Davina was waiting when I emerged from the trees.
She stood on the porch of the safehouse, arms wrapped around herself, face pale with worry. When she saw me, something in her expression shifted—relief, wonder, and something I couldn't quite name.
"You're different."
"Still me. Just... more."
She crossed the distance between us and hugged me—really hugged me, the kind of embrace she'd been too guarded to offer before. I held her carefully, aware of my new strength, mindful not to hurt her with power she couldn't comprehend.
"I felt it," she whispered against my chest. "The transformation. The ancestors reaching out. I was so scared—"
"I'm fine. Better than fine." I pulled back, meeting her eyes. "I'm exactly where I need to be."
"To protect us?"
"To protect you. To give you choices you never had." I smiled. "Starting now."
I led her inside and spent the next hour explaining—not everything, but enough. The evolution. The new power. The ancestors' bargain. What it meant for her future.
When I finished, she was quiet for a long moment.
"So you're basically an Original now?"
"Close. Not quite. Klaus still has a thousand years of experience on me. But the gap is closing."
"And you're going to use this power to... what? Fight him? Take over?"
"No." I met her eyes. "I'm going to use it to make sure you never have to hide again. To build something safe. Something permanent."
Davina stared at me. Then, slowly, she smiled.
"You really mean that."
"I really do."
She hugged me again, and for a moment, the weight of thirteen thousand realities lifted.
This—this moment, this connection—was why I kept traveling. Why I kept seeking new worlds, new people, new reasons to care.
Because sometimes, in the vast emptiness of existence, you found something worth protecting.
Chapter 25: The Reunion — OP Edition
Davina was waiting when I emerged from the trees.
She stood on the porch of the safehouse, arms wrapped around herself, face pale with worry. When she saw me, something in her expression shifted—relief, wonder, and something I couldn't quite name.
"You're different."
"Still me. Just... more."
She crossed the distance between us and hugged me—really hugged me, the kind of embrace she'd been too guarded to offer before. I held her carefully, aware of my new strength, mindful not to hurt her with power she couldn't comprehend.
"I felt it," she whispered against my chest. "The transformation. The ancestors reaching out. I was so scared—"
"I'm fine. Better than fine." I pulled back, meeting her eyes. "I'm exactly where I need to be."
"To protect us?"
"To protect you. To give you choices you never had." I smiled. "Starting now."
I led her inside and spent the next hour explaining—not everything, but enough. The evolution. The new power. The ancestors' bargain. What it meant for her future.
When I finished, she was quiet for a long moment.
"So you're basically an Original now?"
"Close. Not quite. Klaus still has a thousand years of experience on me. But the gap is closing."
"And you're going to use this power to... what? Fight him? Take over?"
"No." I met her eyes. "I'm going to use it to make sure you never have to hide again. To build something safe. Something permanent."
Davina stared at me. Then, slowly, she smiled.
"You really mean that."
"I really do."
She hugged me again, and for a moment, the weight of thirteen thousand realities lifted.
This—this moment, this connection—was why I kept traveling. Why I kept seeking new worlds, new people, new reasons to care.
Because sometimes, in the vast emptiness of existence, you found something worth protecting.