CHAPTER EIGHTY SEVEN
[87]
song: heavenly by cigarettes after sex

THE INCANTATION MADE DAISY REFLEXIVELY TAKE A STEP BACK. That language she didn't understand had, in the past, only been used against her. Obviously, that wasn't the case right now as Josette and Kai were instead focused on each other as they repeated the phrases. Maybe it was all a case of classical conditioning. She was a Pavlov Dog and the magic was a bell, signaling to her that she was in danger.

Stray papers began to lift up and off their previous spots on the tables, and there was a familiar rumble underneath her feet to follow. She put a gentle hand on the sofa she stood behind, not trying to let it be known that she felt even the slightest bit unsafe. She glanced over to Alaric, who was too focused on Josette to notice Daisy's unease.

She followed his gaze, only redirected hers to Kai. His eyes were closed, chin hung low as he muttered the words along with his sister. Her hands were on either side of his face as she stood in front of him.

The wind picked up, however it wasn't really wind. It wasn't the uneven heating of the atmosphere, it was magic, and anyone who'd been at the other end of such a force could recognize that feeling immediately. To others, it really was just a breeze.

And then, it was over. Right when Daisy was anticipating something like the windows to start shattering one by one. The breeze fell, leaving the rustling papers to fall with it.

Her breath was staggered, as she eyed every person in the room, reading everyone's stature as if that would give her permission to relax. Kai's eyes slowly fluttered open, looking at his sister with a small growing smile.

"It's done." Josette says, although she wasn't happy about it.

Kai let's out a sigh of relief, and his posture straightened on its own for the first time today. He no longer looked like he was some slouched over old man, his natural skin pigment had fully returned- and it was almost like his eyes were a slightly brighter shade of blue. He was healthy again, the cure being the magic he'd taken from Josette. "Thank you." He smiles, and then tilts his head to the side, narrowing his eyes slightly. "And congratulations." He says, before leaning in and whispering something in her ear.

Daisy watched as Alaric hesitated to step in, not liking how close Kai got to Josette. She tried to listen in on whatever whispered exchange they were having- but he might as well not had been saying anything. Kai leans away, smiling proudly. "Have a good life, sissy."

Josette looked petrified, and Daisy couldn't even begin to imagine what Kai had told her. He turns around towards Daisy, giving her a nod as if to insinuate it was time to go. She stepped out from behind the couch, beginning to make her way after him as he walked towards the apartment door.

"Wait—" Josette says, stepping forward slightly.

They both turned around, and Kai let his hand remain on the doorknob. He looks at his sister, knowing that he didn't have to say anything to get her to keep her mouth shut. Josette glances at Daisy, then to Kai, with worried, wide eyes.

Josette was literally and physically powerless, now. If she were to blurt out what Daisy was right now out of nowhere- there was no telling what Kai would do to her. She knew Daisy. She knew Daisy wasn't an idiot and she knew that if Kai wasn't going to tell her— she'd find out herself. And when she asked, Josette would be there to tell her.

Maybe this sudden realization was best for Daisy. Maybe Josette keeping this to herself would protect her in the long run. She'd already suffered so much, why make it any worse? Was it the guilt of keeping a secret? If that really were the case, then Josette was just as bad as Kai. She wouldn't ruin Daisy's life again just so she wouldn't feel so bad about herself.

But that was a stupid excuse. One that she made up so she wouldn't have to face the consequences that would follow. Josette was better than that. She wouldn't let Kai get away with this- not again.

"Daisy, you forgot your coat." Josette says, lifting the long black coat off the arm of the chair beside her. Josette was looking at Kai as she spoke, and Daisy eyed her weirdly as she took it from her.

Josette clenched her jaw, her attention quickly circling back to the bomb Kai had dropped on her just seconds ago as she stared at him and Daisy. "Bye." She says, wondering if she'd even blinked.

Kai let's out a small scoff, trying not to mock his sister with her defeat so much so to where she'd blurt it out— but enough to let her know that he was right. She was bluffing. He smirked slightly as he turned back around towards the door, opening it up for Daisy.

She smiled faintly at him as she walked past him and out into the hallway. Kai left Josette with a knowing wink before he left and shut the door behind him.

"She's pregnant." Kai says, following Daisy down the hall.

Daisy spun around with wide eyes. She didn't even have to ask what he whispered- this was the only possible outcome for the reasoning behind that terrified look on Josette's face. "Shut up." She says, in disbelief. Kai nods, catching up to her and continuing their way towards the staircase. "How do you know?!"

