"They're looking for me," I said, dul y stating the obvious after the last footsteps had long since passed.
"Wel , they didn't find you, did they? That's good news," Cora said in her lilting brogue, attempting a watery smile.
I smiled back. It wasn't much, but it was true. They hadn't found us. Maybe I needed to learn to be thankful for smal miracles.
Final y, as the sun's early rays fel on us, Damon broke through the brush, Oliver's lifeless body in his arms. His face was drawn and a jagged stream of blood trickled from his temple. He was shoeless, his clothes were torn, and he looked nothing like an Italian count or British merchant.
Instead, he looked like the Damon of our childhood who'd spend hours playing in the woods. Except this was a game of life and death.
"I couldn't find Samuel," Damon said, sinking to a rock and sighing. "I tried to revive the child, but I couldn't."
"I know," I said, picking up Oliver's lifeless body. I'd never taken him hunting. I walked a few paces away, toward a grove of oak trees. I glanced at the dark sky, praying for Oliver's salvation.
I tenderly laid the body on the forest floor and went to work creating a smal , shal ow grave. Then, I placed Oliver inside.
"Here lies the best hunter in Britain," I said, a tear threatening my eye. I dropped a few handfuls of dirt inside, and covered that with tree branches.I turned away, not able to look at the grave anymore, and walked toward Cora and Damon, huddled a few feet away.
"What about my sister?" I heard Cora whisper. I saw Damon shrug. I wondered if there was more to the story than he was tel ing. But I wasn't ready to hear it. Not yet.
I lay down on the hard forest floor a few yards away and closed my eyes, al owing sleep to overtake me. Even as my mind drifted toward unconsciousness, I knew the sleep would be rough and raw. But I deserved it. I deserved everything that was coming to me.
Chapter Nineteen
Iroled around on the hard ground, desperately trying to find a comfortable place to sleep. But I couldn't. Every inch of my body hurt, as though hot pokers were sticking into my skin. My mouth tasted like sandpaper, and my limbs felt like lead.
In my half-conscious state, I didn't know where I was, but I had the familiar feeling I'd been here before. But where? If I was in hel , at least it was quiet. But then I blinked, and noticed two points of light moving toward me.
"Wel , hel o there," a voice said. I blinked again, and realized the two points of light were coming from two large, inquisitive eyes.
"Katherine," I croaked.
"Why, yes," she said, as though we were meeting each other on the dust-covered dirt road to Veritas Estate.
"This is a dream," I said, more to myself than to her.
"It could be," she said, her tone of voice light, as if I'd asked if she thought it might rain later that day. "But does it matter? We're both here."
"Why is this happening?"
"Some people can't let go. It can be difficult, can't it?" Katherine asked rhetorical y.
I glanced at her eyes. They were wide, catlike, and more beautiful than ever. I remembered the hours I spent staring into them, back when I was wil ing to risk it al for her. And I had. I'd lost everything. But stil , those eyes reminded me of what it felt like to be young and believe that love conquered al .
I wanted to ask her why she'd turned me, when she must have known that my life would be fil ed with sorrow. I wanted to know how she stood it. I wanted to know what I was supposed to do, now that I had lost everyone I cared about. And I wanted to know why she continued to haunt me.
"Scholarly Stefan," Katherine said, a smile playing on her lips. "Always thinking too hard. But remember, some things can't be understood or explained. They have to be experienced."
"Why?" I shouted, but Katherine simply faded into the darkness.
"We need to go," Damon said brusquely, poking my ribs with the tip of his boot.
"Now?" I struggled to my elbows before wiping sleep from my eyes. I knew from the dew on the ground that it was only a matter of time before the sky ful y burst into morning.
Damon nodded. Cora stood a few paces away, her brow furrowed and arms crossed as she silently studied us.
"We're going back to London," Damon said firmly. "I need to find Samuel and teach him a lesson. No one bests Damon Salvatore. I'm going to beat him at his own game."
"We can't go back to London," I said, my jaw clenched as I rose to my ful height, standing eye to eye with my brother. "Don't you see that? We need to stop fighting. You used to hate me; now you hate Samuel. It'l just lead to more bloodshed. Don't you understand?"
"Oh, I understand, brother. I understand you'd rather get yourself kil ed than say thanks to the brother who saved your life. I'm going to London. If you want to live in darkness and survive on sheep and rabbits, go ahead."
"I'm going, too. I have to find Violet," Cora said, her face pale and drawn. A glance passed between Cora and Damon, but I had no idea what it meant. Final y, Damon nodded.
"I'l come," I said. It wasn't as if I could stay here. Violet was out on her own, and I had to do everything I could to honor her dying wish. I couldn't let her become a monster. And Damon needed me, whether he knew it or not. And right now, when I had no one and no home, as much as I hated to admit it, I needed him.
I took off, leading the way through the forest to the train station. In the distance, I could hear a whistle. Freedom was only a few paces away. I sped up.
"And this time, no excuses for who you are, Stefan," Damon said, catching up to me, Cora on his back. "You're a vampire. When wil you realize that?"