Chapter Text
Ding.
Calliope barely stirred when her phone went off the first time. But the subsequent alerts caused the hunter to awaken from an uneasy sleep. Reaching blindly in the dark towards her nightstand, she sighed as she accidentally knocked over a glass of water.
“Great…” Cal groaned in frustration. “It’s too early for this shit.”
When she finally found her phone, what she read startled her wide awake. The name and text preview on her screen said:
JULIETTE: I have Tess. She dies tonight unless you meet me at the port alone ASAP.
Cal’s heart started pounding, worry and confusion flooding her chest. As she sat up and frantically opened the texts, she gasped. The follow-up messages included the address and, to Cal’s horror, a picture of Tess lying on a dingy floor, apparently unconscious, possibly even…
“No,” Cal uttered, refusing to believe the worst. “How does she have Tess?”
Dressing as quickly as possible, Calliope then grabbed her crossbow and rushed downstairs. Taking the keys to Apollo’s car, she hurried outside and hopped in the driver’s seat, peeling out of the driveway. She knew her parents and brother would be furious, but she didn’t have time to care. She knew she needed to rescue Tess and confront Juliette before it was too late
After speeding all the way to the port, Calliope screeched to a halt in front of the warehouse and immediately rushed inside. Running through the entrance and down the dilapidated corridor, Cal didn’t try to hide her presence. She knew Juliette would have heard her pull up, long before she ever set foot inside.
As she burst through the double doors, she gasped at the sight of Tess.
“Oh my god, Tess!” Cal shouted as she ran to the hunter’s motionless body, which was sprawled out in the middle of the floor.
Setting the crossbow down, she could sense Juliette’s presence; She wasn’t sure if it was because of their connection or because of her keen ability to sense monsters. Either way, all she was concerned about was determining whether Tess was alive or not.
Calliope fell to her knees by her ex’s side and cried out, placing her hands on her shoulder and shaking her, imploring her to wake up.
“Why the hell did you come here?” she sobbed, tears forming in her eyes. “Why would you confront her alone?”
As she continued trying to wake her, Tess’s head rolled to the side, causing Cal to freeze. Though the wound had vanished, it was unmistakeable: there was blood smeared on the side of her neck. Juliette had drained Tess.
Disbelief fell over Cal as she came to the bitter realization that her first love, her lifelong friend, was gone. But as shock and grief startled to settle in, she realized she overlooked one very important detail. Clutched in Tess’s lifeless hand was the one thing she and Cal had been searching for: Serpent’s Bane.
Calliope couldn’t believe that the instrument of the Fairmont’s destruction was right there in front of her. Questions raced through her frenzied mind as she tried to come to understand what happened. How did Tess manage to find the sword? Why didn’t she tell Cal she had it? And why on earth had she been foolish enough to walk into this deathtrap in the first place? She had no way of knowing that Juliette herself had provided the sword. Nothing made sense.
Before she could react, she heard footsteps, and soon enough, Juliette appeared. The sight of Juliette caused rage to immediately swell in Calliope’s chest. She closed in on her, fiery brown eyes focused. With tears streaming down her face, she took up the sword and held it at the ready.
“This is it,” she thought to herself, “this is the night I kill Juliette.”
All of her emotions boiled over. She could finally slay the demon that took her brother's humanity, the creature that had left so many innocents dead in her wake. Cal knew she had been made a fool of, tantalized by this monster who had appeared harmless. But it was undeniable at this point.
Juliette was now, in fact, a killer. The trail of bodies proved it. Maybe she had never killed anyone until Clayton Cook gave her a reason to, but now she was killing indiscriminately. She thought Juliette might plead or make excuses. But all the vampire did was smirk at her, Tess's blood still fresh on her lips.
"So, we're doing this after all.' taunted Juliette, returning Calliope's furious gaze with cold, conniving eyes. “You finally have the secret killing a legacy, now you can keep your promise, right?”
She took a step forward, smiling wide enough that her fangs were now slightly visible.
“I knew you were serious when you promised to kill me. Your heartbeat proved that. But you needed the sword to make it happen.”
