I knew I’d promised to see her off, but running into Damon again might not be the best thing for either of us right now. Not when I’d just tried to kill him. But even with the events of last night, I knew I needed to say good-bye to my brother.
A cab stopped at the curb.
“Where you off to?” the coachman asked, genially tipping his hat toward us.
“Bedford Square,” I said, opening the door for Cora and following her inside. It was a relief to take a cab through the streets in daylight, without relying on compulsion or scanning the crowd in fear of Samuel. The sun shone through the window, leaving a pattern of light on the black leather of the seat. I glanced out the window as London rolled past me. The city would be all right. Cora would be all right. And, I realized, I’d be all right. I’d move somewhere else and hope that finally, this time, I’d stay out of trouble.
The driver stopped in front of the house and I sighed, wistful for all that could have been. In another world, could Cora and Damon and I have lived in happiness and solitude here? Could Damon and I have ever stopped bickering? No, I thought, trying desperately to push those questions out of my mind forever. It did no good to wonder. Because there wasn’t another world. There was this world, and I had to live in it as a vampire.
“Sir?” the coach driver asked, and I realized he was standing with the door open, waiting for me to step out. I jumped down and offered my arm to Cora. She took it, and together we walked into the home.
17
The sky above the ocean was a beautiful pink that reminded me of the magnolia trees when they were in full bloom back in Mystic Falls. It was the perfect contrast to the deep, moody blue of the Atlantic.
Damon and I glanced at each other. I still hadn’t said anything about the fact that I’d almost killed him. I knew I’d been compelled to do it, but there was something deeper than that, too, and it shamed me. In that moment, I’d wanted Damon’s death. And a tiny kernel in the depths of my being still did. Of course I’d never act on it, but being reminded it was there was unsettling, and a large reason why I couldn’t continue to spend time with him.
“I guess this is it,” Cora said, glancing at the huge ship silhouetted against the sinking sun. She was dressed in a sky-blue dress, with a mink stole she’d found in the closet of the house on Bedford Square. Behind her, Damon was pulling a steamer trunk filled with everything she could fit from the house, including a large chest of gold coins. She was a wealthy woman now, and I had no doubt she’d have no problems settling in America. Cora clutched her ticket in her hand: first class, one way, on the White Star line. “Are you sure you don’t want to come?”
I shook my head sadly. I didn’t want to follow Cora, trailing behind her like a cloud always ready to break and unleash a torrent of terror.
“Small town life was never right for me,” Damon said. “I need to get a proper taste of Europe.” Damon picked her up and squeezed her tightly. “Be good. I don’t want to hear any reports of funny business in America. No killing vampires, no dressing up and infiltrating your way into charitable societies, and no becoming friends with any other creatures of darkness, you hear?”
Cora raised an eyebrow. “Oh, like you’ll just be waiting around for news from me. I know you’ll be far too busy capturing the hearts of all the ladies of Europe. I just hope you eventually settle down!”
Then Cora turned to me. “Stefan, thank you for everything,” she said seriously. “And remember, no more apologies.”
“I’ll try,” I said. Of course, that would mean that I’d have to stop doing things I regretted. Maybe I could.
“And both of you, take care of each other,” she said sternly.
“We will,” I said hollowly. Right now, it seemed the best way to take care of each other was to be as far away from each other as possible.
“Take care of me?” Damon protested. “I think I need a bodyguard to make sure he doesn’t go off the rails. He was terrifying! I’ll tell you something, brother,” he said, slugging me companionably on my arm. I guess Damon wasn’t as mad at me as I’d thought. Had we really moved past our petty differences? “You’re stronger than I thought. Why not use it? Just think, the two Salvatores could put on a real show, the kind that Gallagher and his circus could only dream of,” he said.
“I’m afraid I’m only up to doing battle once every twenty-five years,” I joked.
“So that would be, what? 1913? Cora, put it on your calendar. Wherever we are, we’ll make sure you come to witness it,” Damon joked.
“I’m planning to be quite at peace in 1913, thank you very much,” she retorted. “After all, I’ll be a middle-aged lady by then. The lot of you wouldn’t even look twice at me.”
“I’ll make an exception,” Damon said, bowing deeply.
I imagined her twenty-five years in the future. She’d have a husband and children. I wondered if she’d name one of them Violet and tell them stories of their long-lost aunt’s beauty and bravery. I wondered what else she’d tell them about the events that had made her the woman she’d become.
“But you’ve got me thinking,” Cora said spontaneously as the ship belched out three long, low horn blasts, a signal that departure was imminent. “Why not meet in 1913? Wherever we are. I’ll make sure if I move to always keep my address updated at the Mystic Falls post office. Somehow, you’ll always be able to find me!” she said excitedly, her eyes full of hope that there was a future for her; a future for all of us. I nodded slowly. Maybe a meeting twenty-five years in the future would be enough for me to keep hope.
“Is it a deal, brother?” Damon asked, his face twisted into a smirk. I nodded slowly. For once, we weren’t fighting over a girl. Instead, we were both able to let her ago, and she—and we—were all better off for it.
“Until then, gentlemen!” Cora said. She pulled out her pocket watch and reverentially touched it, then turned and walked up the gangplank. When she reached the end, she whirled around and blew us a kiss before disappearing into the ship.
“Well, we did it,” Damon said, sounding as proud as if he were a parent sending his daughter down the aisle for her wedding.
“She did it,” I said. “She’s quite a girl.”
“We always do agree on the essential truths,” Damon said. “So now, where to? I’ve heard there’s a wicked poker game that takes place at the Mouse Trap, just down the port. Shall we go all-in, like old times?” Damon asked, wiggling his eyebrows. “You need to win some money to pay me back for the fact that you almost killed me.”
I shook my head. “I’m leaving, too,” I explained.