Chapter Text
"Hey dad, I made tea, do you want a..." Lily's hands flew to her mouth as she attempted to stifle her shocked gasp. A delicate china cup shattered on the floor as scalding hot chamomile tea splattered at her feet. Shards exploded everywhere. "What the hell... I, I... can I, how do I help...?" She trailed off as she took in the appalling sight.
There was a man locked in a cage, incisions bleeding sluggishly on his naked torso. Blood dripped without a care, long thin deliberate lines scored into his skin. As if he was a fucking turkey that had to be cubed for a Christmas dinner. There was something cruel about the absolute precision of the cuts.
All he had on was a white pair of pants, and it was cold here. The basement of her father's clinic wasn't heated and it was just one more detail in the overarching picture to get upset about. The chill of a nightmare mingled with the frigid air in the basement. It was all so cliché... Ice sank in all the way down to her paper-thin bones.
She shivered.
"Hello little bird, and who might you be?" The man asked calmly, as if he wasn't an extra from a horror movie set. Only this was terribly real. She was going to remember this forever. She'd never cursed her eidetic memory before but she sure as fuck did now. Horror movies couldn't compare to the devastating impact of her new reality.
He looked her over. She was young, barely into her teens. She had fiery red hair hanging down her back in a messy braid. Her grey eyes were wide with horrified shock. Tea had spilled all over her cute flower flip-flops. He felt a stirring of pity for her.
"Lily Gilbert." She answered by rote, feeling like her whole world was spinning out of control. She was not prepared for this to happen when she got out of bed this morning. The man's face immediately changed, dark veins crawling under his eyes as fangs appeared. His sclera turned black, his eyes now rimmed with a blood so dark it was nearly black to. She barely startled, already well over the limit for shock. The sharp white glint of his fangs under the clinical lights didn't scare her nearly as much as the bruises smattered over his olive skin did.
"The doctor's daughter." The hate was nearly tangible. The sheer scope and weight of it was immensely heavy. He was furious. The redhead shivered. "My dad did this?" She asked, not wanting to believe it. The man nodded, face already fading back to normal. The monster sinking back under his skin. "I'm so sorry. Can I let you out, is the key here?" She asked, because it didn't matter what he was, this was wrong. This was inhumane.
The man looked shocked at her question. "You're not going to leave screaming about seeing the monster in the basement?" He asked curiously. "It doesn't matter what you are, this is wrong." Lily answered quietly.
"I'm a vampire, love." She moved closer, holding out her wrist without a second thought. "Do you need blood?" He looked emaciated. Starved and diminished somehow. Who cared that he was a mythical creature of darkness? Not her.
"You would feed me?" The dark-haired man asked, looking at the girl, shocked that the daughter of his torturer could be so remarkably kind. She nodded, grey eyes shining with unshed tears. "He did this to you. It's..." She swallowed uselessly, struggling and overwhelmed. "It's the very least I could do."
"That's incredibly kind of you little bird, but I wouldn't be able to stop. Not like this." He sighed, leaning against the vervain coated steel bars to get comfortable. It barely burned anymore. Not after so many decades. "Don't come too close, I'm not in control."
He looked at the girl, watching her with interest as she wrung her hands nervously. "You can't help me. The doctor keeps the keys with him." He stated, frustration and burning resentment winding through his voice.
"I'm so so sorry for what he's doing to you." Lily whispered, an apology could never be enough, but she had to say it. He had to know that at least one person was sorry. He smiled briefly. "That's not your fault love. But thank you." She smiled, a wry twist of her lips. Lily frowned as her dread climbed impossibly higher with the casual way he talked. The dissonance, knowing that it had to be because he was.... used to it. Then she sat down on the cold tiled floor, cross-legged, just out of his range.
It was either that or faint on the spot.
"What's your name?" The small redhead asked curiously, after they sat in silence for a little while. Her heartrate slowing down bit by bit as she acclimated to the cold air and the terror that was still stuck in her throat. "Lorenzo St. John. But I usually go by Enzo... or I used to."
