No one knew what to make of it.

"So this 'Watcher' person," said Lizzie once they were back, having listened as they explained everything they'd encountered in the last month. "They're a vampire?"

"That's the running theory," explained Rhysaenya. "But because of the way the eyeball was spelled, we're also considering it also might be a witch, or a pair of them working together."

MG frowned. "But what witch would have a problem with Hope?"

Hope sighed, rubbing her head. "That's what we don't know. There's a bunch of witches who might have a problem with me. Rhysaenya and I were looking into the people Ryan Clarke told us about, those who had something against my dad and would reasonably want me dead. One of them was associated with Triad, and when I showed their picture to my aunts and uncle, they told me a new piece of information. Um..." she looked around the group, "Rhysaenya knows this story in more detail, but there was a woman, Aurora de Martel, that was involved in the Fall of the Mikaelsons. She's my Aunt Rebekah's first sireling and my family kept her under a Sleeping Spell after they initially kidnapped her because she had ingested a substance that would turn her into a creature too powerful to kill.

"Despite the substance being removed, my family didn't kill her. I'm not sure why. When my aunts and uncle came rushing here after I turned and defeated Malivore, the house was left unguarded. Someone broke her out and my Aunt Freya felt the spell be lifted. The person in this photograph..." she pushed forth the image of a woman, "is a witch that worked for Triad and was caught on a security camera outside my home the same day Aurora de Martel was taken. This may somehow be about Malivore, but we're not sure why."

Rhysaenya chimed in, "Ryan is doing some research to help us find out the identities of the people who created Malivore to trace their bloodlines and anyone else involved now that we're sure Triad is part of this. If we can find this witch, we can find Aurora de Martel. Given that each is one of the species we suspect involved in the message sent, and knowing that Aurora has a problem with the Mikaelsons, we can't rule out that these two are working together to try and kill Hope."

"It would be her last big 'fuck you' to my dad," muttered Hope. "The witch, Clarke didn't recognize, but since we know there was a cult that worshiped Malivore, we expect she formed part of it somehow. A lot of this is just... theory." She shoved the picture aside angrily. "We don't know for sure what anyone stands to gain from it, but we should assume that these are the people we need to be on the lookout for."

"Woah," said Kaleb, looking at a small notebook that Hope had been passing around. "This Aurora chick is over a thousand years old and her brother ran The Strix? I heard about that cult."

"Yeah, well, my Uncle Elijah created it," mentioned Hope. "Not initially a cult. All the original members are dead. Anyone who joined isn't from his sire line and answers to Marcel, so we don't need to be worried about them."

"Let's let them look into this notebook a bit longer," said Rhysaenya, sensing Hope was getting aggravated. "We haven't had anything to eat since we've been traveling all morning, so we should go and grab a bite."

Hope grabbed more than a bite. She finished three entire blood bags and still had room for a bucket of ice cream, which she literally chewed on angrily while looking out the window.

"How did they know what they said?" whispered Hope when she felt Rhysaenya watching. "How did they know what they wrote with her blood, how did they..."

"I don't think we've ever encountered an enemy who wasn't well-informed of our movements. This whole thing could have been a set up. Making that post knowing we'd leave to do something about it, letting Ryan and Sofya hear those whispers so you'd inevitably find out. It could be a trap."

"It is a trap. But it doesn't matter, they're already watching. Now we just have to run this lead down, see what we find about the original bloodlines, and if it's not relevant, then we get right to finding this witch and Aurora."

"And what happens when we do find them, Hope?"

"I will kill them both."

"You know I'm down for murder, but are you sure it's what you want?"

"After what they said, I'm not letting either of them live."

"Okay. Just know that if it comes down to that... I can take the burden. You don't have to carry it."

"At this point, I do."

"Hope..." she sat behind her, holding her shoulders. "You're not in this alone. If this witch and Aurora are behind it, we'll take them down as a group. And when the time comes to deal that blow, I can take it off your shoulders. It doesn't have to be personal. I think you know by now that I would kill for you."

She smiled weakly. "I shouldn't find that appealing."

"No, but I was taught that killing for someone means about as much as dying for them. A life for a life, in some twisted way. We've known that my family has interesting policies when it comes to murder." She turned her around. "Tell me, what is it about this that scares you? You could easily overpower them. You could kill them, I know, but you don't seem to think you can. Is that fear because of your morals or something else?"

"They saw you were with me the entire way through the wolf packs. That eye... I get my eyes from my dad, Rhysaenya. They hurt someone specifically to get under my skin and I think it's a sign that the next person they hurt will be someone closer. Someone like you."

"They're not gonna get me."

