Hayley had moved into Klaus's house when Elijah called Rebekah.
"Hello, sister," Elijah said into the phone. "I need your help… with Klaus."
"No," Rebekah replied immediately. "I'm enjoying my freedom. I'm not getting involved in our brother's mess."
"Nik is going to have a child," Elijah dropped the bomb.
"He already has a child," Rebekah snapped, irritated. "Which is completely unfair, by the way. Of all of us, he gets to have one—"
"Rebekah…" Elijah interrupted, calm as always. "I'm talking about another one. Hayley is pregnant."
Silence came instantly.
"…Another?" she repeated, incredulous. "You're telling me Klaus managed to do that twice?"
"Yes."
"That is offensive on levels I haven't even processed yet," she muttered. "Him, of all people…"
"There's more."
"Of course there is," she scoffed. "There's always more."
Then Elijah delivered it, like placing the perfect piece on a board:
"Nik is also in the city."
Silence.
But now… heavier.
"…You're joking."
"I do not joke about matters like this."
Rebekah took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
"So let me get this straight… Klaus is having another child… and the first one is there too?"
"Exactly."
"Perfect," she said in a dangerously calm tone. "Simply perfect."
Elijah stayed silent, waiting.
"How is he?" she asked, unable to help herself.
"Well. Strong. And… quite independent."
Rebekah let out a short laugh.
"Independent? Translation: he runs away from me."
Elijah didn't answer immediately.
Which was answer enough.
"HE RUNS AWAY FROM ME?" she exploded. "I'm his aunt!"
"He… avoids direct confrontations," Elijah said diplomatically.
"Avoids nothing!" Rebekah shot back. "He runs from me like a cat runs from a dog!"
"An interesting comparison."
"It's ridiculous!" she continued, clearly offended. "I barely get close and he disappears! What kind of child runs from their own aunt?"
"A cautious one."
"I am not scary!"
Elijah remained silent.
"…Don't answer that."
A pause.
"But it's curious," Elijah continued. "He doesn't show the same behavior with Kol."
Rebekah froze.
"I'm sorry… what?"
"The two seem to have developed a… surprisingly friendly relationship."
Now the silence was even heavier.
"So let me understand this," Rebekah said slowly. "He runs from me… but he's FRIENDS with Kol?"
"Yes."
"With Kol."
"Yes, Rebekah."
She let out an incredulous laugh, almost personally offended.
"Oh, this is personal now."
"I don't believe it is—"
"IT IS!" she cut him off. "I spend centuries being the responsible one, the one who actually cares… and he chooses Kol?"
"Relationships don't always follow logic."
"They should!" she snapped. "Especially in our family!"
Elijah let the silence settle for a few seconds… then spoke softly:
"Perhaps you should come and change that."
Rebekah took a deep breath.
Once.
Twice.
"I'm going to New Orleans."
Elijah smiled slightly.
"I thought you might say that."
"But it's not for Klaus," she added immediately.
"Of course not."
"It's for the baby… and to fix this absurd situation with Nik."
"Naturally."
"And Elijah…"
"Yes, sister?"
"If he runs from me again—"
The pause was threatening.
"—I swear I will chase him to the end of the world."
A faint smile appeared on Elijah's face.
"I'm certain he already expects that."
The call ended.
And somewhere… the Mikaelson chaos was about to get even more interesting.
The night in Romania felt… wrong.
Heavy.
As if the air itself knew what Kol was doing.
He walked without hurry through ancient ruins, eyes sharp… and cold.
And then—
Movement.
Dozens.
Vampires emerged from the shadows, more organized than the previous ones. Not just newly awakened.
They were… survivors.
"Ah…" Kol smiled faintly. "Finally. I thought the 'nobles' had run out."
They didn't answer.
They attacked.
All at once.
The ground exploded beneath Kol's feet as he moved—faster than the eye could follow. One strike—and a vampire's chest was pierced by black steel. Another tried to grab him—
But his own arm turned into a blade… and was torn off.
Screams.
Blood.
Steel.
Kol spun among them, every movement precise, almost elegant. Blades erupted from his skin like natural extensions… piercing, tearing, destroying.
"You really think—" he dodged an attack and smashed another vampire's skull into the wall "—that quantity makes up for quality?"
More bodies fell.
More ash.
But then—
Something changed.
The air… vibrated differently.
Kol stopped.
Slowly.
The remaining vampires hesitated… stepped back.
And she appeared.
Stepping out of the shadows as if she had always been there.
Kol didn't move.
But his eyes… changed.
"…No."
The word came out low.
Disbelieving.
"You didn't—"
She stopped a few meters away.
Steady gaze.
Cold.
But something was there… buried.
"Hello, Kol."
Silence.
Heavy.