Tentatively she grinned. Attempting to look at his face and not his injuries. "That is an interesting name. If you are a vampire, does that mean that you are immortal?" He nodded, watching with fascination as she leaned towards him. Lily wasn't even the slightest bit afraid. Not of him.
"We can be killed, but in general yes, we don't age. I was born in 1876 and turned in 1903." Lily's eyes widened in shock. "Wow... you are so old..." Then a terrible thought occurred to her. "H-How long have you been here?" She bit her lip nervously. "Since the 1950's." And now the tears finally came. Lily sniffled quietly. "Oh god. That's... that's horrible. They've been doing this to you for decades... Why?"
"The Augustine Society fancies themselves scientists. They think that experimenting on me will help humans." He mumbled quietly. The redhead snarled, causing him to lift his head in shock. "This isn't science. It's fucking torture. I don't even care what you could have possibly done. Nothing could ever justify this."
And she meant that. If he did something unforgiveable, they should have just executed him. This was wrong on so many levels. It made her sick. It made her want to laugh too. The awful kind that only ever happened when something in her head snapped. She bit her lip viciously as a smile threatened to break free.
Ha Ha Ha, an eye for an eye and now the entire world has gone blind.
Footstep could suddenly be heard and the two fell silent. "Go." Enzo said quietly. "You don't want to be found with me." She nodded slowly, quickly turning around to pick up after herself. Cleaning up the tea and the shattered shards of both a teacup and her fucking childhood. "I'll come back." She whispered. "I'll come back and I'll free you. I promise."
He smiled at her sadly, not able to believe it. "I hope so, little bird."
Then she fled.
Two days later, Grayson, not father, not ever again , was out of town. Lily snuck back into the clinic and quickly descended to the basement. He was still there, new cuts on his body, new bruises decorating his skin in blooms of sickly purple and faded yellows. She swallowed against the visual, the urge to vomit already rising. "Lorenzo... I have blood." He glanced up, shocked. That she came back, that she brought blood.
"Can I give it to you, is it safe?" She asked quietly, crouching down close by his cage. There was a glass filled with blood cradled carefully between her small shaky hands. He ignored it for a long moment. Something like hope flaring to life in his chest. He had been alone for so long. Just seeing a friendly face helped immensely.
"How old are you little bird?" She blinked. "Uhm, I'm 12." He sighed deeply, a little sad that she had to see him like this. She was so young... "I've been injected with vervain. I couldn't hurt you even if I tried."
She bit her lip, then came right up to him. She handed him the blood. Their fingers brushed. The vampire shivered at the first kind touch he'd felt in decades. Lily though, she froze, and red started glowing around her pale hands.
The brunet groaned, she was pulling on the magic in him. The arctic chill that made him a vampire. It wasn't painful, but it felt strange. The little redhead started panicking. "What the hell, oh no... what the fuck is going on?!" She exclaimed, scrambling backwards in a panic.
She already had her life-altering moment for this week. She really wasn't emotionally prepared for another one.
Around them, mist rose and started swirling. She tried to ignore the greedy thing in her chest, clawing at her to take and take and bleed him dry. Tried very fucking hard to ignore that whatever she had done made her feel like she was surfacing from an ocean of ice for the first time in her entire life. She didn't want to cause him pain.
"I... I didn't hurt you right?" She squeaked out, frightened. He shook his head, smiling kindly at her. "No love, it's fine. You're a witch." He sipped the blood she had given him. It was like ambrosia, rich and deep. A remarkable scent. Idly he wondered where she got it from.
Seeing that the man was completely calm helped with the panic. It was reassuring. He certainly didn't seem think that she'd done anything wrong. She was ashamed of herself, because she wanted to press her hands to his skin again. Because she desperately wanted more of that delicious energy. "You didn't know?" He asked, looking at her distraught face. She shook her head. "I had no idea." "Strange, it normally runs in bloodlines after all."
