The woman opened the door. My stomach sank as I witnessed the frail figure lying on the bed. Calliope was skin and bones, skin yellow and paper-thin. She’d been an old professor, but now, she appeared nearly as ancient as time itself.
The smell of cancer here was so strong, it nearly suffocated me. Was there really nothing that could be done?
“I’ll give you some privacy,” the woman said as she closed the door. Emma and I took a seat beside Calliope’s bed.
Calliope’s eyes creaked open. The illusion teacher gave a slight smile as she took in the sight of us. “I knew the two of you would come, before the end.”
Emma’s voice was tight. “Professor Calliope—”
“Don’t feel sympathy for me, Emma. My only regret is that I will die in this bed, and not on the battlefield, as a fae should.”
“Youaredying a warrior’s death, resisting against an illness even as it takes your life,” Emma insisted.
I spoke up. “Indeed. A nobler death on the battlefield couldn’t be had.”
“I suppose you are right.” Calliope gave a slight cough, and Emma reached out to help her take a drink from the cup on her bedside table.
She smacked her lips together before she laid back on the pillows and said, “I suppose you’re here about Kalina.”
I was completely floored. How did she know?
Calliope gave a soft laugh as she took in our bewildered expressions. “I am a part of the Demigod Guardians,” Calliope rasped. “We are elders of the supernatural world who have sworn to protect demigod children, so they may build a better world through their gifts. Many years ago, Emma, Lady Iris gave me a prophecy that your daughter would be a demigod, one who would use my family’s key to save the magical world.”
“Your family’s key?” Emma questioned. She reached into her pocket, and withdrew the magical object. Calliope gave a weak nod as her eyes settled on the key.
“Yes. It’s been passed down through my family for years. Centuries ago, a hag sent by Milonna herself came to my ancestor and gave her a very powerful key. She told her to keep it safe, relinquishing it only when a sorceress who gained the ability to shift roamed our world. Lady Iris foresaw a woman transform into a wolf in one of her visions, long before Kalina was born. Her gift led her to believe that this child was your daughter. When she told me of this, I knew the key had to be in your hands, though the method I used to deliver it had to be unremarkable, as to not to attract attention. There are many in this world who would long to get their hands on that which you possess.”
“What do you know of her quest?” I asked.
“Almost nothing,” Calliope replied. “Lady Iris’ visions, as well as the visions of the rest of the Alicorn Court, were unclear. All we were able to say for certain is that Kalina will fight in a war between all supernatural kind… a war that will enlist the very gods themselves. Heaven and hell, pitted against each other in a conflict that will put at risk the souls of all.”
My mouth went completely dry as my stomach churned with nausea. This was far worse than we could’ve ever imagined.
“Is there anything we can do that will stop this?” Emma insisted. She wasn’t willing to give up.
“Train her,” Calliope replied. “Teach her the greatest magic you can, give her strength beyond what any fae has. And keep the key safe. She will need it in the days to come. Gods help us all.”
Calliope’s head hit the pillows, and her eyes closed. She wasn’t able to answer anything more. We asked more questions, but Calliope had fallen into a sleep we could not wake her from.
We gave our condolences to Calliope’s daughter, then returned to the palace. Word came later that evening that Professor Calliope had died, passing into the Great Hunting Grounds while holding her daughter’s hand. She’d been waiting for us, to deliver what she knew. Now she could die in peace.
Emma and I discussed things in our quarters, feeling like our backs were against the wall. I paced the room while Emma remained on the couch, sipping tea and remaining deep in thought.
“What can we do about this?” I asked my wife— but more so, myself. I was Kalina’s father, and it was my duty to defend her from the world. Yet how did I spare her from such a dark fate, when it was already written that she’d have to face it?
Emma shrugged. “There’s no avoiding it. I think the best thing wecando is provide the twins with whatever protection our power and names provide, until it becomes inadequate to defend them any longer.”
I nodded. “We give Kalina and Kazim proper royal titles,” I said. “Officially, on paper, make them our children. By forging the birth certificates and saying that they’re biologically ours.”
We’d never explained to the public about Kalina and Kazim’s sudden appearance. Everyone had assumed they were ours, but the two of us hadn’t yet made a formal announcement. Royal children were always declared— they had to be, in order to gain the respect of the public, and be given official titles. It was a big legal matter, not to mention it was a situation that required a lot of pomp and circumstance, similar to a coronation. We hadn’t done so yet, hoping we could keep the twins as concealed and out of the public eye as possible.
We couldn’t do that anymore. We had to give the public the gossip they wanted, and in exchange, gain the safety that notoriety would provide.
“You want us to lie.” Emma’s mouth flattened.
“Yes, for their benefit. We’ll finally acknowledge, in a formal press conference, that you gave birth to them, that they are my direct descendents.”
“Ethan, they look nothing like you,” Emma protested.
