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↳ 027, to break through

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𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 𝐀𝐍𝐃 she could smell the weakness in the air and for the first time, she could not smell her own. Her flesh didn't ache, neither did her muscles or bones. She shifted where she laid, finding it easy to move.

Instantly, as she wiggled her fingers and toes, she felt the magic bloom and blister at her skin. It was all still there, her little flames, the invisible touches, it all still alive.

But for how long?

She could tell by the way the air hung heavy in the room and how the sky was just lightly lit with the sun that a few days had passed. Nearly four days to be exact and her first thought as she sat up was that she was going to have a lot of makeup homework to deal with.

She threw her feet over the bed, suddenly realizing she was not in her bed back at the Salvatore house. In fact, she knew exactly where she was and she wasn't happy about it. Nothing would've allowed her to come her on her own volition, but here she was in the silk sheets, the smell of expensive perfume clinging to her clothes and skin. She didn't get the chance to stand when the door to the bedroom opened and a voice drilled into the back of her skull.

"Ah, the sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up."

Colette's head spun back and she narrowed her eyes. "Why the hell am I here?"

Naya smiled, setting down the steaming coffee she had in her hands on her dresser as she entered her bedroom. As she walked in, she ran her hands over the silken sheets of her bed. "You took days to heal and I promised those annoying boys that I'd watch over you since they have so much of that whole Alaric murder plot going on and Klaus hunting Esther and all."

Colette's brows furrowed. Alaric? Murder?

"Aw, you look so cute when you're confused and out of the loop," purred Naya, coming to stand in front of Colette. She tucked the hair behind Cole's ears, cupping her face. "I promised I'd take care of you, didn't I?"

Colette slapped the girl's hands away with a scowl. "You think I'm supposed to just believe they let you take me?"

"I'm the only one who knows how to take care of you," said Naya, turning away to go back to her coffee. She flicked her long hair off her shoulder, her shoulders bare. "You drank a lot of Esther's blood, it saved your life thanks to that nasty wound you had." Naya pointed to her own side and said, "I had to stitch it up to force the healing process. I'm no doctor so don't blame me if there's a scar."

Colette pulled back the side of her shirt, feeling it peel away from her skin still crusted with blood. She wasn't wearing what she had that night and she tried to ignore how Naya must've changed her. She had stripped her bare and washed her whole and raw. Was she even herself anymore? Were they even here?

Along her side was a faint line, zigzagging over her once smooth skin. The scar was raised and angry but still faint. It didn't seem like any amount of healing would cure the fragmented line.

"Don't worry, it'll probably be gone for bikini season," she cooed before adding, "I was able to preserve you in a state I learned when I was a witch." She shrugged, her bare shoulders reflecting in the light streaming through the window like glass, like she was made of horrible fake gold. "Herbs, those special candles I used to have, it was easy. Kept your body alive enough for that blood you drowned yourself in to kick start."

"But you can't perform magic."

You're magic is dead, you're broken, you can't have power–

Naya smiled slowly, her eyes serpentine and eager. "Now, that's were you're wrong." The girl raised her hand and she inhaled and on her exhale, little flames burst a top her fingertips. She wagged her fingers, moving the flames along her nails. "It's amazing," she whispered, "just what a drop of your blood can do."

You monster. You bitch. You stole from me, you stole from me again and again and again!

Colette jumped from the bed, horror trying to climb its way over her back. Its cold hands were already pressing down on her shoulders, sliding to her chest. "My blood doesn't have power, you said so yourself–"

"That was before you took a bender on Esther," snapped Naya as she blew the flames out with a single breath. "Her blood gave you life, it's no surprise it brought back the potency of your powers."

"That's why you wanted me, to fucking steal–"

"I didn't steal," said Naya as she lifted her mug to her lips and took a long sip. When she smiled, her teeth were stained red. "I merely took what I was owed."

Colette's head spun. There was no way in hell Damon or Klaus would've let Naya take her that night. How Naya was even there was shocking enough but it didn't seem out of this world. It was just like the girl to follow Colette, to sneak and hide in the corners and wait for her turn to play.

"You kidnapped me," breathed Colette, backing away from the bed. "Damon would've never let you have me."

"It was a team effort."

Air was sucked from Colette's lungs as Tommy appeared in the doorway with a smile, his arms crossed as he leaned against the doorframe. His smile was crooked, just as he was.

Liar, cheat, traitor–

"I'm sorry, Cole," he said with a shrug. "She promised me what we were owed, it wasn't hard to turn her down."

Colette's gods had betrayed her. They had brought back her most vital use and given it away, allowed it to be stolen. She had prayed to be brought back, to survive, but not like this. She would not be a conduit of power to these people, to these monsters.

Tommy flexed his hands, a soft wild look in his eyes. "Makes this whole thing worth it, you know? Killing mom and dad, it was worth it just to have this feeling all over me. It's–it's like fucking sex, Cole. It's blinding."

I've got what I've always wanted.

"I'm glad you finally got what you wanted," spat Colette as she noticed her shoes by the vanity. She stalked over, stuffing her feet inside and not bothering with untying the laces as she made for her leave.

Naya stepped into her back, running her tongue over her teeth. "It doesn't have to be this way, Lettie," she had never used that nickname before, "we can be in this together. Do you know how much power we'd have? We can cheat fucking death."

"We already have."

Before Colette could move, Tommy was thrusting a wooden stake into Naya's chest and the girl didn't even bat an eye, even though blood splattered out and across Colette's face like polka dots. She was the canvas and the blood the paint, an oil painting in the bloody works. She gasped and took a horrified step back as Naya reached up with her free hand and pulled the stake free of her chest, the sound sickening. There was an awful suctioned pop once the stake was free and Naya dropped it to the floor of her beautiful carpeted room with a grin.

"Not even wood can harm us," breathed Naya. "Your blood is more powerful than we ever let on. It can protect us from death, it can give us the powers that were stolen, and we can survive better than anyone else on this planet. Originals be damned, we could take them in a fight with our hands tied behind our backs. We are the new gods."

"No," whispered Colette, shaking her head, "Esther was right, this is unnatural." This is wrong, this isn't right!

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what this felt like for us," said Tommy.

Naya narrowed her hateful eyes. There was no love there, and if there was, it was only for herself. "It's only fair we get the taste we deserve!" She passed off her mug to Tommy who took a few sips as Naya pointed her clawed finger at Colette. "We fought for this, we killed for this. If you go and screw this up–"

"I don't think you get it," whispered Colette, stepping forward and allowing Naya's finger to press into her chest. There was so much Naya didn't understand. The burning underneath their skin would not fuel power or magic, it would burn. Anyone with a taste would succumb to the fate of death, to rot and decay, to feel their insides curdle and cry. "You may be strong now but you will never be me. You won't have the power that I've had since I was fucking born. You might be a new god," she smiled, "but I'm the original. Old gods have been around a lot longer than you."

Something was growing inside Colette's chest as she stared the girl down. Even with the predatory force that was her brother behind her, Naya stood no chance.