Her eyes widened in shock. “I... is it possible that they aren’t? I mean my dad... that man, he tortured you just because you’re not human. I can’t imagine that he’s a... wizard?” Enzo snorted. “Warlock, men with magic are called warlocks.” He squinted at her thoughtfully, having never thought of it like that. It was extremely unlikely that Grayson Gilbert was a warlock.
“Perhaps your mother.” Was all he said. Lily blinked. She was never going to tell him... her sperm donor. If he was willing to torture a man for decades, who knew what he’d do to her. It terrified her, living in a house with someone like him. He had always been good to her. He was such a good father.
Had that all been a lie? Did she even know him at all? Would he kidnap her if he found out about her abnormality? About her shameful greed and strange power? Would... would he hurt her? Cut her? Hit her...?
Kill her?!
She shivered, biting her lip roughly. “I can’t... I can’t ever tell him.” She whimpered as she curled up in front of his cage. The vampire frowned, somewhat pained for the child. She was so tiny. He reached through the bars, ignoring the hiss from being burned by the vervain.
She was his only lifeline in this hellhole. He’d never forget her kindness. He carded a gentle hand through her long crimson hair. “I’m sorry little bird.” She cried, and he held her hand.
The redhead flopped down on the grass besides her only friend. "Lily, where have you been?" Caroline Forbes asked, exasperated. The younger girl had seemingly fallen of the radar. She hadn't seen her for over a week now except for glimpses at school.
The Gilbert girl bit her lip. The blonde stilled, whatever she had going on then, it was serious. "Sorry about that, I just... I'm going through some stuff." Understatement, the undead were real and her dad was some sort of mad scientist.
"Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head. What would she even say... "Alright. Just know that I'm here for you." She tugged the younger girl into a hug. Lily paused for a moment, just inhaling her well known, well loved scent. "Thanks Care." She eventually murmured.
"Uhuh, well let's just enjoy our afternoon." The blonde grinned widely. "I'm thinking of organising another party at the Falls." Lily huffed. "Ugh, teenage drinking and sloppy awkward fumbling in the back of cars. Yeah... that is really attractive." She wasn't a fan of crowds.
"Well Miss Virgin, you shouldn't be doing any of that anyway. You're freaking twelve." The redhead smiled. "And thank god for that, because I really didn't want to come in the first place." Blue eyes softened as she took in her worn out friend. Lily looked like she hadn't slept in days.
"You should never do anything that you don't want to do." The cheerleader paused. "Even if I really would've liked going out shopping with you." That pulled a giggle from her young friend.
"Let's just get ice-cream and enjoy the sun for now. I just want to be happy for a bit." The blonde nodded. "Sure. My treat. You look like you could use it."
Lily froze, suddenly overwhelmed. Energy, what she now knew to be magic, sparking and hissing to some sort of sixth sense. None of her family had it, as far as she could make out with her new unstable senses. Her mom and that man didn't have any fancy powers. Her twin brother certainly didn't. Neither did aunt Jenna, or uncle John for that matter. Unless you counted his ability to be a spectacular douchebag. She was pretty sure he came by that honestly though.
Elena though... she burned with it. A strange fire that wasn’t natural. Something inherently powerful, but not used. Evidently it rested in her blood. Because before now she hadn’t noticed it. At all. It wasn't in her hair or her skin, her bones didn't vibrate with this insane energy. It didn't sing in anything but that suddenly horrifically attractive crimson liquid.
She had been feeling it more and more. The ring That Man wore sizzled with it. Some of the places in Mystic Falls did too. But when Elena tripped and fell...
She had been trying to clean her blood off the coffee table. The minute her finger had accidentally touched the red stained corner while trying to wipe it off she went utterly still. She'd been so very fucking starved and now that she could take, could consume... she never wanted to be so barren of magic ever again.
The sheer power was dizzying and fiery. She gobbled it all up on instinct. Some unknown force compelling her to... to almost eat it out of her blood.
