut, straightening her position as she readies herself for the spell to come. My worried stare alternates between Freya and Kai, desperation nearly getting the better of me as I suffocate the urge to plead for a painless way to do this. Time is running out and logically, I know I need to let her carry on with this method but as the Latin starts to leave her lips, panic nearly paralyzes my body.

"Custodiat cor, ubi vis futilis auceps, dimittere ac tenebras."

Noticing my distress, Kol whispers to me, "It's alright. It shouldn't last too long."

My response getting lost in my throat, I'm unable to tear my eyes away from Freya's hands forcefully pushing against Kai's heart. The golden magic seeps from her palms, sinking into his chest with purpose. Her chants increase in volume, various papers rustling and glasses of herbs clinking together in the room as wind surrounds the four of us. My gaze flicks up to find her eyes screwed shut, her teeth clenching. Just like she'd told me, it's requiring a battle to free him from the potion's shackles.

"Custodiat cor, ubi vis futilis auceps, dimittere ac tenebras!"

A strained grunt catches my attention and my head whips toward Kai, alarmed to discover his previously neutral expression transformed into one of anguish. He still isn't awake, but in the midst of the stupor the potion has thrown him into, he's evidently succumbing to the effects of Freya's counter spell.

His lips are parted to release low, gritted noises of pain, his body starting to thrash underneath the golden shimmer of Freya's power.

"Kai," I yell over Freya's shouts, reaching for his hand closest to me and holding it tight in both of mine. Clinging onto the hope that maybe he can make out my words, I tell him, "It's okay. Can you hear me? You're gonna be okay."

"Custodiat cor, ubi vis futilis auceps, dimittere ac tenebras."

Kai's screaming now, his chest surging up and down heavily with his erratic breathing. His hand is squeezing mine back with a vice grip that makes me wince, but I don't pull away, allowing our palms to stay fused together throughout the spell. Tears threaten to spill down my cheeks as the pain he's experiencing only seems to worsen while the spell drags on, but I clench my teeth together to control them, mustering every bit of strength I have for him.

"NO!" He snarls, fighting against the spell with eyes still shut in defiance.

"It's okay!" I tell him, brushing my thumbs over the back of his palm, and desperately looking up at Freya. "Is it finished? He's in pain!"

She doesn't answer, her chants said with frequent repetition now as if she'd let herself go on autopilot, allowing the magic to take over. Kai's body is quickly enveloped in gold and I watch the occurrence in fascination and fear, as the shining power forms a cocoon around his frame. Its glow becomes unbearably bright, my eyes squinting against the harsh light.

"What's happeni–"

Too fast for any of us to prepare, Freya's magic shoots out of Kai like a giant pulse shaking the room's foundations. My hands are torn from Kai's like I'd been electrocuted, and Freya, Kol, and I are sent hurtling backwards into the walls.

Slamming into the hard surface with a groan, I slump down onto the hardwood floor, rubbing the side of my head.

"I take it the spell worked?" Kol grumbles, standing up and brushing off his suit.

"Looks like it," Freya coughs, stumbling to her feet from the other side of the room.

I scramble to my feet, running toward Kai, who's laying silently on the table now, compared to the screaming state I'd been forced to view moments ago. His eyes remain closed, an expression of calm residing on his features.

Sliding a shaky hand over his chest, I nearly collapse with relief when I feel his heart beating with renewed strength.

"Kai?" I gently grip his shoulders, shaking him until a quiet groan leaves his lips. Practically holding my breath, I watch him carefully as he stirs, his eyes gradually fluttering open to stare blankly at the ceiling.

He starts to look around in confusion, until his eyes land on my face. His own breaks into a small smile and I feel like I can sob with joy after the whirlwind of emotion this night has taken me through.

"Charlie," he says, his voice huskier than usual, and my stomach flips.

"Hi," I whisper through a wide smile, tears blurring my vision.

He reaches up to my face and my eyes fall half-shut as his fingertips trail over my cheek. I'm tempted to lean into his warm palm, when he lets out a low hum.

"Feels so real," he muses and I pause, staring down at him with furrowed eyebrows as his thumb drags down over my bottom lip.

"W-what?"

Kai sighs, letting his hand fall back down to his side and starts to sit up, causing my hands to slide off his shoulders.

"Guess I shouldn't have underestimated a Ripper," he tells me playfully, then pauses, his face darkening. "Or my father, for that matter. Should I be angrier about this right now? Or is that emotion like, not, allowed here? Only gumdrops and rainbows in these parts, I'm assuming." He chuckles, then frowns, rubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw. "Wait, why am I here? Kinda assumed that, you know, with my track list, I'd be somewhere a little less luxurious. Like, with a lot more fire and a lot less..." He stares at me with a dazed smile. "You. Not that I'm complaining."

I shake my head, trying to catch up with his line of thought. "Kai, what are you talking about?"

"He thinks he's dead," Kol says in amusement from behind me and Kai looks over my shoulder in surprise, just noticing the vampire's presence. Then, his eyes narrow.

"Annnnd, now I know I'm not, because there's no way a bloodsucker would be in my peaceful afterlife." He groans, dragging a hand over his face. "My memory may be a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't..." He glances around the room, "in a weird, souvenir shop when I passed out."

"Kol and I brought you here," I explain to him. "You accidentally drank Joshua's potion, and you were unconscious for a while. Freya helped you." I nod at the blonde, who's eyeing Kai with a caution that most people approach strangers with, and he looks back at her.

"Huh. You cracked my dad's freaky, anti-siphon potion?"

Freya lifts her chin. "It's a potion like any other. Just a little more complicated than the ones I've witnessed in my lifetime. You're the first siphon I've ever encountered, after all."

He waves his hands in an exaggerated manner. "Freaky, right? That I can just take all your magic right now if I felt so inclined?"

"Kai," I sigh. "Not exactly the way to thank someone who just saved your life."

"I can easily go back and get some more of that pesky potion to force down your throat if you don't intend on showing my sister an ounce of gratitude," Kol says, smiling humorlessly. I shoot the vampire a harsh glare.

