CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
CHILD OF THE BLOOD MOON ( i. )
content warning: explicit sexual content

When the dragon is defeated, there is a parade through the streets of Camelot. Prince Arthur Pendragon leads the procession, waving and smiling to the crowd of cheering civilians. Merlin rides behind him, along with Calliope and Leon. Their armor is scorched, cuts and bruises all over their bodies, but with nothing more than luck and Merlin's ability to speak to dragons like his father could, they survived, and Kilgharrah flew away from the city for good. Of course, the Prince knows nothing of Merlin's bravery. He and all the other fighters were knocked unconscious while the sorcerer saved the day.

As Calliope's horse trots next to Leon's, she feels miles away. The crowd's cheers are dying echoes in her mind. Her stare is fixed and vacant. The only image in her mind is Tenwick, waiting down in the dungeons, withholding the information she needs to track down Sepharin. Flowers are thrown–one lands in her lap. It's a purple lily, and Calliope stares at it. The petals are crumpled, the stem withering. She's surprised it's still alive at all in this time of winter.

Her horse is taken to the stables. People are patting her on the back, welcoming her once again into the castle with open arms and impressed glances. But Calliope feels like a fool–like an outsider. She's thrown into another game of pretend. This time, how long will it last? When her only current desire is to slit King Uther's throat wide open–

"Calliope," she turns her head, and she smiles at Arthur as he approaches her in the hall. "Where were you off to?"

"To change into some better clothes," she motions to her sweaty and ash-covered armor.

He stops a few inches away, and she looks up at him through her lashes. His hand ghosts her cheek, "When we rode into battle to fight that dragon, I thought we'd never get a moment like this again."

Her chest clenches. How can she tell him what his father has done? To an entire civilization? To her?  It's selfish, but she can't bear it. Not right now, at least. Not when he's looking at her like she's the only person in the world.

Calliope runs her hands through his hair, staring into those pure, blue eyes as she softly says, "I love you." The words are so quiet and delicate as they hang in the air between them. She has to say it as many times as she can before it's too late.

He steps forward into her, ravishing her with a strong kiss, "I love you, Cal" he says between kisses as his hands steady her, resting on her hips.

Before she knows it, they're at her door. She's leading him into her room, never breaking his kiss. When the door shuts behind him, she sheds her armor, and he sheds his. Arthur's lips are on hers again, and he's backing her towards her bed. She gasps as his lips kiss her jaw, and then behind her ear, and then they drag down her neck in a deliciously slow pace that drives her mad and sends fire through her blood. She practically rips his shirt off him, and he begins untying her tunic, kissing on her collarbone, between her neck and shoulder.

Once their chests are bare, he moves his mouth to her breast, and she arches her back, unable to keep her moans quiet. They haven't had an intimate moment like this in what feels like weeks because of everything that's been happening around them. She almost forgets sometimes just how addicting this is. How she gets swept up in it and loses all her self-control and inhibitions.

Her hands trail over his toned stomach, stopping to undo his belt. He helps her take off his trousers, and then she reaches between their bodies to grip his length through his underwear. Arthur's eyes darken, his pupils blown wide with lust as he moans into her ear, and the sound only makes the need between her legs intensify even more.

"Cal," he breathes with want as he connects their lips again, their tongues fighting for dominance.

He begins sliding her pants down her legs, and then her undergarments, leaving her lips for just a moment to stare in wonder at her naked body. Tracing all her scars with such warmth and delicacy like he always does.

Their eyes meet, and his fingers trail over her abdomen, creating goosebumps all over her skin. She bites her lip to stop herself from begging him to keep touching her.

As he kisses her again his fingers find where she wants them the most, and she gasps into his mouth. He smirks against her lips, knowing the effect he has on her, but she's so completely lost in ecstasy, so she doesn't find it within herself to care. His fingers move faster, and she just can barely take it anymore.