Intrusive images of bleeding her sister flashed through her mind, of draining her and keeping more of that beautiful maddening blood. Of being able to drink down that ocean of delectable magic. Immediately she felt ill, horrified that she even had the thought in the first place.
Lily tried to breath through it. Slowly. It was overwhelming, a tidal wave of energy. She blinked and carefully finished her self-appointed task. She didn’t trust Grayson, if he ever noticed anything... unnatural about her, who knew what he would do. Her paranoia rose, cloying and smothering.
On auto-pilot she went through the rest of the day. Terrified of being discovered. Of living in the same house as a man who tormented someone just because he was different. Inanely the impossible theme tune came to mind as she tried to avoid him to go to her room.
She strangled the hysterical laughter that started bubbling up. Now really wasn't the time to draw attention to herself.
That night she climbed into bed, and shivered, that feeling of power still resting in her bones. It was comforting, as if she was finally full after being ravenously hungry her whole life. Connected and present. Warm.
It was like she had been a bleak impression of a person before magic and now that she had it, she was suddenly overwhelmingly real.
Lily made a wish, for someone to love her, horrible wants and desires included. Who would accept her unnatural clawing hunger for magic. Her searing hatred for her own parent. Her violent thoughts. Her shame and paranoia.
A soulmate... Her soulmate.
She fell asleep only slowly, overwhelmed and weary, bone tired.
And then she opened her eyes in an entirely different world.
Kol looked up, shocked. Nobody was meant to be here. This was his mindscape, where he got stuck every single time Nik bloody daggered him. He hated it, it was so terribly boring. Nothing and nobody to... play with.
And now, all of a sudden, there she was. A young red-haired girl. Pale skinned with intense grey eyes. With a galaxy of freckles smattered over the bridge of her nose. Pretty little bronze dots that captured his attention with almost sickening ease. “Now who might you be, darling." He asked, flitting in front of her easily. She had invaded his mindscape, a tiny mystery. This was bound to be... fascinating.
She gasped, a little shocked by his sudden appearance right in front of her. “Where am I?” She asked quietly, tiny hands fluttering anxiously. “You, doll, are in my mind.” The Original spread his arms wide, arrogant and powerful. “This is my domain.” A dark glint appeared in his eyes. This was his mind, if she was in it... that made her either a threat, which would necessitate some lovely old-fashioned violence...
Or she was his. He hesitated to even consider it, lest it wasn't true and anguish would follow. She could be though... he had never felt this instant fascination before. A whisper thin thread snapped into place.
Lily bit her lip, she could almost feel the oppressive weight of a true predator radiating from the young-looking man. He felt... old. Ancient . Whiskey eyes gleamed curiously, he had chaos and blood following in his wake for centuries now. He slammed her back against a tree. Not caring if he hurt her. A single unmoveable hand wrapped around her throat in a steel grasp.
He was warm. Fingers calloused and strong as he held her up without any discernible effort.
“Well, I won’t ask so nicely again. Who Are You?” Fangs peeked out, and dark veins crawled beneath his terrifyingly sharp gaze. Tiny fragile hands clung to his forearm. He shivered at the sensation of her soft hot hands, her touch somehow pleasing. “L-Lily, my name is Lily.” She gasped for air as he let her go. Her legs unable to hold her up anymore. She crashed to her knees right in front of him.
“I’m sorry, I have no idea how I got here. Please... don’t hurt me.” She pleaded softly, looking up at him beseechingly. Gaze innocent and scared. Her long ruby lashes fluttered nervously as her steel-coloured eyes glittered with unshed tears.
His heart stuttered, skipping a beat. Normally that would have no effect on him whatsoever. Kol had never been known for mercy. But something about her... He’d let her live, for now. If he even could kill her here, this was after all, only a dream.
He ignored the fact that the mere thought of her dead made him feel sick.
Lily sat down besides Enzo's cage. She wanted to cheer him up, but she had no idea how. The whole situation had spiralled into this gigantic, horrible secret that she had to keep from everyone in her life. It felt like she was drowning.