Kai laughs, but it comes out in more of a low wheeze. "I was getting to the thank you's, relax." He pushes himself up with his elbows, hissing quietly under his breath.

"You okay?" I question, concerned. He gives me a reassuring smile.

"Yeah, just..." He coughs out a chuckle. "Think Steven might've cracked a rib."

My eyes widen as he casually hops off the table, like the injury was a minor thing that we could brush over. He stumbles, flinching as discomfort flits across his features, and I catch him with one hand gripping his shoulder and the other on his waist.

"Charlie," he murmurs through a playful smile, his blue eyes finding mine. "I'm fine."

"A broken rib is fine?" I retort, not about to put up with his carefree act considering the amount of pain he has sustained tonight. "Just waking up from a mini coma courtesy of your shit father's potion, with possible side effects that we don't even know about yet, is fine?"

"In my perspective," he replies smoothly. "When you've been thrown in a prison world for almost two decades, everything else is a walk in the park by default."

Prepared to throw another argument back, the words get stuck in my throat when I have a chance to really stare back into those blue eyes, when not too long ago I'd been terrified there was a chance they weren't going to open again. The realization overwhelmingly hits with crushing force and I feel my breathing quickening slightly, unable to tear my gaze away from his face. The small grin on his face makes my heart ache, angry at him for being so casual about the fact that he nearly died but simultaneously melting at the little gesture.

Just as he's about to say something, I throw my arms around his neck, forgetting about Freya and Kol's lingering presences. Kai grunts lowly and I exhale shakily into his neck, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Sorry," I whisper, loosening my embrace to mind his ribs and his deep chuckle vibrates against me.

He wraps an arm around my back, the other wounding into my hair and I'm finally able to have a bubble of peace after a night that was anything but. Kai's lips touch my temple in a soft kiss as my wet eyelashes brush against the crook of his neck.

"I'm so glad you're okay," I say into his skin, my throat thick.

"Of course I am," he murmurs. "I said I'd see you in a few, didn't I?"

I laugh softly, unwilling to break away from the embrace even when Kol clears his throat.

"Hello. Just would like to remind you both that we are not, in fact, at your hotel. Though I can take you there right now where you can carry on being as sickeningly mushy as you please."

Kai gasps. "That's the smartest thing you've said since I met you."

"I'd tone down the sarcasm if I were you, mate. After all, I was the one generous enough to bring you here, when I could've just as easily looked the other way when you were unconscious."

"But you didn't because you realized it'd be a shame if someone this good-looking was swept away from existence."

I hear Freya snort and lift my head to look over at her, but Kai's arms keep me anchored within his embrace. She rolls her eyes at Kai.

"And to think I was excited about meeting a siphon-witch in the flesh. You're rather arrogant."

He smirks. "Wouldn't you be, if you could take another witch's magic with a simple touch?"

She tilts her head, pondering. "I suppose. But I'd also be feeling really humbled right now if I were in your position, considering you were almost taken out by a potion."

Kai scoffs. "Key word. Almost. But touché...and thank you." I glance up at him, surprised at the sincerity in his tone. "For your help. If you ever find yourself in need of some extra witchy woo, I can get some members of my coven down here. They're pretty damn handy when need be."

I smile at how suddenly he drops the smug act, the beneficial changes he's absorbed since the merge shining through. Freya seems to appreciate it, nodding with a touch less tension than before.

"I'll keep that in mind."

A sense of camaraderie lingers in the air between the two witches now, and Kai looks away from her to meet my admiring gaze. His hands are splayed out across my back and he wiggles his fingers jokingly.

"Guess we're going back to the party now?"

I immediately shake my head in incredulity. "Are you nuts?"

"Hm, never thought I was, but it's a possibility considering how much I've heard people tell me so."

"We're going back to the hotel. They have Caroline and Stefan handled. You need to rest."

He arches an eyebrow. "Won't your friends care that you're gone and alone with me?"

I give him a flat look. "Do you honestly think I care at all about that right now?"

Kai licks his lips, searching my face and I'm unsure of what he expects to find in my expression, shifting self consciously from foot to foot. "What?"

He grins. "Nothing."

"I can drive you both back to wherever you're staying," Kol says. "But the second you start making out in my backseat, I'm throwing you out and you can walk in the rain."

I snort and Kai eyes him with a lazy smile. "No promises."

•••

As we walk over the threshold into Kai's hotel room with his arm slung around my shoulders for support and mine over his waist, he pokes at his ribcage for the millionth time.  Freya had kindly healed it for him before we set off on our way in Kol's car, though Kai had been hesitant to let her. But it ended up being the most preferential option to him, since he shuddered in disgust at the thought of drinking Kol's blood.

"Ugh," he mutters.

"Kai. Stop touching it."

"It just feels weird. Her magic's so...sharp. I don't see why I couldn't just heal myself."

I kick the door shut behind us, leading him to the bed. "We went over this already. Your powers are still weak, and you're gonna need a few days to fully recover. Please, just try to take it easy until then?"

"Yeah," he says dismissively when I help him sit down on the edge, and I give him a stern look. He rolls his eyes half heartedly. "Fine."

"Good," I sigh, sitting down next to him and placing my hands on either side of his face. I turn his head in my direction, worriedly assessing the bruises from the blows he absorbed in his fight with Stefan. My thumb gently runs down his cheek, over the purplish mark coloring his tan skin and he flinches slightly. I frown, swallowing hard, as I trail a finger over the dried blood from the healed cut along the side of his forehead.

I notice his lips curve up in a smile during my examination and my eyes flick up to stare into his.

"Charlie," he says softly. "Come on. Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" I ask, my voice sounding pathetically feeble to my own ears.

"Like I'm broken," He clarifies. "It's just some bruises and a little bit of blood. I'll survive."

I shake my head, exhaling sharply. "That's the thing. You almost didn't."

"But I did," he presses. "Okay? I did."

We stare at each other, his eyes stubbornly searching mine for some sort of agreement to stop worrying about this now, but I can't do that, not when the image of his immobile body laying in shattered glass in the vast hall keeps torturing my mind. So, I dodge his gaze, dropping my hands from his face to stand up.