"Everyone we've encountered in the past has tried to harm you at some point. How can we be so sure these people won't?"

"If they try, we will get them. Everyone is going to help us figure this out."

Ryan got back to them later in the day, sending them mountains of digital paperwork outlining the lineages of those who created Malivore, which all ended abruptly and were hard to follow.

"Now this, this right here," said Ryan over FaceTime, pointing out a page in particular, "is all we have on the wolves. A few descendants and their lives were ended abruptly from conflict with the vampires. So that isn't going to be helpful. The wolf wasn't even of a specific bloodline, either, so it's not useful to track any descendants, not to mention you already have the wolves as allies and it doesn't seem that one is involved in this. The vampire involved is a bit more interesting. Evidence suggests it could have been Mikael, The Destroyer, who gave his blood for the spell."

Rhysaenya frowned. "Mikael, the Originals' father? Really?"

"There's no confirmation, but there are only so many vampires it could have been, given it was a thousand years ago when the population was still relatively small. And whoever the witch involved was– this, I've yet to figure out– surely would have wanted a special vampire for the spell. Records of Malivore's creation indicate a vampire filled with darkness but retaining a certain degree of virtue, not wishing to harm humans unless it met 'his' own agenda. It says this vampire was fueled by the dead... and if I recall my history, Mikael only fed on other vampires. There's nothing about the vampire siring anyone else, but there was something in the spell that indicated offspring; the witch tied his blood to that of all those who shared it to magnify power. There was amplification. It could have been that she channeled Mikael's children, the other Originals, without them even realizing it. Which, at this point, doesn't matter to us. You know your aunts and uncles, and it could mean that the vampire who helped run Triad at least in the beginning wasn't following a specific bloodline the way the wolves and witches must have. Rather, it was whoever wanted to be involved."

"It could make sense," sighed Hope. "What's this about the witch? You don't know who it was, but you know about an existing bloodline?"

"Yes. It's a very particular style of magic and I know it's familiar to me somehow, but I'm not sure why. I was hoping you could ask your Uncle Kol about it? He knows magic from several regions."

"No need," said Rhysaenya, scanning over the next several pages. "This magic, I recognize it."

"Um, no offense, how?"

"This incantation, it has languages I recognize. Look, this spell to imbue Malivore with strength. Rōft is Tērañguis for 'strong' and yūj is the Trīgēdasleñg word for it. Not to mention these symbols, right here..." she pointed at volcano and a flaming meteor with phoenix wings, "those are pieces of the symbols of the Lāvasȳ and Īgñividus families. The Īgñividus sigil comes from their motto 'Born to Burn,' but includes a sword to distinguish them from another ancient house whose sigil was simply the meteor with a cloud that many mistakened to be wings: House Fȳgrāv. A house of witches, vāēxag,whose motto was 'Ӯāx dēx ēl Fȳgoñh Rācil.' 'Magic of the Fire Stone.' That could mean the witch was Tērragoñhic."

She kept scrolling through the spells, recognizing more symbols. "Yes, there, the symbol of a wolf: tūlpōm. A vampire: sȳlāvȳ. A witch: vāēxag. Hell, they even accounted for hybrids of each kind. Wolf-vampire: tūlāvȳ. Wolf-witch: tūlxag.Witch-vampire: vāēsȳl. And the generic form for anything that is more than one type of creature... āpȳx. That would basically be our word for tribrid."

"And that right there outlines weaknesses," murmured Hope, recognizing a pattern in the spell. "I am the weakness, and Malivore wasn't allowed to consume any combination of creatures that were of the same species which created him." She looked up as if she'd had an idea. "That means I should be able to use my blood to find anyone from those original bloodlines."

They let everyone else know they'd be gone for about a day, giving them Kol and Rebekah's numbers so they could try to help out with the search for Aurora. Unexpected but much appreciated help had come from Ethan, who had befriended MG and was still going strong with Jed, and now knew about the supernatural world. With his connections to law enforcement and some comic book knowledge they couldn't write off as useless, given how possible all those seemingly-ridiculous ideas were with the help of a witch, there was a chance they might actually find Aurora while Hope and Rhysaenya were out dealing with the witch.

Their search didn't show them who they meant to find. Rhysaenya flew them right outside a large mansion belonging to the singular dot that popped up on Hope's map. A woman not resembling the older female captured in the security cameras was swimming in her pool, unbothered. That wouldn't last much longer.

They snuck into her backyard as she emerged, watching her summon a shawl into her hand, covering her body, particularly her upper thigh where a burned-in Triad symbol resided.

She wasn't the witch in Ryan's files, but she had a connection all the same.

