Eternal || Elijah Mikaelson

CXLVI - Regret

Chapter One Hundred & Fourty-Six

His eyes widened in horror, and before he could use any amount of speed to stop me, my teeth were in his neck. His blood went down my throat, and I almost smiled against his skin. He was already weak within seconds, and then his pulse - the slow one that still lingered since he had become a vampire - ceased to exist. He collapsed on top of me, and at that point, I had enough strength to push him off, straddle his back, and steal his heart out from his back.

The scent of blood was the only thing that filled the room, even though I had drained Eren of just about all he had.

I went to the balcony, and with one rough punch, the spell holding me here had been shattered. The wall that had once been there erupted in a force of white light, which then quickly faded. I realized that they had taken my daylight ring. My heart - if I had one - would have skipped a beat, and I was filled with relief when I realized that it was night time.

I stepped out onto the balcony, and put my foot up onto the balustrade that surrounded it. I climbed up, and just as the door of my room opened, I stepped off.

I fell quickly, and hit the ground with ease. Being a vampire allowed me to have the balance of a feline, and I was able to land properly even though I was four floors up.

By the time I had run to the French Quarter, I was exhausted. I was on the verge of fainting, but I knew that I couldn't go out into the streets. I was covered in blood and probably looked like I had just been dragged straight from hell. I needed to get home.

I made it onto the roof of the compound, and I saw more spots on the edges of my vision. I couldn't stand for much longer.

I jumped again, but this time, I landed and then dropped to my knees.Where I then collapsed entirely, finding it difficult to breathe.

The poison wasn't out of my system yet. The blood had only allowed it to be fought back for a while, but the effects of Eren's life-force were gone now.

"Elijah," I whispered, as that was all I could do. I could only breathe out a single word at a time, my energy now gone. I was drunk with exhaustion. "K-Klaus?"

I was laying on the cobblestones, and I saw the balcony in my blurred vision. I saw a figure that looked like Klaus, and that person leapt from the second floor and rushed to me.

I wasn't aware of much else after his arms wrapped around me, and I could hear him saying my name over and over, but I couldn't say anything back.

I felt blood slipping into my throat, and it was easy to tell that it was Klaus. His blood was different from Elijah's. He was feeding me now, giving me more strength.

Even so, my body collapsed, and I fell into unconsciousness while I felt his arms tighten around me and he called out more names that were not my own.

*

My sleep erupted with nightmares about Mikael, the Strix, and Tristan. When I finally awoke from them, it was with a gasp.It felt like I couldn't breathe for a second, and I clenched my fists out of habit.

It took me a moment to realize that one of my hands was holding onto something, and then I saw Elijah sitting in the chair beside me while looking up at the doorway and holding my hand in his. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Klaus standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed over his chest.

Both of them perked up when they saw that my eyes were open, and Klaus rushed to sit on the side of the bed while Elijah squeezed my hand a little tighter. He laid a hand upon my cheek, stroking the bone softly with his thumb while looking down at me.

I went to sit up, but pain pulsed in the left side of my head, and I quickly laid down again.

Elijah's dark, and yet bright eyes stared down at me in concern. I was always good at reading him, though. I was able to tell that it wasn't just concern. There was an underlying rage within him, and I knew that it certainly wasn't towards me. It burned like an out-of-control wildfire. It was my job to coil that rage, but how could I, when I was the cause for it?

I saw Klaus. He was angry too. Unlike Elijah, his frustration came off of him like heatwaves.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked, his jaw clenched.

My eyes suddenly widened, and I remembered the people that I had been so worried about only a little while before.

"Where is Hayley? And Jackson?" I asked, my voice shaking.

Klaus and Elijah both paled a little, and glanced at each other.

"Hayley is safe," Klaus said calmly.

"And Jackson?"

Elijah swallowed, then he moved his hand from my face to rest it over the back of my hand. He didn't seem very eager to tell me, but he finally did.

"Jackson is dead," he said, his voice cracking ever so slightly. "Tristan killed him. He sent his heart to the compound the day we rescued Hayley."

I knew that his words weren't unsteady because of Jackson. He never really knew him. But I did. I had spoken to Hayley about him thousands of times, even visited the pack a few times as well. I helped get the bullets out of him when he transformed after Dahlia put the curse on him. I helped Hayley plan to marry him. I even helped him with taking care of Hope. Elijah's words were unsteady because he knew that I cared about Jackson, and now he would follow a long line of people that had died because of their association with our family.

"I should have gotten away in time," I rushed out. "I should have killed Eren earlier, I should I have fought harder, I should have-"

My words broke, and I cut myself off. No tears came to my eyes, but I couldn't speak. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

Elijah quickly pulled me into an embrace, while Klaus didn't seem to know what to do. I felt nothing but guilt. What I said was true; I should have fought harder. Maybe I would have gotten away faster. Maybe I could have gone after Jackson and Hayley. Killed Tristan.

But I didn't. And I would regret it for a very, very long time.