12 | ebony
a synonym of 'dark'

dedicated to hexery

THE PHONE FELL through my fingers as though they were composed of rippling water. The ebony device clattered against the wooden floorboards, veins emerging through the glass of the screen from the impact. Even though Elijah had hung up, I could still his ominous words haunting my mind every time I tried to think.

I fell back into Damon's body, suddenly unable to stand upright – my limbs had turned to jelly, and I was slowly melting away into nothing. His chest was hard under my touch, and my cheeks flushed as his arms wrapped around my body to steady me. He pushed the hair from my eyes, foot falls thudding over as Nathan was beside us in seconds. They both stared at me with wide eyes – they had heard Elijah's words too.

"They're going to kill her," I began to panic, forgetting the pain pulsating through every limb in my body. Hannah was the person who kept me sane; she didn't deserve any of this. And yet, I had drawn her into this world without giving her an opt out. "Damon."

I don't know what else to say, or how to react. My heart shuddered against my eardrum like a battle cry looped on repeat. Sweat soaked my body, causing my hoodie to stick to my arms like a second skin. And although the material was thick, I was shivering. It was so cold. All I could feel was cold.

Damon gripped my good shoulder and spun me around so that I was facing him. He stroked the red-gold strands of hair infiltrating my vision away from my eyes, and tucked them behind my ears. "Ginger, we're not going to let that happen," Damon stated, before shooting Nathan a dissatisfied glance. "Are we, Nathan?"

"I'm not giving him the blade, Damon," Nathan retorted.

"So then we kill Elijah," I muttered under my breath, surprised by my own words. Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away before Damon would notice. "W- We lure him in. Give him what he wants, and then kill him."

Nathan nodded stiffly, whereas Damon's hands lingered on my frame for a moment longer. I wanted to tell him to not let go – never let go – but my words were not strong enough.

"Better get out of here, then," Nathan finally stated, startling the silence away with his powerful voice. I nodded my head, unable to agree more. A pile of ash laid barren at my feet, and the stench of blood and death was pungent in the room. The walls closed in with each breath I drew, and I closed my eyes to inhale sharply to replenish my oxygen supply. If I didn't get out of here soon, I would suffocate.

After we both agreed with Damon, we exited the house and made our way onto the road bridging the housing and apartment developments. Nathan quickly shouted out Harry's name, and the man appeared a minute later with a quizzical look on his face. He looked from Nathan to Damon, whose arms were wrapped tightly around my frame, and shook his head. We exited the premises hastily, and hailed the first taxi we saw, taking us straight to my halls and the horror that would pursue.

Throughout the duration of the trip, my heart would not stop beating at a rate too high for it to maintain, nor would Damon look away from my crumpled figure. Upon further inspection and the removal of my hoodie, it was clear that the stitches in my skin were still intact, but my wound had reopened and scabbed back over. The vampire's arms stayed wrapped around my waist, never letting go. His thumbs drew circles on my forearm, and I lowered my head onto his shoulder as the taxi fought its way through the heavy London traffic.

"We'll save her," Damon whispered, pressed up against the cab door. I was sat in the middle seat of the taxi, with Nathan guarding me on my right, and Harry in the front seat. Rain pattered gently against the windscreen, the wipers drawing away the water in seconds. Damon turned his head to gaze down on me, cheek rested on his breathing chest. The beating of his heart was calming in my ears. He tucked my hair behind my ear, and I sighed, eyes wide open. "She'll be ok, ginger."

I nodded as a response, and closed my eyes, wishing the minutes would tick by faster.

Forty minutes later, the taxi driver pulled up outside my university halls, and we bid him goodbye with fifty pounds in his pocket. The building loomed before us like a shard of glass, and I gulped as the streetlamps cast yellow light across the setting like distorted sunlight. Even though many of the students had packet up and gone home for the holidays, some had stayed to study during the break. Moreover, Ramera Halls were lucky – we didn't have to clear out our rooms at the end of each term.

