Hope was used to everyone wanting to kill her.

How could any of this come as a shock? The tribrid had been waiting for the other shoe to drop from the moment she turned. It was only a matter of time.

The world had been against her from the moment she was conceived. Was this really anything new?

"I've already sent word of this to my Uncle Kol," said Hope, leading Rhysaenya back to her room the moment her cab dropped her off at the Salvatore School. "I gathered all the existing lethal red oak from a sapling that was born behind St. Anne's Church, where I was born, thanks to Clarke. Right now, we need to figure out how Cleo is here and whether I released other monsters or not. If I did, they're all blending in somewhere and it's going to be really hard to find them."

"And what happens when we do find them?" asked Rhysaenya. "Literally what do we do?"

"We question them with Truth Spells. Find out if anyone has the intention of harming me. If they don't, then we can let them live. If they do, however..."

"I'll handle that," offered Rhysaenya. "Where's Cleo? I need to talk to her."

"She's in class right now, but she'll be out soon. She's amazing, truly, I don't think she's here to hurt us. That being said, worse people could have gotten out and we just won't know until we find out what she experienced in Malivore. Clarke said your mother got out at one point, but there's no record of it, just as I haven't found anything that indicates where these creatures escaped from. While I'm trying to find that out, I need you to empathize with her and get me a story. And Rhysaenya—"

Hope turned on her heels, beckoning her back into her room. "I'm glad you're back."

Rhysaenya smiled slightly. "I'll always come back when you need me."

When you need me.

Hope had needed her all along.

"I'll uh, catch up with you later," said Hope, trying to remain cheerful. "I want to hear all about California and... wherever else you've been."

Rhysaenya got the sense that Hope hadn't been reading her messages very thoroughly. She had kept her friends updated on her whereabouts as a preventative measure. If Hope didn't know where she'd been, Rhysaenya couldn't say it was her own fault. Her communication had weakened over the months she'd been with Ryan, but never stopped.

She wasn't sure what to make of it.

One minute she risks everything to save me and the next she doesn't seem too interested in my life. What am I missing?

She wasn't sure what she'd done wrong, but if anyone could find out, it was probably Lizzie. She just had to give her a moment to gather information.

As soon as the first period finished, she went into the library to find Cleo, who was already getting started on her homework like a diligent scholar would.

"Hi," said Rhysaenya, waving awkwardly. "I'm—"

"I know who you are," said Cleo, sitting up to greet her. "I can feel it, the darkness we both endured. You're Rhysaenya, the dragon. Please, join me."

She smiled, lowering herself into the chair across from her. "There's no sense in sugarcoating it... we really need to find out how you got here. You and I were apparently released from Malivore, but we're here for different reasons. I don't want to jump right into that, though, so I want to ask you, first... what made you choose to stay at this school?"

"Hope was the first person who was truly honest with me," said Cleo, a faraway look in her eyes. "She told me that this school is her home, that she doesn't know what she would have become without it. It is exactly what I wanted. She was truthful in saying it can be dangerous, but that it is also a place where it's safe to be oneself. She told me about the monsters that've come in the past, before she even knew I, too, came from Malivore. She explained how they've had to kill to survive, and she told me about... you. How the two of you have had to make the difficult decisions no one else can in order to save those you love. It felt... right to stay. Because, despite what has happened, the purpose of the school is something beautiful. To treat all supernaturals and humans with respect, to let them grow into themselves. Given that there has been peace, I was sure this would be a safe place. Something free of violence. However, given you are here... that does not seem to be the case anymore."

"It isn't," admitted Rhysaenya. "Something is brewing in the supernatural world and we need to be ready for it. We'd never involve you in anything against your will. We just need to find out where you came from so we can see what other creatures Malivore might've let out. You mentioned wanting a place free of violence. Is that because of what you experienced with Malivore?"

Cleo made a so-so motion with her hands. "I hate violence. My sisters were murdered. I am the only one of us left."

"I'm so sorry..."

"I have accepted that there was nothing I could do to save them. I have figured out how to live without them, to move on. Though, it seems, many people struggle with moving on. Namely, whoever is here to harm Hope. Are the sins of her family being visited upon her?"