Hurt her. Ruin her. Show her everything she does not have.

"I've been jealous of you my entire life," said Colette with a broken laugh, hollow and empty and ruined just as they all were. "But now you're the jealous one. You can never have what I have." She leaned closer and grinned as an awful scowl pulled at Naya's perfect lips. "I have everything you ever wanted. I have power, I have your magic, I have Klaus," she leaned even closer, so close that she could feel the girl's breath, "I have Damon."

Your revenge is words and soon it will be physical.

"You have nothing!" screamed Naya, pushing Colette back with two hands but the girl didn't fly back. She stumbled back only three steps with a wild grin. She could feel her magic responding to this anger floating through the room. It was growing, moving, challenging itself. "You only got where you are now because of me. I killed you, I turned you, I fucking completed your transition!"

"You only did what fate had intended. You aren't special." Her eyes found Tommy's. "And neither are you, brother."

"You can say all the mean things you want," said Naya with a glare, "but it won't change the fact that we've leveled the playing field. We're all on the same line running to the same destination."

"And what fucking destination is that?"

"Eternal life," smiled Tommy, taking Naya's hand. Colette could smell the lust spawning from him, red and rich. "Never fearing the true death. Nothing can stop us."

Something will stop you, brother. Something will poison you to no return.

Little girl...you don't understand. You don't get it. Your blood is what you make it. These fools will never have an ounce of the power you have, no matter how much they try to steal it away.

Colette's hands curled into fists at her side. "You can't keep me here."

"We know." They smiled. "But we can try."

We can try, we can try, we can try–

Warmth flooded Colette, all over and she felt herself falling back. Her mind pulsing and throbbing, the blood rushing to her face. When she hit the floor, she felt her back arch and suddenly she was gone.

Colette opened her eyes with a gasp, coughing up blood from where she laid in the grass. It was dark, the air cool, and there was the smell of smoke in the air. Hands touched her face, bringing her up to clutch her to their chest as she blinked away the red hazed vision that coated her eyes.

It had all been a vision. An awful vision of what was to come or what was trying to come.

Klaus kept her close, brushing back her hair and she felt eyes on her. Looking to her left, she saw him standing with Stefan. He was watching her with an awfully pale face, his lips parted and she could smell the anxiety spilling off him.

She was glad to know her powers had returned with her from her vision. That she could still feel the radiating power coursing through her. She felt more alert, if not a little achy. There was an ease in her chest, her breathing came naturally. She felt lighter, more whole.

But there was Damon, looking at her as if she wasn't better. As if she had somehow risen from a near death for the second time because of Esther. Did he know something she didn't? There wasn't any impending doom layered upon her chest or in her lungs, she felt good. Better than good, actually. She felt as if she could launch herself into the sky, she could rip her necklace from her chest and burn under the sun without any pain.

But he was looking at her like something was wrong and when the body against her shifted and Klaus brought her even closer, she could sense now what was wrong. The strange aura around Damon, the strange smell, the strange painful look.

Damon Salvatore was jealous.

He was painfully at an unease with himself. The tightness in his shoulders which she could see with startling clarity, even through the night. He nearly blended in with the darkness, his black hair reflecting the light from the moon and his face empty and devoid.

"You're okay," whispered Klaus, brushing her hair back and she nodded against his shoulder but she couldn't take her eyes from her future and past staring back at her.

But she couldn't sit here anymore, not with her newfound purpose becoming her driving force. She had to kill Naya, kill her brother, to keep her blood from creating a monster bigger than herself. Her blood was supposed to grant wishes, to relieve pain, to allow for something more and better, but they wanted it for gain. They wanted it because they were filled with sickly greed.

Klaus touched her face and she was forced to look at him. He was here, her golden flame. How so many things would've been different if he had been truthful, if he had pursued her with dignity and trust. But that was not what they had gotten in this lifetime, just as the same occurred with Rebekah. This was not their storyline, not their happy ending.

Colette would not get one but she hoped, just for a minute, she would get her moment with the darkness spiraling out of control.

"You smell like her," murmured Colette, sucking up that awful perfume through her nose and mouth like it was the air she needed to breathe. She wouldn't let him get off that easy, not with her blood staining his hands and that smell turning her away.

Klaus's brows furrowed just slightly.

"She's all over you," she reached out and stroked a finger against his stubble, "you reek of her."

"It's not what it seems, love–"

"Don't call me that." Her hand dropped back to her lap. "You say you want me, you beg me to take you, but you'll never be faithful. You'll never just want me."

They'll never want you. They'll never want to touch what's been tainted.

"Colette–" There it was, his pleading, his awful begging. She shushed him before he could even begin.

"You only ever wanted me for my power," she breathed, shaking her head. Her hair was slightly stiff from where the blood had run from her lips to her head. "You never just wanted me."

I remember the first time I saw you. I remember what you were wearing–

She pushed herself away from him and when she glanced back to see if Damon was still there, she felt her heart deflate. He was gone and only her pathetic heart remained as Klaus stood. She felt good, keeping him far, even as his face broke apart for emotion. She could smell it all over him, the betrayal, the heartbreak.

"But what about–" He swallowed, clearly shaken. "The night of the ball, our–our moment alone? The chance of something real?"

"Have you even proven yourself?" she asked, wondering where Elijah and Kol had gone. "You were off with Caroline, flirting and getting drunk and not caring about what's happening around you. I–I was dying and you were looking for some other fuck."

"But I love you!"

"You haven't loved anyone other than yourself!" she cried back, balling her hands into fists by her sides. It was a low blow but it was anything to get him away, to give herself the chance to run and hide. Naya was here, Tommy was lurking, and Damon had disappeared.

"That's not true," he snarled and she shook her head.

"You're here only for your own gain," she whispered. "You weren't here for your family or–or for me. You're here because your life was on the line, you didn't care about anyone else's."

There was the sound of a branch breaking somewhere behind her. Her head whipped to the side from the sound and she narrowed her eyes. She could see figures there and she couldn't waste anymore time.

"I have to go," she said, stepping back as Klaus glared with silver lined eyes.

"Do not walk away, Colette," he hissed. "Do not walk away from this!"

She didn't wait for him to say another word as she turned on her heel and went sprinting for the trees. She could sense two people following her but they were no match for her unprivileged powers now raging through her like liquid fire. She had been born anew, her gods had saved her, but at what deadly cost?

Would this be permanent? Was the link broken or had she made it stronger?

She couldn't hear any faint whisperings, nothing trying to bring her forward like before. There was no unknown humming. All was perfectly quiet.

She had never experienced such a blissful silence before. There was no weight upon her shoulders, there was no distant rumble of something worse to come, and there was no horror creeping up her sides. She had drunk from the poisoned river and somehow survived. Esther's blood should've killed her. She wasn't a vampire, she wasn't Made, she was just a centuries old witch who did not deserve to live as long as she had.

Turning a tight corner around the trees, she was knocked to the ground. Rolling through the leaves, her back collided with the trunk of a tree and she was dazed just for a moment before she was getting to her feet.