Calliope puts her legs around his hips and flips their position. Less than a second later, she's sinking onto him, and they both throw their heads back in pleasure, his hands on her hips, guiding her every move on top of him.

She leans down to lock their lips once more.

"Tell me you're mine, Calliope," says Arthur, thrusting up in her with a motion that makes her see stars. She breathes heavily, legs clenching around him as he throws her underneath him.

Complete bliss, pleasure, and need are taking over her every nerve. She digs her nails into his back, feeling that familiar high approaching.

He rests his forehead on hers, "Say it."

It's not a demand, but a request. Something she's never offered before. He knows she loves him, but Calliope has never committed to anything or anyone in such a way as she desires to now, underneath Arthur's body, connected to him, her mind whirling in pleasure.

"I'm yours," she says through a loud gasp that sends them both over the edge.

She stares at the ceiling as he moves off of her. Their loud breathing is the only sound in her dark room, and reality suddenly crashes into her again. She wants to throw her hands over her face and cry. She wants to tell him why this is suddenly so complicated, but she's not sure how to.

The bed shifts as he turns to face her, "I'm going to plan something for us tomorrow," she lays on her side to look at him. "A picnic outside Camelot–just you and me. How does that sound?"

She traces his jawline with her finger, "That sounds wonderful, Arthur."

He grins and kisses her one last time before going to call a servant to draw a hot bath for them.

Calliope stares at the ceiling again.

She won't make it to that picnic.

♛ ♛ ♛

The dungeons are cold and eerie at night. Lifeless and bare like the trees that have lost their autumn-colored leaves. Crackling torches and mingling shadows are the only company for those behind the steel bars. Calliope's footsteps on the stone floor echo, and all it takes is a short conversation with the guards to get the whole night shift granted to her on the grounds of orders from Uther to interrogate the prisoner until he cracks.

He's already waiting for her, standing–gripping the bars with a wicked grin on his face. His slow laughter jolts her, and she stops several feet away from his prison cell. He scans her expression, and she tries to remain unreadable. Coming here, making this deal, it'll help Arthur in the long run. He should be King anyway, not his father, and with Sepharin gone, all of Camelot will be safer. Two monsters wiped off the face of the earth. By her blade.

She feels guilty, saying those two words to Arthur. I'm yours. But...they're true. Her heart will never belong to anyone else.

"You've come running back, like they always do..." Tenwick points a finger to the ceiling. "And I suppose we're striking a deal?"

The assassin clenches her jaw, "We are."

"Excellent."

"But this is how it's going to work, Tenwick," she walks closer to the bars. "You're going to tell me where Sepharin is, and I'm going to go kill him. Then, when I get back, I'll hold up my end."

He shakes his finger, "I'm afraid that just won't work, Red Dragon."

  "Even if I threw in your release to sweeten the deal?"

Tenwick stops, gasping dramatically, "And how ever would you do that?"

"We leave, right now," she shows him the keys she got from the guards, jangling them. "But you have to use your oath in magic to swear that you'll tell me the truth, and that you'll never reveal my identity to anyone."

"And once you complete your quest...you'll kill Uther?" Calliope nods, and he takes a moment to consider her deal. "Very well, but I'm not telling you Sepharin's whereabouts until we're out of this city."

"Fine," says the assassin through gritted teeth. She holds out her hand, and Tenwick meets her eyes before shaking it. She feels something like a jolt in her veins, the magic of the deal spiking through her.

"It's done. Now get me the fuck out of here, assassin."

Everything she's about to do crashes into her, but there's no time for backing out when she's come this far. Her plan might be impulsive, but it's all she's got.

Calliope unlocks his cell, and half expects him to try and attack her, but that'd be foolish of him. He's no fighter. Instead, he just motions for her to lead the way.

Their destination is the hidden exit amongst all the old crypts and burial vaults, even though that place is beyond creepy. It's the closest way out, and they won't have to pass many patrols to get there.

"It's too risky to go to the stables," Calliope says quietly as they duck in an alcove. "But there's a town not too far from here where we can get horses and supplies and go our separate ways."