"Something like that. Everyone seems to think that she's destined to be just as they were. And given you're the first person we've met released from Malivore since Hope defeated him... we're not sure in what form those enemies may come. Is there any reason you can think that you, in particular, were drawn out?"

"That, I do not know. I only remember the darkness and then... being in this world. Though, it is my belief that all along, specific creatures could have been drawn from Malivore. He made his selections, and I believe something else chose me."

"Is there any feeling you can describe? I associate all things Malivore with... darkness. I can feel it billowing off of the creatures, off of golems, off of you. Like black magic, it calls out to me, this... evil."

"In my belief, magic is neither good or bad. Its alignment, positive or negative, is set off by the user's intention. If you feel this evil energy, it is not because of dark magic being used, it is because whoever called us forth had sinister intentions. I feel it in myself. But I cannot understand it. I do not have the answers to the questions you seek. There are visions... small flickers of existence that I remember before Malivore. I know of my sisters, but I cannot remember more. When I arrived here, I became... aware of reality. I learned of it all without knowing how. I had no questions, I received only answers. I have been on my own for awhile, attempting to unblock my mind. Somehow, it drew me here. Something, a force, told me to look into the school. So I did."

Rhysaenya blew air out of her mouth. "That might mean we need to do a head dive on you to learn more. If you and others were released from Malivore... it may be possible everyone experienced this mind wipe. You don't seem like the other creatures that were taken in. Me, a dragon, that's meant to be a myth in this world. But you're a witch. It makes no sense."

"Whatever I can do to help, I will," promised Cleo.

The dragon went to find Hope. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor of her room, waving her hands delicately over a spell she had in progress, with a map of the world lighting up at different places, perhaps trying to find all her enemies.

Rhysaenya was quiet, letting her work. The tribrid must've sensed her, but seemed to understand that Rhysaenya didn't want to interrupt her, and continued what she was doing. The girl watched as Hope's hands moved delicately, forming intricate shapes in the air. She was an artist with paint and pencils, and an even more gifted one when it came to magic and crafting spells.

She looked beautiful.

She had to shake the thought out of her head. It came from nowhere.

"Just relax, Cleo," said Hope, both hands on Cleo's head while Rhysaenya gripped her shoulders. "Let me in. I should be able to find out why Malivore took you... I defeated him, my blood is his weakness, it will work against his tricks..."

They tried to remain quiet to let her work. Hope's eyes were wide open, staring into nothingness as she searched Cleo's head. "I can feel it," she murmured. "Inspiration... light... you're not a regular witch, you're a muse. A seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. In your presence, people have brilliant ideas, they solve the most complex of problems."

"A muse, like in Greek mythology?" whispered Rhysaenya.

Hope nodded. "It seems so. But... I am not sure why... Cleo is obviously not that old, she couldn't have survived that long unless Malivore took her in, and he didn't exist at the time."

"I never knew I had any other abilities," said Cleo, surprised. "How can I access them?"

"I don't know that yet," said Hope. "Umm..." She let go, turning to Rhysaenya, opening her mouth a few times before she finally spit out, "I... think you need to ask Clarke to take a look through any records he might still have from his time at Triad. Better yet, check the old headquarters to see if there's anything written about people released from the pit around the time your mom might've been. If she wasn't in the pit when they tried to look for a replacement, someone drew her out before that. It's possible that same person drew Cleo out. Like she was saying... calling specific creatures on command. There could be a witch out there who's been doing it all along. Cleo might've been in this world longer than we even realize. So we have to know if anything was written down about it."

"I'll ask him," Rhysaenya assured her, unlocking her phone to send a text. She couldn't help but notice that Hope didn't seem pleased with having asked her to do it, but she opted not to make a comment about it.

"Let's continue now," said Hope, taking Cleo's head in her hands again. There has to be more.