We went straight up into my room, where I changed into a fresh pair of blue jeans, a black bandeau, and a warm hoodie. I knocked on Hannah's door to see if she was there, but wasn't surprised when she didn't answer.

With a large sigh, the four of us exited the building and made our way towards the field between halls of residence where the music thundered like a storm.

Damon, who had recovered from his wounds with the help of my blood, fastened a hand around my waist as we hastily made our way around my apartment block to assess the situation before us. Heat exploded from his touch, but I shied away from his lingering fingers as my cheeks grew red.

The scene before me was not one I was prepared for. Freshers who I had known for the best part of two and a half months were already too drunk to walk in a straight line. Speakers had been set up around the perimeter of the field, thundering In My Feelings by Drake. Each beat of the base rattled through my breastbone and became a part of me. The multicoloured lights glittered, making the walls of the red-brick buildings glow green, red, purple. A table had been set up under the trees at the far edge of the square, with many teenagers pouring their own drinks from nearly-finished bottles of Vodka and other spirits. The air stank of smoke, which wafted from a fire pit in the centre of the grass. The sound of chatter was almost deafening, even over the music, and people swayed to the drumming beat, intoxicated.

I glanced around in a panicked motion, scanning the fifty teens for my best friend. Among the small clusters of people, I couldn't recognise anyone, let alone Hannah. I sighed, using my shaking hands to scrape my red-gold hair from my eyes and fold them into a tighter ponytail. For the moment, our position by the wall away from the party was safe. But the fact that I couldn't locate Elijah either had my skin tingling with bad energy.

Damon pulled me closer to his chest, using his body as a human shield.

"Ok, sweetheart," Damon breathed in my ear, his voice as rich as honey. I could listen to his American drawl for days. Nathan scratched the back of his head from where he was standing in front of us, pretending he didn't care that we were having a moment we shouldn't. My heart fluttered at the nickname. "We find Hannah, lure Elijah out with the blade, kill him and get home in time for tea making or whatever the fuck you do at ten pm in England."

"That's your plan?"

"Do you have a better one?"

I opened my mouth and folded my hands over my chest in frustration. "Possibly."

"Then enlighten us, ginger."

I crushed Damon's big toe with the wedge of my boot, making the vampire groan and loosen his grip on my body. "All I'm saying is that this is a trap. We can't really plan anything – Elijah's always two steps ahead."

Nathan nodded at my statement. "So we split up, find him and kill him the first moment we can," his beautiful eyes fell to mine. He then glanced to Damon with a bitter smile and turned away. "And don't get caught this time, Damon. If Elijah threatens to kill you, I'll let him do it this time."

I backed away from Damon and stood between the two men furiously. How had they put up with each other for three hundred years? "Whatever hate you have between each other, please fucking stop. If Hannah dies tonight because you two idiots can't work together, I'll personally make sure you choke to death on your own dicks. Got it?"

Damon raised both eyebrows, clearly disturbed. "Got it," he laughed, before snaking his hand into mine and pulling me away from his clan leader. "Ginger, you're with me. I think you need a drink."

"Sign me up for a natural spring water," I replied, too scared about Hannah's well-being to laugh.

"An alcoholic drink," The handsome man rolled his eyes momentarily before tugging me away from Nathan, who remained stood beside the building. His eyes scanned the crowd like a hawk, but I felt that leaving him behind was the best option. "I can't put up with you sober."

"You flatter me, Damien." I bashed Damon's arm as he hauled me onto the wet grass, and through the crowds of people. Some turned their attention to us as we made our way hastily to the drinks table, but I barely had time to acknowledge them. We reached the beverage table where Damon poured a double shot vodka-cranberry and pried it between my fingers. A pretty fresher giggled next to us, pouring a cider into a plastic cup whilst singing along to You Need Me, I Don't Need You by Ed Sheeran with a voice that sounded like a strangled cat. I pinched up my lips, but the smile fell the moment Damon grabbed the fresher's shirt and pulled her eyes to his.

