Chapter 21: Into the Cursed Lands
The sky above Mystic Falls was steel gray, heavy with clouds that warned of impending rain. But it wasn't just a rainy sky... it was a sky that warned of something older than storms, something watching in silence and persistence.
The Salvatore house had never been this oppressively silent.
Alexander stood in the hallway, dressed in black. His fists were wrapped in dark leather, and his eyes boiled with unwavering determination. Across from him, Klaus adjusted the sleeves of his coat, his gaze weighed down by centuries of memories and battles.
Klaus asked in a low but clear voice:
"Are you ready?"
Alexander didn't blink:
"I've been ready since the day Kol stabbed Stefan."
Behind them, Elijah stepped forward from the door with steady steps.
"Bonnie said the spell has been activated. We only have one hour of protection inside the cursed lands. After that..."
Damon finished as he emerged from the kitchen holding a blood bag:
"After that, we improvise. Like we always do."
Stefan joined them, already equipped with wooden stakes, vervain, and wolf venom.
"Let's hope Kol doesn't have a thousand minions waiting for us."
Alexander muttered, his voice sharp as a blade:
"He won't need a thousand... just one witch in the right place."
They left the house in silence, heading into the forest. Bonnie was waiting by the car, a bowl of burning sage before her, and in her hand, a small pendant glowing with a faint red light.
She handed the pendant to Alexander, pressing it into his palm:
"This is a tracking spell. I tied it to Kol's grief. It will glow whenever you're near him. But only for a short time. And once it fades..."
Klaus continued, frowning:
"We'll be blind."
Bonnie nodded:
"And I'll lose my connection to you. Even I can't reach that deep into the cursed lands."
Alexander closed his fingers around the pendant.
"We'll manage."
She looked at him, then at the others, her eyes full of worry:
"Just… come back."
Then, they stepped into the depths of the forest.
---
The forest changed rapidly, frighteningly. The air turned heavy, foul, saturated with magic that tasted like rust and rot. The trees were twisted unnaturally, their bark charred and black. No birds. No breeze. Only suffocating silence.
Damon muttered:
"I hate this place."
Stefan replied without looking at him:
"You hate all places."
"True, but this place... it smells like a witch's armpit and eternal regret."
Alexander led the way, the pendant glowing faintly between his fingers. His pulse followed its rhythm.
Hours passed... or maybe only minutes. Time was distorted here. They moved through mist and shadows, speaking barely a word, each step heavier than the last.
Then they saw it.
A circle of dead trees. In its center, remnants of an ancient ritual: bones, blood, and shattered stones. Symbols carved into the ground glowed with a faint red light.
Alexander raised the pendant.
"He's close."
A low laugh echoed from all directions.
"Well done, brother."
Kol emerged from the mist like a ghost, a mocking smile on his face, his coat stained with dried blood. Beside him stood Kai, his eyes black as volcanic stone, his grin venomous.
"I knew you'd come."
He snapped his fingers.
From the trees, dozens of vampires descended, falling from the shadows like ghosts, their eyes red, their fangs bared.
Klaus stood beside Alexander and said:
"I almost forgot how dramatic you are, Kol."
Kol bowed mockingly:
"You wound me."
Elijah gave the crowd a quick glance:
"They outnumber us."
Klaus growled:
"But we're the Originals… no one outpowers us."
Alexander didn't wait.
He lunged first at Kol. And the field turned into fiery chaos.
---
Alexander fought like a storm unleashed from the depths of the earth. His fists shattered bones, his roar echoed through the cursed forest. Beside him, Klaus tore through his enemies like a feral beast. Damon stabbed, dodged, and bled… but kept laughing, as always. Stefan moved with precision and ferocity, like a Reaper bound by loyalty.
Elijah was a whirlwind of speed and accuracy, a black steel shadow.
But Kai… was worse than them all.
His spells rained fire and blood. His attacks tore the ground beneath their feet. One curse hurled Damon against a tree and knocked him out; another scorched Stefan's shoulder.
Alexander faced Kol again, their fists colliding like thunder.
Kol whispered as he stabbed a vervain-laced blade into Alexander:
"You should've stayed dead."
Alexander screamed in pain, but didn't fall.
"And you should've stayed loved."
Then he slammed Kol to the ground with force.
Klaus grabbed Kai by the throat, but Kai screamed and released a pulse of dark energy that threw Klaus across the clearing.
The battle raged on. The cursed lands became a field of fire and blood.
Then—silence.
A moment of stillness. All sides panting, bleeding, staggering.
Alexander stood at the center, his body covered in wounds, his eyes burning like embers.
Kol wiped blood from his lips and laughed.
"This is only the beginning."
Alexander raised his head, his voice steady as a blade:
"Then… end it."
---
The cursed ground was stained with blood and fury.
Scattered bodies, broken limbs, and twisted corpses lay in impossible angles—Kol's army shattered and strewn across the tainted soil. Klaus, Elijah, Damon, and Stefan stood, wounded, their injuries silently bleeding, their chests rising and falling with labored breaths. The air was thick with smoke, ash, and lingering magic shimmering faintly among the charred trees.
But Alexander stood alone in the midst of the ruin. His knee trembled, his chest soaked in blood—some from Kol's blades, some from Kai's curse still burning beneath his skin.
And yet, he was the only one still standing.
Kol wiped the blood from his lips with a harsh laugh, his eyes gleaming with dark madness. He rose again, broken but undefeated.
"You won't die, will you, you little bastard?"
Alexander's body betrayed him, but his eyes... they burned bright.
Behind him, the others began rising slowly, ready to fight again—until Kol pulled something from his coat.
A pendant.
A familiar pendant.
"Elena..." Damon whispered, eyes wide with horror.
Kol smiled proudly and said, "She's in my grasp. And don't worry... I haven't hurt her. Yet."
Stefan stepped forward, voice trembling: "Where is she?"
Kol answered coldly: "Safe. Bound, controlled, still breathing. But if I die tonight, if your little brother keeps pushing and strikes me again—I'll make sure her heart stops before my body hits the ground."
Silence fell over them like a guillotine.
Damon's hand trembled. Klaus narrowed his eyes. Elijah clenched his jaw so tightly his bones showed.
Alexander gasped quietly, breath catching in his chest.
He said in a hoarse voice: "You don't need her."
Kol gave a cold smile: "True. But you need her. They love her, you see. That's what makes the game fun."
He turned to the Salvatores and said: "You have a choice. Stay with him, fight beside him—and Elena dies. Or walk away. Leave him to me. Let me kill him... and I'll let her live. I promise."
Alexander turned to Stefan and Damon.
He saw the storm in their eyes.
Stefan, torn between rage and helplessness. Damon, silent, lips tight, hands shaking. They were frozen. Powerless before this impossible choice.
Suddenly, Klaus stepped forward, his voice thundering in anger: "Enough, Kol! This is madness!"
Kol turned to him sharply: "Stay out of this, Nik. Your time is over. This is mine now."
Klaus roared: "Elena has nothing to do with this!"
Kol replied with deadly calm: "She does now. This bastard killed the witch I loved. This... this is my vengeance. And you won't stop me."
Klaus's fist trembled. For the first time... he didn't know what to do.
Elijah stepped beside him, his face stone-like: "If we move, she dies."
Alexander took a shaky step forward, still standing strong.
He said: "No."
Stefan raised his head quickly: "What are you doing?!"
Alexander looked at him—then at Damon.
"You found me when I was completely lost. You brought me back from the edge. You fought for me, when I couldn't even fight for myself."
He took another step toward Kol, his voice low and steady.
"I'm not like you. I was made into something cursed, something broken. But if I can save her... maybe that's enough for the world to forgive me."
Damon whispered in pain: "Alex... don't do this."
Alexander smiled, tired but sincere: "She's yours. She's always been yours. And I'd rather die for her... than watch you suffer the way I did."
Kol's grin widened as Alexander approached, dark triumph gleaming in his eyes.
Klaus stared at him in angry disbelief: "Don't do this."
Alexander turned to him, calmly smiling: "Thank you. For New Orleans. And for fighting beside me."
Klaus stepped forward, voice trembling with plea: "There's still another way. We can find a solution."
Alexander whispered, certainty in his eyes: "This is the solution."
Then he looked at Kol and said calmly: "Let her go. Then take me."
Kol smiled—wide, cruel, victorious: "As you wish."
Behind him, Stefan fell to his knees.
Damon looked away.
Klaus clenched his jaw so hard blood spilled from his mouth.
Elijah stood frozen, stunned, helpless.
And Alexander stood tall.
Offering his life… as the price for peace.
You can contact me through my official page on the following sites:
t.me/miraclenarrator
https://www.tiktok.com/@miracle_narrator?_t=ZS-8wbF9BP79HD&_r=1
https://www.instagram.com/miracle_narrator?igsh=NTF3Y25veDM3eGVw