"So, we'll be on foot while they chase us down on horseback?"

Calliope looks over her shoulder, "They won't catch us. Remember, I'm an expert at disappearing."

"Whatever you say," he mutters, and then they dart across the hall to the corridor that leads down to the burial vaults.

There's a haunting chill in the air down here, and it crawls up Calliope's spine. Her walk turns into a jog as she spots the exit and pulls the circular door open. It's a short passageway, and even she has to duck to fit inside.

Water drips from above, and the sound reverberates around them, along with their quiet footsteps. Calliope keeps her stare glued forwards, where she can see moonlight reflecting at their exit.

Here, at the edge of the castle, she must make a final decision.

She can still come back, and maybe she can find it in her heart not to kill Uther. But for now, she has to focus on Sepharin and ridding the world of him.

Calliope's feet contact the grass, and she looks up at the stars shining down on them. They've made it outside castle walls to the tree line where the beginning of her quest awaits.

Tenwick clears his throat behind her, and she turns around.

The magic is tugging at him to hold up his end of the deal, she can feel it, like he's testing its strength.

"Sepharin is in Cenred's kingdom," he's forced to say. "Just outside of Eastcliff. He has a stronghold in the mountains."

Calliope nods, but she doesn't say anything.

The assassin unsheathes her sword.

And she slices right through Tenwick's throat.

♛ ♛ ♛

When Prince Arthur woke up, alone in Calliope's bed, missing the warmth of her, he assumed she'd had trouble sleeping like she does sometimes and got up early to make herself busy. So, he had dressed in her room and gone to training like always.

But she never showed up.

There are times she works off her own agenda and blows off training, but something in his gut is telling him that's not the case. He has Leon search the castle for her with him immediately, and then he rushes back to her room, throwing open her dresser where she keeps her belt of knives and her sword.

His heart sinks to his stomach when he finds that it's empty.

"Damn it, Cal," he says under his breath.

But just last night they had planned that picnic. She seemed happy about it. Why would she leave now, and to do what? Unless...panic seeps into his bones. Has something happened to her?

  "Merlin!" He charges into the physician's chambers. "Merlin!"

His servant is sweeping Gaius's floors, and the physician is reading through one of his books.

Merlin raises his eyebrows, "What?"

"When's the last time you saw Cal?"

He shrugs, "I dunno, maybe...when we rode back into the city. Why?"

The Prince curses under his breath, "She's gone."

Concern takes over Merlin's expression, and he drops the broom "What do you mean she's gone?"

"I mean she's not in Camelot, Merlin, and all her weapons are missing."

"Oh my," Gaius says, and both of them turn to him. "I fear she's finally found out where Sepharin is and gone to face him alone."

Of course. Of course, she'd do something so...so bloody idiotic!

Arthur runs his hands over his face, and before he can start asking questions or forming a plan, the warning bell begins going off across Camelot.

"That can't be good," says Merlin, and then, the two of them run out of the room.

And that's when they find a prisoner dead outside the city, throat slashed with such precision and skill that Arthur doesn't have to guess who was holding the blade.

♛ ♛ ♛

Calliope's horse comes to a halt outside the Night Wagon, and she swiftly ties the reins to a post. During the day, the tavern is quiet. Only horrible drunks plunder through it at this hour of the morning, when everything still has a nice, hazy mist. Eastcliff is still over a day's journey away, but she's not here for rest or ale. Calliope pats her horse before pushing the tavern door open.

Instantly, she's met with the stench of alcohol and sweat and old men who are still passed out at their tables from the previous night's activities. The sound of a mop sloshing against the floor near the back draws her attention, and Calliope walks around the bar.

She leans against it, crossing her arms over her chest with raised eyebrows as Ezlyn violently tries to erase a stain, curses flying all over the place.

"Need some help with that?"