"Are you hungry?" I ask without looking at him, searching for the hotel commodities booklet that listed a menu in it somewhere. "I can order room service."

"Sure," He says and I can feel him watching me while I pick up the booklet off the coffee table near the couch, flipping through it. "Being magically unconscious makes a guy famished."

Despite his joking tone, I fail to smile, instead continuing trailing my finger down the menu options. "What're you in the mood for?"

"Don't think what I'm in the mood for is on their menu," he replies and I glance at him to find his eyes raking over my frame. He winks, and turns his attention to pulling off his dress shoes. Even after a near-death experience, Kai isn't deterred from his flirtatious nature. "But, a burger and fries is sounding really good right now."

Nodding absent-mindedly, I discard the menu and call the staff to place an order for both of us. After hanging up, I run a hand through my hair, turning back to him.

"It'll be ready in twenty minutes."

"Great. I'm gonna go shower, even though this whole blood-stained look is kind of badass."

He pushes himself up from the bed, just to stumble clumsily sideways. I rush over to steady him, a crease deepening between my brows. He smiles lazily at me.

"Whoops. I'm a little dizzy."

"I noticed," I reply half heartedly. "Um...do you want me to..." I tilt my head in the direction of the shower, blushing a little, and his grin brightens, "give you a hand?"

"Oh, absolutely," he purrs, leaning in to touch his nose to mine. "And I hope you realize what a double entendre that was."

I lightly swat at his arm, rolling my eyes while he giggles to himself, laying an arm across my shoulder. "How do you still have the energy to be making sexual innuendos?"

"It's a gift."

Shaking my head, I unstrap my heels and help him into the bathroom. Kai lifts his arm from my shoulders to shrug his suit jacket off and I surreptitiously peek at him numerous times, while attempting to tug the zipper on my dress. His fingers are deftly untying the bow tie around his collar and when I glance at him again, he's smirking at me with a brow raised.

"Need some help?"

I sigh in defeat and nod, dropping my hands back down to my sides. He drops his bow tie on top of his jacket and makes his way over, standing behind me. His fingers brush my skin, trailing down to the stubborn zipper. I look up in the wide mirror before us, to find his dark trained intently on the task he'd taken over for me. He slowly drags the zipper down its track, his lips parting as inch by inch of my bare back is exposed to his view.

When he's finished, he meets my watchful eyes in the mirror and presses heavy kisses to the side of my neck. I hum, tilting my head further to the side to allow him more room for his alluring ministrations.

"I love this dress," he whispers in my ear, running a hand over my stomach to feel the fabric and pulling me into him.

"I said I'd join you so you don't fall in the shower, not for this," I say breathlessly, forcing myself to pry his hands off and step away before I give in.

"I like multitasking," he says lowly, grinning like a minx.

Turning around, I raise a finger at him warningly and he bites his lip, lifting his palms in a gesture of surrender. I push the straps off my shoulders, pushing the dress down past my thighs until it falls to the floor. Kai's eyes burn into me, never wavering even as he busies himself with unbuttoning his shirt. I pull my hair out of its updo, shaking it out until the curls rest over my shoulders. I tug the gloves off of my arms, followed by the pearls around my neck. I save Kai's pendant for last, undoing it and gently setting it on the bathroom counter.

When all of our clothes litter the floor, he follows me into the shower. His hands immediately curl over my waist as I turn on the water, setting it a warm temperature.

"Room service is coming," I remind him when I face him again. "Don't get any ideas."

"I'm not doing anything," he says innocently, running his index finger down the valley of my breasts, inching lower on my stomach. I gently stop his wrist, suppressing a smile, and place his hand back at his side.

I scrub the soap bar onto the loofah after soaking it under the water, the bubbly suds covering my hands. Kai reaches to take it from me, but I pull it away from his reach, tutting.

"Nope. You just relax." I place the soap back on the ledge and Kai deeply chuckles.

I place a hand on his shoulder for leverage, spreading the soap over his chest, down to his stomach, over his abdomen. His muscles flex underneath my touch, a movement that mesmerizes me and makes me pause for a second. Room service. Coming soon. Keep it moving.

My touch trails down his arms gently, lathering both with bubbles. When I look up to his face, he's staring at me with an adoring smile that stops my breath and finds its way around my heart.

Inhaling a lungful of air, I clean the blood off his neck, taking my lip between my teeth as I focus carefully on the red mingling with the soap-water. My hands move to his face, one cradling his bruised cheek and the other scrubbing the remnants of blood dried on his skin.

"How did this happen?" I ask him, feeling my throat start to tighten all over again. "What, did you need to see that bad if you could take on a Ripper? Because I hope this answered your question in full." I huff out a breath, removing the loofah and stepping back so the water from the shower head rinses the soap off his front.

"Actually, I think I had a pretty good chance, up until he decided not to make it a fair fight by slipping the potion in the water." Kai doesn't seem too bothered, but his face darkens a fraction upon the mention of the potion. "You should've seen me. I dropped a chandelier on him."

I cross my arms over my chest, closing my eyes in consternation. "Tell me you didn't provoke him."

He hums thoughtfully. "Define provoke. Because while it could be argued that I started the fight, he's the one who pissed me off first. Guess it's really just a matter of perspective."

My eyes flash open in outrage. "I told you not to start anything. Because I-I knew this is what would–" Cutting off, I press a hand to my forehead, forcing away the tears that come close to release anytime I get overwhelmed.

I feel his hand on my hip, tugging me closer. "Charlie."

Kai's voice is soft, and soothing in combination with the running water and enclosed space protecting us from the rest of the world that proved to present new dangers with each day. His hands pry mine away from my face, giving me no choice but to look up at his concerned expression. The pad of his thumb rubs over my jaw and he presses a kiss to my forehead, making my eyes flutter and heart swell.

"Breathe," He tells me and I remember telling him to do the same thing just hours ago.

I inhale slowly and he drops his forehead against mine, giving me a heartbreaking grin.