She didn't know if her mother was in on it. Her sister likely wasn't, but she didn't trust that Elena wouldn't run to snitch to Grayson. She was a daddy's girl through and through. Lily didn't like admitting it, but her older sister also saw the world in black and white. She might see Enzo as a monster.
Jeremy... she loved her twin, but he was already having a hard time at school. He was just as shy as she was. Sensitive. She didn't want to burden him with this terrible secret.
Which meant that she was all alone in this. "Hey Enzo." She greeted him numbly. The man took her in. Pale, dark circles. Clearly, she was stressed. He felt a twinge of guilt, even though he was the victim here.
"Hello love." He reached out, clasping her hand into a warm grip. "Lily..." He trailed off, not sure how to put it. "You don't have to worry about me you know." She frowned, it made her look older than her twelve short years of life. "Yeah I do. Enzo... you're literally being tortured here. Of course I have to worry. I should be able to get you out of here... and I'm failing and he's still hurting you..."
Her eyes turned glossy with tears. He cupped her cheek, thumb brushing soothingly over her cheekbone. "You're just a child. Nothing that happens here is your fault love. You should just focus on being a kid. You deserve that. I'm glad that you keep visiting me. But you really don't have to. If it's too much for you... then you should stop."
Of course, he'd miss her desperately. His only link to the outside world. The only kind person in his life. But this was slowly destroying her, and she was so very fucking young...
Lily raised her head stubbornly, steel-coloured eyes hard and focused. "I might not be able to free you yet. But I will never leave you alone in this hell hole. You... you're my friend. I don't abandon my friends. Ever."
He blinked, shocked. "I... thank you." She really was too nice for her own good.
Months passed, and Kol doesn't end up killing her. Something about her calls to him. Her love of magic. Her fascination with his long, long history. She's bright but not naïve. Sweet even, but it doesn't bother him. Somehow, and he has no idea how it happened, he ends up... interested.
He never even hurts her again. He can't make himself touch her with ill intent.
Instead the Wildest Original started teaching her about magic. Her presence was a sunny splotch of chaos against his boring monotony. He started with easy spells at first, then more complicated ones. She was fascinated with the new knowledge and he was pleased with being at the centre of her attention. His ego preening under her enchanted gaze. She soaked it all in very easily.
He feels proud of her, a foreign concept for him.
He wanted her attention. He liked the young girl, her sass and daring. She was not afraid of him. He's completely caught off guard by that.
“I don’t think I have enough magic anymore.” She said softly one night, after he walked her through a simple blood-locking safety charm, for her new grimoire. That night, this dream, she was pale and tired. Apathetic almost. He’d never really cared before but it doesn’t sit well, seeing her so unwell. It made him... uneasy. It was upsetting and he didn't understand why he cared at all.
The fact remained that he did. She had, completely unknowingly, drawn him in.
At that the man looked at her sharply. “Now what the hell do you mean by that, liten heks (little witch)?” He'd christened her little witch in his native tongue, old Norse. Now well acquainted with his fascination for witches, she took that as a compliment.
It was.
The young redhead blinked, looking up at him in confusion. “All the energy I, hmm, ate? It’s almost used up now...” She sighed, flopping down beside him on the couch. He had changed his mindscape soon after they met. A memory of a large house to practice in. It was more comfortable than the forest. Lily's mind wandered, to her sister, or more precisely, her terribly tempting blood.
She hated herself.
“I’m so... empty, hungry? I miss feeling magic inside of me.” She whined quietly, curling in on herself, like an injured animal. It was a pathetic display, but all of a sudden the pieces clicked and Kol really couldn’t blame her. It was bizarre, her weakness didn't irritate. Instead it seemed to almost... compel him to take care of her.
Which was incredibly strange, because nobody would ever so much as trust him with a goldfish and for good reason.
