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XXXIV - 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔣𝔬𝔯𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯

graphics by the lovely iixbella

STEFAN WAS CALLING HIM.

"Bonnie just left. Rebekah should be here soon to pick up the body," Damon answered the phone without any pleasantries.

"Well, I've got Caroline and Elijah in place. Jeremy is gonna lead Alaric to us," Stefan declared over their call.

Damon bit his lip before asking his brother a question that had been bouncing around in the back of his mind. "You just had to let her make the choice, didn't you?"

"What would you have done, Damon?"

"Grabbed her, gagged her, threw her in a well, I don't know, anything other than let her trust Elijah."

"You know she'd just hate you for it, right?"

"Yeah, but she'd be alive and she'd hate me. Thus, the eternal difference between you and me, brother."

Damon could picture Stefan's contemplative frown perfectly.

"As soon as we get the stake," Stefan thought aloud, "hand over the coffin and get out. Alaric's got half the police looking for Klaus' car."

"What about Lily?"

A few beats of silence, and then: "What about her?"

"Where is she? With Judas?"

"Locked up in the Mikaelson cellar, out of harm's way."

"Good. She better stay there. We have no idea whether Alaric's going to grab her."

"Don't worry, brother. She'll be fine."

"I wasn't worrying."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't."

"Damon," Stefan said in warning.

"Stefan," Damon answered in the same tone, a small smile on his face.

"If you miss her that much, put your pride aside and go apologize. You guys were good friends before Klaus and Elena got in the way."

"What is this? Therapy?"

"Pay me and it could be."

"First of all, I'm not drunk enough for this. Secondly, we have a major vampire-killing hunter problem on our hands. Lastly, I don't think she wants to see me."