"There you go. Breathe out." His voice is just a little teasing and I know he's thinking of the same memory.

I release the air I'd been holding in my lungs, relaxing into him ever so slightly with the movement. "Funny. I was the one telling you to do that just a few hours ago."

"Speaks to the shitstorm of a night we both had, huh?" he replies with a joking edge, trailing a hand over my ass and squeezing. I arch into him with a small gasp, our lips brushing and I feel his smirk forming. It soon fades as he returns to his previously serious demeanor. "You okay?"

"Are you?" I question, my hands ghosting over his neck. He snorts softly.

"I'm showering with my beautiful girlfriend. Trust me, I'm fine."

I smile, letting my eyes fall shut, timing my breathing with his as the water cascades over our bodies. After a quiet moment of calm, I lean up, closing my fingers over the sides of his neck to encourage his head forward into the water, stepping back a bit.

A low hum of content emits from his throat while I run my finger through his dark hair, rinsing out the blood. The water droplets trickle over his forehead, following a trail down to his nose and lips and jaw. I reach for the shampoo, squirting a dollop onto my hand and scrubbing it into his scalp with a careful touch. A small smile makes its way into his lips as he lets me take care of him with no complaint.

Rinsing out the shampoo, I repeat the process with the conditioner, comforted by how Kai seems to be completely relaxed. He deserves it, after the taxing night he's been through.

I came for you, he told me as we danced in the hall. Look where that got him.

Afraid to go down that dangerous train of thought again, I rinse out the conditioner and nudge him to turn around, exposing his muscular back to me. I start to lather his skin up with the soapy loofah, even gentler than before, and the milky white marks slashed across his back hold my attention. They served as a harsh reminder for the life his father made it his mission to ruin from the start, in a sick determination to punish his eldest son. Bullying him into an emotionless abyss. I'd seen those scars so many times now, always making sure to approach them with a comforting touch, to let him know he can finally feel safe.

Now, they're there like a taunting message from Joshua himself, signaling that these scars wouldn't be the only time he hurt Kai. Tonight, he managed to do it again, albeit indirectly, showing that his hold over his son isn't going to stop just because he escaped the prison world and rightfully stepped into his role as coven leader. He keeps finding ways to worm his way back into Kai's life and mind, like a parasite that you can't eradicate hard as you may try. From linking his life to mine to creating a potion with the sole purpose of targeting Kai's siphon nature that he unreasonably detested so much, Joshua Parker was making it his mission to prevent his son from living a life of peace.

It's enough to make me feel unbearably helpless, like Kai isn't even safe right now, despite the fact that we're alone in a hotel miles from his father's undisclosed location. Like distance didn't matter, because Joshua was always one step ahead.

I don't even realize I've stopped washing him entirely, my hands trembling so rapidly that the loofah slips from my fingers, until Kai turns around to inspect the reason for my lack of movement. My shoulders are moving up and down with quickening breaths and the dam holding back my tears gives way to the terrifying thoughts circling my brain. Salty tears roll down my cheeks, mingling with the shower water, and then, I'm sobbing, despite how hard I'd tried to hold it together for him.

Without speaking, Kai immediately envelops me in a warm embrace, silently letting me know he's here and alive even though his father continuously has tried to make sure he wasn't. One arm snakes protectively around my waist, the other guiding my head to rest in the crook of his neck. He soothes my shaking body with gentle caresses and repeated kisses to my temple and cheek, not saying anything for a while while I let my tears fall freely.

"I thought I lost you," I choke out, gripping his torso like he'd disappear if I didn't hold on tight enough.

"Shh, baby," he says into my hair, rubbing my back. "I'm here. Right here."

I close my eyes, letting that fact take priority over every other worry plaguing my mind. After all the dangers tonight threw in our direction, he's still here, in my arms, with a beating heart.

"You think I'm gonna be taken down once and for all at a Great Gatsby-themed ball by a vegan vampire?" Kai says jokingly in my ear. "I'm offended. My end will be a lot cooler than that."

"I'd rather not think about your end at all," I reply quietly.

"Okay," he says easily. "Then don't. Just think about right now." He sways slightly with me in his hold, humming softly. "Me and you. Together."

Though my hatred for Joshua Parker is strong, the affection I have for his son overrules that in an instant and I find myself complying, minute by minute, until all that matters is the man in this shower. Everything else is pushed away, and I ignore the lingering threats of those dark thoughts to return later when my guard is down. Kai's here. Kai's alive.

"I'm sorry you got hurt," I tell him, sliding my hands up his back to grip his shoulders.

"Unless you're secretly Stefan Salvatore–which, would be very awkward–why are you sorry?"

I shrug numbly. "Because...I'm the reason you're here."

"Yeah." He smooths a hand over my wet hair. "But it was my choice, so you don't get to blame yourself for it. Understand?"

When I don't answer, incapable of forming the words, hands quickly dart down to my hips. I jump in surprise when Kai's fingers wiggle into my sides, tickling relentlessly. The unexpected movement triggers my shrieking laughter, causing me to instinctively pull out of his embrace. He doesn't let me get far, spinning me around in his hold to press my back against his chest.

"Kai!" I cry through my uncontrollable giggles, trying to bat his hands away as he tickles my stomach, his other arm locked around my front. "St-stop!"

He laughs with me, kissing beneath my ear. "Say it."

I throw my head back against his shoulder, my body now shaking with laughter instead of the sobs that had wracked it earlier. "Okay, okay, Jesus!"

"Okay what?" He persists, smiling widely against my cheek as I squirm in his grip, my laughs echoing throughout the shower.

"I understand!"

He immediately stops, raising his hands. Breathless from laughing, I turn around to face him, grinning. He curls a finger underneath my chin, tilting my head up to his.

"There's my favorite smile," he mumbles, his words tugging at my heartstrings, before claiming my mouth in a passionate kiss. I press a hand to his chest, fingers splayed across the warm, wet skin, and open my lips to stroke his tongue. He knots his fingers in my hair, his kiss growing more insistent and the undercurrent of lust simmering with an intensity that makes my head spin.

