Metal cuffs were locked around my wrists. Marcel jabbed a needle in my neck with a syringe of vervain big enough to weaken an Original. "There. That'll give you some time to sit and think while I clean up this mess."

"Are you seriously putting me in time out?"

Marcel rolled his eyes and then left without even a glance at Nik.

"Are you alright?" He moved to the very edge of his salt circle.

I mustered up as many tears as I could and his expression hardened, fists clenched in the dirt.
It took everything in me not to crack up at the sight and ruin the game. "Marcel he-" I sniffed. "He said that since 'lijah raised me, I deserved the same fate. T-that he'd bite me." 

Oh he was seething.

It was too much.

I couldn't contain my laughter. "You're too easy to anger."

His eyes narrowed. "Your humanity. You've turned it off."

"Wow. Two for two today. You and Marcel are more perceptive than I give you credit for. Though I do wonder why he's stuck me down here."

He sat back. "He tends to put those who disappoint him in dark places."

"I wonder who he learned that from." I tapped my chin as if actually considering it.

"Turn it back."

"I don't think so. I'm quite comfortable. See, if I had my emotions, Morgan would be panicking right about now... or she'd be trying to convince herself that she didn't need Elijah for control. Inevitably that lead to me. I'm honestly surprised she lasted so long."

He watched me then. "Care to explain what misstep led you to join me in these lovely accommodations?"

I shifted. It wouldn't be in my best interest for him to find out I'd gone on a binge. Or Morgan's. "Perhaps he wanted us to spend some quality time together."

"Answer the question."

I considered him. He'd keep prodding. "It was a misunderstanding."

"One that ended with his favorite sister in chains? Come now, love. It had to have been something more."

"Does it matter? I'm not here for your entertainment."

"I'm curious is all. It's not every day I get a cell mate." He shrugged, as if unbothered. Though why was he prying then? "Very well. Keep your secrets."

Well that was very un-Nik-like.

"Of course, secrets have a way of spilling. Especially when more than one is privy to them. I'm sure once your switch is back on, you will be more amenable to answering what I've asked."

"Good thing it's not happening."

"It is only a matter of time before it does. No matter how long it takes."

"Or it will degrade entirely. You should know."

"Morgan has seen more of my humanity than most others."

"Yet you're still a bastard, Nik."

His jaw clenched. "That is a name reserved for Morgan."

"Don't worry, little love. We'll take care of you." I snickered as his eyes flashed. "Damn. You make it too easy."

Good, it felt as if I were back in control of the conversation.

"Once I've escaped, you will be the first thing I fix."

"Ooh, a threat. You're going to have to try a little harder than that to scare me." Morgan gave them too much power. All of which I intended to get back for her. "Can't you see how much healthier I am already? No more gray skin or that frankly fucking boring aversion to blood. Morgan was hanging on by a thin thread and this little situation where her entire family is feuding, shocker, isn't helping."

"I'm sure some more time in a box will change your mind."

"Not if I burn it."

Nik hummed. "Careful. That almost sounds like anger."

"Fuck off."

He shrugged. "I wonder how long you would last. As someone whose motivations solely rely on those pesky emotions, Morgan would inevitably seep out."

"Tell me, are you pissed because Morgan's emotions are off or that you can't manipulate her?" I sat back against the wall. "I'm willing to bet you were going to threaten her in order to get out of this. Just as you have with everything else."

His expression was answer enough.

"She adores you and you squander it."

"I have no need for this lecture."

"Uh oh, was that what the fake version of me was haunting you about?" I mocked. "Does that touch a nerve? To know that she will hate you and every other miserable Mikaelson for what they did to Stefan and Damon, or every terrible thing you've made her suffer through?"

His gaze hardened. "I've only retaliated for Mikael."

"Oh please, get over yourself. People have been trying to kill you for a thousand years." I slid a bobby pin from my hair, and inserted it into the lock. "Did you know, that during her ninety year stint, she was more afraid of you finding her than Mikael? She thought you were going to kill her for something she was manipulated into doing. She holds the same fear for Kol's discovery of her using the witches to her advantage."

"That does not lessen the weight of her crime."

"You'll be pleased to note then, that Rebekah and Marcel were the ones to manipulate her into doing that."

"They have already paid the price."

"Then you made them choose between people they loved? Daggered both Marcel and Rebekah? Did you make them break up? Ooh, did you set up a public execution for their loved ones?" The cuff around my left wrist dropped against the dirt with a dull thud and I started in on the right. "Or was that only reserved for the girl you helped rear?"

"You will help end this ridiculous act of rebellion." Nik said after a moment.

"Oh, I will?" The second cuff fell.

"Or I will ensure you feel every aching moment of your grief." He tugged at his chains. "No matter where you go, after I've escaped, I'll hunt you down and compel your humanity back, even if I have to bleed the vervain from you."

Tempting. "I think I'll take my chances."

Nik stood. "Even your addled mind can comprehend that I am a vindictive creature. Were you not just describing how I've wronged you for a crime you think to be least among others?"

"What assurance would I have that this... uneasy alliance wouldn't end in you compelling my humanity back anyway."

"I have none to offer. Know that if you refuse, I will make good on my promise."

"Fine."