This time, when Rhysaenya held on to Hope, she was forced into Cleo's mind with her, seeing flashes that at first, came too quickly for her to understand. Then, she saw it. A village by the river, a hut with an older woman. Cleo's grandmother revealing she was a muse. Cleo deciding to become Malivore's prisoner in order to protect her grandmother and her village. Malivore, taking the little girl by the hand and trapping her in a cave, where he offered his mud for her to mold into creatures that he consumed. Feeding off her magic the way Ryan had tried to do with Josie.

He'd had her make a vessel for him, declaring he'd rid himself of all supernaturals and create his own species. Cleo was his salvation, but she also became a weapon against him, trapping him to gain her freedom. She'd ended up in Italy, where she'd fallen in love with Leonardo Da Vinci, inspiring him to create an artifact that kept her safe from Malivore. When Hope had killed Malivore, the artifact popped open. Cleo had been freed.

"So I didn't release any creatures from the pit when I killed Malivore," realized Hope. "I released Cleo because that was her safety clause... she could only be freed by the one who could kill Malivore. And when I did, when it was proven that she was safe, the artifact popped her back out. But because Malivore wipes away memories and I wiped him from existence... she forgot where she'd been the whole time. And she's remembering now because I opened her mind."

"Then that's a good thing, right?" said Rhysaenya, kneeling in front of Cleo and holding her hands as she began to tear up, the memories probably hitting her like a truck. "It means no monsters are coming for you. Any enemies are regular supernaturals. Unless anyone was released before me... the enemies are those you share a species with."

Ryan didn't have much more to add. There were records of things emerging from the pit prior to Rhysaenya, but there was nothing very clear about what they were. One instance had happened as far back as 2013, but was so small, it was hardly registered. Ryan said it must've been a fairy, which Hope said could explain why Wade had taken to believing he was a fairy; it might be the reason why he'd never met his parents and was not the best at magic. It was yet to be determined by Landon and Raf, who had decided to take it upon themselves to help him figure it out.

"You didn't seem too happy talking with Raf earlier," noticed Rhysaenya as she made herself some pasta. "Want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" said Hope with a dismissive shrug. "He decided he didn't know how to communicate and stopped respecting me, so we broke up. Josie ghosted Landon so he's upset but he'll live and so will she– apparently she's already making friends with Maya's ex-girlfriend, Finch, who Jed was totally right about. She is a werewolf, and Lizzie is sure that given a few more days, she can convince both Finch and Josie to re-enroll here to boost the numbers up. Everything's great! How wonderful that we can enroll more students but we can't protect the ones already here."

Rhysaenya set her spatula down. "You're clearly not fine. Talk to me, Hope, please. You used to be able to tell me anything."

"Before you decided to just up and leave."

"I needed time away. It wasn't like anyone was begging me to stay."

Hope threw her hands up. "Well, no one is begging you to stay right now."

"Lizzie asked me to come after you told her not to tell me about Cleo. And when I found out that people are targeting you,I caught the first plane here because you matter to me. I want to help you. I wouldn't be here otherwise. I'm sorry I left, okay? I didn't think this was a good place for me anymore. I guess I didn't feel wanted enough. It's not because of you, it's the prison world and just wanting to explore a relationship. I couldn't exactly navigate that while in this school."

"Yeah, well, I hope you enjoyed yourself. In fact, you should go back to that."

"Why are you mad at me, Hope?"

"I'm not." She sank down, holding her head. "It never ends. It never... it doesn't... all my life it's one thing after another. And the last time this happened, I was so stupid and I lost my mom. I am the reason she died. Then I was stupid enough to trigger my curse and now I have all these things to do and I just– I just..." she forced out, "I just received word that the Alpha of the Crescents was killed under mysterious circumstances."

"Oh, Hope." She abandoned the pasta and went to kneel beside her. "Does that mean–?"

