Chapter 23: Tribrid Awakening
I woke up whole.
That was the first thing I noticed. Not the aches, not the exhaustion, not the destroyed warehouse around me. Just the sense of completeness that I'd never felt before.
Three days. Seventy-two hours of transformation. And I'd survived.
My eyes opened. Purple light crackled across my vision for a second—magical energy responding to consciousness—before fading to normal. I sat up slowly, testing limbs that felt simultaneously familiar and foreign.
"Roy?" Davina's voice, hopeful. She was sitting against the wall, dark circles under her eyes, grimoire open in her lap. "You're awake. Finally."
"How long?"
"Three days. You've been out for three days." She scrambled over, checking my pulse even though vampires didn't technically need one. "How do you feel?"
I searched for words. Failed. Tried again. "Different. Everything's different."
Because it was. My vampire senses had always been sharp, but now they were layered. I could hear Marcus's heartbeat upstairs—steady, calm. Feel the ley lines running under the warehouse like rivers of power. Sense Davina's magical signature, bright and chaotic and uniquely hers.
And underneath all of it, the bloodline connection hummed stronger than ever. Every vampire in the city. Every drop of my blood that had been passed down through generations. All of it connected back to me in a web so complex I could barely comprehend it.
"I can feel everything," I whispered. "The magic in the air. The ley lines under the city. Every witch within miles. It's like..." I gestured helplessly. "Like being blind and suddenly seeing color."
Davina smiled—tired but genuine. "Welcome to the witch club. It's overwhelming at first, but you'll adjust."
I stood carefully. My legs held. Strength flooded through muscles that had been rebuilt from scratch, and I felt the power humming in my bones. Not just vampire strength. Not just hybrid speed. But something more. Something that combined all three natures into synthesis.
"Test something," Davina said. "Try a spell."
"I don't know any spells."
"You don't need to. Tribrid magic is different—it responds to intent, not ritual." She pointed at the shattered glass covering the floor. "Levitate it. Just... want it to float."
I looked at the glass. Focused on it. Float.
Nothing.
"Don't force it," Davina coached. "Magic is like breathing. You don't think about breathing, you just do it. Same with magic once it's awakened."
Okay. Don't force. Just... want.
I reached out instinctively, the way I'd reach for hemokinesis. Found the magic thrumming under my skin, wild and untrained but eager. Grabbed it. Directed it toward the glass.
Float.
The fragments shuddered. Rose an inch. Dropped.
"Yes!" Davina clapped. "You did it! Try again."
I tried again. This time the glass rose smoothly, fragments spinning in midair like a tiny tornado. I guided them across the room, dropping them into the trash can one by one.
"Holy shit," I breathed. "I just did magic."
"You just did magic without words, without ritual, on your second try." Davina was practically bouncing. "Most witches take weeks to do basic telekinesis. You did it in minutes."
"Tribrid advantage?"
"Tribrid advantage." She grabbed her backpack. "We need to test everything. Elemental control, sensing, barriers—"
"Davina." I caught her arm. "You're exhausted. You've been maintaining spells for three days. Rest first. Testing can wait."
"But—"
"Rest. That's an order from your student."
She deflated slightly. "Fine. But when I wake up, we're testing everything."
"Deal."
Elijah arrived two hours later with blood bags and questions.
"You survived," he said, setting the cooler on the crate. "I had doubts."
"So did I." I grabbed a blood bag, tore it open. The blood tasted different—richer, more potent. My tribrid metabolism was processing it faster, extracting every drop of power. "How's Hope?"
"Thriving. Klaus is... surprisingly competent as a father. Paranoid, certainly, but devoted." Elijah surveyed the destroyed warehouse. "Your transformation was violent."
"You should see it from my perspective."
"I'd rather not." He sat across from me. "What can you do now? Besides levitate glass."
"Don't know yet. The magic is there—I can feel it—but I haven't tested the limits." I finished the blood bag, felt strength flooding back. "The vampire and hybrid sides are stronger. Maybe twenty percent increase. And the hybrid transformation is instant now. No pain, no loss of control."