"Our...food," I manage to get out between his kisses. "It'll be here in, like, five minutes."

"Think if I tip them enough they'll bring it to us in the shower?" Kai mutters, his tongue expertly rolling over mine.

I snicker. "Probably not."

"Well, that's no problem." He nudges my head to the side with his nose, kissing my jaw. "I have my meal right here."

His teeth graze my skin for emphasis and I playfully push his head away, my whole body scorching with want. We finish up in the shower, despite Kai's repeated suggestive comments that he'll be my dinner and the burgers won't be necessary, and wrap ourselves in the white towels hung up on the rack.

"Shoot," I say in realization, as I watch him dig through his bag to pull out a pair of black boxers and dark gray sweatpants. He throws me a questioning look over his shoulder.

"My clothes are in my room," I explain, blushing slightly when he drops his towel to pull the boxers up his legs.

After tugging his sweatpants over his hips, he reaches into his bag again without comment and tosses me a pair of boxers identical to the ones he just put on, along with a gray tee shirt.

"Thanks," I tell him softly and he winks, zipping up his bag while I unwrap my towel to tug the boxers over my bare legs. Rolling them up at the waist band to prevent them from being loose, I pull the shirt over my head, Kai's pleasant and distinct scent automatically surrounding me like a blanket.

He's sitting on the bed, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his thighs and watching me with a raw intensity that I thought I'd be used to by now. But each time he looks at me like that, my heart flutters and every coherent thought seems to temporarily fly out the window.

"I find it really sexy when you wear my clothes," he says huskily, eyes trailing over my chest and exposed legs.

I smile, head tilted to the side while I squeeze my damp hair in the towel. "And I find it really sexy when you're shirtless."

Smirk shaping his lips, he opens his mouth to throw a reply back when there's three consecutive knocks at the door.

"Room service," a male voice calls out. I start to walk over but Kai gets up, stopping me.

"I got it." He walks over to the door with a few dollar bills clutched in his hand and I cross my arms over my ribs, admiring his back muscles as they ripple underneath his tanned skin.

The male staff member greets Kai and they exchange a few words before Kai steps aside to let him push the cart inside. I offer a friendly smile when he looks up at me, but self consciously feel overly exposed in the stranger's presence.

"Having a good night, miss?" He asks, his head cocking slightly and his eyes lower past my face, practically leering at my chest and legs. I tug Kai's shirt down, frowning.

"Um, yes," I answer in discomfort, eyes flicking to Kai, finding his expression darkening.

"You can go now," he says harshly and the man glances at him, face paling a little at Kai's greater height and glaring features. "And watch how you look at my girlfriend."

"I wasn't–"

"Get out," Kai cuts him off impatiently, slamming the bills for a tip into his chest and the male stumbles, reaching up to grip them. Muttering out a good night, he quickly retreats, closing the door behind him.

"Moron," Kai says under his breath, reaching for the two trays and bringing them to the coffee table in front of the sofa. I go over to join him, sitting cross legged on the couch and he sinks down next to me. He absent-mindedly wraps a hand around my thigh, while lifting the lid off both our trays to release the inviting smell of the delectable-looking burgers.

Noticing the tension in his shoulders, I half-smile and lean over to kiss his cheek. "Kai, it's fine."

"No, it's not. No one should look at you like you're a piece of meat," he says in annoyance. "Fucking disrespectful low life."

"Am I gonna have to tell you to breathe for the second time tonight?" I ask, popping a fry in my mouth.

"No," he grumbles.

I smile brightly. "Good. Now, eat. You had a long night."

Seeming to be in agreement, he grabs his burger and takes a bite. Satisfied, I return my attention to my own meal, both of us eating together while making casual conversation in between. While chewing on a fry, Kai reaches for my legs, tugging them out from under me to lay them across his lap. I adjust myself for further comfort, letting my back lean against the armrest and bend my knees slightly over his thighs.

When I finish my meal, I watch him in silence, peacefully taking in his side profile while he's currently oblivious to my stare.

Or, so I thought.

"Charlie, is me eating that fascinating?" He asks without looking in my direction, a smile lifting the corner of his mouth, and I let out a low hum of amusement.

"I'm really happy you're okay."

He swallows the fry he'd been munching on and looks at me fully this time. Wiping his hands off on a napkin, he wraps his fingers over my knee, rubbing softly.

"Come here." He gestures with his head and I lift my legs, planting one knee on the cushions on either side of his body and let him pull me into his lap. My hands find his hard abdomen and I glide my fingers over his bare chest, before peeking up into his dark gaze.

I don't miss the hesitance lingering in his features, like he wants to say something but is afraid of how I may react. Eyebrows furrowing, I slide my hands up his neck, making sure his eyes stay connected with mine.

"What is it?" I inquire. "You can tell me."

"The reason I got in that fight with Stefan..." There's a bump in his throat as he visibly swallows. "It was you."

My heart quickens in my rib cage, as I wait for him to elaborate.

"I did the memory spell on him, to get a look at the ones that might trigger something. And he manipulated it. Kept showing me the one of him at the Christmas party." He exhales sharply. "Kissing you. Over and over. I couldn't make it stop. Then, it was him hurting you today, when you shot him with the stake gun. On loop. And I..." He closes his eyes. "I just snapped. Pulled out of the spell, and punched him in the face."

His confession about the fight I'd been given little detail of renders me speechless, eyes flicking between his closed lids in an attempt to process this information.

Opening his eyes, Kai sighs, giving me a rueful smile. "It's funny. I used to think I didn't have any weaknesses. And not in the physical sense, but, like..." He pauses, seeming to be searching for the right words, and I don't push him. "Things that people can hurt you with just by mentioning. Knowing it hits you deep where their bare hands can't reach. When I was a full-on sociopath, those spots just...weren't there. Even my dad calling me an abomination didn't click anymore. And I liked that, feeling untouchable in that way. It gave me power when my magic couldn't."

His eyes find mine, emotion shining in them. "And then you come along." His tone is a little teasing, but soon regains that aura of sincerity. "And I realized, you're it. You're my weakness, Charlie."

