Archive of Our Own

The Guild must have a sense of humor because when Elinor Fairmont is released from prison, it’s Calliope Burns who is assigned to capture her. A string of curses and pent up teenage rage warm Cal’s chest but even so she bites down her refusal and acquiesces. That’s what good hunters do. And in the twelve years since the clusterfuck that was Savannah, Georgia, Cal has become a very good hunter.

Something knots in her stomach at watching a murderer sashay right out of prison, but like before she stomps it down and simply watches from afar. Elinor’s designer heels click against the pavement as she walks, a swagger in her step that is so quintessential vampire.

It makes Cal sick.

Looking at her, it’s clear that prison has only been an inconvenience to Elinor, not a hardship. Her hair is perfectly coifed, nails manicured, and even without make-up it is clear she hasn’t aged a day. That’s what power will do for you, Cal’s learned. After all, that’s why Elinor is out now and not rotting for her very long life.

Elinor keeps walking, right out the prison gate. She doesn’t look back and she doesn’t stop. And it suddenly occurs to Cal that no one came to pick Elinor up. If she’d been younger- less disciplined- Cal might have laughed. It’s funny, poetic even that Elinor has been abandoned by both her family and the Legacy community at large. But Cal doesn’t laugh; a good hunter is focused only on their mission.

Elinor reaches the highway, lifts her head, sniffs the air, and abruptly keeps walking. It’s nearly dark and there are no cars anywhere in sight. Is Elinor just going to walk the miles and miles until she reaches a town?

It doesn’t matter, Cal decides. Elinor will never reach a town. She’s not even going to make it a mile.

Cal meanders her way back to her car and grabs a few extra stakes and some silver chain from the trunk before hopping into the driver’s seat. There’s several ways to do this, none of them pleasant for Elinor. Cal honestly doesn’t care which method she uses but she was asked to bring Elinor back in as close to one piece as possible, so it looks like she won’t get to cut off any limbs.

Broken bones, though, that’s fair game.

She starts off driving slowly, like she’s enjoying the Georgia countryside. The highway stretches on in front of her and she can see the pink speck that is Elinor huffing her way along. Her heels aren’t making it easy on the old cracked pavement.

Cal lets her keep going, lets the frustration build until she can practically see Elinor seething. Then, Cal guns it.

Elinor is slow to turn. Maybe she’s tired. Maybe she’s out of practice. Either way, Cal’s car is only yards away when Elinor sees it. Cal doesn’t stop.

This is going even better than when she pulled this maneuver with those two werewolves in Toledo.

But then there’s a crash, and not the one Cal was planning. It’s still flesh against hard metal, but Elinor still stands, her gaze firmly on something to the left of the car.

Cal smashes down on the accelerator. She’s here for Elinor; nothing else fucking matters. She can hear the wheels spin but the car doesn’t move and Elinor just keeps looking at something Cal can’t see.

“Fine.” Cal grabs a stake from the cup holder and shoves the driver’s door open. That’s when she sees what Elinor’s looking at.

It stands way over six feet. Huge hulking arms that hit the ground like a gorilla’s. The eyes are pale and bloodshot. Gray flesh seems to pulsate just beneath the surface.

“What the fuck?” Cal says and is met with laughter. She turns to Elinor, stake raised instinctively. But Elinor’s mouth is closed, pressed down into a grimace that is matched by the fire in her eyes.

“You know what?” Says a voice that Cal hasn’t heard in twelve years. “That’s fair.”

And just like that Juliette Fairmont steps out from behind the monster.

--

Juliette gives a quick nod to something on her right and it’s only now that Cal notices another gray monster holding onto the back of her car. At Juliette’s silent instruction, it lets go, leaving the car’s rear a mangled mess. The monster lumbers over to Elinor and massive hands encompass her abdomen.

She lets it happen.

Juliette steps forward. It’s been twelve years and unlike Elinor, Juliette does look older. She’s still small, perhaps even overly petite, but there’s a sharpness to her features now- a childhood melted away. Her hair is shorter, no longer pulled back in a swishing ponytail, and as she passes Cal she smiles- revealing those long white fangs.

Those might be the only things about Juliette that hasn’t changed. But what once seemed so incongruous with the rest of her, now fit perfectly.

