Destiny Rising (The Vampire Diaries 10)

"Meredith?" Alaric knelt down beside her so that he could look up into her face. Meredith concentrated on the golden freckles scattered across his nose and the tops of his cheekbones, because she didn't want to meet his worried brown eyes. Their color was like honey against his tanned skin.

"Meredith?" Alaric said again. "Could you unpretzel yourself and talk to me for a minute? Please?"

Meredith unfolded, but didn't meet Alaric's eyes. Instead, she twisted from side to side, pulling her shoulders forward in turn. "I have to stretch or my muscles will get sore," she muttered.

Alaric stood and watched her, waiting calmly.

After a while, Meredith began to feel childish for not meeting Alaric's gaze, and she straightened and looked him squarely in the eye. He was still just standing there patiently, his face soft with sympathy.

"I know," she said. "I know everything you're going to say. "

"Do you?" Alaric asked. He reached out and tucked back a long piece of hair that had come out of her ponytail, his hand lingering against her cheek. "Because I don't have the faintest idea what to say. I can't imagine what it must feel like to meet your brother for the first time and then have to kill him. "

"Yeah," Meredith sighed, and wiped the sweat off her face. "I don't know what to feel, either. It's almost like Cristian was never real to me. He was just a story, something the Guardians could change in an instant. "

She drew a line with the toe of her sneaker in the dust at the side of the path. "Ultimately," she said, "I never knew him at all. He talked about . . . oh, going to the beach and stuff, and the way our dad is. I could imagine that world, the world where we were a team. " She pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes. "But everything was a lie, for him and for me. "

Alaric wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled Meredith closer to him. "It's not fair," he said seriously. "Klaus destroyed a lot of people's lives. In the end, you were a big part of bringing him down and stopping that destruction, and you should be proud of that. And that other life, the one where he grew up happy, with a sister, it wasn't a lie. There was a world where Cristian loved you, and you loved him. That's still true. You and your friends made that happen. "

Burying her face against Alaric's neck, Meredith said in a muffled voice, "My parents will never get over this, losing him again. "

"Maybe it's better that they knew Cristian for this long, that they got to see him grow up instead of losing him when he was three, the way things were in the world you remember," Alaric suggested gently.

"Maybe. " Meredith rolled her head on Alaric's shoulder until she was leaning against his shoulder and gazing out across the campus. "Do you know what Cristian said to me, at the end? I was about to stake him, and he said in this low, sort of secretive voice, 'Dad would be so proud of you. ' And you know what? He was right. Maybe part of Cristian wanted me to kill him, for me to be strong. "

Alaric tightened his arms around her. "You are strong, Meredith. You're the bravest person I've ever known. "

"You're brave, too," Meredith said, sinking into his embrace. She thought of Alaric chanting spells, trying to raise Power to protect them all during the battle, going up against a vampire army with nothing but a stake and a spell book. "I love you so much," she said. "I want you with me, always. "

Alaric's lips brushed across the back of her neck. "Me too," he murmured. "It's an honor to fight beside you, Meredith Sulez. And don't you ever forget it. "

Chapter 43

Above Elena's and Damon's heads, the stars glittered in great long swathes across the dark night. The air was clear and chilly with the smells of autumn, and the sky seemed so deep that Elena felt like she could just fall into it, swim farther and farther among the stars forever.

"So," Damon said dryly. "You managed to avoid killing me. I suppose I should be grateful?"

The bond between them hummed with wry humor, and more than a touch of nervousness. It was strange being able to read Damon's emotions like this, seeing more than he allowed to show on his face. "Gratitude would be nice," she said cautiously, "but it's not necessary. Just try to keep returning the favor, okay?"

She felt him startle a little beside her, a shock zinging along their bond, and then he said, breezily, "Oh, I'd almost forgotten. You're trusting me not to hurt you, then?"

Elena stopped walking and put her hand on Damon's arm, pulling him to a stop beside her. "Yes," she said, gazing steadily into his eyes, letting him see the love she carried for him. "I am. You've been a lot of things, Damon Salvatore, but you've always been a gentleman. "

Damon's eyes widened, and then he gave her the lovely, sweet smile she had seen for the first time in Stefan's room. "Well," he said, "it would break all the rules of chivalry to disappoint a lady. "

Elena tipped her head back and gazed at the stars for a few minutes, enjoying the cool evening breeze that brushed her hair back from her face. With Klaus and his descendants gone, with Damon calm and peaceful at her side, it was good to be able to enjoy the night.

"Does your great trust in me mean you're planning to take both Salvatore brothers for one more spin?" Damon asked, still looking up at the stars. His tone was definitely joking now, a bit rough, but Elena could hear an undercurrent of longing in it, and feel his wistfulness in the connection between them. In some ways, it would be so easy: she'd spent a long time suspended between the brothers, loving Stefan, wanting Damon. It was almost comfortable at this point to love them both. But she had grown up at least a little now, she thought, and maybe it was time to shut those doors forever, to choose her true path.

"You'll always have a part of me, Damon. " She pressed her hand to her chest, where she could feel the slight tug and ebb of the bond between them. "But I want my forever to be with Stefan. "

"I know," Damon said. He turned to face her and ghosted his hand lightly across her hair, down over her shoulders. "I think maybe it's time for me to move on. There's a big world out there, and there are still a few places I haven't seen. Maybe there's somewhere else I belong. "

Unexpectedly, Elena found herself crying, big, fat, babyish tears running hot over her cheeks and dripping off her chin. "You don't have to go," she choked. "I don't want you to leave. "

"Hey," Damon said, startled, and moved closer, running his hand gently across her back. "I won't be gone forever. I think this slightly alarming thing between us" - he touched his chest lightly - "means I'll never be too far away. "

"Oh, Damon," Elena choked.