Different from any other.
The steel around him fell to the ground… without command.
"You died," Kol said, his voice lower than ever.
"No."
She tilted her head slightly.
"I survived."
His eyes darkened.
"That's not surviving."
A second of tension.
"And you… became one of them."
She didn't answer immediately.
The silence said everything.
The disappointment came… slow… but brutal.
"You abandoned magic," Kol continued, each word sharper than any blade. "You… of all people."
"I didn't abandon it."
He laughed.
But there was no humor.
"You're a vampire."
"And yet I'm here."
The air vibrated.
Kol stepped forward.
The impact of the two against ancient stone wasn't just physical.
It was… memory.
Centuries compressed into a single instant.
Kol slammed her away with brutal force, his body already reconstructing in the same second he attacked again. Fast. Precise. Lethal.
But she wasn't the same anymore.
She dodged by a thread… turning her body, using his own momentum against him, throwing him to the ground with perfect technique.
The floor cracked.
Kol smiled… even on impact.
"Finally," he murmured, rising effortlessly. "Now you feel like yourself."
She stood ready, eyes locked on him.
"I never stopped being myself."
"No," he replied, black steel forming along his arms like living blades. "You just got better at hiding."
He attacked.
Faster than before.
A blur.
The blades cut through the air—
She blocked.
Not with strength.
With knowledge.
Changing the angle, redirecting the flow, interrupting the movement before full impact.
Kol paused for a second.
Interested.
And irritated.
"Altering the trajectory of transmutation…" he murmured. "You understand even that."
"I understand all of it," she replied, spinning and counterattacking, striking his abdomen with surgical precision.
Kol stepped back.
Just one step.
And smiled.
"Of course you do," he said. "You created it."
The air grew heavy.
"Queen of the vampires…" he spat the title like poison. "Look how far you've come."
She didn't deny it.
"Someone had to understand what we became."
"Someone had to teach me."
Silence.
That line landed heavier than any blow.
Kol attacked again—stronger.
Faster.
Now without restraint.
She was forced two steps back this time.
"Seven hundred years," Kol continued, strike after strike, each one more brutal. "Seven hundred years ago you found me."
She blocked another hit, the impact echoing.
"You said you were close to discovering something."
Another strike.
She dodged.
"I stayed."
Another.
She countered.
"I waited."
They clashed at the center of the hall, force against technique.
"Because I thought you could do the impossible."
She pushed him back with a calculated move.
"I did."
Silence.
Heavy.
Kol stopped.
Just for a second.
Enough.
"What?" he asked, voice lower… more dangerous.
She took a breath.
Then said:
"I was dying, Kol."
The world seemed to slow.
"Sick. Weak. Losing everything I was."
He didn't respond.
But he didn't attack.
Not yet.
"Every spell failed," she continued. "Every attempt… weaker than the last."
She stepped forward.
"I didn't have time."
Her gaze didn't waver.
"So I did the only thing I could."
Kol clenched his hand.
The steel around vibrated.
"You turned," he said.
"I survived."
"You surrendered."
"I evolved."
The impact came instantly—
Kol appeared in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the wall with enough force to shatter stone.
"YOU GAVE UP!" he roared.
She held his arm… not to escape.
But to stay steady.
"I fought," she answered, staring at him without fear. "For years after that."
Kol hesitated.
A moment.
"Without magic," she continued. "With nothing."
Her voice faltered… just slightly.
"Until I realized."
Her eyes glowed faintly.
"It never left."
Silence.
"What?" Kol whispered.
"It changed."
The air distorted.
Different.
Denser.
Older.
"I studied myself," she said. "Every instinct… every hunger… every change."
Kol slowly let her go.
Now… attentive.
"I became my own source."
The silence grew heavy.
"Vampiric magic…" Kol murmured.
She nodded.
"I discovered it."
The anger returned.
Instant.
Violent.
"And never told me."
She didn't answer.
Which was worse.
"SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS!" Kol shouted, the sound echoing through the hall. "You knew! You had the answer!"
She blocked his attack but was pushed back again.
"I couldn't!"
"Liar!"
"The Alphas—"
"I don't care about the Alphas!" Kol roared.
Steel exploded around them.
"I cared about YOU!" she shot back, losing control for the first time.
Silence.
Heavy.
They both stopped.
Breathing.
Staring.
"You think I didn't see what you were becoming?" she continued, quieter now. "Even back then?"
Kol didn't answer.
"If I had given you that power then…" she stepped closer. "You would have burned the world."
He laughed.
But there was no humor.
"And what do you think I'm doing now?"
She didn't answer.
Because she knew.
"You chose for me," Kol said, calmer now… which was worse. "Decided I wasn't worthy."
"I decided you weren't ready."
"Same thing."
Silence.
