Forever Original | Alaric Saltzman

Chapter 17

Hilda was livid.

Alaric watched her let out a string of curse words as she put her pants back on. Some things he understood, others appeared to be in languages he didn't speak.

"Bloody fucking prick," she snapped when Kol ignored her third phone call. She faced Alaric. "I'm going to go find him. You should probably go and tell the others." She drew a deep breath. "I'm going to be honest, I don't give a damn about them but realistically, if you want to warn them, you can and you should, I won't stop you. I don't know what he's planning."

Alaric nodded. "Yeah, of course. Thank you."

"Don't thank me until I make sure my brother is going to do something stupid. I just... that's not what I expected to hear."

"Death changes people, Hilda. I don't think he meant it. He's hungry for revenge. If... if you need help, please let me know, okay?"

She half-smiled. "Alright. You should... you should probably go. He might have headed straight for the Salvatore Boarding House."

He followed her to the door. "Will I be seeing you after this?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I don't know when the veil will go back up or what will happen when I find Kol. He's furious."

Alaric frowned. "Furious enough... to hurt you? Because if that's the case, I don't feel good leaving you alone."

"Don't worry. I can hold my own against all of my siblings. He won't be able to subdue me even if he tries, unless he somehow has some White Oak laying around."

"You're sure?" he asked. "I don't mind going to look with you, Hilda."

She shook her head. "It's fine, Alaric, I promise."

"Alright. Just so you know, Silas has been subdued, so you should be safe out there."

"What happened? How did you manage to subdue him?"

"Bonnie turned him to stone. Damon's planning on tossing the body over the waterfall in the forest— not sure if he's done it yet."

She offered him a small smile. "Thanks for the information," she said before speeding out.

It took her hours to find Kol. No matter where she looked, there were no traces of him. She didn't think he could spontaneously become invisible, but it felt like he might have done exactly that.

More than once she ran into dead supernaturals who were out for blood. Or, perhaps, some of them weren't dead, but she'd certainly killed them to get past them. The sun was coming up when she caught sight of several of them making their way to Mystic Falls High School, where chairs and a stage were set up for the graduation in the stadium.

Kol was on the stage, pacing as he awaited their arrival. She snuck in with a group of them as he tapped the microphone. "Welcome back," he said. "It was our deaths that allowed this day to come to pass— massacres performed in the name of resurrecting the immortal, Silas. Twelve hybrids, twelve witches, the slaughter of innocents by the so-called hero protectors of Mystic Falls. They risked unleashing hell on earth for their own selfish gains. And today that's exactly what they're going to get. At the graduation today, we will sit between the students. Act casual. Compel them to not notice you. I will signal for you to take any action."

They dispersed again and Hilda walked up to her brother, who raised his eyebrows. "Well, I admit I'm surprised to see you."

"What's your problem?" she snapped. "You're being such a dick."

"They knocked me out. You brought me home and when I wake up, I see you nearly in throes with one of them?"

"Don't act like I'm fraternizing with the enemy. There's nothing wrong with it."