Chapter 19 - Chapter 19: Revelations and Retribution II

Kol's figure began to flicker, his voice echoing with defiance. "What do you mean, Mother? Do you expect me to bend my knee and follow all your orders?"The car fell silent, the tension thickening as they realized they were hearing the conversation happening back at the mansion. The glow of Kol's projected image intensified, becoming more solid.Inside the mansion, Kol's hand reached out as if squeezing someone's heart. "How dare you call us abominations again because of this vile woman we have to call 'Mother'? I've suffered a thousand years of agony, and I wasn't even allowed to grieve my own son!"The expressions in the car shifted to shock as they absorbed the raw pain in Kol's words."What do you say? I have no son? It seems everyone has forgotten who I am and what I'm capable of," Kol continued, his voice laced with bitterness. "Unlike you, eldest brother," he spat, addressing Elijah, "Elijah and I did our duties while you were hiding behind our mother's skirts in your little world. Elijah raised Nik and me while we were burdened with responsibilities for the land—tasks assigned by that monster, our father."Kol's eyes darkened, the memories flooding back. "I was the one who raised Bekah and Henrik. I taught them everything I knew. I was the one who witnessed Henrik fall in love with a girl. I had plans to arrange a betrothal after dealing with our father, but these idiot brothers of mine chose to venture out on a full moon without telling me, leaving me behind a magical barrier. This psychotic woman, along with her husband, prevented me from grieving, cursed my existence, and tried to destroy everything I held dear. And you expect me to worship you?"Kol's voice dropped to a chilling whisper. "I even punished our father seven hundred years ago."A bloodthirsty smile spread across Kol's face as he relayed the story. "Do you know what he did? He went after a witch with my emblem. The witch's acquaintances wanted revenge but hesitated."Kol leaned closer, his voice dripping with malice. "When they revealed the truth to me, do you know what I did? I subjected him to the blood eagle every other day, making sure he drank vervain-laced blood within a fixed boundary tied to his immortality. Then I trapped him in an illusion where he abused his beloved Freya—yes, your most cherished sibling—just as he had abused me and Nik. I made him believe it was all real whenever he witnessed her suffering."Kol's cold gaze pierced through the tension. "He used to beg me to end his suffering. I told him just one thing: 'I will subject you to the same fate, with Freya alongside Sage, as our father's abuser.'"As Kol's holographic figure solidified, he finished with a chilling smile, speaking in Old Norse, "Velkominn í Hel."(Welcome to Hel.)