The mop flies out of her hand and hits the floor. Ezlyn jumps, her eyes wide as she turns around swiftly and takes in the person standing before her. Silence overwhelms them. She's unsure what to say or do. Calliope waits for Ezlyn to make the first move. After all, she's not quite certain where they stand with each other.

So, she's surprised when Ezlyn crosses the space between them and envelops her into a tight hug.

"Cal, I've been worried about you," Ezlyn admits, pulling away to look into her eyes. "I know how much your mother meant to you. I wish I could've done more to help."

"You helped save my life, Ez. That was more than enough," she answers before clearing her throat and stepping back a few inches.

Ezlyn inhales a breath, nodding, "Why am I not surprised you're here for more than just a social visit?" she reaches down to grab the mop she had dropped. "Straight to business, as usual."

"I wish it was just for that," says the assassin, twiddling her thumbs, "but I am–"

"Looking for someone?" Ezlyn finishes with a small smirk.

Calliope laughs lightly and nods, "Yeah, have you seen much of Kazimir lately?"

"Not since you left. He and Dex went back home."

"And where's that?"

She shrugs, "No idea. He wasn't much of a talker." Damn it, Calliope chews on the inside of her cheek. She's been hoping to find him and enlist his help against Sepharin's guild. "Why? What's going on?" When Calliope doesn't answer, Ezlyn gives her a pointed stare. "Now, don't you try to lie to me, Calliope Farrington. I know you too well for that shit."

"I suppose you do," Calliope looks down at her feet. "There's a man I need to kill, but he has a whole guild protecting him. I was hoping to get some help from Kazimir and Dex."

"What about that handsome blonde man of yours? Shouldn't he be here helping?"

Calliope clenches her fists at the mention of Arthur, "I–I couldn't drag him into this."

Understanding blooms in her expression, "It's brave of you to protect him and take on this dangerous mission alone," their eyes meet, "but it's also fucking stupid."

Calliope sighs, "Ez, I'm not in the mood for a lecture, okay?"

"I don't care. You've got to stop this, Cal!" she exclaims. "Thinking that your problems are burdens you have to bear all alone when the people who love you want to help."

"It's better that way!" She raises her voice to match Ezlyn's tone. "Then no one has to get hurt because of me!"

"Yet, you throw yourself into danger to save everyone else," Ezlyn shakes her head. "Why do you get upset when people want to return the favor?"

"Because I..." Because I don't deserve it.

It's like Ezlyn can see the words through Calliope's gaze because her eyes soften.

"You don't think you deserve to be saved."

"I don't," Calliope answers. "I sealed my fate a long time ago, Ez."

No matter what happens in her life, Calliope will always have darkness lurking. She thought for the longest time that it exists because of her tragedies, but it's been there all along. Tangling within her blood, urging her onto the path she's chosen for herself.

With the knowledge of the necklace being the magic object keeping her from going completely evil, she can't trust herself anymore. She can't trust her own thoughts.

Her fingers drift up to it again, and she releases a shaky breath.

Ezlyn steps forward, grabbing her hand, "Well, you know what I have to say about it?" Calliope's eyes flicker to hers. "Fuck fate. Fuck it all. You are good, Cal, and you do deserve to be saved, no matter what you might think about it, and I know that boy from Camelot would say the same exact thing if he were here now." Then, she lets go of Calliope's hand. "Kazimir may not be here to help, but I'm not going to let you do this alone."

The innkeeper's daughter leans the mop against the bar before walking behind it and leaning down to rummage through a box. When she straightens her back, she's holding two long daggers, determination etched into her gaze.

Calliope swallows her protests. They won't change anything.

"Now, who is it that we need to kill?"

♛ ♛ ♛

Camelot's court is tense.

Arthur taps his foot on the ground, trying to calm his nerves and stop his palms from sweating so much as he stands before his father and all the knights. Calliope killed that prisoner, and she left. But why would she do that? Merlin and Gaius didn't have time to even try to offer an explanation before his father summoned everyone to the council chambers, but they looked just as confused as him. Who even is the man she killed?

