The Lockwood estate was nearly deserted now. The party had ended in every sense of the word. The distant bass from inside was nothing more than an echo, a hollow reminder of how the night had almost gone right.

Alex walked beside Elena, her heels clicking against the pavement. Neither of them spoke at first, the silence settling heavy between them, not uncomfortable, just tired.

Alex stole a glance at her as they reached the car, catching the way her shoulders were hunched and her fingers curled into her arms, like she was trying to hold herself together.

Alex hesitated, then finally broke the quiet. "Hey."

Elena looked up, her exhaustion evident, but she was listening.

"You did good tonight," Alex said, her voice softer than usual. "Scared the hell out of us, but...you handled it."

Elena exhaled, something between a laugh and a sigh, and leaned against the car. "Handled it? Alex, I nearly bled out because Katherine used me as a human voodoo doll."

Alex tilted her head, considering. "Yeah, okay, that part was a little dramatic."

Elena gave her a deadpan look.

Alex smirked, nudging her with her elbow. "But you did handle it."

For a moment, there was only silence. "Thanks," Elena said, voice barely above a whisper. She wallowed, her eyes softer now. "And...thanks for being there. For all of it."

Alex shrugged, her smirk lazy but genuine. "It's what I do." Then, she dramatically gestured to her dress. "Besides, if I'm gonna get dragged into vampire drama, I might as well look good doing it."

Elena let out a laugh—real, light, tired but real. "Glad to see you haven't changed."

Alex gave her a genuine smile, then reached for the car door handle, ready to finally get them both out of there. But just as her fingers brushed the handle, a chill ran down her spine.

A split-second warning, nothing more than a jolt of instinct screaming wrong, wrong, wrong.

Before she could react, a figure emerged from the shadows.

The first thing Alex noticed was the smell. Cheap cologne, strong and cloying, thick enough to make her stomach turn.

Then—the mask.

A jester's face, painted white with deep-cut hollows around the eyes and mouth, froze in a twisted, maniacal grin.

Alex barely had time to process it before a heavy hand clamped over her mouth, and something cold and metallic slammed against the side of her head.

Pain exploded through her skull.

Her vision fractured into splintered black and gold, the world spinning as she staggered.

Somewhere beside her, Elena screamed, but it was muffled, cut off too soon—another gloved hand silencing her.

Alex tried to reach out, tried to summon even a flicker of magic, but her limbs felt slow, her fingers numb. Every movement was a battle against gravity, her strength draining with each heartbeat.

She barely registered the pavement rushing up to meet her.

Then, darkness.

authors note.

guys, i never know what to put in these things. but i hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you thought of it.

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