The church was silent, save for the faint crackle of energy in the air and the echoes of the battle still ringing in everyone’s ears. The Blade of Thorns pulsed in Arianna’s hand, its dark power settling down after the violent burst of magic that had nearly torn the building apart.
Klaus stood nearby, watching her carefully. There was a mix of admiration and something else—something hard to place—in his eyes.
“Well, that was certainly unexpected,” Klaus said, his voice low.
Arianna glanced at the Blade. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t apologize,” Klaus cut her off. “You’ve just done something most people wouldn’t have survived. Including Sebastian.”
Speaking of whom, Sebastian was now struggling to rise from the floor, his hand clutching his chest where the magical burst had hit him. His eyes were bloodshot, his fangs still bared in a grimace of fury.
“You’ll pay for this,” he snarled, his voice low and venomous. “Both of you.”
Klaus took a step toward him, his voice smooth but deadly. “You should have learned by now, Sebastian. You never threaten me. And you definitely don’t threaten what’s mine.”
Sebastian’s eyes flicked to Arianna, and his lips curled in a dark smile. “Your little human? A funny thing to claim as yours, Klaus.”
Before Klaus could react, Sebastian made a sharp gesture with his hand, and several of his remaining vampires launched themselves toward them. But in the blink of an eye, Elijah stepped forward, snapping his fingers. His allies, newly arrived, tore through Sebastian’s minions with ease.
“Enough games,” Elijah said, his voice sharp. “You’re out of your depth, Sebastian. You’ve crossed the line, and now you’ll pay for it.”
Sebastian gritted his teeth but didn’t fight back. He knew when he was beaten, at least for now. The Blade’s power had crippled him more than he had anticipated, and even his enhanced vampire abilities couldn’t compete with the force of magic that Arianna had unlocked.
“I’ll be back,” Sebastian warned, his eyes narrowing at Klaus, then flicking to Arianna. “And when I return, I’ll make sure you regret this.”
With a final, venomous glare, Sebastian retreated into the shadows, disappearing from sight.
The room went quiet as the last of the vampires fell to the ground, turning to ash.
Arianna exhaled in relief, though her hands were still trembling slightly from the power she’d just unleashed.
“That was too close,” she murmured, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Klaus turned to her, his expression unreadable. “You did well,” he said quietly.
She looked up at him, startled. “Well?”
“You didn’t just save us, you stopped a major threat to this town,” Klaus said, stepping closer. His tone softened for a moment, and Arianna could sense that he was being genuine. “I didn’t expect you to be able to wield that power, but you did.”
Arianna swallowed, feeling both a surge of pride and a tinge of fear. The Blade of Thorns had felt too powerful, too dangerous. She wasn’t sure if she was in control of it, or if it was in control of her.
“I didn’t know I could do that,” she admitted, glancing at the dagger in her hand. “But I knew I couldn’t just let him take it.”
Klaus’s gaze flickered toward the Blade. “It’s not just any weapon. That dagger is more than just a tool. It’s a key, a key to something much darker.”
Arianna frowned. “What do you mean?”
Klaus paused for a moment, his expression hardening. “It’s connected to old magic. The kind of magic that even I don’t fully understand. It has the potential to destroy or enslave. Whoever controls it controls much more than just the Originals.”
Arianna felt the weight of those words. She had just touched something that had the power to tear apart their world—and she didn’t even know how.
“What happens now?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Klaus turned to her, his eyes calculating. “Now, we wait. Sebastian will regroup, but we won’t make the same mistake twice. We’ll be ready for him.”
Arianna nodded, though the uncertainty gnawed at her.
“And in the meantime?” she asked, her gaze moving to the others in the room, all of whom had remained silent, watching the exchange.
Elijah, ever the strategist, stepped forward. “In the meantime, we make sure that the Blade is kept safe. No one else can wield it—not even you, Arianna. It’s too dangerous.”
Arianna’s chest tightened at the words, but she didn’t argue. She didn’t have the knowledge to fight the Blade’s power. All she knew was that it had chosen her, in some strange, inexplicable way. And that terrified her.
“We’ll need a safe place,” Klaus said, his voice clipped. “Somewhere hidden. A vault, perhaps, where no one can get to it.”
“We’ll handle that,” Elijah said, nodding to one of the vampire allies behind him.
Arianna opened her mouth to protest, but Klaus raised a hand, silencing her. “This is for your safety, Arianna. You have no idea what kind of enemies we’re dealing with.”
She bit her lip, feeling the sting of his words, but knew he was right. There was no way she could defend herself if more enemies came after the Blade. And she couldn’t rely on Klaus to always be there.
“I understand,” she said quietly.
Klaus studied her for a moment, then gave her a sharp nod. “Good.”
The tension in the room lingered, thick and heavy. Arianna was left wondering what other secrets Klaus was hiding—secrets about the Blade, about its true power, and about the dark forces that seemed to be closing in on them.
But one thing was certain: Her life, and the lives of those she cared about, had just become far more dangerous.
The battle was far from over.