They make their way downstairs and outside to the parking lot, Kai kept his eyes focused forward but Daisy couldn't take her eyes off him as she awaited his response. "I could sense life inside her." He says. "When she gave me her magic I could feel other sources of power."

Daisy raised her eyebrows, not sure if she'd ever process how that even worked. "So she has like a— little magical embryo inside of her?" Daisy says.

Kai snorts as he unlocks the car door. "Sure. A little magical embryo." He responds.

Daisy got in the passenger seat, her mouth still gapped open in disbelief over the fact that Josette was going to a be a mother. Daisy's first initial thought was when did they get so old? But that flash of inquiry lasted only a moment as she realized that she really wasn't that old, technically. Josette was, she was forty one. But Daisy still felt eighteen.

Maybe a part of her was jealous. Maybe a very large part. She'd never wanted kids but it was more the thought of being old enough to even consider having kids. That could be Daisy right now, working a real job and starting a real family. That clearly was not in the cards for her— but she couldn't help but yearn for it a little.

The sound of a phone buzzing is what brought Daisy out of her pointless thoughts and back into reality. She turned around in the car, leaning back and over to the back row to where Kai's bag sat.

"Who is it?" Kai asked as he drove on, glancing at Daisy and then back to the road.

Daisy reached into the front pocket and pulled out his phone, narrowing her eyes at the bright screen against the darkness of the car. "Unknown number." She shrugs, handing it to him.

Kai takes it, clicking accept. "Parker residence." He says chirpily.

"I'm gonna call you again- and next time can you just say hello? Because that really, really made me want to die." Damon says, in his all too familiar sarcastic tone.

"Oh, someone sounds like they're in a bad mood." Kai frowns, then glances at Daisy with a smirk. "Why are you calling me?"

Damon sighs, and the silence before he spoke made it clear that he was hesitant as to why he was even doing this in the first place. "I heard you're back in Mystic Falls." Damon says. "And I need your help." He forces out.

Kai raises his eyebrows, shocked to hear it himself. "You need my help?" Kai reiterates, just so he could hear Damon say it again.

You could almost hear him clench his jaw on the other line. "What do you know about a 1903 prison world?" He asks.

Daisy glances at Kai with confused, narrowed eyebrows. Kai takes a breath, thinking for a moment. "Not a lot. But I can look through the Gemini Archives and see if there's anything on it." Kai says. "Why?"

Damon hesitates. "Can you just meet me at my family crypt in thirty?" He says, with a tinge of frustration.

"Fine." Kai began, and opened his mouth to continue but Daisy quickly shook her head at him before he could let anything out.

She covered up the phone mic before she spoke. "Why in the world would you help him?" Daisy asks confusedly. Kai shrugs, glancing at the road and back to her. Her shoulders slump as she sat back in her seat. "Right, because you're a good person now." She mutters.

"If there's a 1903 prison world still active I need to make sure everything is in order. Or else the Coven—"

"Got it." Daisy interrupts. "Coven duties." She waves it off. "But do we not have a flight back home in the morning?"

"Hello?" Damon says on the other line.

"It won't take that long." Kai says, he grabs the phone from Daisy's hand and speaks into it again. "Am I just supposed to know where your family crypt is? Is that how that works around here?" Kai speaks into the phone.

Damon clearly wasn't having any of Kai's sarcasm. "You know that one time you chained Josette up to a crypt in the woods, and then Alaric held a gun to your head, and then you sucked up all the magic from the traveler's spell, and then flung me up against a tree?"

"Yes?"

"It's around there." Damon says, before hanging up.

Kai let's out a scoff as he sets down the phone, he glances over to Daisy who's eyes stayed steady over the dark road in front of them. "Do you want me to drop you off at the hotel?" He asks.

Daisy turns to him, her eyebrows stitching together with a hint of confusion. "Sure." She lets out, before returning her eyes to the road.

She might've just been feeling sensitive, or maybe it was the culmination of lots of different emotions- but she found herself thinking a bit too much over his question. If he wanted her to come with, he wouldn't have asked. Or maybe he was just being considerate, maybe he just knew she didn't care and was simply offering to take her home. But they did everything together? Or at least they used to.

The rest of the car ride was fairly quiet, except for the car radio that Kai kept switching the stations on. There was a strangeness in the air, one that insinuated that they were definitely in two different moods. Kai didn't think anything was wrong, or maybe he did and he was ignoring it. He carried on, humming along to the music and not really acknowledging the girl next to him. It felt like they were already back in San Diego, yet their flight wasn't until the morning.

He pulled the car under the hotel awning, the golden lights from the indoors illuminating the car. Daisy unbuckles her seat belt, before turning to Kai and giving him a smile. "Don't be too late." She nods slightly.