"You lived," spat Rebekah and Colette used the tree to stand. "Bet you're surprised you've made it this far."

"I could say the same about you," she muttered back, pulling a leaf from her tangled, matted hair. "You should've trusted me, I knew you'd get out of this alive–"

"So you withhold the information?" she snarled, her eyes nearly glowing in the dark. She smelled like smoke, like a campfire tainted by gasoline. "If you hadn't somehow fixed this, my entire family would be dead, I would be dead!"

"I warned you–"

"No, no you fucking didn't!"

Colette shook her head, scowling. "I told you not to trust her, it's not my fault you don't fucking listen!" She shouldn't be getting upset, she didn't have time for this. Naya and Tommy were out there, hunting her down like a meager rabbit running for its bunny-tail life. But she was getting angrier and angrier the longer she stared at the other vampire, her blonde hair looking nearly gray in the darkness. "But I should be the one that's upset. You promised to help me, to be the one to kill me and you got drunk and forced us to postpone it!"

"I'm sorry I was avoiding killing the girl I like!"

"You got drunk and ruined it," hissed Colette, feeling fire burn through her arms. "You ruined it and Esther had to be the one to finish it!" Fire erupted out of her fingers, swirling and smoking around her hands.

Rebekah's eyes widened and she took a single step back, one arm coming up as if ready to block the readying flames.

"And you have the nerve to be mad at me?" she gestured to herself as she scoffed, the fire not even burning her as it danced around her hands to her chest and back again. "I didn't tell you the full truth to protect you, to protect the image you had of your precious bitch mother. I was protecting you, protecting my friends, but you're so fucking one sided you couldn't see past your big head to realize the truth!"

Rebekah's hand by her face faltered for a moment, deciding whether or not to lower her shields, as Colette's fires spun up her arms. She was a walking target, there was no doubt that Naya and Tommy could find her now.

She took in a deep breath, feeling it expand in her lungs as she eased herself back into calm. The fire slowly spun its way back down her arms into her palms where they blinked out one by one against her fingertips.

"Mother killed you?" whispered Rebekah once the silence settled between them and the licking flames had been quieted.

"With the help of mommy-obsessed Finn."

"You died?"

Colette met her eyes and shrugged. "Seems like it, as I'm good as new." She flexed her arm, feeling the strength there. She was surprised Rebekah hadn't retaliated back with more anger but it seemed her own anger had softened the reaction.

"So," she took a small step forward, "you're okay? You're going to live?"

Colette shrugged again. She wasn't sure, not with the power returned to her blood. She needed to be careful, even around Rebekah. There was no telling what the princess would do if she learned the truth behind her powers and just how special her blood truly was.

"Does it really even matter?" she whispered back to the other girl who was looking at her in a way that reminded her of love, pure and true but deeply misguided. "It doesn't change things between us."

"Because of him?" She said it with disgust, with the lacing of hatred. "What does he have that I don't?"

"He understands me," said Colette. "He understands the importance of saving the ones we love but you–you–" She had berated me for my love of Elena, she had deemed it pathetic. "You just don't get it."

"And does Nik?" she snarled. "Does my darling brother understand, too?"

"No," the answer breathed from her and she let her shoulders fall with its tension. "He's failed me, just like you, just like almost everyone–" She stopped herself and shook her head as she met Rebekah's eyes. "In truth, no matter what I do and what I try to get you to see, you'll always go back to your family. Your mother. I don't even matter compared to them, I never have."

"That's not true–"

"Your trust for me was overlooked by your desire to protect your family," she told her, "and I get it. I would've done the same for mine but it's not like that anymore. None of it is." Tommy wants her dead and her parents are long gone. She had no family to worry about besides the one she found when she woke from death.

The woods behind her seemed to echo her thoughts, a churning was coming through the leaves. Her hunters, coming for her once again.

"Rebekah," breathed Colette, coming forward but stopping just a few steps before her. She couldn't bait her, she couldn't taunt her, they would not last here in this life but that did not mean they were doomed in another. "One day, we will find each other again and this–" She gestured between the two. "–will be so far in the past it'll be like a blur. I was falling in love with you and I know if things had been different, we could've made it but this is what we were given and when I find you again in another life, all of this would've been worth it."

I hope that's true, little girl. I hope you truly believe all that.

Rebekah stared at her and nodded slowly. Colette took a step back and turned on her heel, vanishing into the trees and towards the Salvatore boarding house.

Inside, she felt safe. Being away from the openness the forest allowed gave her a moment to truly catch her breath. Her heart hadn't stopped hammering since she woke, since she returned.

Somehow, Esther's blood had gifted her a new life. It had restored her powers, given her strength, and allowed for her to live again but at what cost? Was this all she had to do? Drain the awful bitch? Even then, it didn't seem enough. Everything had a cost, everything had a reason.

She woke from a dream, her semi-death had brought her to a truth. Her blood had power again, it could heal and bring the dead to life. While it had its power, it had its weaknesses. It made her a target. Her dream-like vision had ensured she knew the truth. She was no longer blind to it or to Naya's deceptions.

She crossed into the living room, going to the table behind the couch and pouring herself a drink in one of the crystal glasses. The smell of the liquor wafted instantly into the air, burning her delicate nose and her mouth watered with anticipation. Bringing it up to her lips, she took a tentative sip and felt it wash all the way down. It burned into her gut before settling happily, moving her to tip the glass back the rest of the way and swallow its precious contents.

She could stomach it all again. Thank god.

Colette poured herself another drink when she heard feet on the staircase behind her. Still facing forward and towards the fireplace, she scowled as she said, "Bet you're disappointed I lived."

"Only slightly," responded Stefan as he entered the room.

She peered at him over her shoulder, his scent was worrying. "Shouldn't you be off rescuing Elena from Rebekah?"

"Rebekah kept her word," said Stefan, hands folded behind his back. "She's safe, went over to Bonnie's to help."

"With what?"

"We had to turn Bonnie's mom tonight."

Power flowed between her fingers like electricity. Her blood was dangerous in copious amounts, but if she was able to give the new vampire a taste of her old powers again, would all this be worth it?

"How's Bonnie doing?" she asked, taking a small sip to feel the burn again.

He shrugged. "You tell me," he sighed. "Her mom died so Elena could live, it doesn't seem fair to her, does it?"

"Bonnie does always tend to get the shitty end of every deal," she murmured with a sigh that equaled his. "I should go see her."

"And deal with a protective Caroline?"

Colette pursed her lips. "Maybe I'll see her tomorrow."

"Yeah," murmured Stefan, "maybe that's for the best."

She narrowed her eyes at him. He was acting differently than before, slightly off, not as mean, maybe. Yeah, maybe that was it. He wasn't coming at her with brutal retorts and snorts. "You okay?"

He narrowed his eyes back at her as he took the glass from her hands to drink. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're acting weird."

"I am not."

"You so are."

"You're the weird one," he spat back with a scowl. "Back from the dead and the first thing you do is get a drink, you only think about yourself."