"Damon!" I exclaimed, bashing my hand against his arm. The vampire waved a hand to stop me.

"Have you by any chance seen a tall, dark-haired, creepily blue-eyed, slightly arrogant man recently? Dressed in a suit?" Damon interrogated. His eyes relaxed as the girl's mouth puckered open. She was pretty, with soft tanned features and a small nose to fit her heart-shaped face.

The girl giggled once more, eye contact snapping. "You mean Elijah," The girl drew out the name on her tongue, relishing it. She bit her lip seductively and placed a hand on Damon's chest.

Cheeks flushing the colour of my blood, I clenched my teeth so hard they almost shattered. My stomach bubbled with an unfamiliar sensation that was so overwhelming I wanted to puke and push the girl away from Damon at the same time.

"He was over there ten minutes ago." The girl pointed a slender finger to the centre of the park, which was heaving with dancing teenagers.

Damon took the girl's other hand, clutching it between his own to take it off his chest. The corners of his lips twitched up. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Giggling, the girl winked at Damon and disappeared into the crowd, swallowed whole by moving limbs. I stared after the pretty girl bitterly - and for no reason whatsoever. I couldn't pin the reason why my whole body was convulsing; why I was shaking because Damon had let her touch him.

But when Damon's hand wrapped itself around my wrist, I forgot the pang of jealousy in my stomach. I glanced up at the man curiously, noting the slight smirk prying at his lips.

"What're you doing?" I muttered, heart fluttering. Maybe the reason Damon was smiling because he could hear it. "We need to find Hannah."

"Always the fucking hero, Cora."

"Just because you're always the villain."

"Princess, you haven't even seen my bad side yet."

I raised my brows. "This is your good side?"

Damon secured his hold around my wrist and dragged me into the crowd without replying, lips growing thin and smile ebbing away. He scanned over the people, and after a minute of searching we proceeded to stop in the middle of the dancing mass. Without further protest, his hands fell around my waist as the song changed to a slow tune that made the hair on the back of my neck prickle. I sucked in a breath, refusing to look Damon in the eye and continuing to search for Elijah.

We didn't dance - I couldn't dance. With Hannah's life on the line, all I could do was stare around the faces that merged into a ferocious beast, moving around collectively like a tainted nightmare.

"I can't see him," I sighed, body shaking at the mere thought of Hannah's life leaving her body. Damon's hold tightened around my waist, inviting me into his chest. The behaviour sent a wave of confusion through my brain, but I remained upright and as alert as ever. I glanced at the watch on Damon's wrist. Five minutes to eleven.

Damon tucked his hand under my chin, making my whole body tingle with sparks. He pushed away the hair in my eyes, and smiled sympathetically as though I was a child. "We'll find him, Ginger, ok? Then we can get back to figuring out who the fuck compelled you."

Don't trust Damon.

I suddenly remembered my flashback from the other night - remember the crashing of water and the abandoned parking lot slowly crumbling away into dust.

"Damon, I saw something else."

Damon's eyes were beady, like a hawk. "Saw what?"

"An abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of London somewhere. I don't know why I saw it, but it - it felt like death."

"We'll figure it out." The man hugged me even tighter. "Nothing's happening to Hannah. I promise."

"You know you're shit at keeping your promises," I uttered.

It took every single ounce of willpower I had to push his hand away. A hurt look crossed the vampire's face, but I stepped away from his arms nonetheless and turned around to continue searching.

But before I could walk away, I bumped straight into the chest of another man. Blushing and casting my eyes downwards, I muttered a quick sorry before trying to walk once more. Yet the body did not move.

"Love," An ominous tone pierced the chilling air. "Where do you think you're going?"

My heart jumped to my throat, until there was no longer any air left for me to breathe. My face paled, blood rushing to my brain in a flush of adrenaline. Sweat dripped down my forehead, and I momentarily forgot the pain in my left shoulder.

