Changeless ( Sequel Of Timeless.)

Chapter 19

Warmth covered her skin as beams of sunlight invaded the room. Caroline opened one eye, slowly, and then the other. Her limbs were still wrapped around Klaus and his arms were snaked around her waist and head tight enough that she was sure they had somehow fused into one person. She shifted a bit and tried to pull back.

"Not to be a huge downer," she said, "but why am I not dead again yet?"

Klaus had let go of her just enough so that she could look at him, her eyes full of confusion and a flicker of guarded hope.

It was full morning and they had been laying together for more than an hour, holding a dreadful breath and waiting for her final moment to come.

But it never had.

Klaus ran his fingertips across the skin of her arms, and she noticed the dried trail of tears down his cheeks.

"Perhaps dawn was an arbitrary time?" He didn't want to get his hopes up for anything.

Caroline lifted a brow. "When has a spell ever included anything that wasn't exact? Hmm?"

She pulled further away and rolled out of the sheets, heading for his wardrobe.

"Where are you going?" Klaus asked, but before she answered, she emerged in a set of her own clothes that had been stored away with his things.

"Get dressed," she ordered. "We need to get to Bonnie's. Either something went wrong with the spell or something happened to Bonnie and we need to figure out which."

Klaus sat up, the bed sheet falling around his waist. "Or we could wait a while longer."

Caroline opened her mouth to respond but closed it again. Instead, she climbed back onto the bed and scooted over to him. Her hand cupped the side of his face, a gentle move of her thumb erasing the evidence that this evil original hybrid actually had a heart. "I'll take all the minutes we have," she told him, "but the veil has to go back up. Dropping it in the first place was a huge risk that puts everyone in danger, including you, and I won't let you be in danger."

She pressed a kiss to his lips.

Klaus scoffed. "What danger?"

"Well, how about a thousand years worth of vampires and werewolves and witches that you've murdered who are still angry and looking for revenge?"

Klaus pursed his lips in consideration. He let out a sigh. "Perhaps you're right, love. We should see about Bonnie before some angry undead supernaturals decide to pick a fight."

Klaus dressed, though he was unwilling to let Caroline out of his sight, in case she was wrong and she did suddenly disappear back to the land of the dead. He took her hand as they went down the stairs of the mansion, threading his fingers together with hers.

He opened the door and Caroline found herself nearly tripping over Stefan, his hand stretched out, reaching for the knob. His brown eyes widened in surprise when he saw her.

"Caroline? You're still here."

"Yeah," she answered. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be with Lexi."

"I was," he told her. "We were together all night, but she disappeared an hour or so ago." His sad eyes flicked to Klaus. "I figured you'd be in need of a drink."

Klaus looked over at Caroline who met his stare. She looked back at Stefan. "What about Alaric? Jenna?"

"Damon headed out to Elena's this morning after..." Stefan's throat tightened. "They're gone too."

"So everyone went back but me?" Caroline murmured to herself. Her head snapped between the two men. "We need to find Bonnie."

Caroline slid down in the back seat of Klaus's SUV to remain out of sight as he drove to Bonnie's house. Even though Klaus was reluctant to mess with what seemed like good fortune, he pressed his foot to the floor. As he drove, he filled Caroline and Stefan in on what had happened the night before at prom, and how spent her friend had been at the end of it all.