Unwavering, Calliope took a step closer as well, her hand steady and itching to plunge the enchanted sword into the vampire's heart. They now stood only a few yards apart, both focused solely on each other.
“You took everything from me!” Calliope snarled, her eyes again welling up with tears. “You turned Theo! You just killed Tess!”
Tears rolled down her cheek as she motioned to Tess’s lifeless body without breaking eye contact with Jules.
“You made me think you were harmless, made me feel for you! But you can’t deny what you are now. You’re a soulless murderer, and I’m taking you down.”
Juliette’s smirk disappeared, her sinister, seemingly playful demeanor now becoming cold. It stung as she remembered how she had also once called Elinor a soulless murderer.
Eyes glassy, she said, “My entire life, all I ever wanted was to be human. You can't know what it’s like. To have to pretend to be human, to be friends with them. To love them, and to wish I could be...normal...just like them.” She shook her head.
"And yet I was always told that I could never be like them. That they’re just a food source, nothing more.” She took another step closer to Calliope, who stood her ground.
“Legacies are apex predators, Cal!” Juliette exclaimed, her eyes flashing green as they had when she made her first kill.
“We’re far more powerful than humans. Immortal, until you discovered the existence of the sword. And coming from my family? Practically vampire royalty!”
She paused, allowing Calliope to take in what she said.
“I had every chance to embrace being a Legacy, don't you understand?”
At this point, Juliette was starting to become enraged. Calliope was slightly taken aback, considering up until now, she had seemingly been toying with her.
“I could’ve started killing humans long before my first, with zero consequences. For food...for pleasure…”
She trailed off, looking somewhat conflicted at the thought, knowing what she had done the past couple of weeks.
“But I didn’t. Because I knew it was wrong. But that wasn’t enough, was it?”
She now looked at Cal with an expression of hurt and anger.
“It didn’t matter that I fell in love with you and protected you!” She shook her head, adding, "God, I even betrayed my entire family for you. But I guess at the end of the day, you were right,” she mocked.
“I’m not human.” She narrowed her eyes hungrily as she hissed, "I'm just a monster."
Calliope’s heart started racing. Something about her words cut deep, and she couldn’t help but realize she might’ve been wrong about Juliette all over again. An inhuman growl rumbled from Jules’s throat as she took another step towards her prey, a sinister glint in her eyes. For the first time since swearing revenge, Calliope was torn. Doubt and sadness were slowly sinking in.
“Did Theo or Apollo ever fess up about what happened that night? The night Theo turned?” Juliette asked, the slightest trace of a smile starting to creep back on her lips.
“How they attacked Elinor unprovoked? How Apollo missed and stabbed Theo right in the gut with a stake intended for my sister?”
Calliope began shaking her head, rambling, “That’s not the point-”
“Actually, it is.” Juliette snapped, “because if I hadn’t been there, Theo would have been dead for sure. Forever. He never would have been able to avenge his mother without being turned!”
Juliette’s hands balled into fists. “You say I killed the man he was, but I saved him!”
Calliope’s lip trembled slightly. Juliette was right. Theo wouldn't have had another chance to avenge his mother, had he just been left to bleed out on that floor. This thought had crossed Cal’s mind, but she refused to entertain it, until now.
Something about Juliette’s words really hit hard. For the first time, she started to lower the sword in her now-quivering hands.
The moment Calliope hesitated, Juliette let out a terrifying hiss and rushed her, throwing several powerful jabs at the hunter. Despite Juliette not having combat training, her vampiric strength and agility made her an incredibly formidable adversary. Calliope was startled by the sudden assault and barely managed to counter the first hits, before finally taking a fist square to the mouth.
Head whipping back, Cal saw stars as the metallic taste of blood became apparent. The impact had split her lip. She spit it out before launching her own counter-attack, skillfully throwing kicks and punches at Juliette, who dodged them with ease. She was fighting much differently than she had the first time they faced off.
“Come on, Cal!” Juliette teased, her lips curled into a mischievous smile. “You can do better than that!”