"Yep," she replied, voice breaking. "I'm the Alpha now. I have to go to New Orleans tonight to have my ceremony. Considering there are wolves who want me dead, I need to use this to travel to other packs, strengthen the communities, rally up their support. My Aunt Keelin thinks it's the best strategy to start gaining some ground while the rest of them handle some of the more formidable enemies scheming in their little pits of evil. I never thought I'd have to do this without my mom. I was so sure she'd be there the day I became Alpha, I was hoping that my dad dying was the last timethat anyone would need to die for me. But now this is happening and you're here and god– I wish you would just leave because if you die for me, I won't be able to handle it. I don't want to lose any of you. And when I thought you were dying in that forest, it hurt me. Then you just... you disappeared. I didn't know if you'd be okay. When you told me you weren't coming back, it felt... it felt like I lost you again."

"I'm sorry," whispered Rhysaenya. "I'm sorry, Hope, I am. I didn't think... I just wanted to go. I felt I had to. I didn't think there was anything keeping me at this school. I figured everyone was doing fine without me. I kept... I kept thinking of that moment and I didn't ponder on it much. I didn't believe I should, I thought it meant nothing."

"It meant everything."

"Are you... are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Hope threw her hands up. "I guess I am. I promised myself I'd keep quiet, I'd let you figure things out with Clarke and support you in finding happiness. But I can't do it. Because you being here specifically to help me is... it's just too much. I'm scared that I'm going to lose you and it's going to be my fault. I'm scared to even go back to New Orleans without you. If I can't have my parents there for me at my Alpha ascension ceremony... I'd like to have you there. That being said, I can't... I can't ask you to go with me or to stay here without being honest."

Rhysaenya hesitated. "I don't know what to say. I admit, I've been thinking about that a lot. I didn't know what to make of it, I was sure that it meant nothing to you and that I was just being stupid. I... I don't know if I feel the same. At one point I thought I did. Now, I can't understand what I feel. I've been so focused on Ryan–"

"It's okay," said Hope quickly. "I just needed to tell you. Before it was too late and the two of you... really settled things. I'm sorry. It's selfish of me. But... considering everyone wants to kill me, I feel I need to be selfish. Which is why I need to ask you if you would please come to New Orleans with me."

"Of course, Hope."

She kept typing and deleting a message to Ryan, trying to explain everything that'd happened and what Hope had confessed to. How would he react? Would he want to call things off because he had no desire to be caught in a love triangle? Would he insist that he and Rhysaenya were meant to be together? They'd only been together a few months. Rhysaenya cared for him, she did, but she wouldn't say she loved him as anything more than a friend just yet. She imagined he felt the same. They were taking things slow for a reason.

The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him. But she couldn't pretend things were fine. She couldn't promise Ryan that she'd stay with him and not feel anything for Hope. She couldn't tell Hope she'd dump Ryan when at the moment, her feelings were a series of questions with no answers. She refused to lead either of them on. Did that mean she needed to put her relationship with Ryan on pause until she could figure it all out? Would he tolerate it or decide that if it ended now, it ended forever? Was he willing to wait? Was Hope?

It made her head spin and she hated it.

She thought about it the whole time that she sat in the Bayou, witnessing Hope's ascension to Alpha, and naming two of the other wolves as her Betas, who would keep things running smoothly until she was able to return.

She took notes for Hope about what the wolves needed. Hope could provide it all with ease, and may need to use that same list as a reference while they traveled to other packs, making their way through the states to make alliances and build trust, to see if they could rule out any of the packs as enemies and mark some to be watched for further trouble. Hope carried close to her chest a notebook started by her Grandma Mary (Jackson's grandmother), continued by him, and with many blank pages the tribrid would fill as she made the rounds to visit those who respected the Crescents and even those who wanted nothing to do with them. Hope was going to give them what they needed, to make sure that in her time of need, none of them would stand against her.

"Are you doing okay?" asked Ryan, when Rhysaenya finally opted to call him. A text would open a conversation, but she didn't want to hide behind a screen. She had to start it while looking at his face. "Got settled into the hotel?"

"Yeah," said Rhysaenya, propping her phone up against the window. "Hope's already out negotiating with one of the Alphas. She's lucky so many wolves still remember her mother and all that she did to better the packs. With any luck, they will realize that she is the same. She isn't here to hurt anyone. She just wants to replenish their resources, to unite the factions, make sure vampires and witches don't harm them anymore."