He smirked, plucking her up easily, allowing her to perch on one knee. She looked like one of those china dolls, delicate and pretty. She startled for a split-second. She'd gotten used to having him nearby. She trusted him now, but to actually be sitting on top of him... That was entirely new. His body was warm and solid beneath her. Heat bloomed everywhere they touched and she flushed as a sense of safety washed over her.
“You, sweetheart, are a siphon witch. You don’t have a core, you don’t generate magic yourself, but you can take if from anywhere. Blood-locked, cursed, magical hotspot, it doesn’t matter. All of it is yours to siphon. Yours to own.” She was so little and defenceless in his arms, delicate. He felt a rabid need to protect her rising inside.
He sighed, this would make things harder. Witches often thought of siphons as abominations. Which meant that it was in no way safe for her to search out someone to teach her in the real world. He ignored the jealousy that welled up at the mere thought of her learning magic from anyone else.
He was attached. To this little girl with the steel-coloured eyes. Warm dots sprinkled over the bridge of her nose. He wanted to memorize her freckles, play connect the dots with his lips... He wanted to taste her warm human skin. Lick it until she smelled of him.
A scent marking so thorough she'd never get him off of her again. The predator in his soul rumbled, and another link snapped into place between them.
Even the idea that she could be a weakness and that he should cut ties with her made him tremble with rage. She was fucking his, his pretty little student, and he'd never tried to deny himself anything before. He wasn't going to start now. He was a shameless hedonist, who lived for his own impulses. No need to change now... Mind made up, he turned his attention back to her.
“Don’t ever tell another witch that you are a siphon darling.” He stared at her, amber clashing against silver-grey. His gaze serious and incredibly heavy. “I mean it Lily. You could be killed if they figure out that you aren’t a normal witch.”
She swallowed, already so afraid of him, Grayson Gilbert. Now this. She shifted, curling into his tall frame. He wordlessly allowed it, baffled by this tiny fey creature who wasn’t afraid of him. Even sought him out for comfort. As if he hadn’t already tried to hurt her.
“I promise.”
“Enzo...” Lily trailed of, there was nothing to say. He was hurting so much, locked away and starving more day by day. Her thighs ached with the cuts she made every single Monday. Her heart ached more because of the pathetic sight he made. Mondays were a terribly sad affair, because Monday evenings were the only guaranteed time that Grayson Gilbert was gone. Council meetings were apparently very important to him.
Not that she trusted his opinion on literally anything, anymore. Because he was a mad doctor who could possibly kill her in the future, and god wasn't that a fucked up thought. So she visited him, like clockwork. Every single week.
It never stopped weighing on her. The awful cage and the chill of that dark room... The secrets she had to keep. But he was worth it. If she had to swim through rivers of blood for him, she bloody well would.
She wordlessly handed him the blood. Always in the same delicate glass, etched with wildflowers. She bled for him, gladly, silently. Her family did this to him. She would always feel like she owed him. But even outside of the silent obligation and the guilt, she just plain liked him. His laidback nature and the way he didn't blame her, not even a little, not even at all, for the atrocities done to him. By her family, her blood.
“Little bird.” He hummed, relishing in the thick life-liquid. Vervain burning in his bloodstream. Keeping him weak, smothering his senses. “Tell me about your life.” She nodded, realising that he wanted to be distracted from his cage.
She could only wish that distractions worked on her. There was nothing on earth that was ever going to be able to blur this from her mind, and even as she got accustomed to the copper scent of blood, the sight of inky bruises and his hollowed gaze... Well, she would never forget the visceral horror of the first time she met him.
In fact, she liked it better this way, growing numb to this waking nightmare would make her no better than dear old dad.
The iron bars were so thick and heavy that there was nothing that she, a now thirteen-year-old girl, could do. She didn’t know enough magic yet, and she was empty right now. As useless as a baseline human. She still hungered for magic, and the intrusive thoughts caused by the starvation were also really fucking terrible.
Shame rose cloyingly in her throat, and she cleared it to start talking.