"Isn't that exactly what you're doing now?" she asked, snatching her glass back as the amber liquid splashed inside. "Instead of facing Elena and everything you've done, you're here drinking with me. So," she smiled, "what does that say about you?"

"Us," he corrected. "What does that say about us?"

She smiled and shrugged, turning to rest back against the table when the world shifted around her. She saw images flashes behind her eyes, her skin warming at the sight.

Naya with blood around her mouth. Naya with her hands covered in vibrant red. The girl with her mouth open, laughing, maybe screaming, there was no noise. Just an absent ringing.

She could see herself, with a bleeding gut struggling to heal as a knife twisted and carved. The hand attached to the blade was her brother and she knew what she needed to do.

She knew what she needed to do to finish it all.

Her glass shook in her hand and she blinked away the vision, noticing Stefan looking at her curiously with his brows furrowed.

"What just happened to you?" he asked with a frown and she let out a breathy laugh.

"Nothing. What do you mean?"

"You went somewhere," he said, taking a step towards her as her aching gods screamed at her to end what she had been forced to start when the car crashed and burned. "It was like you weren't even here anymore."

"I don't know what you mean," she said with an awkward laugh, shaking her head. Her hand clenched around the glass and she tried to ease her fingers, to hide the growing witness in her joints and skin.

Stefan grabbed her arm and she saw him in different flashing scenes. Dramatic, desperate, and doting. Stefan drinking animal blood. Blood over his mouth, his lips and teeth stained. Elena watching him with a horrified expression, Matt pulling her away.

Then they shifted.

Stefan swimming through water. Stefan grabbing a body from a car. Stefan, desperate to find someone.

Colette pulled herself abruptly from the images and from Stefan, only to stumble and nearly spill her drink over the expensive rug. She forced out a laugh, shaking her head as she muttered, "Don't ever touch me like that again."

"I didn't even hurt you–"

"How would you know?"

"Because I barely fucking grabbed you!"

She narrowed her eyes with an annoyed smile. The new blood in her was pushing her magic more to the surface. She was seeing things more than she ever had before. If only it had warned her of her heartbreaks a little sooner.

"I think it's about time you bring your humanity back," she said to him, bringing the glass to her lips and downing the rest and marveling at the delicious fact that it settled and moved and burned within her. "I'm bored of this version of you."

"You haven't even known me with it on," he snapped back at her as she set her glass down. "I was boring and pathetic–"

"But aren't you still the same?" She smiled. "You're not even drinking human blood anymore."

His brows furrowed into a stutter. "H–how–?"

"You're more tense," she said with a lie. I saw it in you. I saw your secrets. "More uptight, annoying."

He scowled, his blonde hair shifting across her forehead. It was messier tonight than it was usually and she could admit, she liked it this way. She liked him natural. Unbothered. Even if he was more stubborn and stupid this way.

Opening her mouth to say something, a different smell shifted through the house. Her ears perked and her nose twitched. Stefan noticed her change and she let her eyes drag from his and towards the bedrooms upstairs and he followed her with his own eyes.

Turning from him, she headed towards the stairs and to her bedroom. She crept slowly and the vampire moved behind her. She could smell the shift in emotion, someone's building anger bubbling in a thick cloud moving through the stagnant air of the boarding house.

She held up a hand as they got to the stop of the stairs and Stefan stilled, allowing her to investigate first.

It was coming from her bedroom and she knew who it was. She thought she had outrun them but it seemed that wasn't the case.

She kicked her bedroom door open softly, watching the boy standing at her window turn slowly.

"You should leave," she muttered in a dangerous tone, "before I tear your throat out with my fucking teeth."

Tommy frowned and what looked to be genuine confusion crossed his face, but she knew it was a lie, it was all a lie. "Cole, I just came to make sure you were okay–"

"So, you sneak in through my window like some peeping Tom?" she spat back, shaking her head. "Get the hell out of here."

"Cole?" His brows were furrowed and he stuttered out, "B-but we're good? We had that heart to heart, we're on the same side–"

"You know that's a load of shit."

"Come on–"

Her hands curled into fists. "You never were a good liar."

"I didn't break it!" cried Tommy, only ten-years old. The shattered vase at the bottom of the steps glistened in the afternoon light. "I wasn't even here!"

Stella crossed her arms, her eyes darting to Adam's as he tried to hide his laugh behind his hand. They had found Tommy's football in the corner behind the shoes at the door, and Adam had been home at the time of the incident unbeknownst to Tommy.

"I sw-ear!"

Tommy, now age fourteen, stumbling on his feet. "I didn't drink, I've never drank before, like, ever!"

He belched and covered his mouth.

Tommy, seventeen. "I didn't even have the car this weekend, so how could I've wrecked it?"

Adam, laughing, no longer hiding it. "You left your wallet in it, son. We know it was you."

Tommy's face going red, embarrassment heightened across all features.

Tommy, eighteen, lying and lying and never coming out on top.

"But I believed you this time," Colette whispered, shaking her head and slamming a fisted hand against the wall in her own shame. "I thought you'd really want to protect me, to be a real family again but–" She looked away from him as a strange emotion seeped into the room. "I should've known, after everything you've done, there was no coming back from that. You were never going to be my brother again."

"You're my sister," snapped Tommy, his aura shockingly warm. "You'll always be my family!"

Colette shook her head. "You need to leave, Tommy. Now."

"Colette, no."

"I don't think you should make her say it again," snarled Stefan from behind Colette. He had stepped into the doorway, his presence shockingly powerful behind her.

Tommy looked from Colette to Stefan before nodding, slowly. He backed away and towards the open window. He slung his legs through the opening and ducked outside without another word. The smell he carried in with his slowly began to dissipate and soon, Colette was enveloped in her normal feeling and scents.

She stalked forward and slammed the window shut, making sure to latch it properly before letting out a slow breath. She'd expected more of a fight and she was thankful nothing serious had to occur, especially with Stefan there as an added bonus.

"Your brother's a dick," said Stefan and she turned to face him, letting out a breathy laugh.

"Yeah, you have no idea."

"Is he always like that?"

"Like what?" She frowned.

"A dick."

She kept her frown. "As of lately? Yeah." She let her eyes drift away from his as she crossed her arms. "I have to kill him."

"You–what?"

She nodded, reaffirming it for herself. "He needs to die, it's the only way we'll all be safe." It's the only way I'll be safe.

"But–but–"

"He killed my parents," she snapped back, meeting his eyes with a fiery glare. "He conspired with Naya to kill me like some fucking goblin. He's been out to get me from the start, so, I'll say it again," she snarled. "Tommy is going to die."

He will die a thousand deaths. He will die for what he's done, for what he's become.

It was foolish for Colette to continue to hold onto this idea of him returning to her. That they would somehow become a family, stronger than ever, but he'd killed them. He'd killed their parents. He'd murdered Stella and Adam Copeman in their own home, with only the thought of power and godly might influencing him.