She stands mere inches from Elinor and looks up at her big sister. There’s no smile, no joy, not even a lick of excitement. From her pocket she produces a ribbon and in one fluid motion she waves it under Elinor’s nose. Elinor’s eyes go wide momentarily and then she collapses into the monster’s embrace.

“Put her in the trunk.” Juliette says and the monsters lumber away, down the road, and back towards the prison.

Cal grips the stake tighter in her hand as Juliette approaches.

Juliette’s eyes flicker up and down Cal’s body.

“It’s good to see you.” She turns away. “Walk with me.”

Cal rolls her eyes. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t stake you right now?”

“One, it wouldn’t kill me and then you’d have to deal with the amalgamations. Two, your car is fucked and we’re in the middle of nowhere, so you need a ride. And three, we both want Elinor to suffer but I’m the only one with an actual plan to do so.” Juliette starts walking. “You coming?”

Cal blinks. That’s not… that can’t be Juliette.

The Juliette that Cal knew was all soft sweaters and apologies. It’s been twelve years, but still that’s a heck of a lot of change for one person to go through.

There’s a thought- sharp and angry- in the back of Cal’s head that says, “Because she’s a monster.” And as Cal watches the creatures lumber away with Elinor in their arms, Juliette sauntering behind them, Cal can’t disagree. Cal came here to get one monster off the streets, now she has the opportunity to take out another as well.

She easily catches up to Juliette’s slow pace.

“I do have a plan, by the way.” She says.

“To what? Lock Elinor in a basement and poke and prod her until something sticks?” Juliette snorts.

Cal actually hadn’t asked what the Guild was going to do with Elinor. Truthfully, she didn’t really care; it was enough to be putting a murderous bloodsucker away.

“What’s your plan?”

“We’re going to make Elinor’s greatest fear a reality.” Juliette’s eyes flash in the growing darkness.

Cal raises an eyebrow.

“We’re going to make her human.” Juliette grins.

--

Elinor is in the trunk. Her unconscious body is in the trunk. It’s exactly what Cal had planned to do with her, but instead of Cal driving to a Guild safe house, she’s in the passenger seat of Juliette Fairmont’s car with two hulked out monsters trailing behind.

“Don’t worry. She doesn’t need to breath.” Juliette doesn’t take her eyes off the road.

“I’m not worried about her.”

“Good.”

Silence passes between them, only interrupted by the bumpy Georgian highway and the rhythmic thump of the creatures running behind. Every part of Cal screams that this is a bad idea. She should’ve taken the loss, said someone else got to Elinor first. The Guild would not have understood, not with her family still doing double time to make up for Savannah, but at least Cal wouldn’t be in this position.

Cal sighs, a hunter has to live with their choices, or at least make their bed with them.

“We headed back to Savannah?” Cal asks as they pass a road sign for a town she’s never heard of.

Juliette shakes her head. “Too difficult with all of the blockades. Besides, Oliver and Carmen don’t even live there anymore.”

It takes Cal a moment to fully process that statement.

“You’re working with Oliver?”

Juliette glances over, a dull look on her face.

“It’s not like I had anyone else to go to.”

“Your parents…”

“Were taken by the Legacy council not two days after you left town.” Juliette’s voice is even, but Cal can see the way she grips the steering wheel tighter.

“Ben?”

“Got out right before Savannah became Monster Town, USA.”

This Juliette is starting to make a lot more sense now.

Cal’s hand searches her pocket, thumbing her phone. Apollo’s number is in there. Her mother’s and her father’s too. Guild contacts in every major city in the US. She’s got options. She’s always had options even after her parents split, even after Apollo moved out, even without Theo- open wound as that still may be.

“Don’t call your Guild cronies.” And it’s really starting to freak Cal out how even Juliette’s voice is. “You can have Elinor after we do the spell. We don’t have any use for her.”

Cal nods, and Juliette turns onto a dirt road.

It’s officially night as the car makes its way down the road. They’re surrounded by darkness, but even so Juliette doesn’t turn the headlights on. Cal makes a mental note to ask whether vampires have night vision.

It’s only when Cal’s eyes start to adjust that she sees where they’re going. The long road ends at a modern-style house, all white paint and hard shapes. It stands alone amongst the overgrown fields and backdrop of forest. Cal braces herself at the way it reminds her of her family’s old home in Savannah.

The house is too new, too out of place, like it was just dropped from the sky. There’s no history to the flat slanted roof or wide floor to ceiling windows, but it doesn’t try to blend in either.