"Demonstrate."
I let the shift happen. My eyes flooded gold. Fangs extended. Claws pushed through my fingertips. The wolf instinct rose, but instead of drowning me, it just... was. Part of me. Controlled.
I shifted back in seconds.
Elijah's eyebrows raised. "Impressive. And unsettling."
"Everything about me is unsettling."
"Fair point." He stood, straightened his jacket. "Roy. You're complete now. What your parents tried to create artificially, you've become naturally. The question is: what will you do with that power?"
I thought about Esther. Mikael. The millennium underwater. The revenge I'd planned for so long.
Then I thought about Hope, sleeping safe in Klaus's arms. Davina teaching me magic. Marcus protecting my warehouse. Elijah offering alliance despite everything.
"I don't know yet," I admitted. "But I'm not rushing into vengeance. Not when I have people who depend on me to not become a monster."
"Good." Elijah moved toward the door. "That's the answer I was hoping for."
After he left, I stood in the destroyed warehouse and tested my new limits.
Strength first. I punched the concrete support pillar Marcus had cracked. My fist went through it. Clean hole, barely any resistance.
Speed next. I blurred across the warehouse in half a second. Faster than I'd ever moved before.
Then magic. I focused on one of the broken windows, concentrated on the glass shards. They rose, spun, and fused back together into a complete pane.
Holy shit. I can repair things.
The possibilities were endless. And terrifying.
Because with this much power, I could do incredible good.
Or unimaginable harm.
The choice was mine.
Davina woke up at sunset, refreshed and ready to work.
"Okay," she said, setting up candles around the basement. "Basic elemental control. We'll start with fire."
She demonstrated—hand gesture, words in Latin, and flame appeared above her palm.
"Your turn. But you don't need the words. Just focus on heat. On flame. On wanting it to exist."
I held out my hand. Thought about fire. About heat and light and burning.
Nothing.
"Don't force it," Davina reminded. "Magic is cooperative, not coercive. Ask the fire to come. Don't demand."
That's weirdly philosophical for pyrokinesis.
I tried again. This time thinking of fire as a living thing. Something that wanted to burn, that I was just... inviting.
Heat blossomed in my palm. Small flame, barely there, but real.
"Yes! Hold it. Let it grow."
The flame expanded. Grew from match-size to candle-size to torch-size. Heat radiated up my arm, but it didn't burn. The magic protected me from my own fire.
"Can I throw it?"
"Try it."
I threw. The fireball hit the far wall, exploding into harmless sparks.
"Okay," Davina said, grinning. "That's fire. Now let's try water."
We spent the next three hours on elemental control. Water from a basin I could move like a serpent. Earth from flowerpots I could reshape into crude sculptures. Air I could compress into visible currents.
"Most witches train for years to reach this level," Davina said finally, watching me juggle three elements at once. "You did it in an afternoon."
"Good teacher." I let the elements drop. "Also, millennium of patience helps. I'm not in a hurry."
"But you learn fast when you try."
"Because I have to. The ancestors don't like me existing. Witches will come eventually. I need to be ready."
Davina's expression darkened. "About that. Vincent wants to talk to you."
"The regent?"
"Yeah. He's been asking about the 'tribrid disturbance.' Says the ancestors are upset."
"Let them be upset. I'm not going anywhere."
"Roy—"
"I didn't choose this, Davina. But I'm not apologizing for existing. If the ancestors have a problem with me, they can take it up with Esther. She's the one who created this mess."
Davina was quiet for a moment. Then: "Vincent's not your enemy. He's just... careful. The ancestors have power here. If they decide you're a threat, they could make your life very difficult."
"They're welcome to try."
Famous last words. But I meant them.
I was done hiding. Done apologizing. Done letting other people's fear dictate my existence.
The tribrid was awake. The ancestors would have to deal with it.
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