It wasn't Naya who corrupted him. He was like this from the start, Colette was just dumb enough not to see it until now.

Stefan crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway and what he said next startled her.

"If he's going to die," he said, meeting her gaze, "then he's going to die the worst way possible."

"And that is?"

His lips turned up into a smirk. "What's worse than a friend giving the killing blow?"

"A lover?"

He chuckled. "No, a sister."

Colette didn't know how she was going to kill her brother since she didn't know where he was. Tommy and Naya had dropped off the radar and not even Colette's powerful nose could trace them. She'd gone off to Naya's house but their scent had been wiped, as if they knew she had been coming.

Stefan hadn't had much luck finding them either. Outside of a new mission, which he rambled off it being about finding some white oak which had miraculously survived the burning when the Mikaelson siblings had set fire to their only likely demise, a tree.

Damon, who Colette still hadn't seen, had been off galavanting with a vampire with the name of Sage. Colette had gotten one brief glance at the woman between moments of entering and leaving the boarding house. She was beautiful, so beautiful in fact that it sent a warm fuzzy feeling straight to Cole's core. It fluttered and buzzed, a feeling she got when she'd often glance towards Damon, Rebekah, or Klaus.

All three of which she hadn't seen. Klaus had been M.I.A. and as was Rebekah. It seemed Colette's declarations the night Esther tried to kill them all had sunken in.

But Colette couldn't worry about them, not right now. She'd received a text from Caroline saying it was a good time to visit Bonnie and her mom. The drive wasn't awful, but it gave the girl some time away from the boarding house to think. She'd avoided all talk of the murders from 1912 that Damon had been obsessed about (thanks to Stefan's careful warnings). Alaric was almost sent to jail for the most current murders and Colette couldn't bother not caring.

She didn't really want to go off helping her history teacher when he hadn't been exactly nice to her as of late. He was going through something she could understand, even though she could smell it, just slightly, through his haze of constant booze.

Apparently, Colette had been too wrapped up in her own world to realize that two of her friends had lost parents recently to vampirism. It was only different with Bonnie that her mom was choosing to transition whereas Bill Forbes chose another less kind way to go out.

Bill Forbes was dead, stabbed by an unknown killer, the same unknown killer running rampant through Mystic Falls killing medical examiners and people on the Council.

Elena had called her, just briefly, to explain that Alaric was going in for testing sometime this morning but Colette couldn't think much about it, not until she told her the reasoning.

Alaric was experiencing black outs. It seemed that during his moments of semi-unconsciousness, he was out murdering people thanks to his Gilbert ring malfunctioning like it did to Samantha Gilbert in 1912, the year Damon was obsessing over.

Okay, so Colette was paying attention. She was helping and she was caring, but not right now. She'd been thinking about whether or not she was going to give Bonnie's mom some of her blood, just a drop, to help ease the transition.

Vampirism didn't tend well for some, especially witches. And besides, this would be a good test subject to see if her visions of Naya were true.

Slowing to a stop outside a small home, Colette turned her car off and got out. She pulled the sleeves of her shirt down around her hands, a nervous habit, as she approached the home. It wasn't what she was picturing but it made sense for it to be small.

It was only Abby and the boy she'd taken in, Jamie.

Colette knocked and moments later Caroline threw open the door, her perfume overwhelming to Cole's nose.

"You're here!" breathed Caroline, pulling the other girl into a tight embrace that made Colette scrunch up her nose at the smell. When she pulled away, Caroline offered her a gentle smile. "Bonnie will be so happy to see you."

"Has Elena come by yet?" asked Colette and Caroline gave her a nervous glance.

"She's still mad."

Cole shrugged. "That's fair." Bonnie's mom did die for her. "Where's that boy, uh, Jamie? He around, too?"

Caroline took Colette by the arm as they entered the home. There was no one to stop a vampire from entering, since the owner was now one of them. "He's still having trouble with the whole vampire thing."

"He scared or what?"

"Terrified."

"Abby's not going to hurt him," said Colette as they entered the kitchen. She dropped her purse into a chair at the table and slipped herself away from Caroline and her awful smell. Klaus smelled like her. Klaus was wrapped in that scent.

"He doesn't get it," said Caroline, leaning against the kitchen sink, eyeing the backdoor suspiciously like the boy could hear them. "Even if she does hurt him, she doesn't mean to. The first few weeks, maybe even months, are difficult. I know it was for me," she smiled, "and maybe not for you, but still."

"Is Abby even here?" she asked, glancing behind her and towards the living room. The house felt eerily empty. "And Bonnie?"

"I know they were out in the garden earlier," said Caroline. "But I think Bonnie's upstairs now."

Colette frowned. "Do you think I could talk to Abby?"

"About what?" came Bonnie's voice from behind them. She was dressed in similar clothes to Caroline, a jacket and tight jeans. Her hair was down and she didn't seem stressed, which was what Colette had expected.

"How's her transition going?" Colette asked instead, avoiding the answer. How could she tell her that there's a chance her blood could help her mother but also drive her wild with desire?

"It's hard," said Bonnie, honestly. "She's no longer connected to nature, her magic, it's gone. She's had it since she was a kid and to have that stolen?" She shook her head. "I get that...that what happened had to happen but it's not fair." She shook her head again and forced a smile. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Like what?" laughed Caroline. "IT's not like we have anything else to chat about besides the obvious."

Colette frowned. "And that is?"

"Well, besides Abby being a vampire," Caroline smiled slowly, "there is the elephant in the room named Colette who basically threw Klaus's love proposal back in his face."

"What–" Colette shook her head. "I did not."

"Stefan saw the whole thing," urged Caroline. "Saw you reject him."

Colette gritted her teeth. Stefan needed to learn how to keep his damn mouth shut.

"Oh, and what about the whole 'I'm going to kill my brother' thing?" added Bonnie with another smile. "And maybe the whole 'why is Damon avoiding me' thing, too?"

"I'm going to kill him."

"Who?"

"Stefan!"

Bonnie giggled, which seemed to be something she hadn't done for some time because the emotion sparked against Colette's skin like a flash of lightning. "Come on, you know he can't help himself."

Caroline muttered under her breath, "Nowadays, sure..."

"It's like, without his humanity, he just can't help but make everyone angry," said Bonnie with a delicate shrug, her hair spilling past her shoulders. "He wants everyone at each other's throats."

"You could say the same about another blonde vampire we know," said Caroline before adding, "I'm talking about Klaus, if that wasn't ridiculously clear already."

Colette crossed her arms, wishing to go outside and speak with Abby but her friends were waiting for her to speak. They were expectant of something she would never understand. "Klaus is incapable of change," said Colette, finally. "He wants power and wants the love of his family, but he doesn't understand that he already has it. But because he's so fucking blind, he keeps fighting and killing and making messes. He's selfish with what he wants and he's been using me as–as a coping mechanism, I don't fucking know."

"Stefan said he told you he loves you," whispered Caroline with a deep set frown. "I don't think...I don't think Klaus has ever loved someone like that before."

