POV Nora
Two Months earlier
"Mother, you have to let me go," I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though frustration bubbled inside me. "You know you can't keep me here forever."
Dante had come by not long ago asking if I wanted to join him. He was going on a hunt for the last two werewolf clans Nero needed for his spell. The thought of it had stayed in my mind ever since.
But the problem wasn't the hunt.
The problem was Nero.
I still didn't know how I felt about my uncle. Something about him felt… wrong. I couldn't explain it. There was just something deep inside me that whispered not to trust him. Yet at the same time, he had always been around me and my siblings growing up.
Though it was obvious he had his favorites.
Jamine… and—
"Oh come on, Mother, let her go. Or better yet, let me come too."
I sighed.
Speak of the devil.
"Selene, stay out of this, please," my mother said firmly.
Selene leaned against the doorway with a grin. "Why? I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking."
"For once, I agree with her," my brother Caleb said from the corner of the room.
Selene blinked in surprise.
"Wow."
"Mother, I think hell has frozen over. "
"Caleb just agreed with me."
Caleb ignored her and looked at Mother.
"You can't keep Nora here like some damsel in distress."
Mother rubbed her temples, clearly irritated.
"Why must you all always gang up on me during these conversations?"
"Mother," I said gently, stepping forward, "I'm not a child anymore. You can't keep me here just because you're afraid of what the world might do to me."
Her eyes hardened.
"I most certainly can," she replied sharply.
The room went quiet.
For a moment I thought she would refuse again.
But then she sighed.
"But your brother is right," she admitted reluctantly. "I cannot keep you here forever."
Selene grinned in victory.
"Does that mean—"
"Yes," Mother interrupted, raising a hand. "You may go."
I felt relief wash over me instantly.
"But," she continued, pointing at my siblings, "Caleb and Selene will be coming with you."
"Goody," Selene said excitedly. "I'll pack my things."
She ran upstairs before Mother could change her mind.
Mother turned to Caleb next and pointed at him sternly.
"And you… make sure this one stays safe."
She gestured toward me.
Caleb smirked slightly.
"Well, of course, Mother."
She waved her hand dismissively.
"You're all dismissed."
POV Nero
We finally made it to the town Mikael was staying in.
It was called Tilsit.
In my past life I had never been to Russia, and I had to say… the place was colder than I expected. The kind of cold that sank through your clothes and settled into your bones.
The streets were covered in old packed snow, and most of the buildings were made from thick wood and dark stone. Smoke curled from chimneys, drifting lazily into the grey sky above.
Despite the cold, the people here were surprisingly welcoming.
A few even greeted us as we passed.
After my little… incident at Loka village, when I returned to the inn covered head to toe in blood, Mekesa asked no questions.
That was just the type of person she was.
One of the many things I loved about my little sister.
We were walking through the streets of the town when suddenly I stopped.
"What is it now?" Mekesa said behind me, sounding annoyed.
I didn't answer.
Instead, I walked over to a wooden wall where several notices had been nailed up.
Most were simple trade postings or warnings about wolves in the woods.
But one drawing caught my attention.
It showed five people.
And I knew exactly who they were.
Finn.
Elijah.
Klaus.
Kol.
Rebekah.
The Originals.
Beneath the drawing was a message written in bold ink.
WANTED — ONE MILLION GOLD
I whistled low.
"Well now," I muttered.
I pulled the paper off the wall and handed it to Mekesa.
"Looks like we're definitely in the right place."
She looked at the poster carefully.
"One million gold?" she said slowly.
Her eyes moved from the paper to me.
"Do you think I'm worth that much?"
I laughed.
"Oh please."
"You're probably worth a billion, little sister."
She smirked.
"Good answer."
She glanced back at the poster.
"It says to come to a shop called Odin's Hall if you have information."
I chuckled.
"Still a Viking at heart, huh?"
"Mikael never really let go of that part of himself."
"Well then," Mekesa said, handing the poster back to me.
"Shall we?"
We walked through the town for a while before finally finding the shop.
Odin's Hall.
The building looked old and sturdy, made from thick timber and iron fittings.
When we stepped inside, the first thing I noticed was the weapons.
They were everywhere.
Swords.
Axes.
Spears.
Bows.
Even shields lined the walls.
It looked less like a shop and more like an armory.
Mekesa immediately wandered off, examining a rack of blades.
I walked up to the counter.
"Hello?" I called out.
No answer.
"Is there anyone here?"
Still nothing.
I glanced back at Mekesa.
"Stay here."
"And make sure no one comes in."
She gave me a sarcastic salute.
"Yes sir."
"Try not to start any fights while I'm gone."
"No promises," she replied.
I walked into the back of the shop.
The place was surprisingly clean.
Everything was neatly arranged.
Eventually I reached what looked like a living area.
