The Beautiful and the Faultless | Cami O'Connell

Chapter 1

Freya was nervous.

It was bad enough having to bring every last bit of trauma to the table just to convince her siblings (Klaus especially, the stubborn prick) that she was truly there to help them protect Hope, the niece she hadn't even been allowed to see yet.

What was worse was that Klaus had nonstop questions. He knew where to poke and prod to hurt her feelings, and though she tried not to show that it bothered her, it did.

At last, the biggest question arose when she told them, in a deadly quiet voice, "Dahlia is coming... and she will not be alone when she arrives."

"What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?" snapped Klaus. Typical. One second he'd been telling her she had good taste because she recognized a Danish witch hoop they had in the dining hall. The next, he was snarling at her about that which she already planned to reveal. He was impatient, that brother of hers. A lot like her, in that sense.

"I may have omitted the truth when I said to you that Dahlia is the most powerful witch I have ever seen," said Freya calmly. "I wished to establish who Dahlia is before I mentioned anything of her companion, who is just as strong as her... if not more powerful by now."

Elijah raised a brow. "Companion? Is this person her partner?"

"Not romantically," replied the eldest Mikaelson. "She is incapable of love. Perhaps, instead, the better term would be partner-in-crime. Her second prisoner. The one who did not manage to escape."

No matter what Klaus felt for Freya, he couldn't help but lean in as she continued her story.

And so, Freya began to add details to the story she'd already relayed, "I mentioned that Dahlia used me to forge a new brand of Connective Magic. I was merely her first test subject, and she wanted more. Not long after my enslavement began, she acquired a new firstborn."

"What are you talking about?" asked Klaus impatiently, unable, for the life of him, to wait for her to get to that part. "Did Dahlia have a child of her own?"

"No," said Freya more irritably. "But our aunt did."

"Aunt?"

"Esther and Dahlia's youngest sister," said Freya. "Her name was Frida."

Elijah was perplexed. "Mother never mentioned having one sister, let alone two."

"My dear brother," said Freya, "that is because Frida died shortly after you were born. The three sisters grew up being very fond of each other. Dahlia once protected them with fervor, having been willing to lay her life down for them. She nearly had to when the Viking attacked their village. I am unaware of many of the details, but I do know that when Esther left to be with our father, Frida was the one who stayed with her. It brought them far closer, and Frida began aiding Dahlia in her plan. They had both vowed to never be weak, and intended to create a coven from which they'd draw endless power.

"Knowing that another firstborn would be needed for the spell to work at its fullest potential, Frida married a man named Einar. She became pregnant shortly after Dahia took me in. Not long after, Einar left for battle and never returned. And, soon enough, their daughter was born, and Frida died in childbirth. I believe Dahlia had the power to resurrect her after she bled out... but she chose not to. I imagine because she knew that Frida might change her mind, and leave with the baby before Dahlia could use her."

"Tante," said Freya, standing up when Dahlia came in carrying something wrapped in a blanket. "Where is Frida?"

"She gave her last breath when she bore your cousin," said Dahlia, kneeling beside her. "Her mother did not get to give her a name."