I was on Caroline's hospital bed, and she was sitting beside me, her head still resting on my shoulder, crying.
It had been chaos when they found out I was alive… Liz tried to hand me a glass to drink, and I immediately knew it was vervain.
She suspected I was a vampire, which wasn't wrong… The good thing is Damon never taught her about the transformation process.
So when I drank the vervain and didn't react… she relaxed.
After Caroline calmed down and stopped crying, she wiped her eyes, all cute, and looked into mine.
"Nik… your grandmother is outside… I heard you were discharged," Caroline said with a questioning look. "You're here instead of leaving…"
"My grandmother is out there waiting to beat me up," I said nervously, even shrinking a little. "She probably already realized I died."
"But… but… you're alive… wait… you were half vampire, right?" Caroline's eyes widened in shock, and she looked at me with fear. "I'm sorry, Nik… If I had controlled myself… when Elena flirted with you, you wouldn't have had to die."
And she started crying again.
"No… if I had been driving it would've happened anyway," I said with a light laugh. "Relax, baby… it was my destiny."
I kissed her and gently caressed her beautiful face.
"But you're still here," she said again in a teary voice. "Even if you're going to get a beating from your grandmother… you'd still stay."
"Yesss… but I want to spend time with my girlfriend," I said with an even more mischievous smile.
"No… you look worried about something," she said bluntly. "I've known you my whole life and I've been in love with you since childhood… I've watched you my entire life. I know exactly when you're worried about something."
"That was terrifying," I laughed, and she blushed. Then I shook my head. "Do you remember when I told you I could see possible futures?"
Caroline's eyes widened instantly and tears fell.
"I die today, right?" she asked, her voice breaking.
"Yes and no… You die… but you come back as a vampire," I sighed. "An evil version of Elena kills you."
"The bold, hot-attitude vampire one?" Caroline asked, narrowing her eyes.
Yes, I might have used that term when Bonnie and I told her about the supernatural.
"Yeah… that one," I answered, a little fear in my voice. Damn my mouth.
"Nik… will I like it?" she asked softly. "I mean… being a vampire?"
"You'll be the best and most inspiring vampire of all," I said, smiling as I remembered. "At first you'll struggle… but soon it'll feel like you were born for it."
And she really was. A big part of the story wouldn't have worked if Caroline hadn't become a vampire. Because she did, so much of everything worked out.
"Nik… go," Caroline smiled and kissed me. "If you said I'll like it… that's what matters. Don't change destiny."
She was so special… accepting her fate like that.
She didn't deserve to be killed by Katherine.
No… she really didn't.
"Caroline…" I closed my eyes, sadness heavy in my voice. "You don't deserve to be killed by that bitch."
"Nik… thank you," she smiled and closed her eyes.
I used the little magic I had left to snap her neck.
Bonnie had already confirmed Caroline had my blood in her system.
I left her on the bed and walked out.
"Hi, Grandma," I said when I saw her outside the hospital.
"Hi, Grandma…" I repeated, stopping in front of her with the smile of someone who knows he made history-level bad decisions.
Sheila didn't answer.
She stood there… still… staring at me.
It wasn't anger.
It was worse.
That Bennett witch look that already knows everything before you even speak.
"You died."
Not a question.
I swallowed.
"I came back…"
Her magic pressed the air around us.
My whole body felt heavy.
"No," she said quietly. "Don't try to soften that for me."
Her eyes dropped to my chest.
Silence.
She felt it.
She always did.
"You're in transition…"
That was it.
I lowered my eyes, waiting for the speech about abomination… vampires… imbalance… disappointment…
"You sent me away."
I blinked.
"What?"
"You and BONNIE," her voice rose and the lights flickered, "tricked me… took me out of MY city…"
She was shaking.
Not just anger.
Pain.
"…because you thought I'd get hurt protecting you… and while I was there drinking tea with those gossiping witches…"
She stepped closer.
Tears in her eyes.
"You died alone."
That hurt more than any spell.
"I didn't want you to get hurt…"
"And you decided to die instead?" she snapped.
Silence.
I shrugged like a kid caught stealing cookies.
"Do you… hate me now?"
She stared at me.
Long seconds passed.
Then she cupped my face.
"My boy…"
Her voice broke.
"You're cold…"
I closed my eyes.