"They better appreciate that. It can't be easy. It already says a lot that she's out there doing it. But... be careful. Someone might come after you guys if they find out she's there. Her family can only handle so many people at a time. There's a multitude of them just waiting in the shadows to try and hurt the tribrid."

"Yeah, I know. We'll watch our backs. Um... Ry... there's something we need to talk about."

He furrowed his brows. "What's wrong? You okay?"

"I am. I just... learned something new. About Hope. Something I've been questioning myself but didn't think about in more detail until she told me... that she's had that same dilemma. It has to do with her feelings... for me."

He made a face. "You're saying Hope has feelings for you?"

"Yes." He was quiet for a long time. "Please say something..."

"I'm just confused. How didn't you already know that?"

"How would I have known? She hadn't told me anything before. I hardly think she knew."

"I... I guess she must not have realized it. But this isn't anything new. Jeez. I thought you were both aware. I had a feeling she liked you from the moment I saw you two together. Even in Maple Hollow, the way she looked at you, it was so clear she respected you more than the others, that she turned to you for support. She let you in on knowledge before anyone else. I honestly thought you two were dating until I learned more about Landon and realized those two were together.

"When I was at the pit with you guys, she had this murderous expression the moment she saw me hurting you. She snapped my neck because I had that device that was torturing you. And then, you came to rescue her when I planned to use the trident on her. You were willing to sacrifice yourself for her. When you wanted to kill me, she talked you down. She was the first person to hug you when you got out of the prison world. And when she had a choice to either kill Kai and save Josie along with the rest of the school, she chose you.

"I figured that you'd known that this whole time, she has cared about you. I always thought you cared about her in the same way. I mean, you were going to murder me because I hurt her. Sure, people do it for friends, but there was an anger in you that went beyond that. I was surprised to learn that you two weren't together. I assumed whatever was going on between the two of you, that you'd addressed it. I guess... you hadn't."

"No, we hadn't. I didn't know until recently. And I don't know what to do. I was already questioning it, I thought it was just out of guilty. But now the things you remind me of... I don't know what I feel. And it didn't seem right to me to keep building a relationship with you when I'm not completely devoted to you."

"Do you love her?"

"Only as a friend right now."

"Do you love me?"

"Not... not yet, romantically. As a friend, yes, of course I do. As more... I haven't felt it yet. It doesn't mean I won't. I... sweet Mother, Ryan, I'm so sorry."

"No, no, no. Don't be sorry. I'm glad you told me. Listen to me, I understand. If you want to figure things out, that's fine with me. If you decide that I'm not what you want... I can accept that. I want you to be happy. Even if it isn't at my side."

She began to tear up. "Ry, I... I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you."

"Rhysaenya, I promise, you're not hurting me. This doesn't have to be the end of the world for me. We don't have to be held to this. I would never want to restrict you when you've learned something new, I would never want to be the reason you don't explore other chances at love. If Hope is 'it' for you, then all I ask is that she treats you right. Because you deserve it. And if, some day, you find yourself thinking that maybe you and I can be something after all... that's okay, too. I will wait until you tell me I don't have to."

"Please don't restrict yourself, though, I want you to be happy, too. I want you to love and feel loved beyond anything you ever thought possible."

He smiled. "I'll do that. Don't worry. We're still friends, first and foremost. Friends who want the best for each other... even if it isn't together. Just ah... keep me updated. Stay safe. And most importantly..." there was a sadness in his face, smile faltering slightly, knowing that there wasn't much of a chance that Rhysaenya would come back to him, "Get the girl. Because if I realized it when you two knuckleheads hadn't, it's only a matter of time before you see what I did. You two are good together. You are meant for each other. You will burn together like an eternal flame. Ah... perzys... er... what's the word for 'eternal' in Valyrian?"

"I... have no idea. But in Tērañguis, it's āeterña. Perzys Āeterña."

"That. I care about you, Rhysaenya. Enough to let you go."

She wiped the tears at the corner of her eyes. "I care about you, too, Ryan. Thank you... for showing me what it's like to be valued, to be respected. For helping me be ready for this. For whatever comes next."