“Oliver’s sure got some kind of taste.” Cal watches for Juliette’s reaction, but there is none. She doesn’t even answer. They’ve still got a ways to go down the dirt road, so Cal tries a different approach. “Why’d you offer to take me with you? You could’ve just left me by the side of the road.”

“At first I thought you were just any other hunter, but when I realized it was you, I figured you’d want revenge on Elinor too.”

Juliette shrugs, like she’s explaining that one plus one equals two.

“Elinor isn’t the one I swore revenge on.”

“I know.”

--

Another familiar face greets them as they pull up to the house.

“Did you bring a guest, Juliette?” Carmen smiles.

“Elinor’s in the trunk.” Juliette responds with her hands shoved in her pockets.

“I meant the hunter, but thank you.” Carmen motions to the creatures. “C’mon boys, give me a hand.”

“They’re cool with you bringing me back here?” Cal asks.

There’s that Juliette shrug that has become all too familiar all too quickly.

“They like it when I take an interest.” She says and starts towards the house, leaving Cal to catch up.

“An interest?” Cal’s not sure what she’s missing.

“Yeah, in… people.”

In a flash, Cal grabs Juliette’s arm.

“If I even see your fangs, I’m staking you.”

Juliette looks her up and down; those blue eyes are cool and just a hint disbelieving but Juliette says. “I know.” And shrugs Cal off.

The inside of the house is just like the outside. Pure white bookshelves match pure white tables match angular couches. The furnishings are as new as the exterior and Cal wonders exactly how long Oliver- and Juliette with him- have been living here. The place does look lived in; Juliette brushes against the leaves of an oversized plant as she enters and Cal sneaks a peak at the full bookshelf. Old tomes bound in leather; Oliver may not be much of a reader but his girlfriend is.

“Those creatures going to fit through the door?” Cal points a thumb at the very human sized door.

“There’s a cellar out back. Elinor doesn’t get to enter this house.”

Juliette stops at the base of a floating staircase.

“Oliver!” She calls.

“Baby sis,” Oliver singsongs. “Be down in a moment.”

They can hear the creatures outside. The dull thud of their footsteps echo in the night, but otherwise it’s quiet. The silence drags with Juliette leaning against a wall and Cal fighting the urge to look around.

She doesn’t want to take her eyes off of Juliette. She’s too still, too controlled. It’s not maturity; it’s absence.

The absence of what? Cal would say humanity.

And that makes Juliette dangerous, just like any other monster.

“Ooh, you brought a guest.” Cal lifts her head and finds Oliver at the top of the stairs. He’s not alone.

A head pops up behind him. Inquisitive brown eyes make their way from Juliette to Cal and go wide. Cal would know those eyes anywhere, with or without their glasses.

“Theo?”

--

The last time she saw him, he was ravenous, acting purely on instinct, on hunger; so un-Theo-like. He sits across from Cal now and there’s not a trace of hunger in his frame. He is cool, calm, and collected.

He’s Theo.

And that just makes it worse.

“You stayed with Oliver all these years?” Her hands knot around her knees, tightening as she speaks; it’s all she can do to keep her voice from shaking.

Oliver is a killer, a maniac, someone who causes chaos for fun. Theo is… was a force for good. Intelligence. Thoughtfulness. Kindness.

“At first, I didn’t have anywhere else to go. I didn’t know anything about being a vampire.” There’s sorrow in his eyes as he speaks, but Cal can’t tell if it’s his predicament that has him sad, or the fact that he has to explain it to her. “When Mom dropped me off…”

Cal bites her lip. She knew what her mother had done, but that doesn’t make it sting any less. It’s been twelve years and she can’t decide whether she’s grateful for or angry at her mother’s actions.

Theo notices. His back straightens; his hand goes to adjust glasses that aren’t there. But then he continues.

“When Mom dropped me off, I thought I’d stay for a week or two. Learn the ropes and then leave. I didn’t want to be like this, but I also didn’t want to die.”

Cal knows they’re listening. They said they were going to prepare Elinor for the ritual, but Cal knows they’d never leave her and Theo alone. She wonders how much of Theo’s story they already know, and how much is an admission to even them.

“Oliver unleashed a plague of monsters onto Savannah.” Cal’s voice is measured. “So many so that it has been twelve years and the Guild still hasn’t been able to clean it up. The city is blockaded, Theo. It’s more monster than human at this point.”

