Author's Corner

Hello everyone! I had been planning on posting this chapter before Christmas Day as opposed to after, but I managed to catch the flu so I've been out of commission since last Monday. Fortunately, I'm on the mend now so I was able to edit this chapter and get it posted in time for the New Year.

This is a very special chapter for a multitude of reasons. The main reason is because it's the big 100. I never in a million years thought I would make it this far, but I'm glad we're here celebrating this achievement together. Thank you so much to everyone who's supported this project thus far. I truly couldn't have done it without you.

Another reason is because something happens in this chapter that I think will make you all very happy. At least, I hope it will. It definitely got a cheer out of me when I was writing it lol. I hope you all enjoy it! Don't forget to review and I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Trigger warning: references to grooming, trauma, and mild sexual content.

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 100: Cloud gate

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What now? Octavia thought as she wandered through the castle aimlessly. Since her room was no longer hers, there was only one place she could go. It would probably be easier to claim another unoccupied room and be done with it, but it was late, and she didn't have the energy to waste traipsing about the stronghold in search of a new roost.

After locating the correct door, she marched over to it and knocked.

"Who is it?" Rin asked in a gravelly voice.

"It's just me. Can I come in?"

Octavia interpreted her silence as a yes. She opened the door and stepped inside.

"You're not gonna believe the conversation I just had with—"

She ceased talking the moment she laid eyes on Rin, who was perched on the edge of the bed and gripping her knees. Her brown eyes shone with moisture, and her cheeks looked slightly damp. Octavia didn't hesitate to stride across the room and wrap her arms around Rin's shoulders. A sob prised its way out of her mouth as she buried her face in Octavia's neck and fell apart.

It took her a long time to put herself back together. Undeterred by the tears, Octavia led Rin into the washroom and helped her strip out of her tea-stained clothes. The bathwater was tepid, but Rin didn't complain as Octavia ushered her into the tub, before removing her own clothes and climbing in after her. Rin wept quietly as Octavia lathered her head with shampoo, then combed her fingers through the obsidian locks, ridding them of tangles. She had beautiful hair—the kind you only saw on TV or in magazines. It was silky soft and long enough to incite the envy of a princess, but the main appeal came from its colour, which was a glossy black that contrasted against her ivory skin perfectly.

Octavia dried Rin's hair with a towel and found clean clothes draped over a folding screen beside the tub. Once they were decent, they exited the washroom and collapsed onto the bed. By then, Rin's sobs had quietened to the point where they were only audible if you were actively listening for them. Octavia reached out and stroked her pallid cheek tenderly. Relief coursed through her when the girl closed her eyes and leaned into her touch.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

Reopening her eyes, Rin looked at her and shivered. Octavia had a feeling that it wasn't due to her feeling cold, but she pulled a sheet over the two of them anyway.

"I let him get to me." Her voice sounded hoarse and scratchy.

"Who?"

"Koga . . ." Rin's throat bobbed anxiously. "He wanted to talk, so I took your advice and humoured him, but then things got all weird and intense . . ."

"Did he hurt you? Because if he did—"

"He didn't."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded.

"Then what are you so upset about?" Octavia listened attentively as Rin recounted what had transpired earlier that evening. She waited until she was finished before asking softly, "And that's why you were crying? Because of all those things combined?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah. It seems stupid now, though."

"It's not stupid. I get it. You've spent years hating him for what his wolves did to you, only to realise that to them, your village was just another hunting ground. It doesn't make it right, but it puts things into perspective a little bit, doesn't it?"

"I think I would have preferred it if he'd had a problem with me personally," Rin sighed. "At least then my death would've had some greater purpose."

Propping her chin up on her elbow, Octavia gazed at Rin with a sombre expression. "There's something I still can't quite wrap my head around. You always refer to that moment as your death, but you didn't die—at least, not permanently. So what gives?"

Rin's eyes glistened with fresh tears. "While that's technically true, I can assure you that I did die. When my heart stopped, everything I was before got washed away, and when I woke up, I wasn't me anymore. It's hard to explain, but I knew something had changed."

"What about the second time?" Octavia asked. "When Sesshoumaru's mother brought you back to life with that stone, did you feel different then?"

"It wasn't as noticeable as the first time, but the feeling was the same." She averted her eyes. "Death changes you, Octavia-san. In more ways than one. It's not supposed to be tampered with."

"I'm gonna have to disagree with you there. If Sesshoumaru and his mother hadn't brought you back, then we never would've met."

That made her smile.

Octavia brushed a few loose strands of hair away from Rin's face. "Don't take this the wrong way, but do you think you might be projecting your feelings about the usurper onto Koga?"

Rin's smile faded. "What do you mean?"

