The Final Goodbye

Solace

Tapping his pen against the desk in his room, Ryan struggled with his thoughts.

Hope was willing to become the sacrifice to save Landon.

Logically, it all made sense.

In order to kill Malivore, she would have to die and become the tribrid.

If she had to die anyway, why not raise Landon at the same time?

It all made perfect sense.

So why did it bother him so much?

He was jealous. He knew it. He kept telling himself there was no reason to be jealous though.

All along, she said she was over Landon. She said they would never get back together even if they managed to save him.

He believed her. He did.

So, again, why did it bother him so much?

"Knock, knock." Hope spoke as she opened the door, relieved, once again, to see that he was alive and well. The evening had been way too stressful.

"Come in," he said quickly.

Fresh from the shower—she desperately needed to wash away the cave grime—Hope stepped inside and closed the door firmly.

"Aunt Freya's going to look into it, but its sacrificial magic. Some of the worst villains in The French Quarter caused a lot of pain and suffering in their quest for power using it. It's not something a lot of people will help with or can help with. I get the feeling there's a reason Triad set its sights on Andie's coven when they captured her in the first place..." She eyed him knowingly.

He nodded because it was true. That coven stirred up a lot of trouble which caught Triad's attention. It was also true that other covens were never approached by Triad because they didn't cause the same trouble. "Not all witches take kindly to those who go against nature."

"I have some first hand experience with people using it too. Besides Andie." She bit her lip and crossed the room to stand near him. "The Hollow."

"The Hollow?" He heard whispers about something by that name, but never knew the story behind it.

"Let's just say, I come from a long line of villains and leave it at that." Hope shook her head. Between the Mikaelsons on her father's side and Inandu from her mother's ancestry, it was a miracle she was one of the good guys. "The only good news is most sacrificial magic channels power over a period of time. This just needs a strong amount for one spell, for one ritual. Though usually it ends in death as do most sacrificial offerings once the power is gone."

He frowned. "Is there a chance if you die in this spell, you won't come back?"

"No." She shook her head. "I asked Aunt Freya about that too. Sacrificial magic couldn't kill an original, and, essentially, I am an original. The original tribrid. I just haven't activated all of my power yet. But once I die, I will have access to it. Death can't kill me unless I choose it. And I won't."

"You're positive?" He had to ask. If Hope didn't come back as the tribrid because she died during a sacrificial magical spell, then there would be no way to rid the world of Malivore.

And she would be gone.

His gut contracted harshly.

"Yes," she reassured him. She could see his worry and it made her smile. "Everything will work out. Assuming we can recreate the spell, of course."

"Right."

"Be ready to go with us tomorrow," she reminded him. "You won't even have to travel in the trunk this time."