Words fail me in that moment, my heart leaping into my throat. "Kai..."

"But, at the same time..." He laughs nervously. "You're my strength, too. And I'm new to all of this, so I've been trying to figure out how that could even be possible, how feelings can contradict themselves so much. But, it still doesn't make sense to me and I'm trying to be okay with that, because maybe it doesn't even have to, but it's just....fuck." He sighs, avoiding my gaze with a rosy hue to his cheeks. "This is stupid, you know what, just, uh, forget I–"

I cut him off before he can chastise himself for bravely trying to express the feelings that have been swarming in his head, capturing his lips in an urgent kiss. My hands clutch the sides of his face, turning his head in an effort to deepen the affection with my tongue sliding over his. His moan vibrates against my lips and he slips his hands underneath my shirt, caressing my bare back.

"It's not stupid," I say breathlessly, before going in for another kiss, running my fingers through his damp hair.

Kissing me back with renewed vigor, he leans forward off the couch to wrap my legs tight around his torso. He stands up from the couch, not breaking the kiss as he carefully maneuvers around the coffee table, carrying me to the king-sized mattress.

Warning: Explicit Content Ahead

Kai lowers me onto the bed, all the while pressing kisses over my neck and collarbone. His tongue licks a stripe up from my clavicle to the underside of my chin and I let out a shuddering breath as he blows a stream of cool air on the area. He sinks his teeth lightly into the crook of my neck and elicits a gasp from my parted lips.

Fisting his hair between my fingers, I lift his head with my grip, causing him to release a throaty moan. I kiss down his throat, using the distraction to hook my leg over his waist for momentum and roll him underneath me.

He smirks up at me when I lean over him, palms pressed to his chest to keep him down. "What are you gonna do to me, beautiful?"

The question prompts the temptation to stir inside of me, in my lowest parts, as plenty of possibilities come to mind with Kai at my mercy. Then, I consider something I haven't tried with him before and the option is enticing, despite the nerves it spikes in my stomach. Biting my bottom lip, I look over his bare chest, before shyly meeting his attentive stare.

"I wanna make you feel good." Just saying the words causes my face to heat up, but nonetheless, I want to follow through. Kai has always been the one to please me in that manner, never vocalizing expectations for me to return the favor, but now, with a surge of confidence, I'm determined to do just that.

His eyes are black with lust when he gets the meaning behind my vague response and he slips his tongue out to moisten his lips. "Have you ever...?"

"No," I admit, this act being new territory for me. "But I want to try."

"You don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with," he tells me, trailing his hands up my thighs.
"Seriously. I'd never ask you–"

"I know," I interrupt him, pressing a reassuring kiss to his mouth. "Let me try. Please."

He watches me with awe, smiling slightly. "Okay."

Kissing him once more, I bend my head down to his chest, leading a trail with my lips over his hard stomach, eventually inching toward the dusting of hair that disappears into his gray sweats. The rumbling of approval emitting from his throat eggs me on, and I tuck my fingers into the waistband of both his sweatpants and boxers. With some effort, I wriggle them down his hips, over his thighs, and he kicks them off the rest of the way.

His erect length flops against his stomach, a low groan of discomfort leaving his lips. The sight is a little intimidating, considering my lack of oral experience, but bringing Kai to the same euphoric high that he's brought me to multiple times suffices as more than enough motivation.

He pushes himself up to his elbows, dark eyes trained on my every movement. Tentatively, I wrap my hand around him, and he sucks in a sharp breath through clenched teeth. I start to pump him, sliding my grip from the base to the head, and he curses, his eyes rolling back.

Using his reactions to give me the push I need, I slowly lick the tip and hear his breath hitch in his throat.

"Fuck."

I take him in deeper, trying to reach the base, and his hips stutter up to meet my mouth. Gagging with the unexpected movement, I earn a guttural moan from Kai.

"Ch-Charlie," He breathes out, running a hand over my hair. "Don't hurt yourself."

His fingers catch one of my hands that had been resting on the sensitive skin of his thigh and he guides it his shaft, encouraging me to wrap my fingers around whatever I can't fit past my lips. "Just like that."

I swirl my tongue around the head, fueled by Kai frequently vocalizing his pleasure through curses and groans. My hand finds a rhythm as I pump him with every intention of bringing him to his release, while repeatedly dragging my lips up past the head teasingly.

"How's that feel?" I ask in a slightly husky voice, smiling at him as he opens his previously screwed-shut eyes, his mouth in an O.

"Fucking...amazing." He winds a hand into my damp curls, guiding me as I take him in again, tasting the white liquid that leaked out of his tip.

"Ohhh," he sighs, a thin sheen of perspiration on his chest as it heaves up and down. I quicken my ministrations, sensing that he's nearly finished, and feel the heat pooling in my belly at the look of pure bliss on his features.

"Charlie," he says shakily. "I'm...close. St-stop now if you don't–"

I ignore him, licking from the base to the tip, tucking his length underneath my tongue. He curses loudly, fingers tightening in my hair. I pump vigorously, humming around him, the vibrations clearly doing something to push him right over the edge.

"Oh, God." His hips thrust up on their own volition in a desperate attempt to fill my mouth. Kai's moans increase in volume, intermittent groans of my name leaving his parted lips. I glance up to watch his face in fascination as he succumbs to the sensations I'm putting him through.

His mouth falls open as he reaches his orgasm and I carry him through it without ever letting my gaze stray from his face. He fills my mouth in hot spurts and I immediately swallow the substance, reveling in the foreign feeling of it going down my throat.

Kai's breathing soon starts to relax, his head falling back onto the mattress and he drops his hand from my hair. I lean up on my knees, peering down at his satisfied smile and closed eyes, feeling a swell of pride that I'd been the one to cause it. I stroke a hand over his chest, encouraging him to open his eyes.

"I really don't think I can get enough of you," he says, having regained his breath. I smile, and barely have time to respond when he's flipping me underneath him, triggering my surprised laughter. He grins, nuzzling my neck and nibbling playfully.

"Don't worry, beautiful." Kai winks at me, dragging my shirt up to reveal my bare chest. "I plan on returning the favor."