“I live with my mom, that man, my twin brother and my older sister.” She started speaking, voice soft. Once he handed the glass back, she reached out carefully. He grinned a washed out smile at her, more of a grimace. Then he grasped her hand, cradling it so softly, as if she was made of porcelain.
His tiny sunshine. A star in the endless black ink that he called a life.
“I love my sister, but I don’t know if I really like Elena.” She finally admitted awkwardly. “Why is that darling?” The vampire asked the little witch, no judgement to be found. What did he care for a human? He cared for himself, and his little bird, and absolutely nothing else. He didn't have the mental space for it right now. All of his empathy was blotted out by suffering.
“She’s always been popular, so sometimes she can be really entitled. Self-centred. It's not even that she's mean or anything, Elena can be really kind... but she's always been the golden girl and that can make her such a brat. It doesn't help that my parents dote on her. She's a real socialite, and in comparison, me and my twin are just... in the background.”
The redhead sighed, leaning back against his cage, feeling the warmth of his back as he did the same. Both of them opting to ignore the vervain burns hissing from his skin. The heat of her worth so much more to him.
“What is your best friend like?” Enzo asked thoughtfully. Intrigued by her observations. If not exactly by the people themselves.
“Caroline is... kind. She always blurts things out without thinking, but she never means to hurt people. She’s an amazing planner, super organised in everything.” She told him, she’d always been close with her big sister's friend. Also, she literally had no other friends, she was too introverted. Humans... the idea was a bit scary now. With their hatred of everyone who was different...
Caroline had latched onto her too, when she had been little. She usually divided her time between the sisters fairly equally. She was a social butterfly at heart, and Lily didn't feel jealous over that. She only wanted the pretty blonde to be happy.
“I used to tell her everything and we were always close.” She snorted. “Even though I don’t like attention and have already refused to ever become a cheerleader, she accepted me just the way I am." She squeezed his hand. “Sounds like she is a good friend.” “The best.”
They sat in silence for a while. "What about your twin?" He finally asked. He would have thought that she would start talking about her closest sibling first when he asked about her family. A pretty smile lit up her face and she glowed with love.
"Jeremy is older than me, by about half an hour and he has held that over me my entire life. He always looks out for me. We used to share a room to." She reached out to hold his hand. She thought that he was touch starved. She always made sure to touch him as much as possible.
"Even though I like having my own room, I do miss that sometimes." He nodded slowly, he couldn't imagine it, but it sounded like an incredibly close bond. Guilt rose at the thought that she was hurting because he was the secret between her and her twin. He shoved it away, this was all Grayson Gilbert's fault. Not his. Never his.
"He's an amazing artist." Wonder could be heard clearly in her voice. "He's my other half. Well, the other 60% percent of me really. He just shot up like a weed one day, the jerk." He smiled, her twin sounded like a good kid. He was glad that she had him in her life.
“Liten heks.” Kol had her sitting on his desk before she was even fully aware. His hands burned on her hips, large and warm and searing with heat that made her want to blink in lazy satisfaction. “I think I’ve let you go on long enough. Now tell me, why do you smell of blood.” Before she could open her mouth, he continued with a smirk. “And I don’t mean moonblood, darling, because I can tell the fucking difference easily.” The scent of her open wounds had been driving him to distraction for months now.
It worried him, a very foreign feeling for him. There was nothing he could do either way, if she was in actual danger, and he despised Nik for keeping him daggered, now more than ever.
Lily stilled. Not afraid that he would hurt her, but still a tiny bit intimidated. He was so much taller that he towered over her short frame. Kol radiated barely restrained chaos and violence with an ease that should terrify her. His expression the grin of a smug apex predator. She had nowhere to go and she knew it.
The butterflies in her stomach were not from fear.
“I... I uhm, I’m trying to...” She couldn’t make herself admit it. Ashamed of what her family had done. She was also ashamed of the little flash of heat that his threatening stance caused. It thrilled her, to see him so focused on her. His vast attention utterly latched onto her. She wanted him to look at her, she just didn't quite understand why.