The woman laid herself back on a chair, ringing a bell to call forth a butler. The two girls snuck forward, loud enough that she called out mindlessly, "I'll take another. And get in touch with the rest of the Triad. Set a meeting for later this afternoon. We're gonna have to deal with the Tribrid sooner than expected." When they didn't answer, she sat up. "Is there a problem?"

"Three, to be exact," said Hope, holding out a black candle. "And you're the first." She lit it, setting down to prevent the witch from performing any magic against them. Immediately, her youthful face melted away, revealing the older woman from the footage. Age spots and wrinkles concealed with magic, just the way Rhysaenya was told that Melisandre, the Red Witch, used a ruby necklace to prolong her life.

"Like a crayon left on a hot driveway," murmured Rhysaenya as the woman's skin continued to sag. "A clever way to hide."

"Yeah, she doesn't look so good now," agreed Hope. "You should get out of the sun, you're getting a little pruney."

The witch sneered, holding her hands out, "Incendia!" Nothing happened.

Hope sighed. "You know, if you just would've talked to me before attacking, I would've told you that this candle's nullifying our magic, but I still have my vampire and werewolf powers."

"You are an affront to nature herself," said the witch, disgusted.

"I'm not the one who's using black magic to stay young. Not very natural."

"My vanity aside, you are cursed, child. A tribrid was never meant to exist, and sullies the bloodlines of all three species. So kill me, if you must, but there will be no hiding from your fate."

Hope held out her arms. "Do I look like I'm hiding? Why don't you tell me where the vampire and the werewolf that you're working with are? I can have this conversation with them, too."

"And if I do, I will be just as dead." She gestured to her Triad burn. "Ours is an unbreakable alliance. And any act of treason is punishable by–"

"Fȳgoñh," said Rhysaenya, lifting her shirt to show off her burns had the exact same texture and precision. "Ētm āqū."(T: Fire. We know.)

For the first time since they arrived, the woman genuinely looked confused. It was a sudden change, as if the words had made her drop her tough act. She didn't understand what Rhysaenya had said any more than she understood what the circles on her body meant. She narrowed her eyes, circling her. "So she doesn't know her mother tongue."

The woman looked between them nervously. "You'll find them at the– AHHH!" Her body ignited into flames, which left Rhysaenya no choice but to shove her in the pool before the house caught fire, too.

She melted into a puddle of blue, the same color as the words on the eyeball. Overhead, there was a flutter, and a small winged lizard landed onto the puddle without sinking into the water. It flopped over, suddenly dead. When Rhysaenya picked it up, she saw it had no eyeballs. Left behind in the puddle was the word 'Too warm.'

"She was a decoy," said Rhysaenya. "A test, probably to see how far we could get."

"That we must have passed," said Hope. "The Watcher doesn't want us to find them, but we're getting close.'

They spent the rest of the day combing through the witch's house, and found a record of a wolf she'd been in contact with, who she only ever referred to as the 'Alpha.' As it turned out, Hope had already dealt with him. He was one of the many abusive Alphas she dethroned, and he wasn't from the original wolf bloodline, he was just a man who wanted power and now had none. Records of the group's last meeting indicated he'd been killed off by the same witch and vampire who no longer found him useful. They'd been looking for a replacement... but now they'd never find one. All wolves were loyal to Hope.

They decided to let the Mikaelsons (and Cleo, Lizzie, as well as Josie now that she'd taken her magic back in and re-enrolled formally) handle looking for Aurora. If this witch had died so easily, it might not be the real one. It was time to handle the witch communities, to gather the allies they could.

The Salvatore School provided them with numerous artifacts to be given away. Kol had even been selfless enough (probably after some pressure from Davina) to hand over some dark objects that could come in handy. Vincent gave them the information they needed to target which communities were in need of the most support. They'd start there and work their way to the more conservative Covens. Their biggest threats were covens that were associated with New Orleans and Portland. With New Orleans witches rallying behind Hope and the Gemini Coven nearly extinct, they anticipated that support might be easier to collect than they expected.

They had to make their rounds as quickly as possible to prevent Aurora and the real Malivore witch from gaining any ground. Some witches had an immediate sense of respect for Hope, particularly the communities near the Gulf of Mexico who'd been impacted by the Hollow at one point in their lives. They respected anyone who could take her down, and respected Hope for admitting she didn't defeat Inadu or even Dahlia alone, or at all, in her opinion. It was her family. And she made it clear that they'd turned over a new leaf. She was going to be different. Better.

Only one woman came to them, asking to speak alone.