Kai returns the nod, before pulling her in for a quick kiss. It felt so loving, and normal. Like all the kisses they'd shared in the past. But she couldn't stop the feeling that there was something wrong. She pulled away, then got out of the car.

When Kai drove away, Daisy lingered in front of the front doors for a few moments. She didn't feel good. Not in a literal sense, but in a way that her gut was telling her there was something wrong. That something has been wrong. Maybe she'd known that this whole time, but all it took was coming back to Mystic Falls for her to realize it.

She turned and walked inside, heading straight to the elevator. She'd felt this feeling before- this feeling that she was being used, that Kai was hiding things from her. She'd listened to her gut then, and it didn't work out in her favor. Maybe she shouldn't this time, maybe she should ignore her sulking thoughts and carry on life like normal.

The elevator took her up, and her tired eyes stayed focused on the doors in front of her. She hated the disconnect she felt when Kai wasn't right next to her. Like the second he stepped out of her view her life was on pause, like she was waiting for his return so she could continue living.

She rubbed her forehead as she walked down the hallway towards their room. She reached into her coat pocket for the keycard, and as she pulled it out to unlock the door- a small folded piece of paper came with it.

It fell to the ground in front of the door, and after Daisy unlocked it and propped it open, she bent down to pick it up. She would've thrown it away- assuming it was trash of some sort if she didn't catch glance of the handwriting within the folds.

She opened it up, her eyebrows narrowing slightly.

There's things he hasn't told you.
I'll be at the fountain at the center of town at midnight if you feel you need to know.
Jo

Daisy wondered how many times she could reread the note before all the confusion left her body. It never happened, of course. If anything, she grew more and more confused every time her eyes skimmed the words.

There's things he hasn't told you. It was a haunting sentence, one that arose too many questions instead of answering the ones she already had. Her heart began to pound, and she glanced up and back and fourth down each side of the hallway. She felt like he could appear out of nowhere, to tell her to ignore it, that he loved her and would never hide anything from her.

She swallowed harshly, as she stood halfway between the hallway and the dark hotel room. She desperately wished she never picked up this piece of paper- so that she could write off these thoughts as something she was overthinking. But this confirmed her suspicions- the suspicions she couldn't ignore any longer.

Daisy glanced at the watch at her wrist, it was nearing midnight already and she wondered why she was even considering it in the first place. 'If you feel you need to know.' Did she need to know? Did she want to know? She felt sick.

But she closed the hotel door, letting it lock as she lingered in the hallway- petrified. Yet, her feet were carrying her back towards the elevator she just got off.

—
song: my body is a cage by arcade fire

Daisy's mind was starting to fail, like an engine that turns over and over, never kicking into action. She couldn't formulate a thought. The man she had been so in love with all this time— was not the man she thought she knew at all.

"You weren't supposed to find that." Kai said from behind her.

Daisy snapped her head around quickly, to find Kai standing in the door way. She grabbed the knife and stood up quickly, trembling with fear. She held the knife out towards him. "Who the fuck are you?" She tried to seem confident, she tried to seem unafraid, but the uncontrollable shaking and crying was not helping.

She was on edge the whole walk there- her mind replaying the moments that followed the last time she had a suspicion much like this one. She kept her head on a swivel, just waiting for his voice to fills her ears. He wouldn't hurt her. She tried to tell herself, but if that were the case— why was she so scared?

Josette sat at the edge of the fountain, her head hung low until she heard Daisy approaching. She looked up, standing up quickly. Daisy stopped immediately, wanting to turn around and go home at the sight of Josette's worried eyes.

It was ridiculous how little contemplation Daisy did before coming here. For all she knew this could be some sort of trap- to get her away from Kai for some reason. But it was the little contemplation needed, that made her realize that deep down, she needed to have this conversation.

"Does he know you're here?" Josette asks, not lifting her eyes off Daisy.

"Why does that matter?" Daisy asks, keeping her distance.

Josette didn't answer, mostly because it was obvious to both of them why he couldn't know what was going on here. Josette took a breath, shaking her head slightly as she tried to think this through. "I'm only doing this because I care about you." She begins. "Not to spite Kai- or break you guys up or-"

Daisy let's out a scoff, a puff of air coming out of her mouth against the cold. "If you cared about me as much as you always claim you do- you wouldn't have put an entire coven of crazy people in the prison world you knew I was in."

Josette's eyes fell worried, and she shut them as she let out a small sigh. It looked like it hurt to get out her next words. "Daisy, I thought you were dead."