“I know.” He gulps. “I couldn’t leave though, not even after all that.”

Heat rises in Cal’s chest. “Did he force you to stay?” Her nails dig into her flesh.

Theo’s eyes wander away from Cal. She doesn’t follow his gaze, but she can see the way his eyes soften.

“No,” He says. “I chose to stay for Juliette.”

“What?”

“Breath.” Theo says, like he’s still her older brother. Like he’s calming her down after a mission. Like he isn’t what he is now.

“She turned you into this.” Cal’s voice rises. They’re listening anyway, who cares? “What is this? Some kind of fucking sire bond? Some kind of fucking spell?”

Cal’s standing, turning away from Theo, her eyes searching for Juliette. She’s going to stake her. It won’t kill her, but it’ll hurt. Cal will make sure it hurts.

“Cal,” Theo rests his hand on her arm. “It’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” She spits, and even Theo looks taken aback by her anger.

“I was going to go. I had a plan. And then Juliette arrived on Oliver’s doorstep, wailing and crying about how her parents were gone. They went to the Legacy Council meeting and never came back.

‘I had already lost a baby sister, Cal. I couldn’t help you, not when I was the cause of your pain. But Juliette, I could be there for her. And she needed someone to be there for her- someone who wasn’t Oliver.”

Cal lets him finish. She lets him finish and then she waits. The heat in her chest simmers, boiling off until Cal’s throat is on fire and it burns behind her eyes.

She grabs Theo, wrapping both arms around him and holding him tight.

“I missed you so much.” She cries, tears streaking down her cheeks.

Theo’s weight presses into her and his arms wrap around her as well. He holds her like she hasn’t been held in years. He holds her like a big brother. She’s older than him now. Or, well, she looks older than him. But it doesn’t matter. He’s her big brother, and the years and all the drama cannot change that.

She could stay like this forever. She would give up every dream and every future that these twelve years have brought to her, if it meant getting him back. In a heartbeat, she would take it all back; she would take him back.

Life has other plans.

“Sorry to break up the moment.” Juliette doesn’t sound sorry at all. “But the ritual’s ready.”

--

The house is new and modern, but the cellar is older- no, not older, just straight up old. Brick walls and a cracked cement floor await their descent down stone steps. Torches line the walls, but the light they throw is blue not orange.

There is nothing else down here.

Except for Elinor.

Her body is limp, hap hazardously placed in the center of the cellar. In her pink heels and dress, she looks like some roofied party girl. Cal tries to ignore the way that thought makes her stomach knot.

Oliver stands over his sister, Carmen by his side. They both turn to face Cal, Juliette, and Theo as they enter.

“You ready for some fun?” Oliver grins. He turns to Carmen. “Babe?”

“You’re here to watch.” Carmen eyes Cal. “Any disruption and the spell will not work.”

Cal nods, takes a step back towards Theo.

“It’s quick. Don’t worry.” Theo whispers.

“She’s done this before?” Cal asks. The ‘But not on you?’ goes unsaid.

“One test vamp. Legacies are hard to come by.”

“Juliette.” Carmen commands and Juliette hands her a velvet bag with golden clamps.

Like a magician, Carmen makes a show of reaching her hand into the bag. She swirls her hand around inside once, twice, three times before plucking a vial out. Red liquid- too light to be blood- dances in the vial. Carmen holds it up high above her head. The blue light catches the red liquid, and for the briefest of moments Cal is sure that she sees veins twisting and writhing within the vial.

“Wake her up.” Oliver says before Cal can examine that further. At first, she thinks he’s talking to her, but then Juliette steps forward.

She walks like a weight has been attached to each of her feet, trudging along with absolutely none of a vampire’s usual grace. Cal swallows; Juliette had shown that grace before, so what changed? She approaches Elinor’s body and bends down.

This, Cal thinks, is the moment of vengeance, when Juliette should be excited at the least. But Juliette just reaches a hand out to Elinor’s shoulder and gives her a perfunctory shake. No smirk. No smiles. No playfulness.

And Elinor doesn’t wake.

Another shake, but Elinor still remains unconscious.

Juliette takes Elinor by both shoulders and sits her up. It’s only now that Cal can see that what initially looked like haphazard placement is actually because Elinor’s wrists have been tied to her ankles.