"I can't explain it," said the woman, biting her lip anxiously after she'd handed them an envelope with three pictures, each of a different mystical artifact. "It just appeared in my home. The day you arrived, I noticed it. I can't... I can't remember how it got there. I'm losing time." She held her head, beginning to sob, "I'm losing time, I'm losing my mind."

"It's okay," said Hope gently, tucking the envelope away. "It's okay, you're safe. I think someone may have made you give these to me."

"Another trap?" murmured Rhysaenya.

"Most likely. It's not your fault." She held the woman's hands to soothe her. Rhysaenya had a feeling Hope was doing more than comforting her; she must have been scanning her for any traces of the magic that'd been on the Triad witch that died. "It's okay."

"What did you feel?" asked Rhysaenya once they were heading back to their car.

"The same traces of dark magic. I've learned of it before, it's like a residue that's left behind after someone possesses a body that doesn't belong to them. She lost time because she wasn't herself. Someone else was inside of her. I think that's how The Watcher has been finding us, Rhysaenya, they get inside of people we're close to and they wait to see what we're doing. I bet that witch that went up in flames had The Watcher inside of her. She was waiting for us. It could be the reason Clarke can't find the original witch who made Malivore. They've been jumping around from body to body. Just like an old family enemy, Céleste Dubois, and even like my grandmother Esther. Which means that if we find out who The Watcher is in next time, I can do a Soul-Branding Spell to track them."

Rhysaenya pointed at the artifacts. "Think this can help us find who The Watcher is in?"

"Oh, I know it can. I bet one of these will lead us right to them. But they won't appear as themselves. This is another test. They want us to find someone or something, they're trying to get ahead of the game by seeing how I respond to threats. They're learning a hell of a lot about us but we know nothing about them. That won't be the case soon enough. One last thing. From hereon out, we need to make sure we're not infected or being used by The Watcher. So... we should ask each other questions when we reunite if and when we get separated during battle or just while investigating."

"Sounds good to me."

They armed themselves with a pit stop in New Orleans, tracking down the first of the three artifacts, an old vase with a singular dead flower that could not be removed.

"My bet is The Watcher needs us to make contact with these items to activate them," said Hope as she drove them off the freeway at the next exit, nearing a warehouse where La Rose Perpétuelle was waiting for them. "It's like the artifact Cleo was in. Someone else they need could be trapped there, or activating it could give them access to more power. We need to find the artifact and use its magic immediately. That should give me a chance to find out more about it."

"What will you use the magic for, though?"

She shrugged. "None of us have been able to find Aurora alone. She's cloaked with some powerful magic and I need a boost to break it. So... the artifact could come in handy. There is an idea I want to bounce off of you, now that I think of it. Related to a potential weapon in battle."

"A weapon?"

"Yes. My dad's bite was lethal to vampires, obviously, because he was part wolf. I expect mine to do the same. But because I'm a tribrid... is there a chance my bite might be lethal to other species?"

"You mean, like your venom hurting witches and wolves, too? Maybe. But regular only one of the three creatures that you are creates venom, and it only works against vampires. I think the limitations would stay there. That being said..." she smirked as the car stopped, popping open the door. "Bite down hard and no one will survive it. Your bite might not even have a cure, for all we know. Hey–" she held up her swords, tossing Dark Sister to Hope. "Who helped me find these?"

"My Uncle Kol," said Hope. "Who taught you how to accessorize?"

"I have told people it was Lizzie and Rebekah but the real lady that understood my unique style was Davina Claire."

"Good. Let's see what's waiting for us here."

At first, it seemed nothing was. The warehouse was filled with boxes all sealed with duct tape and what appeared to be a spell that hovered over everything under the roof, even the drawers that usually only required keys or combinations. La Rose Perpétuelle wasn't out in the open, and it certainly wasn't going to pop out at them without Hope first breaking the spell.

She sat herself down, preparing a circle of salt to break it as fast as possible while Rhysaenya got to checking the labels on each box.

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Rhysaenya, finding it impossible to cut the boxes open no matter how hard she swung her sword down. "If this is something they need you to activate, they'd have laid it out for you. I don't think it's about activating it. I think it's about finding it. My guess is The Watcher couldn't do it... so they needed you to find it for them." She felt a sense of dread, the same gut feeling whenever something associated with Malivore was nearby. "Hope? We need to get out of here, right now."

"Don't go just yet."

The doors had opened, vampires flooding in and surrounding them. "We're just getting to the fun part," said Sofya Voronova with a smile. "Thank you for finding this place."

"Sofya?" said Hope, confused. "But–"

"That's not Sofya, Hope," said Rhysaenya, pointing her sword at her. "I feel the darkness coming from her. It wasn't there when we met her in New Orleans. The Watcher is inside of her."