"Oh, you don't need to put yourself through the trouble," I tell him, biting my lip to tame a grin itching to grow. Lifting up from the mattress, I let him fully yank the clothing over my head and toss it to the floor.

"Mm, no trouble at all," he purrs, his hand finding my right breast and kneading with dexterity. I jump under the touch of his cold rings connecting with my naked skin, a high-pitched gasp forced from my throat. My fingers curl into his  hair, guiding his mouth to my other breast and he all too willingly complies, wrapping his lips around my taut nipple.

"Kai," I moan, as he swirls his tongue around it, sucking occasionally, while squeezing my other breast.

"Seeing you in that dress today," he rasps, lifting his head to kiss down my stomach, his stubble tickling my skin. "All I wanted to do was rip it off you."

"You didn't make it any easier for me," I breathe out, as he trails the tip of his tongue teasingly over my navel. "In...that suit."

Kai chuckles deeply. "Was just trying to even the playing field a little bit, baby. But that doesn't matter now." He glides his hand over my hip. "Not when I have you under me, nobody around to interrupt." He raises his head to meet my attracted stare, lifting an eyebrow. "Or maybe, you'd like that? The whole possibility of somebody catching us in the act, the rush..." He tilts his head, while hooking his fingers into the sides of the boxers, starting to pull them over my hips. "Does that turn you on, Charlie?"

A light blush spreads over my cheeks at the vivid picture he's painting just to tease me and I sigh, lifting my hips off the bed to help him get the boxers past my hips. His eyes darken as my naked body is revealed to him, inch by inch, until the boxers join the floor with the rest of our clothing.

He gets off the bed, bending down out of sight and I watch in hazy confusion as I hear the zip of his bag. In seconds, he pops up again with an alluring grin, waving the condom packet between his fingers, before crawling back to hover over me.

I grab the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to mine in a heated kiss. He hums into my open mouth, his tongue exploring freely and I feel the uncontrollable want for the witch above me aching in every cell of my body.

"Kai," I whisper against his mouth, kissing the corner before pulling back to meet his eyes. "Please."

"What do you want?" He questions lowly, his fingertips ghosting over my sides. "Tell me, and it's yours."

"I want you," I say, hooking my arms around his neck and he kisses my nose, the sweet gesture warming my insides.

"You have me," he answers, sincerity blazing in his eyes as they pierce mine. I smile, lifting my head to kiss him again, our mouths meshing together softly. His tip teases my sensitive entrance and I whimper, Kai's size being something that my body gets used to more and more with each time, but the initial discomfort is always there.

He distracts me with his languid kisses, seeming to be in no rush to plunge inside of me. "Relax for me."

When my muscles fail to unwind completely, Kai takes matters into his own hands, one hand slipping between our bodies. He rubs my clit and I gasp into his mouth, my back arching up into him.

"That's it," he breathes against my lips. "Let me in."

I feel my body relax, the tension dissipating from my limbs, and I give him a reassuring nod when his eyes pass over my face with a hint of concern. Kai enters me with one, slow thrust, still evidently taking care not to overwhelm me, and his fingers remove themselves from my clit. A breathy moan falls from my parted lips at the fullness inside of me, marveling at our bodies being connected in the oldest known form of intimacy.

"Is that alright?" Kai huffs against my lips, keeping his thrusts paced at a slow rhythm, watching my reactions.

"Yes," I sigh, the discomfort disappearing with each of his movements.

He kisses my neck, sucking at the sweet spot he knows like the back of his hand by now, and I hum at the pleasant feeling. I bring my knees up to rest on either side of his waist, my legs wrapping around and the new angle makes me gasp as he hits deeper into my center.

"Fuck, Charlie," he curses into my neck, biting down. I grip his shoulders, my eyes fluttering.

"Harder, please," I beg and he moves his head to look down at me.

"Are you–"

"Yes."

He grins at my insistence. "Of course, baby."

His hands slide underneath my ass, lifting me into a roll of his hips and I throw my head back, grinding upward to meet it. He times his thrusts at a faster pace now, his previous gentleness becoming more and more nonexistent with each one and I cry out in ecstasy.

"Does that feel good?" He asks, his lips brushing over my face. "Tell me what you're feeling."

"So good," I moan, my eyes rolling back as my nails rake down his back. He grunts, slamming into me now at a rate that my body can't keep up with for much longer. Pressure builds up within me, threatening to release at any moment. He hits my G-spot and I gasp loudly, my fingers drilling against his warm skin.

"There?" Kai says and I nod, unable to form words as my mouth hangs open. Angling my hips, he plunged into me repeatedly with each thrust meant to reach the spot that'll relieve the aching desire all over my body.

"Kai," I cry, my body starting to shake and he brushes his lips over mine soothingly.

"I've got you."

I wrap my fingers around the nape of his neck, pulling his forehead to rest against mine as my orgasm ignites every nerve-ending in my body, surrounding me with sensation. He groans as my walls pulse around him, quickly setting off his own release, but he carries us both through the feeling with persistent thrusts. Kai swallows my moans in a heavy kiss, his own reverberating against my lips.

When we both come down with our mingled breaths being the only sound in the room, Kai slowly pulls out, the sudden emptiness causing me to whimper. He gives me a lazy grin, placing a chaste kiss on my mouth before sliding off the bed to dispose of the condom. My head rolls to the side to watch him saunter back over to me, climbing up to lean against the headboard. I sit up, scooting back to get closer to him and let him pull me to rest against his shoulder with a strong arm around my back.

"How do you feel?" I ask him, gliding my fingers over his jaw to turn his head in my direction. He chuckles.

"Pretty damn good."

I roll my eyes. "I mean, after waking up from the potion. Are you okay? Freya said you probably won't have your powers at their best for a few days."

He exhales. "Yeah. My magic's still there, I can feel it, but it's like its aura is subdued somehow. Weaker. I'll bounce back, but this feeling is so shitty." His jaw clenches. "The Concilio and I will definitely be discussing this bullshit. My father in possession of a potion that nearly took out the coven leader, and every other Gemini with it?" He laughs darkly. "They'll have a fit. And maybe some of them, namely Harry, will finally open his eyes and stop blindly kissing Joshua's ass."