This was it.
But instead she pulled me into a tight hug.
"I felt it when you died," she whispered. "The bond just vanished… and then it came back… weak… messy…"
She pulled away and smacked the back of my head.
"LOOK AT YOU."
"I look good…" I tried to lighten the mood.
Another smack.
"You think I protected you your whole life so you could become a ghost by choice?"
"It wasn't by choice—"
"I DON'T CARE."
The floor trembled slightly.
"You will complete the transition."
"Grandma, I was going to—"
"DO NOT INTERRUPT ME."
Okay.
Fear.
"I am not burying you," she said, eyes wet. "I won't watch you waste away because you're scared of what you are."
She grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at her.
"Vampire, witch, hybrid, whatever you turned into… you're still my grandson."
That destroyed me.
"And another thing," she narrowed her eyes, "whose idea was it to send me on vacation?"
"Bonnie's plan…" I pointed at Bonnie.
"IT WAS YOURS!" Bonnie shouted back, pointing at me.
It was.
"So it was both of you clowns… I am a BENNETT," she declared, and the hospital seemed to fall silent. "I fight for the people I love… you don't get to take that from me."
Maximum guilt.
"Sorry…"
She sighed and ran her hand through my hair like when I was little.
"You won't die again, Nik," she said firmly. "Not while I'm alive."
For the first time since I woke up…
…I wasn't afraid she'd abandon me.
I was afraid she'd actually follow through on the threat.
The hunger tore through me.
I grabbed the wall as heartbeats thundered in my ears.
"Focus, Nik."
She handed me the blood bag.
"Drink."
"I hate this."
"Die again then."
I pierced the bag.
The blood burned down my throat.
My heart beat once.
Twice.
Then silence.
But not emptiness.
Stability.
—
When I opened my eyes, I was in the palace.
The air felt ancient.
Recognizing me.
My mother stood there waiting.
"You completed it."
"I felt it."
She touched my chest.
"You're stable."
"What did I become?" I asked.
"You didn't become something unnatural," she said softly. "Vampires were never fully accepted. Nature resisted them… used destiny to limit them."
She brushed her hand across my face.
"When you completed your transition… that resistance stopped."
The room felt lighter.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you freed vampires from unfair punishment by destiny."
"And my powers?"
"You are like an Original. How powerful you'll become depends on your potential… but since you're my son, you'll surpass most of your uncles."
She smiled faintly.
"No link to the white oak." "No bound lineage." "The sun and wood won't affect you the same way they affect your uncles and your father… though they will still have some effect." "You won't burn in the sun… but you'll weaken if you overexpose yourself."
"So I'm…"
"Independent."
She touched my forehead.
"Your magic remains. It flows with your immortality."
"And the vampires I create?"
"That depends on them."
She spoke calmly.
"Your lineage will have advantages and disadvantages. Like werewolves, their power will depend on individual potential. Age stabilizes power… so a newborn vampire from your line could rival a thousand-year-old one… and a thousand-year-old from your line could equal a normal hundred-year-old."
"And less specific weaknesses… since they aren't tied to your grandmother's spell. The sun will still be a problem."
"So no super personal army."
"I expected that question."
"And the spirits?" I asked.
Her expression shifted.
"They were reminded of their place."
The air thickened.
"They touched my son. That is not forgiven."
"You killed Esther?" I asked hopefully.
"I did not kill Esther," she cut in. "She is your problem. You must resolve her."
"The spirits who reactivated the clock were punished."
"How?" I asked curiously.
"They were auctioned," she said calmly, almost cruelly. "Everyone wants a Bennett for experimentation. Souls like ours… I and another mortal became gods by our own hands. Gods, angels, demons… they all want to understand how. My descendants are valuable subjects."
"Wait… there are demons and angels?" I asked.
"Yes. But don't worry about them," she smiled. "They're more occupied with their own wars than this world."
"And if one attacks me?"
"Then tear them apart," she said simply. "You are an Original now. Among the most powerful beings. And if someone truly dangerous appears… like Lucy… I will handle it."
Lucy?
The devil?
How does she know the devil?
And how would she handle that?
The palace began to fade.
"Wake up now. Your grandmother is about to turn a doctor into a frog, and I'd rather avoid the spiritual paperwork."
And then everything went dark.
End of 1 volume