Thump thump thump.

Shit.

I gulped, finally tearing my eyes off the wet grass to look directly into Elijah's demonic eyes. In the night light, they were nothing more than ebony slits.

In the blink of an eye, two arms wrapped around my chest and pulled me backwards. The stench of Damon's cologne was invigorating, and I shook as we stood meters away from Elijah. Damon fastened his hold, pressing me behind him to ensure my safety. Seconds later, Nathan burst through the seams of the crowd, followed eagerly by Harry. Every single one of the party goers had stopped, frozen in place like gravestones.Their eyes were unblinking; pulsating. Every fibre in my body wanted to unleash a scream from my mouth in horror - they were my friends, and because they were my friends, they could die. Elijah had compelled them all, and here they stood, staring at us in silence like we were prey.

Elijah waved his suit-clad arm towards the crowd and smirked. He relished the moment, power surrounding him like an inky-black shroud.

"Cora, Damon, Nathan," Elijah taunted. "Glad you could join us."

If my heart wasn't occupying my throat, I would've shouted every single profanity I knew at the man. Except it was, so Damon spoke up instead.

"We've got what you want, Elijah," Damon stated in a rasping tone that had my womb clenching. Of all things I found attractive, someone's voice was right at the top of the list. And nothing compared to the deep, mysterious tone Damon's speech encapsulated.

Elijah's serious facade faltered, and the man smiled broadly. He knew he was torturing us, and the thought made him laugh. "Remind me, Damon, when did you ever care about anyone other than yourself?"

Damon's fingers trailed across my forearm like a streak of fire, and his jaw clenched multiple times as he stepped forward. Hand clenched into a fist, he remained silent.

"Oh, that's right. You don't care about anyone."

I finally managed to swallow my throbbing heart, angered by the words. Everything Damon had done up until this point was because of me, and only me. I had never seen him care more. Albeit, other people he simply did not give a shit about, but the man had given me no reason to hate him. In fact, as much as I wanted to hate him with my whole being, I couldn't. Because the hate had been replaced by a feeling even stronger.

A feeling I hadn't quite been able to admit I felt.

But there was one problem. I felt the same way about Nathan, too.  

Elijah held out a hand, asking for the ceremonial dagger. Of course, Damon didn't possess the weapon. I did.

"Now, hand the blade over," Elijah stated with a jab of his slender fingers. When none of us made a move, the students surrounding us stepped closer until their bodies were pressed into my back. I moved away from them with a scrunch of my nose, only to end up meters away from Elijah's intrusive crystal stare.

Nathan folded his arms over his chest. "What makes you think that we still have it?"

As though he had expected the answer, Elijah smirked with relish. In the beat of a heart, Elijah picked out a boy from the crowd and stood behind him graciously. Elijah dropped his gaze to mine, and I pulled my hands into fists in retaliation. A smirk slithered onto his abnormally handsome features, before he reached towards and with a snap broke the boy's back like a twig.

The boy's eyes remained open and emotionless. All the breath left my chest in one exhale, leaving me fighting for oxygen and clawing at my lungs.

"No!" I shouted, anger bubbling through every cell in my body until all I could do was run blindly towards Elijah with rage. Yet, I didn't make it far. As Damon's fingers scraped at my arm to hold me back, I was pulled into another, much firmer hold. The cool arm slipped around my neck like a noose, and Elijah's silent breathing was all I could hear, except the music which continued to blast like the calm before the storm. Except this was the storm - perhaps it was even a hurricane.

The gentleman's arm slid around my body and left a trail of ice across my midriff. I couldn't see his face as he lent forwards, inhaling the scent of my blood from my vein. I shook against my will, petrified like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"So pure," he murmured against my neck, kissing the tender skin. I couldn't help but shiver. Without another word, Elijah's attention turned to Damon and the Washington DC clan leader. My eyes met Damon's, and I watched his throat bulge in panic. Yet, as long as I was lost in the depths of his hazel irises, the fear was nothing more than a pinprick.