Immediately, Juliette rushed her, grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into a nearby support beam.
With bared fangs only inches from Calliope’s throat, Juliette’s warm breath on Cal’s neck terrified her. She tried to fight back, but the vampire was much stronger than she realized, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides as she prepared to bite. But as Calliope braced herself for the worst, Juliette stopped.
Shaking her head as though coming to her senses, she cried out in confusion and shoved the hunter to the floor. As Calliope scrambled back onto her feet, Jules retreated to the shadows, completely out of sight. The sword was nowhere to be seen. She had grabbed it before Cal got up; She was completely unarmed now.
“So what’s happening, Jules? You gonna kill me?” Calliope called out, fists raised in a fighting stance, eyes struggling to detect movement in the dark.
She heard another low growl, but couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“I could. Why shouldn’t I? You came here to kill me.” Juliette’s voice called out from the dark. “Besides, I'm a murderer, remember?”
Suddenly, the sword flew towards Calliope and clattered at her feet. In one swift movement, she scooped it up and held it in a ready stance. Juliette’s voice again rang out ominously.
“You made me feel like I was evil. Just some horrible monster. You broke my heart.”
Then, stepping out of the shadows, Juliette gazed at Calliope with an expression that could only be described as pure sorrow, tears forming in her eyes.
“But despite all of that, I could never kill you. I still love you, Calliope.”
Stunned silence. Calliope froze, unable to believe what she just heard. Jules just gazed forlornly at her, all traces of bloodlust and anger gone. It was like Cal was once again staring at the loving, kind-hearted girl she used to adore. Except now, the light that had formerly shone from Jules was gone. This killer was now just a heartbroken shell of herself.
Tears flowed freely down Calliope’s face. It was too much to bear. She came here to slay a bloodthirsty killer, not to be reminded of the true love she lost. Even though she had loved Tess first, they didn’t have the connection she and Juliette had. Her eyes once again settled on Tess’s body, still sprawled out on the floor. She started to feel her rage flare up again and raised the sword towards Juliette. She stood her ground as the vampire approached and stood face to face with her.
Despite feeling conflicted, Calliope knew that Juliette had to die. Killing Tess crossed a line that she couldn’t come back from. She pointed the weapon directly at Juliette’s heart, wanting nothing more than to stop all of this. She could end her life in an instant, freeing herself and severing their connection forever.
But as she placed the tip of the blade to Juliette’s bare flesh, exposed by her tank top’s plunging neckline, she froze. Despite everything, even with Tess’s lifeless body lying next to her, the hunter could not slay her beloved.
More tears fell from her eyes as her quivering hand started to lower. But then, to her immense surprise, Juliette grabbed the blade with both hands and placed it back above her heart.
“Always finish was you start,” Juliette said firmly, echoing her sister’s sentiment. “Make me pay for killing Tess!”
Calliope tried to pull the blade away, but Juliette’s grip only tightened.
“Do it, Calliope,” she hissed angrily, fangs again bared. “See what I am? A monster! You have to do it!”
As Calliope tried to pull the blade away, she was confused and scared. Why was Juliette doing this? Here she was, trying to get Calliope to slay her. She couldn’t understand why she was behaving in such a manner.
“Stop it.” Cal demanded, trying to gently pull the blade away. But Juliette wouldn’t let go. Instead, she leaned forward into it, gasping as it broke through her flesh. Calliope’s eyes widened in shock as she realized what was happening.
“Juliette, stop it now!” she cried, trying to pull the blade back as Juliette’s hand kept the blade in place.
“Cal, you have to,” Juliette whimpered as tears started flowing down her face. “Please! It has to be you!”
Juliette yelped in pain as she pulled the blade even deeper, dangerously close to her heart. Horrified, Calliope wrenched the sword away with all her strength, leaving bleeding wounds on Juliette’s hands and chest as it was torn from her grip. She then threw it aside as far away as possible.
She stared at Juliette in disbelief as the vampire fell to her knees and started sobbing. Cal couldn’t believe that she took the blade and impaled herself on it. The blade was in deep, only millimeters away from her heart. Just the slightest push, and she would have been dead.
