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"If love is devotion Then you have become my religion."
The moonlit trees loomed over me in the dead of night, red and daunting in the presence of the blood moon. Standing on the precipice where the woods met the castle grounds, I carried with me the ingredients the witches had asked for in the scroll they had sent with Moonstone: a strand of my hair intertwined with Lucien's, a drop of my blood mixed with his, and a token on which either side had been kissed by our lips. The only thing missing was the human heart, but as I stood waiting, I knew Lucien was in the midst of rectifying that. I did not want to know the details of how he would obtain it, but he had assured me the deed would be carried out in the most humane manner possible, that it would be done to a man who was already to carry out the death sentence. Somehow, that did not make me feel better.
Yet, as the blood moon rose higher, I knew the time was almost upon us - the summoning. There would be no turning back, for if I changed my mind now the prisoner's death would be for nothing. I had to finish what had been started.
Wolves howled into the night as Lucien approached. I almost did not see him stepping out of the shadows, but that was his specialty - like smoke and mist, he moved from one place to another. He had bundled in his hand a sack that seemed to be weighed down on one end, a dark liquid seeping through the seams and staining the corner where I knew the organ lay. Swallowing down the bile that rose in my throat, I tried not to look at it. I tried, instead, to focus on his emerald eyes in hopes they would bring me an ounce of comfort.
"Ready?" he said, the smoke of his hot breath fading out into the cold night air. I nodded in response because I knew my voice would betray me. In all honesty, I was terrified. Summoning a God with the help of two witches sounded like a desecration of religion. I did not know what faith I was betraying, but if the plan itself sounded blasphemous, this had to be a sin of some horrible degree. Gods forgive me. "Hey," Lucien said, taking my hand with the one that was not carrying the blood-soaked sack. "It's going to be okay."
"Is it?" I said, finding it harder and harder to convince myself we were doing the right thing.
"We just need answers," he said. "You do not have to go through with their plan after tonight if you do not want to."
"And you do?"
Lucien quieted. "Look, Calliope, if he is murdering my people for his own immortality, I will not be able to sit by and let it continue when he returns. I could find the weapon on my own, and if I can not wield it, then I will find another way to rid this kingdom of him. For you and for my people."
"You would do that all alone?"
"What choice do I have?" he said. "Besides," with my hand in his, he led us into the forest, "I made you a promise, didn't I? I will do whatever it takes to give you a choice to your own heart."
