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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | NO MORE HEARTBREAKS
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
RILEY WAS RIGHT TO BE AFRAID. She was right to be afraid to lose the people she loved. The moment that Elijah stepped into their bedroom with an unreadable expression on his face, she knew something bad had happened. But, she would never have anticipated that Lucien would go after someone not in the family.
"Cami?" Riley snapped in disbelief. The words that left Elijah's lips— the explanation he gave were almost too hard to believe. "Lucien bit Cami?!"
"Yes. I—" Elijah started. Before he could even finish speaking, the girl shot up from the bed and shook her head. The Original vampire knew her well, and he knew what she was about to do. He gripped her wrist and forced her back toward him. "Do not even think about it."
"Let go of me, Elijah."
The Original remained stern. "Not until you give me your word that you will not go after Lucien."
"You expect me to sit here and do nothing against him after he bit Cami?" The strawberry-blonde scoffed in complete disbelief. "Do I need to remind you what happened to your brother?"
"We will find a way." Elijah spoke again, forcing Riley's gaze to fall upon his. "She's in the study. Perhaps she could do with seeing a friendly face."
Riley took a breath and nodded in agreement. She knew that, despise how angry she was, Elijah was right. Going after Lucien would only result in more heartbreak. She made her way into the study where Hayley, Klaus and Freya were gathered around discussing their next moves.
Riley noticed how dazed and out of it the blonde vampire appeared to be. It was understandable— she had werewolf bite and they were yet to find the cure. "Cami?" The strawberry-blonde dropped down onto the couch beside Cami, who finally shook herself from her daze. "How're you doing?"
"Okay. Considering." She heavily sighed.
"Hold still." Klaus stepped toward them with a cloth in his hand. "This is going to burn." He pressed the cloth against the bite on Cami's forearm, hearing her hiss as the liquid touched her skin.
"Ow! Ow, what is that?"
"It's a healing salve." Freya confirmed. "Motherwort. White willow bark. The recipe's over a thousand years old. It will ease the pain, dull the symptoms, but it won't stop the infection."
Cami's hope for a cure once again faded and she started to sigh. "So, I'm screwed."
"We're gonna do everything that we can, Cami." The Marshall-Kenner girl tucked her hair behind her ear with a confident smile.
"To that end, a little assistance." Elijah led Vincent Griffith into the study. The moment his attention fell to Cami, a sympathetic look appeared on his face.