Daisy was taken aback. "You were there that night. You know exactly what happened." She narrowed her eyes.

"No one could've survived that stab wound. Not someone of your size and weight- with how much blood you lost?" Josette shook her head, and tried not to let how obvious the facts were show in her voice. She knew this wouldn't be easy to understand.

"Yeah," Daisy shrugs. "Yeah- I probably would've died. But I got sent to a prison world before I got the chance." There was a tinge of spite in her voice.

Josette clenched her jaw. "And you didn't die in the prison world- why?" She asked, trying to let Daisy come to the realization before she had to tell her.

It was the first time in the conversation Daisy hesitated before speaking again. It was a question that brought back too memories from decades ago. Waking up alone on the rooftop, covered in her own blood, confused and terrified as she drug herself to the nearest hospital. "It was built to keep it's prisoners alive." Daisy says, nodding slightly.

Josette shook her head. "It was built to keep him alive. To keep Kai alive. So that he couldn't take the easy way out." She corrects.

"I was the first one there. Making it both of our prisons." Daisy says, though you could hear just a slight amount of doubt in her voice. "So- I couldn't die either."

Josette paused, watching as that doubt slowly stared to show clearer and clearer on Daisy's face. "Who told you that?" Josette asked, though she knew the answer.

Daisy's heart skipped a beat, and she stood frozen, opposite Josette as both of their hair blew around with the wind. Daisy shifted her way on the other foot, growing quickly uncomfortable. "Josette- I don't know what games you're playing right now but—" She says, talking quickly. She was shaking her head, but if she truly didn't want to hear any more- she would've started walking away.

"Daisy." Josette stops her, and Daisy closed her mouth, her eyebrows upturning in a worried look.

She took several breaths, twisting her lips around as she bit on the inside of her cheek. Her chest felt like it weighed ten times more, making each inhale and exhale a task in itself. Daisy let out a sharp breath, looking up at the sky quickly as if pleading for whatever she finds out next to be a lie. She looks back to Josette, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and confusion. "What am I?"

It was a question that Daisy hadn't considered asking until now. She never thought she was the root of any secrets. She never thought any of the hushed whispers, or backtracked conversations were stemmed from her. Whatever she was. But it would make sense, wouldn't it?

Josette glanced back and fourth between Daisy's eyes, searching for a way to explain this. "I didn't know." Josette began. "Not until I found out you were alive- not until I saw Kai healing you and-"

"Kai healing me?" Daisy interrupts. "What does that have to do with any of this?" She didn't need to ask the question, she knew an explanation would follow either way, but she felt herself wanting to draw this out. To give her time to choose whether or not she really wanted to know.

"He shouldn't be able to do that, okay?" Josette rubs her eyes, frustrated. "Witches can't do that— at least not with everyone." She scoffs slightly, looking back up at Daisy's confused face. "Of course there's herbs- and strength spells but— most witches can't heal people's wounds the way Kai heals yours." She says. "And they can only do that when they meet their Mirasul."

Daisy stared at Josette with a blank look that insinuated she wasn't following. How could she? This wasn't her world. Josette took a breath before continuing. "The chances of a witch getting a Mirasul- let alone finding them are one in a million."

Daisy shakes her head. "Josette, this isn't making any sense." Daisy says, softly. She was clearly very, very confused.

Josette took another breath, knowing she had to stop beating around the bush unless she wanted to lose Daisy's attention completely. "Mirasul's can amplify a witch's magic. Not only that, but they keep the witch healthy- and strong and- alive. Mirasul's exist only for the witch they are linked to."

Daisy didn't move; she didn't let her expression change. Her heart was pounding so hard she felt like you could visibly see it beating in her chest. There was no way. Every word coming out of Josette's mouth sounded foreign. And she kept trying to tell herself she had no reason to believe her. Which was true, but Josette tried to warn Daisy about Kai all those years ago and she didn't believe her then— oh, how she wished she would've.

"So I'm—" Daisy shook her head slowly, trying to help herself understand through talking out loud. "A Mirasul?" It felt strange saying out loud.

Josette shakes her head firmly. "You're not A Mirasul. There's no such thing you're his Mirasul." The sentence came out sternly, and hit hard.

Daisy's eyes filled with worry, and a familiar sense of fear began to grow in the pit of her stomach. Her mouth gapped open but no sound came out. "I don't understand—" was all she could let fall from her lips.

"I don't know if he knew when you first met. I don't think so- I—" Josette paused as she thought for a second. "But I know that's why he was so drawn to you- why you were so drawn to him?" She shrugs slightly. Daisy just stared, processing. "You're connected to him. You were before you ever even met."