"Give me the blade, or Hannah's next," Elijah demanded in an emotionless tone. He nodded towards the dead boy, glazed eyes staring into the abyss of death. I let out another sob. My chest hurt like it had been doused in petrol and set alight.

"Don't touch her, Elijah." Nathan warned.

The comment only encouraged the male to sweep away my hair so that my throbbing vein was visible to him. My stomach convulsed; bile rose in my throat.

"Or what, Nathan? You can't kill me, you know that."

"He said don't fucking touch her," Damon trod forwards.

"It fascinates me how the pair of you can be so head over heels for one plain, human girl. No offence, Cora. Aside from the pretty face and filthy mouth, I really don't see it. Or maybe it's the pure blood?"

Damon's stare hardened until I no longer recognised the beast before me. The veins under his eyes popped like bones breaking through skin. Yet a single word didn't escape his mouth.

When the dark-haired vampire took a step forwards, Elijah waved a hand. The crowd around us moved in closer, each taking a precise step at the same moment like robots. Under Elijah's compulsion, they all stared with abandon and a darkness that welled in their eyes like the open ocean.

"One more step, and I drain her dry, Damon," Elijah muttered calmly.

"You can't kill her, fucktard."

The man behind me tutted. I felt the semi-words vibrate through his chest, shuddering against his grip. "Oh, I can. And as much as I'd love to," I closed my eyes, breathing quickened, heart rate soaring at the mere thought of what he meant, "I want the blade. So hand it over before Cora and Hannah pay the price."

Elijah's breath flowed over my exposed skin, and no matter how hard I tried to move my neck away from his beckoning teeth, it was useless. I was a human up against a thousand-year-old vampire who was one-hundred times stronger than me.

The man swept away my hair once more, the night air sending a spike of ice through every nerve in my body. I couldn't move; I couldn't breathe. Damon acted on instinct, rushing closer, but the compelled students closed in around us like the tide swelling and consuming a beach whole.

"Now, Damon."

My eyes met Damon's for a second, causing my heart to flake away like a sandcastle caught in a gust. He knew he couldn't give Elijah what he wanted, and the consequences had him distraught. The man gulped, powerless. I wanted to rush over, but I knew that I was the only one who had the power to save myself.

"Damon," Elijah warned once again. The ancient vampire's cool lips met the base of my neck and kissed the punctured skin. I wanted to throw up. In todays world, this was not right. My choice had been taken away.

"Nathan."

I slowly moved my hand, and closed my eyes the moment it found the slick handle of the obsidian blade. Enclosing my fist around it, I let out a breath. And as soon as the air left my lungs, I swung my arm up and backwards, meeting Elijah's stomach with the ebony weapon.

Taken aback, Elijah let out a momentary scream of pain. His grip fell away from me completely, and I sprinted over to Damon. I crashed into the half-Italian's arms without grace, burying my head in his chest. His hand wound up around the back of my neck, pulling me away from Elijah as he released another groan.

Gathering my courage, I looked back at Elijah. His blue eyes burned with fury, like flames that were too hot to the touch. His hand was wrapped out the obsidian blade, knuckles white like bone. Without deliberation he pulled it from his stomach, which was oozing black blood by the bucket load.

I edged closer to Damon's chest the moment Elijah's face contorted to a sinister smile. He had no remorse, and the man knew it. Elijah took his time to wipe the weapon on his suit, staining the expensive material beyond recognition. He marvelled the weapon with beady eyes - after all, he had spent decades competing to become king. Just like the other competitors. Just like Nathan.

Without further hesitation, Elijah dropped the ebony stake into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

"You missed."

"And you're lucky I have morals, otherwise you'd be dead." I seethed.

I couldn't find the courage to look at Nathan's heartbroken face, yet all had gone according to plan - my plan.