“Elinor?” Juliette’s voice is soft, almost timid. Cal catches Oliver rolling his eyes. “Elinor?”

There’s no sign of life.

“Does she have to be conscious for the spell to work?” Cal surprises herself by speaking.

“No.” Carmen says.

“But I want her to be.” Oliver steps forward. His shadow engulfs Juliette, who doesn’t move though her body stiffens.

In one swift motion, Oliver grabs Elinor by the hair, pulling her up. Her eyelids twitch but that’s it. For Oliver, though, that’s enough.

“Come. On.” He all but yells. “I know you’re in there, so give us a patented snarky smile or bitchy quip.”

“Oliver, let’s just do the spell.” Carmen sighs, more exasperated than anything.

Oliver leans down closer to Elinor; his face just inches from hers as with gritted teeth he says. “If the other Legacies could see you now.” He clicks his tongue once, twice, and then there’s a grunt. It’s soft and could almost be mistaken for a cough.

Silence creeps in, or it does until Oliver’s body falls backwards, hitting the dirt floor with a dull thud. There’s no time to react, because Elinor is on the move. The ropes are undone and she’s standing at her full height. She runs a bloody hand over her now wrinkled pink dress.

“Well, that’s a shame.” She pouts.

“Oliver!” Carmen cries but doesn’t rush forward. Instead, she pops the lid off of the vial and her eyes go red, a wave of liquid as thick as that in the vial rushes over them. And then the chanting begins.

“We’ve got to go.” Theo takes Cal’s hand.

“No.” Cal shrugs him off. “I was trained for this.”

She’s already got a stake in hand as she rushes forward. She can do this. She can’t kill Elinor but she can certainly incapacitate her. She can do this. She can do this. She can…

She catches sight of Oliver’s body. Of the hole in Oliver’s chest. It’s like Elinor just reached in and grabbed a chunk.

“Shit.” Cal mutters under her breath. A good hunter knows when they’re outmatched.

“You want to play?” Elinor gives that patented smirk, her eyes on Cal. But before Elinor can take so much as a step forward, there’s a blur and suddenly she’s on the ground again.

Juliette stands over her.

“Go!” She cries.

Carmen’s still chanting, louder now. The words echo in the cramped cellar, spinning, shifting, and taking form as they grow with each new word uttered. The air is suddenly heavy and Cal’s head spins.

It’s nothing compared to what Juliette and Elinor are feeling.

Elinor holds to the ground like it’s all that’s keeping her from blowing away into the tornado of magic words. Her mouth is open, throat constricted like she’s holding back vomit but only just. There is nothing in her eyes, even as they stare frozen in shock.

Juliette is somehow still standing. Her breath is shallow and quick, chest dancing up and down so quickly that it reminds Cal of a seizure. Still, where there was nothing in Elinor’s eyes, Juliette’s seem to contain multitudes. Every color, every tone is awash in Juliette’s eyes, which are focused directly on Cal.

Carmen keeps chanting.

“I’ve got you.” Theo rushes in. Always the hero.

He picks Juliette up with ease and rushes back towards Cal.

“We’re going now!” He yells and Cal follows her big brother without a second thought.

She does look back once though and between Carmen’s chanting and Elinor’s pain, she’s sure she sees Oliver’s body convulse.

--

The amalgamations let them go. Cal doesn’t ask questions; she just keeps running. Theo’s faster than her, but he matches her pace, Juliette still in his arms.

Cal’s car is still parked outside the house. With a click of a button, the car is unlocked and Juliette is being dumped in the backseat while Cal and Theo take the driver’s and passenger’s seats respectively. Cal wastes no time in hitting the gas.

Night has passed them by and a soft blue sky greets them as they pull onto the highway. Cal has gone days without sleep, but right now it feels like it’s been weeks since she last shut her eyes.

Theo must notice, because he says. “You want me to take over driving?”

“You know where we’re going?”

“Do you?”

It’s a good question actually. She’s got two vamps in the car with her, and neither is the one she was supposed to catch. That means no Guild safe houses. That also means no going to Mom or Dad. Apollo? Maybe. But Cal’s not even sure where on this side of the globe he is right now.

“Take exit 24a.” Juliette’s voice is slow and breathy.

“Excuse me?” Cal’s eyes flash in the rearview mirror. Juliette is barely sitting up, her overall complexion the kind of pale that reads stereotypically vampire.