"He loves his family," said Colette, "and nothing will ever beat the love he has for them." She smiled softly to herself. "It's family forever and always, isn't that what they always say?"

She didn't know for sure, maybe she'd seen it in a dream or a passing vision but they were always saying the same things. Always and forever. Always and disgustingly forever.

"Is that why Damon's been avoiding you?" asked Bonnie, always getting to the deeper meaning of things. "Because he thinks Klaus loves you, so you're off the market?"

Colette scowled. "I was never on the market to begin with."

"You keep telling yourself that," laughed Caroline, shaking her head as she moved to sit on the counter with one agile jump. "It was like you were theirs before you even got the chance to breathe."

"I'm nobodies," snapped Colette, feeling the venom in her tone and she eased back on her rude expression to say more softly, "I'm not some object for them to pass back and forth. I don't need them but–"

"But?"

"But it doesn't mean I don't want them." She shrugged, hating they were talking about this but if she spoke about it quick enough, that meant she could escape. "I know my own value and my own power and I'm strong and I don't need them to make me stronger. If I just so happen to want to kiss them and hold their hands and maybe be in love forever, then, okay, yeah, that can happen. But I'm not their toy, I'm not their girl, I'm me." I'm my own.

"I thought, for so long," whispered Caroline, "that I needed a man to make me great. That I needed them to pick me up and make me more of myself but..." A soft smile came to her face. "But after becoming a vampire, I learned about everything I could do. I didn't need a man to help me, I didn't need them to fight my battles, to speak for me." She reached out and took Colette's hand and squeezed gently. "Yeah, kissing them is great, but it's exactly what you were saying. We don't need them, not like they need us."

"God," breathed Bonnie with a laugh. "How is it that you two have had these great loves and I've had Jeremy."

Colette grinned, the conversation finally turning away from her. "What's wrong with Jeremy!"

"Nothing," barked Bonnie with another laugh. "It's just...he's...not like us. And he doesn't understand what we're going through, not really, at least. He might want to be involved but he doesn't understand how dangerous it is. Just look at how it's affected him, he's–he's gone."

Caroline's lips turned down into a frown. "He just wants to help."

"But he doesn't even get the chance to do it now," said Bonnie, shaking her head. "I know Elena did what was necessary but shouldn't he have decided it on his own? To finally give himself the chance to stop being treated like a kid? To be treated like–like one of us?"

"He has his Gilbert ring," said Colette, "and that's all. No kid should have to deal with this shit and besides, Jeremy got the out we always wanted."

"I never wanted–"

"You, like, left school for a month or whatever, Bon," said Colette. "Middle of junior year, you just vanished and we all know it was because of Stefan."

"How did you–?"

How did you know, little girl? Another silly vision? History imprinted inside your head?

"The point is," said Caroline, jumping in, "is that Jeremy is free from all this, shouldn't we be at least happy for him?"

Bonnie nodded with a deep sigh. Their relationship had been powerful, the connection and drive they had towards the other was too grand to just be forgotten but it was different now. Things had changed. Jeremy was no longer a normal boy, he could see ghosts and while that didn't make him one of them, it did make him special. And a target.

"It's the same we could say about Abby," said Colette, earning two pairs of curious glances.

Blondie's brows raised. "How so?"

"She's free from–" She smiled. "–mortal restraints, you could say."

"Ok, Dracula," muttered Caroline, rolling her eyes with a small smile of her own.

"She doesn't haven't to worry about getting sick or dying or–or–" Colette shrugged with a sigh. "She's powerful in a way that being a witch would never get her."

"Being a witch doesn't make you weaker than vampires," said Bonnie, an accusatory tone in her voice.

"That's not what I'm trying to say," Colette sighed. "It's just a different type of strength she can rely on now." No more death and dying. No more getting seriously hurt or sick. No more weakness. "She just needs to learn how to control the bloodlust and things will come easier."

"It won't be easy."

"But we can try to make it be." Colette rubbed her arms and felt the hum of power underneath her skin. "Listen...I think...I think there's a way I can help make the transition easier."

Bonnie's eyes lit up but she didn't seem fully convinced because she asked, "Do you have a time machine?"

"It's kind of an experimental idea," she said instead with a shrug. "There's a good chance, that after the whole Esther fiasco, my blood could still be 'powerful.'" She opened her palm face up and with just a slight furrowed brow from concentration, flames erupted against her skin before she closed her fist and it was gone. "It could give her peace of mind, allow her to perform magic, give her closure but..."

"But?"

"It could be addictive." She rubbed her hands against the front of her thighs as she asked, "Is that something you want to risk?"

Bonnie bit her lip, glancing towards the door where her mother was off somewhere on the other side. It was a tough question but one Colette knew she ultimately had to ask. While it would be Abby's final decision, Colette realized it was important to loop Bonnie in or otherwise it'd be an awkward confrontation later. And neither girl really wanted that.

"Could it hurt her?" asked Caroline, drawing the attention towards her and not the decision now weighing in the room.

"Possibly."

"Has anyone...tried it before?"

Colette shook her head. "I've never offered it before and no one..." She crossed her arms. "No one's tried to steal it yet." Naya could try all she wanted but there was no getting past Colette. Not even Klaus could taste her, so what made Naya think she could?

"Do we even know anything about it to really test it?" asked Caroline, shaking her head. "It's too experimental, we don't even know the reaction she could have."

"It can give her magic, just for a little," said Colette, her mind flashing with images of Naya and fire.

"I don't think it's worth it," said Caroline and Bonnie's frown deepened.

"It's not my decision," said Bonnie, finally.

"She's right," came Abby's voice from the door and Colette nearly jumped from her skin. Being dead made the woman silent, like a ghost. "It's mine."

Colette nodded, clearing her throat. "If you want it, I'm willing to give you a drop."

Abby looked down at her hands where magic once flowed freely. She squeezed them into fists before shaking her head. "I need to do this on my own," she said, "I need to know I can do this on my own terms."

How could you not want a taste? A simple lick of power?

Colette nodded again and gave the woman a gentle smile. Her face was full, life still clearly in her flesh but her eyes were sullen. "If you ever want to try it, I'm only a phone call away."

They're scared to try it and that's good. Being afraid will keep them away.

Colette returned to the Salvatore house to find it not empty like she had hoped. Music was playing somewhere, the sound echoing through the foyer as she made her way inside. What she expected to find was Stefan, brooding by the fire and being annoying with his music but that was not at all what she found waiting for her amongst empty bottles of champagne, wine, and beer.

Clothes.

She followed the mangled trail up the staircase and down the hallway and with each step, her heart became a brick. They left a trail of lust, of sex splintering off into the air just waiting for her to breathe in.

She cracked the bedroom door open with one hand and an awful noise scattered past her lips. Was it a laugh? A scoff? Something boarderlining a cry?

Damon tangled in sheets. Rebekah's bare body, her curves reflecting golden light. Damon, bare to the world, with his arms hooked behind his head. A woman who could only be Sage, kneeling against the bed.

