Hunger. Intense hunger and searing pain—that was all I felt. Pain radiated through my body, especially in my chest. I couldn’t move, trapped in darkness, the agony tearing through me. I had never felt anything like this before. Suddenly, a bright light washed over me.

I gasped, sitting up and clutching my chest. My ears rang, my vision blurred. Shaking my head, I tried to clear the noise from my ears. My eyes finally focused. I looked down at my hands and the surface beneath me—this wasn’t my bed. And since when did I sleep in a shirt and vest?

I glanced up and saw four people in the room. My eyes widened as I quickly stood, heart racing. One of them spoke, but I couldn’t make out the words over the ringing in my ears. Someone tossed something at me—a blood bag. I caught it, staring down at it as my hands shook. What on earth was happening?

“Is everything okay with your brother?” I heard someone ask. My mind raced with a thousand questions.

“Kol?” a voice called softly. My heart skipped. “Kol,” someone said louder. I gulped, lost in thought. “Kol!” a hand gripped my shoulder. I flinched, stepping back.

It was Daniel Gillies—or rather Elijah Mikaelson—from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals. He looked at me with guilt in his eyes. “Kol?” he asked gently, concern etched across his face.

I froze. They meant me. This wasn’t a dream; the pain was too real. I looked down, trying to gather my thoughts. If he was Elijah and I was Kol, then somehow I had ended up inside a TV show my sisters were obsessed with—a show I’d eventually grown to enjoy.

But how? How had I become Kol? I had just fallen asleep after a normal day.