"Now give us Hannah," I demanded, finally able to move away from Damon's warmth. His hands lowered obediently, but I missed the smell of his cologne the moment I was out of his embrace. His soft fingers ran circles across my forearm, sending sparks into my bloodstream and igniting my adrenaline. Even though Elijah now possessed the means to destroy me, I wasn't afraid. He had had his chance, and I wasn't going to give him another.

Elijah's smile had returned to his handsome face, cheekbones slender and cutting channel into his skin the moment his lips widened. Despite appearing as sinister as the devil, he was still the epitome of handsome. With his classic suit and air of confidence, he was attractive, yet his face now repulsed me.

"Hannah!" Elijah shouted and waved his arm, signalling at the roof. I creased my forehead in confusion. "Why don't you come and join us, love?"

I looked around the crowd, expecting Hannah to walk straight through the compelled teenagers who were still staring at us with an eerie silence. When she didn't, I glanced back to the roof where Elijah had initially signalled. My heart froze as a figure appeared on the edge of the four-storie building, silhouette by the city lights that burnt like a fireworks display. The wind tore at her hair, sending the short strands flying around the woman's face in a frenzy.

"Oh my god," I whispered, overtaken by a sudden feeling of guilt and fear. "Hannah!"

Elijah's face grew smug.

"Cora?" Hannah's high voice echoed across the chasm of ruby-stone walls. She stepped forward, dangerously close to the edge. "Cora, I- I can't stop." She took another step.

My heart clenched, legs moving towards the building twenty meters away, where the grass turned to gravel, and gravel turned to brick. But the swarm of students surrounded me in seconds, and my efforts to push them out of the way were fruitless.

"Hannah, you're going to be ok," I shouted in the calmest voice I could muster. Which was not calm. I turned my head towards Elijah, who was still smiling like a cheshire cat. "You said you'd leave her alone," I cried in anger, balling my hands into fists.

In a whoosh of air, Nathan and Damon joined me as we stared down the man before us. Three against one, he was outnumbered. Yet, when it came down to it, Elijah would always come out on top. He was smarter, older - stronger. And I was a consistent B grade student who ate too much for her own good.

"Let her go, Elijah," Nathan hissed.

The vampire in question twiddled his thumbs and placed his hands on his hips. "And where would be the fun in that?" He pouted. "Oh come on. You must've known I would fuck you over."

I narrowed my eyes. "Who says we wouldn't do the same?"

This caused Elijah to chuckle. "Love, you do realise I can kill you, right?"

I hardened my gaze, wishing my look could simply kill him on the spot.

"And I don't really give a shit. Let Hannah go."

"Great idea," the male sneered. "Hannah, love. Please come down for us."

Hannah took another step, the edge of her shoe appearing over the side of the building. Another step, and she would tumble down to her death.

"Hurry up, Hannah. We're waiting."

Hannah's foot stepped over the edge, supported by nothing but air. And then she began to fall through the air, plummeting like a stone.

My heart in my throat, a scream tore through me that was so loud, I was sure everyone in a ten-mile radius could hear.

Nathan and Damon both reacted at the same time. To the untrained human eye, it was impossible to see them sprint towards the girl as she spun through the air like a ribbon weighing a thousand tonnes. People say that in moments like these, time slows. But this time, it does not. This time, all I can see is Hannah falling and falling and falling at the speed of light.

Elijah intervened before Nathan could take two steps, snapping the vampire's neck with his bare hands. All I could do was watch as the second pursued, Hannah's flailing body hurtling towards certain death.

All it took was three seconds. Three seconds for Hannah to hit the ground.

Three seconds for Damon's arms to catch her out of thin air, and carry her to safety.

I didn't have time to be relieved. The moment Elijah's eyes glazed over Nathan's limp body, I flung myself forwards with nothing more than my fists for protection. A murderous look had swallowed Elijah's eyes whole. The ebony now in his grip, he brought it down towards Nathan's heart in the bat of an eyelid.

