All the cards

56

Hayley and Nik left that night with Hope and Isaiah. It was hard, saying goodbye, but I knew we had to keep them safe, and right now they weren't. It was time to take charge.
The next day Kol came to us with troubling news. He'd seen Finn the night before.
"Are you sure?" I questioned and he nodded.
"I saw him with my own eyes. Finn must have come back when Davina resurrected me. The spell was tied to the blood of the Mikaelson line. Either it worked on him, or he found a way to hijack it. Either way, the only "how" I care about right now is how long I'm going to make him suffer before I kill him."
"Restraint, brother. For now." Elijah stopped his rant and I crossed my arms, staying silent.
"Why? Finn is clearly the one spreading rumors about missing white oak. He's luring Nik's enemies out of the woodwork. It's all part of his tedious revenge fantasy."
"You're wrong." Freya walked in. "Those rumors began before either of you returned. Finn's innocent."
"Innocent?" Kol scoffed, and he looked to Elijah who didn't back him up. "Pardon me, love, but Finn tried to kill the rest of us more than once! He's an enemy of our family."
"He is our family. Finn's return is an opportunity to mend old wounds and fix what's broken."
"He didn't just drop a bloody vase! He murdered me." Kol turned to me. "Amity, tell me you're not buying this."
"Finn did a lot of wrong. And I'm not ready to forgive him either."
"Sister..." Elijah started, but I continued.
"But if he came back the same time you did, he couldn't be the one rallying Nik's enemies here with the promise to kill him."
"Are you so sure?" Kol asked.
"Finn isn't here for revenge. We can be a family." Freya said.
"Time and time again, Finn has demonstrated nothing but contempt toward his family. So, you tell me, how can you be so certain that he would return to us in peace?" Finn appeared in the doorway then.
"Our sister knows me well. Though, perhaps you're right to doubt my intentions. By all means, let's discuss our family quarrels. I believe we're long overdue." I sped over and snapped his neck.
"You can count me out." I walked out of the room. I sat in the courtyard, glaring harshly at the Strix guards. Kol came to join me soon enough.
"Move over." He said and I shifted, allowing him space to sit beside me.
"Hello, brother." I attempted a smile.
"I never thanked you." He said. "All those times you came to visit, and I know you were looking for ways to bring me back."
"You don't have to thank me. I should've saved you."
"Nah, you weren't the badass limitless sorceress you are now. You couldn't've." I shrugged.
"So Davina?"
"Amira tells me you've a suitor of your own."
"Of course she did."
"This the musician?"
"Yeah."
"When can I meet him?" I froze, sensing him.
"How about now?" I stood walking to the entrance. Kol followed after me, as I instructed the guards to let Isaac through.
"Hi." I reached out and he grabbed my hand.
"Hey."
"So this is him." Kol leaned his arm on my shoulder, peering at Isaac.
"Isaac, this is Kol. Kol, Isaac."
"Your brother."
"Yeah."
"Hi." Isaac nodded. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Anything good?" Kol challenged.
"Mostly."
"Well, I should probably find my own little lady, so I'll leave you lovebirds to it." He pat my back and walked off. I led Isaac to the chair I was sitting on earlier and he sat beside me.
"What's wrong?" He said.
"Who says anything's wrong?"
"Your eyes have a language of their own. I like to think I'm fluent. Right now it's kind of a mixture of anger and upset, and a smile to cover it up, so I'm guessing maybe something about Finn?" I laughed.
"You didn't get all that from my eyes."
"I beg to differ." He teased, before turning serious again. "Seriously, though. What is it?"
"Finn's back." I sighed. "In fact he's upstairs right now."
"How?"
"The spell Davina used. Turns out it brought him back too."
"Well, on the plus side, you have him back."
"I don't want him back. Not now." I shook my head. "I don't want to talk about him. Can we talk about something a little more pleasant?"
"Sure."
"Hey, Isaac." Amira called from a balcony.
"Hi, Amira." He waved at her and she jumped down to join us.
"This ought to be an interesting day." She smirked. "Lucien's here too, by the way. Somewhere."
"He is?"
"Yeah. He was flirting with aunt Freya." I scowled.
"Of course he was."
"So who else is here right now?" Isaac asked.
"Us, Davina, uncle Kol, aunt Freya, Elijah, Finn and Lucien."
"And the guards." I added. "We can't forget the guards."
"Definitely not." Amira agreed, humour in her eyes. I heard Kol and Finn fighting upstairs, and she looked at me, obviously hearing the same noises.
"I'll be back." I sighed and sped up, leaving them together. Freya was struggling between them, and I sighed pulling Kol away. "He's not worth it, Kol. Come on." He struggled against my hold, my words not really registering with him. "Calm down, Kol. Collect yourself. Come on." Lucien appeared in the doorway, smirking but I ignored him. "Listen to me, Kol. Stop." He stopped struggling, breathing heavily in anger.
"Behave yourselves." Elijah demanded, walking in. "Particularly considering we'll be confined here together for the foreseeable future."
"What does that mean?" I let go of Kol as he addressed Elijah.
"I believe the term is "staycation." You see, Niklaus isn't the only one who's inspired revenge fantasies. Right now, we are all at risk." He said. "So, while Marcel works to retrieve the white oak, I recommend we dispense with the posturing and get down to some good, old-fashioned family bonding."
"That wasn't the plan yesterday." I said. "I have rules, Elijah."
"Well considering the bodyguards and surprise guests we seem to have, we can't follow through with your plan." His eyes flicked to Lucien.
"I'll find another way."
"Well, until you do, we'll have to stick to this one." Kol stormed away and I followed after him.