“Take exit 24a. There’s a motel just a mile down the road from there. We can rest there.”

Cal and Theo share a look.

“Trust me.” Juliette’s voice is barely there.

Cal pulls onto the exit ramp.

--

The edge of the shitty motel mattress dips as Cal sits down on it. Theo has his head back in the room’s single armchair, eyes closed. Cal’s happy to let him rest. He deserves it. She’s keeping her eyes on Juliette though.

For her part, Juliette just kind of stands by the dresser. She cradles herself, breathing heavily through her nose. It’s not quite right the way she’s standing. It’s not like she’s got broken bones or anything, but she reminds Cal of a wounded animal and Cal knows from experience that vamps get defensive when they’re injured.

“You good?” Cal asks.

Juliette looks up. Her mouth is just open, tongue flicking around inside.

“Yeah.” Juliette gulps. “Just, uh, checking that my fangs are still there.”

“And are they?” Cal drawls.

Juliette nods.

“You wanted to be human once.”

Cal doesn’t like to think about that. Too many “what ifs.” Too much time lost to the past. But the past is standing right in front of her, so she says it.

And to her surprise, Juliette responds with. “I think about that a lot.”

“Do you?”

“My parents are dead, Elinor’s a serial killer, and Oliver isn’t much better, so yeah I think about what life would be like if I’d just let myself be turned into a human.” Juliette straightens up, emboldened like a snake hissing. Twelve years has given her some bite.

“My parents split.” Cal says, like it’s a card to play.

“I suppose that’s my fault.” Juliette’s laugh is dead. “Just like everything that’s happened to me.”

There’s that fire again, the one that lights up Cal’s chest and makes her feel young and immature. But she’s past immaturity. She’s a seasoned hunter, so in her most noncommittal voice she says.

“All of your problems stem from being a monster and keeping monstrous company.”

Juliette’s eyes go soft and it’s almost, almost like looking at the old Juliette. Soft sweaters and delicate hands cupping a bee.

“I hope you’re not including yourself in that.”

Cal turns, her eyes glued firmly on the floral wallpaper by the bed. Cal is not a monster; she’s sure of that. But she’s also not a victim. She wasn’t seduced by the monster, nor under her control. She just liked Juliette. She liked her without meaning to and for a little bit it had felt like without even trying.

“I was just a kid.” Cal mutters.

“So was I.”

Juliette steps closer. There’s almost no sound as she walks, but Cal can feel Juliette’s presence, and her own heart start to race.

“We know better now.” She says.

“Yeah,” Juliette echoes. “We know better now.”

--

“What now?” Juliette asks as the sun begins to peek through the blinds and skitter its way across the floor like the cockroaches that undoubtedly live in the walls.

“Mission’s not complete.” Cal shakes her head. “I’ve got to go back.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

She knows she doesn’t. Tired, yes- for sure- but not like she’s kidding. Cal’s a good hunter; she finishes a job.

She has no choice but to do so.

Juliette wouldn’t understand.

“You seriously want to go back?”

Cal rolls her eyes. What is not clicking?

“It’s my responsibility to bring Elinor in.” Cal steps closer to Juliette. She’s still towers over her. But Juliette isn’t making eye contact; her eyes are to the left, to Theo who now sits upright in the armchair, watching them. Cal’s throat tenses as she says. “I came with you last night because Theo had to get away from those monsters. He’s free now.”

“Cal…”

She cuts Theo off. She keeps her eyes on Juliette. She’s the big sister now. She’s protecting Theo. And Juliette is the threat.

“But you’re coming with me.”

Theo’s up in an instant, hand grasping for Cal’s. She shrugs him off. She needs a clear head right now.

“Juliette hasn’t hurt anyone.” He says. “She doesn’t deserve…”

“Theo,” Juliette pipes up. “It’s okay. I’ll go with her.”

Okay, maybe Juliette’s matured some. Or maybe she’s just tired.

But the way Juliette is staring, suddenly meeting Cal’s gaze, makes Cal think differently. If anything, Juliette looks the most alert since Cal ran into her.

That’s dangerous, Cal thinks. An alert monster is a dangerous one.

“Then what the fuck am I supposed to do?”

Cal watches as Juliette takes Theo’s hands in her own. Her face softens, sharpened features dulling as she looks at Theo with what Cal can only describe as- what she so clearly knows as love.