Every single nerve in my body tingled as I slammed into the vampire, knocking him over with my full weight. The weapon flew out of his hand, clattering and rolling across the grass until it disappeared into the grey-green sea. I panted, and didn't have time to recover as Elijah flipped us over so that he caged me with each of his four limbs. The fine, tight stitching of his suit was torn apart at the seams around his shoulders as they pulsed in anger. His eyes lingered on mine like the red light of a sniper.

I immediately fell to my first line of defence, and rose my knee to make contact with Elijah's groin. As anticipated, the vampire howled and I pushed him off me in one movement. With Damon nowhere in sight, I had to fend the man off until someone came to kill Elijah for me.

I stumbled to my feet, only for a pair of hands to encircle my waist and throw me across the grass. I hit the hard dirt hard, sending my head spinning and waves of agony rolling through my shoulder. Yet, I had barely hit the ground before the same pair of glacial hands entwined themselves around my body like branches of emerald ivy.

Elijah's breath fanned down on my neck as he moved away the strands of my red-gold hair. "You know I could kill everyone here, Cora," he whispered, stretching my name over two seconds until I no longer recognised it.

I was no longer shivering; I was frozen. Completely and utterly rendered useless by fear. I didn't feel fear, but Elijah was my embodiment of fear. Perhaps I had feared him before my mind had been wiped, but I certainly feared him nonetheless.

"Do you want me to kill them all?"

I shook my head viciously.

"Then stop testing me, Cora. Before you regret it."

"The only thing I regret is not fucking stabbing you!"

The crowd around us closed in, dead eyes glazed over like glass. I spotted a girl who lived on the same corridor, her usual smile sunken into a straight line. Another boy I had fancied when I moved in looked at me with a withering hatred. It was wrong. Elijah had compelled them all, and it was all part of a sick plan to become King. They were pawns, and checkmate was nowhere in sight.

I struggled in Elijah's grip, but he steadied me with his strong arms. He squeezed until my ribcage clicked, brittle bones ready to shatter at one more ounce of strength.

"Stop fighting, Cora. It all ends the same way in this world. The human dies."

"I'm not your average human," I grunted, Elijah's fingers trailing delicately over my chest and up to my neck. His strong cologne blocked the stench of wet grass, stinging my nose like poison.

"No, you're a virgin. For now."

For now. The words echoed in my head like fireworks, detonating one after the other.

I began to writhe one more against Elijah's grip, but stopped the moment his fangs trailed along the skin of my neck. Without further warning, the two canines pierced my skin without remorse. I screamed in horror, but Elijah's slender fingers moved over my mouth to silence me. Pain coursed through my neck as the vampire drank.

He's not going to stop.

I attempted to bite Elijah's hand, but he moved it away just in time. My energy was fading fast, and black began to burn in my vision.

Just as the inky sky turned to a sultry scarlet, Elijah's mouth withdrew from my neck. Gasping, I pushed away from his arms and turned around to see the ancient vampire on his knees. Elijah's beautiful face was no longer smiling, but creased to the point where he had constipation. All the colour had drained from his already-pale skin to leave behind a ghostly shell.

I dragged my eyes upwards, landing on Damon's concentrated face. His hand was wrist-deep in Elijah's back, twisting and twisting at the male's heart with abandon.

"You fucked with the wrong vampire."

And with that, Damon tore Elijah's heart from his chest. The vampire's body collapsed at my feet, and I watched as the skin turned to dust and blew away into the ebony of night.

FINALLY ANOTHER CHAPTER¡¡!

sorry for keeping you from your men, aka my loves Nathan and Damoon!! hope you enjoyed and sorry for the lack of action, this chapter did not go as planned but I still kind of like it and Damon's finally showing more affection towards Cora ;))

Plus my love bitchmafia has posted a new vampire book that I would seriously recommend!! Go check it out 💛

Thank you for being patient and for 7! Fucking! K! I'm blown, thank you!!

Let me know what you thought, and thank you so much for reading. Love you all xx ❤️