Consumed » Kai Parker

Eleven

"So," Kai smiles lightly, leaning towards me across the dining table. "I think we should start with you telling me how exactly you knew Bonnie and Damon were here."

I stare at him for a moment, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What does that have to do with finding the Ascendant?"

"Because my father created this prison world for the sole purpose of locking his slightly unhinged son away for eternity," Kai replies and I hold back the urge to snort. Slightly unhinged? Sure.

"He wouldn't be idiotic enough to leave the key inside the jail cell, right? I mean, he knows that with my brilliance, I'd eventually find a way to get magic and-"

"What are you saying?" I cut him off impatiently. "That there's no Ascendant here?"

Kai shakes his head, tilting his head in amusement. "Before you rudely interrupted, I was going to say that there likely is an Ascendant...but maybe my father isn't the one who put it here."

I blink, stunned at this possibility, one I hadn't really considered. My eyebrows pull together as I mull this over, coming to the silent agreement that Kai's father wouldn't have any rational reason for placing an Ascendant in what's meant to be his son's personal hell. But I remember what I had said to Kai a few days ago, about the likelihood of the Ascendant being here not for him, but for people like Bonnie and Damon. Maybe another witch did put it here specifically for their use.

"Your father contacted Jo," I tell him, watching the way his eyes automatically darken, the way they often do at any mention of his father or the sister that betrayed him.

"How do you know that?" He asks.

"Jo works at the hospital where my sister, Elena, volunteers-"

"Right," He interrupts, rolling his eyes. "The infamous Elena, the middle of the brotherly love triangle but eventually turned over to the dark side when she became a vampire."

I arch an eyebrow at him. "One, that's not necessarily how it happened. And two, how do you know about my sister?"

"I was watching Bonnie and Damon for months, I caught onto a few things," Kai shrugs. "Not to mention she was pretty much the only thing Damon cared to talk about. I need to get back to Elena, I miss Elena, she's the love of my life, remember when Elena did this, blah blah Elena. I have yet to see what the big deal is about this girl."

I can't help but snort at this. Who knew the day would come when a boy didn't fall head over heels for my sister? I've always felt like every male Elena came in contact with has felt something of the sort, even if they were never anything more than platonic. It didn't have to be in a romantic way, but people were usually left in awe by Elena. I've gotten used to standing in her shadow.

Then again, Kai has never met Elena. More to the point, he's hardly capable of such strong feelings for someone. But something tells me that despite these things, my sister still wouldn't sway him.

"Charlie?" He pulls me out of my thoughts, my eyes returning to meet his. "What is it?"

"Nothing," I shake my head. "So, anyway, when the blood bags started going missing at the hospital, Jo was starting to put the pieces together. She brought it up to Elena, so Elena tried to compel her to forget. But Jo, obviously, couldn't be compelled. Basically, when Jo realized she could trust her, she filled her in on what she was and Elena told her about how Bonnie and Damon disappeared when the Other Side collapsed."