“Ben is in Atlanta. Tell him I sent you. He’ll help; I know he will.” Juliette’s smile reminds Cal of something, a memory or a feeling that’s just out of reach. “I’ll take care of her. We’ll be fine.”

Juliette wraps her arms around Theo. Her muscles tense as she brings him in close. Theo just stands stock-still.

“Please trust me.” She says.

There’s the briefest of pauses and then Theo responds with.

“I do.”

Something snags in Cal’s chest. It’s that memory or that feeling, or maybe simply a wish. Trust. There are many things Cal trusts. She trusts her mom and her dad and Apollo. She trusts herself. She even trusts Theo.

But this snag in her heart is numb. An absence or a missing piece.

“You ready?” Juliette interrupts her thoughts.

Cal thought she was.

--

Theo insists on hitchhiking. Cal’s ready to say no, but he reminds her that a vampire, even a made one, is not so easy to kill. He’ll have the advantage and she can’t just lose a Guild issued car.

Cal acquiesces.

And a half hour later, she and Juliette are back in her car, heading up the path towards Oliver’s too modern, too out-of-place house.

“What’s the plan?” Juliette asks.

“Primary target is Elinor, which is good because I’m pretty sure Oliver’s dead.”

Cal ignores the way Juliette’s jaw tenses.

“And if he’s alive?” She asks.

“We take him too. The Guild will be more than happy to have all three of you under lock and key.”

“Okay.” Juliette says too readily. Like she’s giving up… which is what Cal wanted, right? That’s good, right?

Except there used to be a Juliette who would fight for what she wanted, who would fight to have a say in her life.

Well, Cal thinks, they’ve both changed.

Cal parks the car by the cellar entrance, and they both hop out. Cal’s got her stakes and Juliette’s fangs are out. They’re as ready as they’ll ever be.

That makes it all the more disappointing when they open the cellar doors, climb down into that musty room, and find nothing.

Nothing but two pretty pink heels and a very dead Oliver.

--

“You can still take me in.” Juliette says once they’re back in the car.

Cal rests her head on the steering wheel. Shit. Fuck. Every expletive she knows in every language she knows runs through her mind.

“I should’ve stayed last night. I should’ve finished the job.” She breathes in the rubbery scent of the wheel.

“You were protecting your brother.”

“But I let the vamps- the dangerous ones- get away.”

Juliette doesn’t respond and at that Cal looks up, eyebrow raised.

“You don’t think I’m dangerous?” Juliette’s voice is small.

“Compared to your brother and sister?” Cal laughs. It’s the truth. Basic threat assessment. “You’re basically a damn butterfly.”

That actually gets a smile from Juliette, and oh how does Cal hate the way she recognizes that smile.

“You’re still a monster though.” Cal adds.

“I know.” Juliette is still smiling. “After a while you have to accept what you are.”

“And have you… accepted what you are?”

Juliette shrugs. “Probably not.”

Cal finds herself laughing. Despite everything, she laughs. It’s not hard or deep or anything, but she laughs anyway. She laughs at the admittance of truth.

“That might be a good thing.” She says when the laughter peters out.

Juliette raises an eyebrow.

“Oliver and Elinor accepted they were monsters and look how they turned out.”

“Some would say they just accepted who they already were.”

Cal looks at Juliette, all small and huddled in the passenger’s seat.

“Or were they labeled something and played into it, like there were no other alternatives?”

Juliette, apparently, has no answer to that because silence overtakes the car. The wind whooshes by outside the car, but Cal and Juliette just sit and listen. Eventually, Cal will have to formulate a plan but for the moment she sits and waits.

Finally, Juliette responds, her eyes soft. “Do you really think there are alternatives?”

Cal’s brow creases. Cal has fully embraced being a hunter, who she was born to be. Her strength and her skills both come from what she is. Her family, her friends, her enemies, nearly every person she’s ever known has been a result of being a hunter.

There was only one time she had her doubts. Twelve years ago in Savannah.

Every moment since has been course correction.

And look where that’s brought her?

“How far do you think she could’ve gotten?” Cal asks instead.

Juliette thinks for a moment.

“I don’t know, but I know where she would be heading.”

“Savannah.” Cal completes the thought.

“If you want power as a monster, you go to Savannah.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go.”

“We?”

Cal turns to Juliette.

“You wanted an alternative, right?”

Juliette’s nod is stiff.

“Then here’s your chance.”