There was a small bed, a wooden table, and a fire pot.
I walked over to the fire and touched the metal.
Still hot.
He had been here recently.
"Nero!" Mekesa suddenly shouted from the front.
I vanished in a blur.
When I reached the front of the shop, I froze.
Mekesa stood there with blood dripping from her mouth.
And behind her…
A massive man had his arm buried through her back.
"So," the man said calmly.
"What do you vile vampires want?"
The way he said vampires made it obvious.
Even before I looked closely at his face.
"Mikael," I said quietly.
He tilted his head.
"Oh?"
"So you've heard of me."
"Of course I have," I replied.
"The vampire who hunts vampires."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Then you must be incredibly stupid."
"Why would you come looking for me?"
"Because," I said calmly, glancing at my sister before looking back at him.
"We have something you want."
I slowly pulled out the poster he had put around the town.
"I know where your children are."
Mikael's expression changed instantly.
Shock.
Then rage.
He slowly pulled his arm out of Mekesa's back.
She dropped to one knee.
I rushed to her side.
"You alright?" I asked quietly.
She wiped blood from her mouth.
"I've had worse."
Mikael's voice came from behind us.
"I suggest," he said slowly,
"You start talking."
POV Mikael
These vampires were strange.
Especially this —Nero Tone.
Out of all the vampires my children had created over the centuries, he seemed to be the controlled but also savage. There was something about him that felt… different.
It fascinated me.
That curiosity alone was part of the reason I hadn't killed them already.
Still, my patience was wearing thin.
"I do not have time for these games, vampire," I said coldly as I followed Nero deeper into the woods.
He walked a few steps ahead of me while his sister walked next to him.
The forest around us was quiet. Too quiet.
"Where are my children?"
"Why does he talk so much" the girl said.
I raised an eyebrow
Neither of them seemed worried.
That amused me slightly.
These fledgling vampires truly believed they were safe if I didn't get what I wanted.
"Already told you," Nero said without turning around. "Our contact is out here."
I narrowed my eyes.
"How did you find them?" I demanded.
"My children have been running from me for centuries."
My voice grew sharper.
"I have chased them across continents. Burned cities to the ground searching for them. Destroyed villages that dared hide them."
"And now you appear out of nowhere with information?"
I scoffed.
"Forgive me if I find that suspicious."
Nero shrugged casually.
"We don't owe your children anything."
His tone was almost bored.
"They might have been the first vampires, the ones who spread the species across the world, but they didn't turn us."
That made me smile.
Interesting.
They did not know.
Though most vampires didn't
My wife had once told me about the sire lines.
A failsafe she had placed in the spell.
If one of my children died, every vampire descended from them would die as well.
A chain of death.
We hadn't realized what we were creating at the time.
Still, it mattered little now.
"Enough," I said sharply.
I stopped walking.
They both turned slightly.
"If you do not tell me where my children are this instant, I will kill you."
My voice was calm, but deadly.
"The only reason I haven't compelled the truth out of you is because I can smell the vervain on you."
I pulled my axe free from my back.
"So I will ask one last time."
"Tell me where they are."
"Or you will die slowly."
Nero chuckled.
A low, amused sound.
"Well," he said, "I guess the cat's out of the bag."
He turned around.
His eyes changed.
Gold.
Dark veins spread from them across his face.
For a moment, I froze.
"No…" I muttered.
Impossible.
His eyes.
He looked just like him.
That boy.
That abomination.
My bastard son.
Niklaus.
"I'm surprised you came out here with us," Nero said calmly.
"But I suppose when you're as strong and as old as you are… arrogance comes naturally."
"You're one to talk," his sister muttered from behind him.
Nero laughed lightly.
His fangs extended.
"If you are like that bastard beast," I said as I pulled out the white oak stake, "then I will not take any chances."
Nero's smile widened.
"Oh good."
"You brought it."
"You know what this is?" I asked.
He tilted his head.
"Oh, you'd be surprised by the things I know."
Then he rushed at me.
POV Nero
I moved first.
Mikael barely had time to react before I slammed into him like a battering ram.
His axe flew out his hand.
Though he held the white oak stake firmly in his hand.
We crashed into a tree hard enough to split the trunk.
Mikael recovered instantly.
His hand shot out and grabbed my throat.
His strength was monstrous.
He lifted me clean off the ground and hurled me through two trees.
I rolled across the forest floor before standing again.
Mikael stalked toward me slowly.
His eyes studied me carefully.
"Your eyes," he said.
"They were just like that monster."
"Who are you really?" he roared.
"Is that you boy?"
I wiped blood from my mouth.
"If you think I'm Klaus with a different face " I said.
"You will be greatly disappointed."
He rushed me.
Swinging the white oak toward my head.
I dodged, as the tree where my head had been was destroyed.