"Have they even been trying to track him down?" I question with a frown. Frankly, the Counsel seemed like they'd brushed the issue off to the side, none too eager to punish an old friend.

"I've been in touch with Alistair. He says they're working on it, but a few key members of the Counsel had to leave Portland for a couple of days to take care of a radical cult posing a threat to civilians in the next town over." He shakes his head. "I haven't told him yet that I got my own tracking spell on Joshua in the meantime."

"Think they'll be upset?"

He snorts. "If they are? Who cares. Really, it's just me doing what was supposed to be their job in a way more convenient fashion. I should go get a flight right now just to boast and then kick all their asses."

I nod in agreement, letting my hand fall from his jaw to his broad shoulder. "Sounds good. When are we going?"

He laughs. "As much as I'd love to see you punch Harry in the face, we have some other matters to attend to. Liiike, your screw-morals pals? You think they're back to normal yet?"

I sigh. "I hope so. Caroline seemed to be on her way there when I left, and Liv had her under that memory spell. Stefan wasn't anywhere close, but I trust them to figure something out."

"Were they pissed when you left?" He asks curiously, a little bit of amusement glinting in his blue eyes.

"Damon was," I answer quietly, remembering the sheer disappointment in his face.

"Surprised he even let you."

I narrow my eyes at him. "He doesn't dictate what I can and can't do. Nobody does."

"Don't I know it," Kai murmurs through a smile, playing with one of my curls.

Chewing on my lip, I look over Kai's face before speaking up again. "I told him."

He pauses, confused. "Told him...what?"

I fiddle with my hands, my heart beating a little quicker when what I'd revealed to Damon finally has time to sink in. "That we're together."

Biting my lip, I await Kai's response as he blinks, like he's processing this because he can't really believe that those words had actually just left my mouth. Then, a grin so wide it looks it could split his face in two appears, and it melts my heart, easing its fast-paced rhythm.

"Seriously? You're not messing with me. Are you messing with me?"

"No. He knows."

"That you and I–"

"Yup."

He gestures between us excitedly. "Boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Mhm."

He laughs, his eyes crinkling and teeth shining against his tan skin. "Holy shit! Damon Salvatore knows we're dating. I bet he's gonna stake himself tonight. Or, maybe just drink several gallons of bourbon while whining to Elena–hey, how did that even come up in conversation? Did you just," He makes a fist and lightly punches the air, "pop it in there? Like, hey, Damon, make sure you get Stef's humanity back on, did I tell you Kai and I are fucking–"

"I definitely didn't pop it in there," I tell him with my hands raised, my face scrunching up. "Or tell him we're fucking. He would've staked you."

"Probably still plans to, but just wanted to wait until I was conscious for it, how sweet."

"No way I'm letting him hurt you. He has to accept this, whether he likes it or not." I sigh, rubbing my temples. "That's what I told him. It was really impulsive, if I'm being honest, because Stefan referred to you as my boyfriend and I know he was just trying to get a rise out of me but you were hurt and I just was so tired. Like, why does keeping it a secret matter so much? You know?"

"I know," Kai says, still wearing a grin while patiently waiting for me to get the rest of my incoming rant out.

"So, I just...confirmed it. Right there, in front of Damon, because you being safe was more important to me and in that moment, it was so trivial, this whole secret we've been keeping. He was mad." I wince, remembering the rage in his features. "Like, extremely. But I know Damon and one way or another, he'll get over this."

Kai watches me in silence as I finish explaining and take a deep breath, peering up at his unreadable expression. "What?"

He gently grabs my chin, bringing my face up to his in a slow, affectionate kiss. My heart races with a different emotion than it had been moments earlier, the hesitance that I felt about telling Damon the truth fading. This is what Kai and I deserved. Screw secrets.

A minute later and all too soon, he pulls away, trailing his thumb over my bottom lip and smiling. "I can't wait to be able to do that whenever I want."

I mirror his grin, butterflies fluttering in my stomach with equal excitement over the prospect. "Me, too."

Noticing his eyes to start to droop a moment later from impending exhaustion, I rub his shoulder. "Let's go to bed."

He nods tiredly, laying flat against the mattress when I tug the white blanket back for us and shut off the light switch beside the bed. I roll over on my side and the sheets rustle as Kai moves closer, his warm breath on my skin. He wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me back into his bare chest. I start to feel sleepy, watching the rain slide down the vast window in between the curtains on the other side of the room.

"Last chance to get back to your room before the rest of your friends freak out tomorrow," Kai mumbles sleepily against my neck, kissing the skin softly.

"Let them," I murmur, smoothing my hand over the back of his palm and entwining our fingers. "I'm not going anywhere."

I feel his mouth widen in a smile against my skin.

"Have I mentioned that you're a badass?" He says, suppressing a yawn.

"Go to sleep," I tell him through a chuckle.

When the room finally plunges into silence, I begin to fall into a deep sleep that has never appeared more inviting, as Kai nuzzles into my neck and his heart beats against my skin.

"Charlie." His voice gently breaks through the quiet.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," He says, "for taking care of me."

I smile with my eyes closed, squeezing the back of his hand in wordless reply.

"I promise I'll take care of you, too," he says in the darkness as I already start to fall under.

Author's Note: I feel like I'm always apologizing for the wait, but hopefully this chapter made up for it.

If smut makes you guys uncomfortable, feel free to skip it, I won't mind. Just don't complain about it, please, because it's an essential part of their relationship and I can't just exclude it.

Thank you so much for reading, I was really soft writing this chapter if that wasn't obvious. As always, let me know your thoughts and I hope you enjoyed. (:

Also, if anyone's interested, I made a Spotify playlist that I'll be adding to here and there for Charlie and Kai. Helps me write: https://open.spotify.com/user/yasminex0/playlist/4BUpRIlWwo6rmWThNLq974?si=LJwA2BIWSHql37rTD4hERg