Calliope couldn’t understand why Juliette tried so hard to die. She was lured here under the pretense that they would fight, possibly to the death. But in reality, the hunter finally realized that Juliette had lured her there so Cal would end her life.
Suddenly, she noticed the slightest movement from the corner of her eye. She glanced over at Tess’s body to get a better look and saw her hand start to move. That’s when Calliope noticed the bloody fingerprints on Tess’s forearm. Her eyes then shot to Juliette’s hands.
The wounds on her palms had just stopped bleeding, but there was older dried blood on the tips of her fingers on her right hand. That’s when Cal realized that Juliette had paralyzed Tess either shortly before or after knocking her unconscious, to sell the illusion of death.
“What the hell, Juliette?” Calliope demanded, her heart racing as she tried her best to decipher her plan. “Why did you do this?”
“I knew you wouldn’t confront me again unless you absolutely had to,” Juliette replied quietly. “I knew if you thought I had Tess, you would come here.”
Juliette took a deep breath before continuing.
“Since the night Theo was turned, all I’ve done is either ruin lives, or end them. You saw what I did to those people.” She trembled as she explained, “I hear whispers…someone telling me to embrace my nature and kill. I can’t fight it, they’re in my head…and they really want me to drain you.”
She took a few steps back as she took in what she heard. It sounded like Juliette had actually gone mad, but Calliope knew in her gut that she was telling the truth. Someone had been manipulating her to kill and feed; she wasn’t actually a monster.
Juliette, however, clearly didn’t feel that way. She looked beside herself as she sobbed, “But I can’t do this anymore, Calliope! I won’t hurt you, or anyone else! This whole plan to trap you was theirs, but I knew I could lure you here if I had Tess, and…I deserve to die, okay? You have to kill me!”
Stunned silence as Calliope took in what Juliette was saying.
“Did I hear that correctly?” she thought to herself.
Then, her heart shattered as the gravity of Juliette’s situation and request became clear. The thought filled Calliope with grief once again. Here was her sweet Juliette, begging for death, atonement for something she couldn’t control. And worse still, Cal herself had demonized and pursued her relentlessly.
“I’m the reason Juliette feels like a monster,” Calliope thought guiltily. “I’m the reason she felt she had no other way out but to die.”
She had been wrong about everything. About what happened to Theo, about Juliette’s intentions, and about Tess. Worst of all, she knew Juliette had to go through it all alone, for the most part. Even though Ben wanted to stay in Savannah, his father had forced him to move anyways. Juliette’s parents were also still out of town, keeping minimal contact with their daughter as their situation mysteriously unfolded.
Regret dug into Calliope’s gut as Juliette stood up. She immediately threw her arms around her beloved to comfort her, wishing she could take back everything she had done.
“I’m so sorry, Jules,” Cal choked out, brushing Juliette’s hair behind her ear before caressing her face. “I was wrong, this wasn’t you! I never should have hurt you!”
Juliette melted into Calliope’s arms and sobbed, her chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Calliope held her tight, then wiped the tears from her cheek.
“Shhh, it’s okay, I’ve got you.” Calliope cooed, still embracing Juliette.
“You’re not the one who should be sorry!”Juliette lamented as she started to catch her breath. “You had every reason to think I was evil, because I am! I killed those people-”
“Listen to me, Juliette!” Calliope interjected, gently placing her hands on her shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes. “That wasn’t you. That could never be you, I know that now, okay? I never should have doubted you!”
A slight smile crept to the corners of Juliette’s lips as she nodded, wanting to believe Cal’s reassuring words. But before she could say anything, a loud, piercing cry startled them both.
“What the fuck, Cal?”
It was Tess, fully conscious, already on her feet. The expression on her face was terrifying to behold. The enraged hunter was practically foaming at the mouth when she shrieked, “You can’t stay away from that bloodsucker, can you? You’re sick!”
That’s when Calliope realized that she had the sword in her hands, just as Tess began charging towards Juliette at full speed with it, the tip aimed right at her chest.