I countered with a punch to his ribs.
I heard a crack but he didn't move.
Mikael grabbed my arm and twisted.
The bone snapped.
Pain exploded through my arm.
I growled and headbutted him.
His nose cracked.
He staggered back.
I used the moment to slam my fist into his jaw.
He flew around the forest and slammed into a tree.
He got up and spit out some blood.
"You certainly do not hit like him" he muttered.
He rushed toward me in a blink of an eye.
Then he kicked me.
The force sent me flying across the clearing.
I slammed into a rock and coughed up some blood.
Mikael walked toward me again.
"Tell me something," he said.
"How is this possible?"
"I thought me and my wife had only created five monsters."
His eyes narrowed.
"How can you be like Klaus?"
I stood slowly.
"I'm not like your son."
I cracked my neck.
"And I'm definitely not like your other children."
Mikael frowned.
I smiled.
Spreading out my arms as I spoke.
"I made myself."
"I created my own curse."
"My own version of the vampire spell."
"So whatever Esther did to your children…"
I shrugged.
"Doesn't apply to me."
Mikael's expression darkened.
"That should be impossible."
"And how do you know her name."
I grinned my fangs showing.
"Like I said"
"You would be surprised about the stuff I know."
He lunged forward again.
This time he drove the white oak stake toward my heart.
But I caught his wrist.
Pressing me against the rock.
The stake stopped inches from my chest.
My muscles strained as I pushed back.
"Okay" I grunted, "maybe Dante was right."
Mikael pushed harder.
"You are an abomination," he growled.
"Then I guess I'll fit right in with your family."
He slammed his forehead into mine.
My skull cracked.
My vision exploded with stars.
His free hand crashed straight into my stomach.
I staggered.
The stake drove closer.
One inches from my heart.
The tip punctured my skin.
I gritted my teeth
Then suddenly—
My eyes flashed gold.
A growl escaped my lips.
I twisted.
The stake scraped against my chest.
I grabbed Mikael's arm and broke it with a sharp crack.
Before he could react.
I bit into his neck.
And then tore the stake from his hand.
Kicking him away.
He flew back slamming into a rock.
I looked down and felt where his hand was.
Blood poured down from it as it healed.
He jumped up instantly.
We both walked toward each other slow
As we both started circling one another.
Both of us were breathing hard.
"You fight well," Mikael admitted.
"But you are still young."
"Compared to me… you are nothing."
I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah yeah papa original."
And then a thought came to my mind.
"You know."
I said with a bloody grin on my face
"Your daughter will be out and about in the next sixty nine years"
Mikael raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?"
"My daughter already roams this earth with her foolish brothers."
"Oh I'm not talking about that daughter."
"I'm talking about little Ferya."
Mikael's eyes widened with shock.
How-
But I was already moving.
Faster than before.
I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the ground.
The earth shattered beneath him.
Before he could rise—
I drove the white oak stake straight into his chest.
Right through his heart.
Mikael froze.
His eyes were wide
Like they were about to burst out their sockets.
And for the first time since I met him.
I saw something.
Fear.
The fear of death.
Of not being able to complete what he set out for.
But mostly.
The fear of not knowing what happened to his precious Ferya.
"Is…she " he rasped.
As he coughed up blood.
"Is she alive…"
I leaned closer.
"Yeah."
"At least for now."
Then his body burst into flames.
I jumped back and watched.
The legendary vampire hunter was gone.
Mekesa walked over and looked down at the ashes.
She hummed thoughtfully.
"Well," she said, "I guess you were stronger, brother."
I dropped onto the ground, exhausted.
"Yeah…well"
I laughed weakly.
"I actually almost died though."
"You were not going to die," Mekesa said.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Oh really?"
"What about when he had the white oak stake pressed against my chest?"
"It was literally an inch away from my heart."
Mekesa clicked her tongue in annoyance.
"If I actually thought you didn't have it handled, I would have stepped in."
She crossed her arms.
"But I knew you were fine."
I smiled tiredly.
"Yeah… sure."
"Because if I died, I was definitely coming back to haunt you."
She grinned.
"Oh please."
"That's a very long eternity, big brother."
We both looked back down at the pile of ashes.
"Well I guess I should say thank you for killing him" she said.
"A hand in the back isn't the most pleasant thing to feel"
I chuckled.
"I'm surprised you didn't try to kill him right there." I said
"Well for wants I took Dante's advice"
"What was that."
"Use your brain Mekesa." She said, trying to copy our brother's voice.
We still continued to look at the ashes in silence.
Mikael.
The monster who hunted his own children for a thousand years.
Now gone.
Mekesa walked over to the ashes and knelt down.
"This is one more step closer to your goal."
I nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"One more step."
And if this fight had taught me anything.
It's that I need that power.
Because I never wanted to be that close to death ever again.