Daisy let herself step back, a breath she had been holding in falling from her trembling lips. "I don't—" she struggled for words, bringing her hands up to her face to rub her eyes. "What is happening?" She muttered.

"You should've died that night of the dance. But you didn't." Josette spoke, following Daisy with her eyes. "You can't die."

Daisy lifted her head up from her palms, her eyes full of terror in disbelief as her hands began to tremble. "What do you..." Daisy began to shake her head, her heavy breathing becoming more rapid. "Josette—" Daisy let out a shocked laugh, her feet wanting to start pacing. As the initial shock began to fade and the rational thinking kicked back in, she brought a hand back up to her mouth. She waited a few seconds before speaking. "This is insane." She shook her head, everything in her body trying to convince her this was some sort of twisted lie.

"There's this connection between you two— something strong— very strong. Am I right?" Josette asks. "When you two aren't together things feel wrong— like you have to be near him— protecting him, taking care of him?"

Daisy felt her head shaking no but she couldn't stop it. "No— no— that's love. I love him and he—" Daisy swallows the knot growing in her throat. Her hand was still at her mouth, her finger tips grazing her lips as if removing them would release some sort of gasp she was choking back. "I've never even heard of a Mirasul—"

"That's because they're not usually called that. At least not in American culture." Josette says, she swallows, thinking of a way to word this better. "Angels. Guardian angels."

Daisy felt like she could choke, instead a harsh laugh fell from her mouth as she clung onto her chest. If it weren't for the tears forming in her eyes, Josette would have no idea whether or not she was processing a word she was saying.

"He can't siphon from me- so-" Daisy was searching for any rebuttal that could possibly work right now.

"He doesn't need to." Josette says. "You just being around him is bringing him power. Whether it be magic, or physical health or—"

"The merge." Daisy cut Josette off as soon as the thought popped in her head. She lifts her narrowed gaze off the concrete and to Josette. "When I found him- and Luke- and you at the merge—" she swallows. "he woke up when I got there and— and you said that he cheated." Everything started clicking as she continued. "I brought him back to life."

As the words came out of her mouth and overwhelming amount of memories all came back at once, memories she now viewed in a completely different way. Memories that made so much sense now.

"Neither of you can die now that you've found each other." Josette says, taking the ease off her words now that Daisy was finally catching on.

Daisy's eyes never left Josette, tear filled. "He's known this whole time." She says quietly. "He's known this whole time and he's been using me."

The girl was completely still, despite the turmoil that now racked her entire body she had nowhere to go. Nowhere to look for hope or safety, nowhere to run to for help. She felt heat from her fingertips spread to the rest of her body in a spite of anger, the rain that was beginning to fall failing to put out the fire that rose in her stomach.

"Daisy," Josette says softly.

Daisy glanced up, the first tear falling from her eye.

"I'm sorry." Josette says. "I couldn't watch him do this anymore. A witch and their Mirasul rarely meet because they're not supposed to. It never ends well. The witch becomes too powerful and the Mirasul..." Josette'a sentence falls quiet.

Daisy blinks another tear from her eye, though you couldn't tell with the rain that was hitting her skin. She suddenly takes another set towards her. "What?" She asks, with wide eager eyes. "What's gonna happen to me?"

Josette clenches her jaw, wishing she just kept her mouth shut. "The Mirasul finds a way out of it." Josette says after a long pause.

"There's a way out— a way out of what?" Daisy says, stepping closer with a sense of eagerness that Josette knew could only result in disappointment.

Josette opened her mouth to respond, only for her gaze to be lifted up and past Daisy before her eyes widened. Daisy didn't have any time to realize she was looking behind her before Josette's knees buckled and her eyes shut, falling to the ground with a thud.

Daisy felt her feet carrying her forward at first, but she felt that feeling in the pit of her stomach. In her hands, in her heart; it was a feeling that she was familiar with already, but now so in tune with what it meant. He was here. And her soul was physically reconnecting with his.

She turned slowly, and he stood a few feet away from her. He didn't need to ask anything, he knew exactly what had just gone down. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, his eyes filled with worry as he felt her slipping from his grip.

Daisy had so many questions, ones that sat at the tip of her tongue eagerly waiting to be answered- but she wanted to hurt him. It was the one emotion she felt right now that she was so sure of. The questions could wait, they could be answered but someone else. And her anger spoke for her, she straightened her back- looking at the boy in front of her with lifeless eyes, each word laced with venom. "I never want to see you again."

a/n
finally updated !! yay reveal chapter
( not edited )
- jane