It was all too much. All too terribly much.

Damon met her eyes and horror spread across his features but he didn't move. No one did. Colette was the only one to find the urge to move her limbs, to turn away from the graphic scene and go racing towards the stairs and then to the door. She would not allow herself to stay inside the house while it smelled like sex and blossoming fruit. She wouldn't succumb herself to such agonies.

She ended up by Wickery Bridge, standing amongst the construction and the old wooden planks lined up through the grass in a large pile ready to be refurbished. She didn't know why she ended up here but it had drawn her in, like most things. It was far away enough that no one would come looking for her and she could have a moment alone to think.

Damon had slept with Rebekah, knowing how Colette felt. Had he done this to spite her? To hurt her for what she'd done with Klaus? Did he think she had accepted Klaus's confession of love, even though his very own brother heard her rejection?

The only thing she knew for certain was that it hurt. It stung her all over and squeezed against her heart like something awful.

She didn't think it would've hurt her like this a few months before, not even during the summer would it have crushed her like this. But seeing him twisted through those sheets, the outline of him so profound, it was hard to breathe.

Why are you so upset? Why are you so heartbroken?

It didn't hurt to see Rebekah like that and it shocked her that it didn't. She had looked stunning but it didn't feel like Colette's skin was being pulled back from her lament.

"Don't tell me you're out here crying," came a voice from the opposite side of the bridge. Colette turned quickly, hair whipping past her face as she bore her fangs. "Because if you are...it's pathetic."

"Took you long enough to find me," snarled Colette, narrowing her eyes as her fangs pressed into her bottom lip. "I expected you days ago."

Naya shrugged, the moon shadowing her face. Her hair was down, something Colette was used to most days. It wasn't pulled back to expose the sharpness, her snake-like demon face. "You know me," she purred, "I like to take my time, make an entrance."

"Tommy with you?"

She shook her head. "Figured this conversation would be best without him."

She wasn't going to bother lying. They both knew the truth about Tommy and where his allegiances lay. Besides, Colette couldn't smell a lie in the air so she eased the tension in her shoulders back, forcing herself to relax just enough not to crack her teeth or split her jaw. "There isn't much to talk about, actually."

"I'm sure you know what your little lover is doing right now."

I know who he's doing, Colette threatened to say but she clamped her perfect mouth shut.

"He's looking for White Oak," continued Naya, walking across the bridge where the support beams had been installed, as well as makeshift of newer and more sturdy oak. "All your little friends are, well..." She smiled. "The ones not helping poor little Mr. Saltzman."

"And I'm guessing you know all about that?" asked Colette. "I'm sure you've seen it all before."

"Aw," cooed Naya, pursing her lips as she continued to cross, "you know me so well, Cole."

"How come you only come to me when you want to brag about stuff you already knew?"

"Because I like the attention."

"No," Colette chuckled, "you like being better. Like you know everything."

Naya shrugged. "It's an ego boost all the same."

The girl walked over, stopping before the pile of new wood and ran her fingers over the exposed pieces before moving back towards the bridge's ledge. She moved carefully, her long legs stretching out in front of her as she sat down. Patting the spot next to her, Colette walked cautiously over and sat down, her feet dangling over the edge and into the great expanse of emptiness above the water.

The night sky was clear although the air smelled of rain. They would get rain soon, maybe a shower sometime later tonight or early in the morning. The trees swayed and shifted with the breeze, carrying ripe smells of grass and somewhere, in the distance, the smell of someone cooking on a grill.

"Remember when we'd come out together?" said Naya, resting back on her hands. "When we were kids?"

Little feet racing over the bridge, careful of looking both ways down the deserted road. At night, they were safe from traffic.

Naya ran ahead with a popsicle in one hand and a flashlight in the other, a golden crown of dandelions lost in her hand.

They were playing flashlight tag.

Colette nodded. "You liked exploring at night."

"I felt safer with nature all around me," said Naya, flexing her hands against the wood. "Now, it's the darkness I feel closest to, don't you?"

Colette allowed herself to seep into the darkness around her and the cold touch it gave her back. It caressed her skin, bare on her cheeks and neck. Naya leaned her head back, careening her neck so the moonlight could touch every inch of her and Colette shifted, folding her hands into her lap.

She sighed softly and finally asked, "Why are you here, Naya?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said the girl. "I'm here for you."

Colette rolled her eyes but still didn't get up. She knew Naya's true reasons, that every reason the girl acted upon was for the blood running in Cole's tired veins.

"There's a darkness coming that I don't feel comfortable around," explained Naya. "It's not the one that should shield us from dangers, it's something so much worse." Colette could see the muscles flexing in the girl's arms, her flesh bare to the world save for her little shirt and jeans. "Something awful is hiding in Alaric and the Originals will bring it out in him with Elena's help and yours."

"Mine?"

Naya nodded. "They'll steal your blood," she whispered. "They'll steal it like we always knew they would."

"And how exactly do you know all of this?" snapped Colette, shaking her head. She couldn't believe her, not about the Originals at least. She already knew something was seriously wrong with Ric, this wasn't news. "Oh, let me guess! You had visions of it before you got turned and are now miraculously remembering!"

"And what if that's the case? Then what?"

"Then I fucking leave and ignore your ass."

"Was I wrong about you needing to die again?" cursed Naya with a scowl. "Was I wrong about any of it?"

Colette glared.

Naya looked away with a glare to equal her own. "You'll need me and my power to stop Ric, to stop Esther."

"I hardly think you're capable of anything anymore."

"With a taste of your blood, I can do anything I ever wanted and more." There was a dreamy look in her eyes, lost in her own oblivion. "If we get your blood," me and Tommy, "then we'll leave. We won't ever come back here, you'll...you'll be free of me." Heartbreak poured out from Naya, the feeling and taste spilling out over Colette's skin. It was near agony for the girl to say such words, to express the horrible truth.

"I can't trust you with it," whispered Colette, shaking her head. She needed no time at all to think over her decision. Naya and Tommy would never taste her.

"But you'd give it to Abby fucking Bennett?"

Colette glared. "Did you follow me today?"

"Duh," she spat. "I can't just let you go off into unknown territory with a newbie vamp. They're hostile, aggressive, they can't control themselves!"

"Then what are you exactly?"

Naya scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I'm telling you I'll leave you alone forever and you're seriously not even going to consider it?"

"I'd rather you be dead, actually."

"God!" cried Naya, throwing her hands up. "You're such a fucking bitch sometimes."

"I learned it all from you," cooed Colette, getting to her feet. Dusting off the back of her pants and her hands, she felt a smile come to her face as she realized Naya's terrible bickering left her feeling somewhat whole again since finding Damon in the sheets amongst her former love.

In the distance, there was the sound of someone running and Colette glanced down at her envious friend and smiled.

"You'd better leave," said Colette. "I smell an original in the air, I'd hate to see you gutted before I get the chance to do it first."

"I should just gut you first," snarled Naya as she stood. "Then I'd finally have what I want."

