"Because I want you to understand why I want him dead," Elijah answered, closing the distance between them. The proximity between their faces would have made for an almost intimate moment, but for his lack of expression. There was, briefly, a muted longing in his eyes as he gazed at her. He would have given anything to have her back, but he understood also that this place, wherever it was, would not last. This was his sister from a time long past, brought here by some as yet unexplained anomaly. He did not truly have her back, and he knew it. "You're not the only one he's taken from me. One by one, he hunted you down and buried you at sea where the bodies could never be recovered. Even our mother. And for that, I can never forgive him." Nor could he ever forgive himself or Katerina, but this went unspoken. Enough had been revealed for today. Another time, perhaps.
"The ritual will happen, Tessa," he repeated with firmness. "But Niklaus will not survive it."