Every bone in his body is urging him to leave this meeting, jump on a horse, and track her down to make sure she's safe, but he has no clue where to even begin. Calliope knows how to disappear. She won't leave a trail. It's like the times he tried to track down the Red Dragon, like searching for a ghost.

She hadn't even said goodbye or left a note. Surely, she's coming back...isn't she?

"Explain this."

"Sire, Calliope came to the dungeons last night to interrogate one of the prisoners, said she had to push him until he broke, even if it took until morning," a guard to his right says.

A contemplative look takes over the King's face, "So, it appears she got the information she wanted, and then killed Tenwick."

"Tenwick?" Arthur asks, confused.

"Yes, I've had her on a secret task to track down a band of mercenaries, but it appears she has taken everything into her own hands."

"What?" Arthur exclaims.  It's all making sense. That band of mercenaries–it's Sepharin's guild, the ones who still follow him, and Calliope must have not wanted Uther to know that Sepharin is still alive.

Uther looks to his son, "I didn't want you involved for your safety. Calliope agreed.  Her job was to get Tenwick to talk so she could track down the mercenaries and kill them before they ever reached Camelot's borders."

"So, you were just going to send her on a suicide mission?" Anger rises in his gut.

The King sighs, "A group of guards were assigned to help her, but clearly, she wishes to do this alone."

This is so typical of Calliope. Arthur can't believe she would keep something like this from him–no he actually can because she's always had secrets, and every time he discovers one, another pops up.

"But why would she kill Tenwick?" Uther seems to be asking the question to himself. "She lured him out of the palace to make him think she was helping him to get the information."

"She killed him because..." Leon steps forward, jaw clenching. "She didn't want any of us following her."

The Prince makes eye contact with Leon and knows all hope of finding her is lost.

"But why?" Uther asks, before looking at his son.

Arthur knows the answer.

Suddenly, so does everyone in the room.

The Prince lets out a breath, "To protect me."

She knew he'd come after her, even if everyone in Camelot tried to stop him.

All eyes are on him, and he feels the room shrinking. Arthur shakes his head, frustration seeping into him as he turns. His father calls out to him, but he storms away from the council chambers.

When he reaches his room, he kicks his chair over. He pushes everything off his desk, letting out a loud yell of anger. Ink, quills, papers, everything scatters around his floor. He puts his head in his hands, heaving as he sinks to the floor. With shaking hands, he reaches into the right pocket of his trousers.

Arthur stares at the object in his palm. He had planned to give Calliope this at their picnic. Now, he doesn't know if he'll ever see her again.

The small, crimson box shakes with his hand. Breathing deeply, he pops it open, and grabs what rests inside.

A silver ring with a beautiful emerald gem.

His mother's engagement ring, given to him by his father when his wedding date with Lady Victoria had been set, but he always knew in his heart that there's only one girl he could ever picture with this ring.

And he might have lost her forever.

♛ ♛ ♛

The sky above is leaden, distorted by thick clouds. A spectral hue hangs over this forest at night as the full moon hides behind monstrous cliffs. Calliope cranes her neck, peeking through cracks in the skeletal bramble to scan the side of the mountain for any points of entry. They expand for miles, some dipping into wide valleys and others reaching for the overcast stars. At the base rests a quiet town, ignorant of the darkness hiding within their lands. Eastcliff is made up of stone houses and branching markets, brick roads leading to the center, but Calliope only cares about the towering mountains.

She spots a dirt path that winds to the edge of town where torches light the way up the side of the mountain. It's a narrow road with one misstep ending in a deadly and painful tumble to sharp rocks below. Her eyes follow the torches until they stop by a gaping hole resembling a thin archway. It cuts the mountain into sectors and leads to the unknown. There could be expanding caverns taking them underground, or it could just be an open cave, formed by centuries of weather and decay. Either way, they're walking blind.