"You and I both know you'd never lay a finger on me before I had my way with you."

Naya bore her fangs with a smile. "Doesn't mean I can't try."

Colette felt anger rush over her skin before Naya could even take a step forward. A pulsating ache spread through Colette and she threw her hand out in front of her, sending Naya spilling backwards into the grass by the hill leading towards the water. The girl's grunts followed her all the way down, echoing out into the darkness.

When the sound of her body didn't hit the water like Colette expected, she took a few cautious steps forward to look down the hill when something went soaring into the air with an angry growl. Naya's hands dug into Colette's shoulders and she was suddenly very glad she wasn't wearing a tanktop. Naya's nails would've easily dug into her skin.

She cannot take what she cannot have.

It must be given.

Naya flipped Colette onto her back with her momentum and she landed with an awful grunt. She was dazed for only a second before Colette was reaching upward and snatching Naya's wrist and twisting. She heard the bone break before she heard the girl's wail.

Colette continued to twist, thinking of how nicely it'd be to tear her hand free and she did just that as she flipped over onto one knee. Twisting her limb until her shattered bones began to protrude from her weakened and reddening flesh, Colette pulling with all her might until Naya was face down on the grass and Colette was now standing.

She pushed her foot into the girl's neck to keep her in place before tearing her hand from her wrist. Blood spewed into the air in a graceful arc as she tossed the hand into the grass. Naya's screams echoed loudly, like earth shattering wails of pathetic new gods. New gods did not know their own strength, they were made up of used atoms.

Naya continued to scream even when Colette stepped away, the girl flailing about in the grass when Colette sensed someone new come upon them.

"What a beautiful show," sighed Rebekah from where she stood near the pile of wood. "I never imagined you'd be capable of such destruction." Rebekah's lips turned into a red smirk. "It was beautiful."

"Why're you here?" snapped Colette, her chest heaving from adrenalin even though her breathing was even and calm.

"To finish some business of mine."

Colette could hardly focus on her as Naya began to pathetically crawl across the grass to reach her hand. Colette watched her, fascinated with the girl's sudden strength to carry herself forward. When she did finally reach her severed limb, she picked it up with trembling hands and gagged before clutching it closer.

"This–" Naya seethed through clenched teeth. It would take her some time to fully heal, longer than normal. "–isn't over."

Rebekah was uncorking a jug of gasoline somewhere behind her as Naya struggled to her feet, blood rushing down the front of her shirt. Her blood smelled clean but different, just as a vampire's blood should smell.

"Tell Tommy I say hi."

Naya didn't say another word before sprinting off into the trees as Rebekah lit a match and flames erupted behind Colette, the heat already significant in the air and against her skin.

Colette didn't realize what the woman was doing until the sound of a car pulled up near the road and an awful scent spread through the air. A scent she loved.

"What the fuck are you doing?" breathed Damon as Rebekah grinned and chuckled.

"Your grand plans always tend to get ruined, don't they?" said Rebekah as the flames danced behind her and Colette's power hummed beneath her skin, coming alive with the sight. "Sorry to disappoint you. Again." Rebekah's eyes settled on Colette, traveling over her form and from where blood dripped from her fingertips. "Always a pleasure seeing you, Colette, darling."

Colette could only give her a single nod as the flames called her forth. Rebekah turned on her heel with a sway of her hips and hair, stalking off across the bridge.

She sensed another woman on the bridge and she didn't turn around as she said, "Sage, glad you could make it to the party."

She felt Damon's glare not towards her but the other woman. "You set me up."

"No," said Sage and Colette suddenly felt very out of the loop. Surely this wasn't all the White Oak Rebekah was burning? "I'm just looking out for myself."

Colette stepped forward, reaching a hand out as the flames danced across her palms. Even if the wood burned, they'd still have the ash. They could make as many daggers as they wished and although they wouldn't kill, they'd keep the originals down until taken out otherwise.

"I told you I'd take care of your creepy boyfriend!" cried Damon, his anger flashing against Colette's back as she stuck her hand through the fire and felt the burning wood. It didn't hurt her, only sang against her like cold water.

"And you lied to me, Damon!" Sage roared back. "The Originals are linked. If one dies, they all die. If I could get inside her head, don't you think I could do the same to you?"

Colette gripped the planks of wood and the flames flickered. She tried to focus but she heard Damon slam Sage against the car. The fire moved with her as she gripped on tighter, the flames sinking and simmering but Damon was cursing and so was Sage.

"I should end you," he snarled and she could no doubt sense his hand around the woman's throat as he sprawled her against the hood of his car.

"I'm nine hundred years-old, Damon," said Sage in a calm voice as Colette nearly got the flames completely gone save for their little lights dancing across her eyes. "You're not capable of ending me." Colette heard the sound of Sage getting free and Damon hitting the car as the woman snarled, "You really think I'd risk Finn's life for one of your petty revenge fantasies?"

"Let me tell you something," snapped Damon. "Your long lost love has a suicide wish." Sage made a noise of disbelief. "So when mama witch linked them together in a spell, he's the one who volunteered to die."

An ache settled in Colette's gut as the flames nearly died completely. Sweat was bunching up across her forehead and upper lip. The ache felt like hunger, like working out too hard and feeling emptiness crawl over your skin but she almost had it. She almost salvaged it all.

"He wouldn't do that," said Sage, desperate to think differently of her lover.

"He didn't want to live for anyone," spat Damon. "Not for you, not for anyone." He was egging her on now, keeping her back to the fire as Colette worked her magic and strength was her head was spinning. She'd never snuffed out flames like this before, she'd never pushed herself this hard but the smell of Naya's blood in the air was sending her towards determination and perseverance.

"He doesn't love you, Sage," continued Damon. "And when I do find another way to kill those originals, I'll start with Finn."

The flames wavered at the bottom but Colette's breath stuttered in her lungs and she dropped to her knees when she felt blood spill from her nose. The flames erupted back to their full strength and the wood continued to burn, even as she watched with shock.

Damon touched her shoulder and she flinched away, instinctual rather than from hurt.

"Come on," he whispered, his touch softening to a gentle feeling. "Let's go home."

Home.

She nodded and let him help her up. She was wondering why he wasn't furious with her for failing, or more upset at the fact that their only true weapon was gone but she wouldn't realize until much later the reason.

He kept her close to his side and eased her shaking body into the car past a shocked Sage. She couldn't help but feel triumphant, watching the woman fade in the rearview mirror as they drove away. She was nothing to Damon, just like Rebekah, just another toy for him to manipulate and Colette wasn't angry by that.

She would've done the same.

They always did like to play a good game.

AUTHOR'S NOTE━━hi yes.....long time no see

hope you guys enjoyed this very long overdue chapter!! been so busy with finals, lacrosse, and homework ugh! ill b done with my may term class sometime next week so that means i'll have more free time for writing!!

let me know what yall think so far ah!! (very much an unedited chapter rn oops, very rushed ah)

<33 vote/comment and pls dont b a ghost reader ily!!