He frowned, not satisfied with the answer. Then without a second thought he ripped open her pyjama pants. His hands slid hotly over her skin as he tore through the fabric like wet tissue paper. He knelt between her thighs, keeping them open with an iron grip when she tried to hide the cuts he could now see oh so clearly. She wanted to hate the fact that she didn't really mind his behaviour. It was proof that he cared. And she needed him to care.
He groaned, the aroma of her blood was beautiful. It was a mouth-watering combination of intertwining scents. A hint of sharp tangy lemon, mixing with soft rose. Rich and perfect. He nosed at her inner thighs softly, rows of precise lines scored into her skin. Self-inflicted . His hot fingers pressed harder against her smooth skin.
“Now why would you do that, sweetheart?” He asked softly, and then he started lapping at the half-healed incisions. He moaned at her taste. Lily flushed, watching him as he drank her lifeforce down. Dream or not, it was incredibly intimate. His tongue left trails of heat on her skin, and she shivered slightly. He sucked on one of the weeping cuts, drawing more blood. Her heart skipped a beat at the feeling.
The sight of him... kneeling between her legs, lips pressed to the delicate skin of her inner thighs... Her cheeks burned. Then the question registered, and reality came crashing back down around her.
“My... father. He’s torturing a vampire.” Tears now pooled in her glittering silver eyes as she was drawn out of her fascination at the sight of him drinking her blood. “I can’t get him out...” She nearly wailed the words. “He’s hurting so much and I can’t even manage to break him free, because Grayson always keeps the keys with him. So I’ve been bringing him my blood.”
She hiccupped, and warm hands started stroking her thighs soothingly. He pressed a soft kiss to her wounds, amazed that she would cry for a vampire. He was also darkly satisfied that she had long since stopped struggling, instead leaning into his touch. As if the diminishing space between them was comforting for her, like she craved his touch.
“He doesn’t know, he’s being injected with large amounts of vervain so he can’t smell that the blood is mine. I didn’t know what else to do...” She inhaled unsteadily, a wobbly smile on her face. "If only he would just have a heart attack. Enzo would probably really enjoy it if his captor just suddenly keeled over dead in front of him." Kol snorted at the idea. That was highly unlikely, she probably wasn't that lucky. But it was still funny.
The Original sighed, he could think of a very simple, very... final solution easily. But she wouldn't go for it. She was too good for this world sometimes. Sweet and innocent. He stood up, his large warm hand grasping the back of her neck in a firm grip to tug her closer, always closer. He bit his wrist unflinchingly. “Drink.” Shyly she wrapped her hands around his forearm and pressed her petal soft lips to the wound. She sucked a mouthful of his blood into her mouth. Lapping at the cut with a relish that almost surprised him... Almost.
He smirked, pleased with the sight she made. Little rosebud of a mouth smeared with his crimson blood. The possessive beast in him thrilled at the sight.
She was all his. She would always be his if he had anything to say about it. His magical girl.
Her cuts healed, only thin silver lines being left. He frowned, lifting her up into his arms and flitting over to the sofa. He had no intention of letting go tonight. Or ever. She'd just have to get used to being carried everywhere. “It should have healed completely.” She blinked up at him, completely surrounded by the warmth of the young-looking vampire. How old was he when he turned?
“This is a dream.” She muttered, still a little flushed that she was half naked now. Lily was so very young. But he was still so handsome and so close...
He hummed, agreeing wordlessly. He stroked her thighs without a second thought, unsettled by the idea that he couldn’t protect her, he was daggered... She leaned back against his hard chest, surrounded by the vampire's heat and so close to the extreme danger that he radiated so fucking casually... She felt almost... safe.
Somewhere along the line he had truly started caring for her. Kol had never done anything halfway, so his attachment to her had very quickly spiralled into an obscenely strong fixation. Who was he to doubt his impulses... it was always more fun to follow through with them.
An unhinged gleam glittered maddeningly in his eyes, the whole world would burn if anything happened to her.