Over her shoulder, Ezlyn is patting her horse and running her fingers through its thick, black mane. Despite many arguments, she has refused to turn back.

Calliope doesn't want to go in with her weapons blazing. Instead, she wants to seek Sepharin out and kill him. If he's dead, many of his followers might abandon him. Either way, he needs to die tonight. If he has Deathbane, it's only a matter of time before he brings the blood wraiths back and uses their power to take over Camelot.

Turning, she raises her eyebrows at Ezlyn, "Any chance I can convince you to stay back and watch the horses?"

"Absolutely not."

"Fine," Calliope says through a sharp breath. "It looks like there's only one way in, but I can't see any guards posted. That probably means his base is deep within the mountains." Ezlyn nods as she places both of her daggers in sheaths attached to her belt. "Ez, all of these people are expertly trained killers. Every fight will be lethal."

"I think you've forgotten the time I managed to best you in a fight—"

"That was one time."

"You trained me well, Cal," says Ezlyn, giving her an encouraging smile. "You taught me how to take care of myself."

Even though her statement is true, it doesn't make Calliope any less nervous. There's no turning back now, and they must make it to Sepharin, no matter what. Ezlyn, determined as always, is prepared to do whatever it takes to help the assassin.

At the edge of the woods, a biting wind rustles through the bare trees. Dead leaves crunch under their boots. The whispers of the breeze have a promise of something sinister blowing in from the mountain. Calliope's sheath is slung over her back, her belt of daggers waiting as a fatal arsenal.

Adrenaline is building fast within her veins. Her eyes are focused and narrow as she calms her mind. Somewhere within this mountain, Sepharin lies in wait. She wonders if he knows she's coming for him—he probably hopes for it, assuming her path to him will force darkness to clutch her again. That she'll have to go to that familiar place to kill him, a place of unrelenting rage and power that she's never fully understood until now. The magic within her blood senses that she's on the edge of another kill, and it urges her to take the first step to the road that leads up the mountain.

This could be her final climb. She may never come out of this mountain alive, but if she is going to die tonight, she's taking Sepharin with her. Even if killing him kills hers, she won't hesitate. She made the mistake once of sparing him—of thinking that he too had it within himself to resist the darkness without the influence of the blood wraiths. But maybe, some people truly are just evil. They don't have a chance at redemption. Their souls are stained and damned and allergic to light.

She'll never make that mistake again.

Rocks tumble loose underneath her feet as they stop about halfway to the opening in the mountain. Calliope's back presses against the mountain, and she looks down. They're at least one hundred feet in the air already, and the drop is terrifying. A straight descent to a quick death.

She glances at Ezlyn, and her face is pale as she tries to only look ahead. Calliope gently sticks her foot out and tries her weight on the next part of the rocky path. Her stomach is full of tight coils as she presses on, and to her relief, no more rocks come loose. Every step sends a jolt of nerves through her, but she can't let herself get caught up in fear.

They have to move slowly, trying out different parts of the path for the safest option, and it gets thinner and thinner the higher they go. By the time they almost reach the top, Calliope is out of breath. The air is different up here, the atmosphere feels willowy and unstable, causing fogginess in her skull. Calliope's chest rises as she breathes in as much oxygen as she can. With a few more cautious steps, she arrives at the wide platform of rocks that lead to the split in the mountain. Ezlyn is close behind, and she leans over, placing her hands on her knees. They made it. Calliope and Ezlyn exchange a relieved glance.

The echo of Calliope drawing her blade rings around them.

And then, they enter the mountain, unsure if they'll ever see the light of day again.

♛ ♛ ♛

AHHH i'm so excited! and sad :( there's only 2 chapters left my friends. I have been waiting so, so very long for "child of the blood moon". i honestly do not think any of you are prepared for what is about to unfold in the next two chapters. they are going to be the longest and most exciting of this entire book so far. chapter 64 is already in the works!

shout out to my amazing beta readers:
du_silverdragon

Bmemzie

remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments :)