The Card's Legacy

"My beautiful sleep is ruined..." Lucius groaned dramatically, sliding down into his seat until he was practically horizontal. He rested his head on Hope's shoulder like he'd decided she was a human pillow.

"Here," she muttered, without shoving him off or even looking at him. The barest hint of a smile flickered across her lips. "Such a baby."

Lucius stayed sprawled out, eyes barely open as Alaric took the stage with the kind of energy that made it clear he'd had way too much coffee. The room was filled with groans and muttered complaints. 

Lucius wasn't the only one irritated by the late-night meeting.

"For almost ten years, the Salvatore School has gone unnoticed," Alaric began, his voice steady but heavy with meaning. "Protecting you, and protecting our secret, has always been our singular mission."

Lucius yawned loudly, earning a glare from a student across the aisle. He flashed them a thumbs-up, unbothered, before glancing at Hope. She'd gone quiet, sitting up straighter than usual, her eyes fixed on Alaric.

"But for the first time," Alaric continued, his tone sharpening, "an individual by the name of Landon Kirby has placed us in danger of exposure by stealing an artifact."

That got the room buzzing. Low murmurs rippled through the crowd, and Rafael shot to his feet. "What proof do you have that a normal human could even steal something like that?" he asked, his voice sharp.

"We compelled him to go home," Alaric said, his calm tone doing nothing to soften the weight of his words. "It was the first place we checked. He wasn't there. If Landon can't be compelled, that would make him a supernatural being."

Lucius leaned over to Hope, his voice barely above a whisper. "Your buddy's stirring up quite the drama."

Hope didn't respond. Her knuckles were white where she gripped the edge of the bench, her jaw tight.

When the meeting broke up, students began shuffling out, whispering to one another as they went. Lucius didn't budge. Instead, he turned to Hope, studying her face. "Alright," he said, tilting his head, "what's the deal? He was with you last night, wasn't he?"

Hope hesitated, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. "He doesn't do well in small spaces," she said eventually, her voice quiet. "I thought showing him around might help."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "So you gave him the grand tour? Let me guess, tucked him in with a bedtime story, too?"

Hope glared at him, but the heat wasn't there. "He wanted to know more about magic. I thought... I don't know. I thought it might make him feel less out of place." Her shoulders slumped slightly. "I thought I made a friend."

Lucius frowned, his usual teasing grin fading. Without a word, he reached over and pulled her into a loose hug. "Hey," he said softly, "you've got friends. Real ones. Don't let one idiot make you forget that."

She didn't respond, but she didn't pull away either. After a beat, Lucius snapped his fingers, and the familiar pull of his magic whisked them away. When the room solidified around them, they were back in their shared space.

Caroline looked up from her laptop, her face shifting from irritation to concern in an instant. "What happened?" she asked, standing and taking a step closer.

"That Landon kid," Lucius said, gesturing vaguely. "He's gone, Hope's upset, and now we're stuck figuring out how to find him."

Hope finally pulled back, rubbing her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie. "I'm fine," she mumbled, though the wobble in her voice said otherwise.

Caroline crouched slightly, trying to catch Hope's eye. "We'll find him," she said firmly. "You know that, right?"

Lucius let out a low chuckle, breaking the tension. "And when we do, I'm giving him the Elijah treatment, obviously."

Hope let out a small laugh, muffled but genuine, and Caroline straightened. Her eyes flicked between the two of them, lingering on Lucius. "So, what's the plan?"

"Dark magic," Lucius said instantly, earning a sharp look from Caroline. He shrugged. "What? It's effective."

"No," Caroline said firmly, crossing her arms. But her expression softened slightly, like she was remembering something. "Fine," she said finally, sighing heavily. "Just don't make me regret this."

Lucius grinned. "Care Pudding, I knew you'd come around."

Caroline's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Call me that again and—"

Lucius vanished before she could finish, reappearing a second later against the wall with a smirk. "So feisty," he teased, dodging her swipe easily.

Caroline spun to face him, her vampire features briefly flashing as she lunged again. Lucius ducked under her arm, laughing as he reappeared on the other side of the room.

"Really?" Hope said, her voice flat as she watched them. "Can you two not destroy the room? It's already crowded enough."

Lucius raised his hands in mock surrender, the smirk still lingering. "Fine. Truce."

Caroline snarled, pulling free with a sharp twist and backing away. "You're insufferable."

"And you're adorable when you're angry," Lucius shot back, his tone dripping with amusement. When the silence returned, Lucius turned back to Hope, his expression softening. "You good?"

Hope nodded slowly, her lips curving into a small smile. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Good," Lucius said, his gaze lingering on Hope for a beat longer before flopping back onto the bed with a satisfied sigh. "But seriously, how are we going to find Kirby?"

"Cast a locator spell of course." Hope's obvious tone assured them that even if someone tried to stop her she would still do it. Lucius noticed a hint of something dangerous passing through her eyes. Opening her drawer, she pulled a map. "I got the map, but we need his blood or a personal object. Sadly they already cleaned the cell Kirby was resting in, so can't collect any hair."

Lucius raised his eyes but assured her. "Don't worry about it. I will see what i can do, and worse comes to worst i can sneak in Rafeal's room to see if Landon has left anything."

"Oh you definitely are not!" Caroline raised her finger, shaking it around. "Sneaking into a fellow student's room is—"

"Like you haven't done that many times when you were young." Lucius cut her off but seeing her unmoved he waved his hand. "So Hope will be preparing for the spell while I gather Kirby's things, then."

"Hey don't you ignore me." She pounced but as he was a hair away he disappeared with an obvious smirk on his face. Curling her arms she lifted her leg with a scowl but seeing Hope she hesitated, placing it back on the ground, sticking with uttering "That jerk!"