The woman smirked. "Very good," she said patronizingly, clapping as if congratulating a small child. "This host is muchbetter suited to my needs. The witches and wolves are so brittle and you would not believe how much they resist! Vampires of this age, however, they have so little humanity... they are so alone... they let me slip right in and make myself comfortable. Here." She beckoned one of the vampires to hand them a large box. "My first host in this world."

Rhysaenya motioned for the vampire to set it on the ground, using the tip of Blackfyre to pop the lid. "Oh my god," said Hope, eyes wide when she saw the head of Roman Sienna, eye sockets empty.

"I've reached my limit of uses for you," said The Watcher, miming a motion of cleaning her hands. "You got me just what I needed. Why, you dropped me right at that Triad witch's doorstep so I could eliminate that mediocre little copy of methat they installed once they realized that I wanted to bring Malivore back. Triad never understands some things... are better left buried. And now you've led me right to La Rose Perpétuelle. The flower of eternal life. Just the thing I needed to make sure my creation finishes the mission I set for him. Oh, and one other little ingredient..."

The vampires rushed at Hope with knives drawn, presumably to take her blood. Rhysaenya blew fire right as a shadow appeared behind the vampires, three voices crying out in unison, "Incendia!"

The Watcher was thrown into the wall by Sebastian, the only one aside from Hope who was strong enough to tackle a vampire of Sofya's age.

Hope thrust out her hands, coiling them suddenly to drop the burning vampires to the ground, letting them burst into a cloud of ashes faster than it might've happened if they let the fire carry its natural course. She couldn't rush toward Sebastian and Sofya just yet, ambushed by another wave that came toward her and Rhysaenya, and was now attacking the cavalry that was using the power of the three witches to manage a fight against vampires much older than them.

Kaleb, MG, Jed, and Raf didn't normally have the abilities to take anyone on in such a serious fight. Today, thanks to Cleo, Lizzie, and Josie, they seemed to be managing just fine on their own. There was even a girl that Rhysaenya didn't recognize, standing with Landon behind the three witches, the two letting themselves be channeled in order to strengthen the spell. In no time, the vampires around them were having their necks snapped and backs broken, not killing them as permanently as Rhysaenya would've liked, but there was an easy fix for that.

"WAIT!" yelled Hope just as Sebastian shoved his hand into Sofya's chest, gripping her heart.

It was too late. He ripped it out, letting her body fall to the floor.

"No!" said Hope, crouching down beside her. "No– no, it wasn't her, oh my god, it wasn't her..."

"Forgive me," said Sebastian quietly, though he didn't exactly seem remorseful. He panted heavily, going to stand beside Lizzie and MG. "I did not realize–"

"I needed her alive to do a Soul-Branding Spell!" said Hope, cradling Sofya's head. "She was my family's friend, she helped us."

Rhysaenya put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They couldn't have known, Hope, they came and saved us. We need to find La Rose Perpétuelle, kill these vampires before they come back, and get the hell out of here. We'll find The Watcher again. She's going to have to find us if she wants this eternal rose so badly."

She handled burning the bodies while the others searched for the La Rose Perpétuelle, tucking it into Hope's backpack when they were done.

"What now?" asked Lizzie once they were outside.

"I don't know," said Hope tiredly, instructing Rhysaenya to lay Sofya's body carefully in the back seat. "How did you guys even get here?"

"Your Aunt Freya got a hit on Aurora," said Josie. "She was supposed to be in this warehouse. We tracked the two of you and figured you were on your way to the same place."

Rhysaenya gestured to the werewolf beside her. "I take it this is... Finch?"

Finch waved awkwardly. "Yeah. Hi."

Hope nodded as cordially as she could, given her distress. "Please, next time, let us know. You shouldn't all go and confront Aurora by yourselves. If we go, we go together. Promise?"

They all nodded, except for Sebastian. "And that is because you fear that we are not strong enough?"

"I hate to say it, but yes," said Hope.

"We can always boost their strength," said Cleo. "Now that we know how."

"There's too much risk even with that. Aurora isn't like the vampires we encountered today. Those were weaker, they were meant to occupy us while they tried to get La Rose Perpétuelle. Aurora won't come unprepared."

"Wait a minute," said Rhysaenya, a tingle creeping up her spine. "Aurora clearly wasn't here. So why did the spell lead you to the warehouse? I don't think Aurora is The Watcher. She called the witch a mediocre copy of her. Aurora was never a witch. Why lure them here, then?"

Sebastian let out a dark laugh, making her turn toward him as he held out his hand, wiggling his fingers in a greeting. "An eye for an eye," he said sweetly. "And now, a host you won't kill."