She took a breath.
"And now you are?"
Kol looked at her.
Dark eyes.
Dangerous.
"Now?" he replied.
Black steel formed again… more controlled than ever.
More refined.
More complete.
"Now I don't need you."
Pain flashed through her eyes.
Brief.
But he saw it.
"And that," Kol stepped closer, "is the worst part for you, isn't it?"
She didn't step back.
"No," she said.
Calm again.
Steady.
"The worst part… is that I still care."
She snarled, lifting stones that slammed into Kol's chest, sending him flying.
But Kol, despite the pain, got back up—and she was already beginning to mummify.
Kol noticed.
"As much as you're better than me at vampiric magic… age still matters," Kol laughed, walking toward her. "Using too much will drain you dry."
"I've never needed to use this much," she growled, taking a few steps forward, hands turning into steel.
"Of course not," Kol replied with a smile. "There aren't many capable of giving me a beating like that. I know only three 'normal' vampires who could."
He moved beside her.
She threw a punch at his head—
Kol simply dodged and ended up face to face with her.
She had no strength left.
She just closed her eyes.
Accepting the end.
But instead—
Kol grabbed her by the waist and didn't let her fall.
Her body gave in—
Rigid.
Dry.
As if all energy had been drained to its limit.
But Kol didn't let her collapse.
His grip tightened, pulling her back before her body locked completely.
The silence that followed… had no anger.
It had something worse.
Exhaustion.
She kept her eyes closed for a second, waiting for the final blow.
It didn't come.
Instead—
"…Always overdoing it at the end, aren't you?"
Kol's voice came out low.
Almost… intimate.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Confused.
He was too close.
Holding her.
Supporting her.
As if it were natural.
"You're going to lock up completely if you keep this up," Kol continued, watching her skin lose color. "Partial mummification already started… a few more minutes and you turn into a statue."
She tried to respond, but her body barely obeyed.
"…I know," she murmured.
Kol tilted his head, analyzing.
"Of course you do," he said. "You invented this mess."
A faint, tired smile appeared on her lips.
"Discovered… not invented."
"Details."
Silence.
His gaze moved over her body… every sign of energy depletion.
Then—
Without warning—
He bit his own wrist.
Dark blood surfaced immediately.
He brought it to her lips.
She froze.
"No—"
"Drink, Elara."
The name came out firm.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
She hesitated for half a second.
But instinct won.
Her hand rose, gripping his wrist… and she drank.
The effect was immediate.
The rigidity faded.
Color returned.
The subtle cracks vanished.
Energy… came back.
She released his wrist slowly, breathing stronger now.
More… alive.
The silence between them shifted.
"So that's it," Kol murmured, watching. "How old is my nephew's girlfriend to use vampiric magic for that long?"
She wiped the corner of her lips, still weak but stable.
"I told you… it only charges a price."
Kol let out a soft laugh.
"A high one."
"All power does."
Silence.
He still hadn't fully let go of her.
And she… didn't pull away.
"You always hated paying prices," she said.
"I hate paying for things that should be mine," Kol corrected.
Her eyes met his.
And this time… no defense.
"I should have told you," she said.
Simple.
Direct.
No excuses.
That hit differently.
Kol stayed silent for a few long seconds.
"Yeah," he said at last.
No explosion.
Just… truth.
She nodded slowly.
"I was afraid."
"I know."
She frowned slightly.
"You know?"
Kol gave a small, tired smile.
"You were always afraid of consequences," he said. "I was always the consequence."
Silence.
But this time… it didn't hurt the same way.
She exhaled softly.
"Seven hundred years…"
"I waited," he replied.
She looked at him.
Truly.
"I know."
A pause.
"And still… you learned."
Kol tilted his head.
"Not thanks to you."
"But because of me."
He didn't answer.
Because… it wasn't a lie.
Silence.
The wind passed through the ruins, carrying away the last ashes of battle.
Kol finally loosened his grip on her waist… but not completely.
Still close.
Still… aware.
"And now?" Elara asked.
The question hung in the air.
Different.
No challenge.
No defense.
Just… real.
Kol thought for a moment.
Then gave a small smile.
Dangerous.
But controlled.
"Now you teach me properly."
She raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You're asking?"
"No."
He stepped closer.
Dark eyes.
Steady.
"I'm collecting."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
Tired.
But… real.
"Fine."
She took a breath.
Steadying herself again.
"But this time… you listen."
Kol let out a soft laugh.
"That'll be new."
Silence.
But now… different.
Two monsters.
Two minds.
The same kind of power.
And centuries of unresolved history between them.
And for the first time…
They weren't on opposite sides.
Which made everything—
Far more dangerous.
That's when Kol's phone rang.
"What the hell does Elijah want now?"