Undone

Chapter Fifteen

"I'll see you in two days. You remember the plan?" Arrow kissed Elora's cheek, they were standing at the front door, Sunny and Erik already in the car waiting.

"Yes, we will meet you at the camp. Arrow..."

"It's alright. You don't ever have to apologise for him. His actions do not reflect on you, ever. He's got a permanent stick up his ass, just...yeah, I'll see you in two days time. I hope this can be the end of it all. At Least with Ivar, I'll see you soon love."

Elora watched Arrow walk to the car before stepping back into the house and closing the door. Lex was leaning against the wall beside her, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans.

"We need to talk." It was like someone had punched her in the gut. 'We need to talk', coming from your partner was usually something nobody ever wanted to hear.

But Elora knew she was being silly, that Lex wasn't about to leave her and she scolded herself for the pinch of panic she had worked up thinking about it.

"Leif," she said, knowing where this conversation was heading.

"Care for a walk baby?" Lex slipped his hand into hers, their fingers entwining. She slipped into a pair of blue sandals she kept by the door and grabbed her coat off the hook. Lex was already dressed for a stroll.

They stepped out onto the steps, barely making it to the edge of the property before Lex let out a string of curses.

"He's losing his grip on his magic. It's changing him, You can see that, can't you?"

"He just needs time–"

"No, baby, no. I wish that was the case. Trust me, baby, if that's all it was, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you. He's letting it consume him, he's acting on impulse. He will burn out if he carries on the way he's going, Elora. He won't listen."

"Fuck." She exhaled, placing her hands on her face. "Is there something we can do?"

"No. Unless we can find a way to bind him–"

"Lex, no. You can't do that, we can't do that. We're no better than the witches that cursed him if we take that route."

"You need to talk to Leif. You need to hear the full story, try and get him to tell you everything. He has reasons, but they're not excuses. His shitty past isn't an excuse to treat everyone around him like crap. Even Mattie, all she ever wanted was for Leif to love her, to treat her the way he had always treated her. But when Anders died, Leif changed and if that side of him hasn't shifted all this time, I don't think it ever will. I thought that having you, someone to love, someone to be better for would help him but it didn't. It's like he doesn't care what happens to him, even now." Even for you, was what he didn't add, he didn't need to because Elora knew it too.

"He's always been the same man Lex, you've known him longer than me obviously, but from day one I knew exactly who he was underneath. He's broken and in pain, he just knew how to hide it well at times."

"I just don't want to see you hurt–"

"He's not going to hurt me. At least not any more than he already has and that wasn't intentional. I'm not excusing his actions, like you said his issues aren't an excuse to treat people the way he does but I know him Lex, at least I think I do. It's going to be alright." It's going to be alright... right?

Elora decided she would keep telling herself that until it became otherwise–if it became otherwise.

"Cale would know what to do. He was the brains behind everything, you know?" She sighed.

Lex pulled her into a hug, she rested her chin on his shoulder and they stayed like that for a while, just enjoying the comfort they brought each other.