Octavia chose her next words carefully. "You have a right to be angry, but the way you've been acting around him . . . It's like you're afraid he'll pounce on you when you least expect it. I don't know what happened during those days you spent as Tsunayoshi's prisoner, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't all banquets and tea parties . . . Jaken said—"

"What?" Rin snapped. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"He said you'd agreed to marry him."

"Did he tell you why?"

Octavia shook her head.

"He was going to kill Kohaku. And Shippo-chan. And Kirara. It was my fault they were even there to begin with. I couldn't just stand there and watch them die."

"You must have been scared."

"I was. But I was more scared of losing them, so I agreed to be Tsunayoshi's bride in exchange for their lives. I don't regret it. Not even after everything he did to me."

Octavia felt a ripple of dread in her stomach. "Did he—"

"No," Rin replied instantly. "He barely touched me. He wanted to, though. I could see it on his face when he looked at me. And there was that one time he . . ."

She fell silent, seemingly contemplating something that she couldn't bring herself to vocalise. Octavia had an overwhelming urge to embrace her, but resisted for Rin's sake. Whatever horrors had transpired between her and the usurper, she wasn't ready to talk about them yet. Octavia couldn't tell if it was out of fear or shame—the latter of which simply wouldn't do.

"Do you still want to know who Warren is?" she asked.

Rin seemed surprised by her willingness to switch subjects, but nodded all the same. Octavia hoped that she would find some comfort in what she was about to tell her.

"When I was your age, I went to a party at a friend's house. Her parents were away for the weekend, but she had an older brother who had been left in charge in their stead. He'd invited a few friends from uni over to help him keep an eye on things. One of them was called Warren. He was insanely good-looking, and he was funny without coming across as obnoxious. Needless to say, I had a pretty huge crush on him, and I'd only known him for like an hour at that point."

"Did you . . ."

"Have sex?" Rin's face coloured slightly, but she made no attempt to correct her. "I don't remember whose idea it was to go upstairs, but yeah, we did." Octavia frowned. "He was the first person I'd ever slept with, and because he was in a rush to finish before someone walked in on us, it hurt like a bitch. I regretted it afterwards, but it was too late to take it back, so I chalked it up to nerves and carried on with my life as normal."

"Did you see him again?"

"Yes," she replied guiltily. "We didn't call ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend or anything, but we were together for two years. I knew it was wrong, but there was something weirdly exciting about having to sneak around all the time. He was a bit of an arsehole, but I didn't care, because he was the only person in the world who actually wanted me. I felt so special when I was with him, so it didn't matter that he called me names and threw a fit every time another boy so much as looked at me. Not to me, anyway.

"Eventually, we got caught. I guess one of his flatmates figured out how old I was and reported him. We denied everything, so the charges got dropped pretty quickly. At that point, I was starting to understand why everyone was so worked up about our 'relationship', but I didn't want to lose him, so we kept meeting up on the down-low . . . Until my friend Hana died in a car crash the three of us were involved in. Warren and I survived, but she wasn't so lucky."

"I'm sorry," Rin said.

She nodded appreciatively. "I cut all ties with him after that. It was like I was seeing him for the very first time, without the rose-coloured glasses. I broke his nose, you know. It felt amazing."

"I bet it did. I wish I could have seen it."

Octavia smiled. "If it happens again, I'll shout for you. I promise."

Rin snuggled into her chest. "Thank you for sharing that with me, Octavia-san. I appreciate it."

Blinking away tears, Octavia wrapped an arm around Rin's waist and stroked her hair, which was still damp with moisture from the bath. "You don't have to do that, you know."

"Do what?"

"Add 'san' at the end of my name all the time. Just call me Octavia."

Gasping, Rin lifted her head and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, flashing her a half-smile.

Rin smiled full, then lowered her head so that Octavia could no longer see her face. As she exhaled through her nose, Octavia felt the tension seep out of her, as if she had finally found some semblance of peace.

"I love you," Rin mumbled in a sleepy voice.

Octavia's heart doubled in size upon hearing those words. "I love you, too."

Rin yawned loudly. When she failed to respond, Octavia assumed it was because she'd fallen asleep, until she suddenly asked, "Will you sing to me? When you were on the run, Ah-Un said you sang to them."

"You can understand it?"

"Sometimes . . . When it wants me to." She sounded half-asleep already.

"I don't know any lullabies in your language," Octavia confessed.

"That's fine. My mother used to make up her own."

A lump formed in her throat. "Okay. This one doesn't have any words, though."

"The best ones never do," Rin murmured contentedly.

Closing her eyes, Octavia hummed the tune that she'd heard in Erem's memories—the one sung by her ancestor, Thalia. The light beneath her skin flickered to life in response to the familiar melody. Octavia wondered if the Radiant One experienced emotion in the same way humans did. Specifically love. Despite its eldritch appearance and grisly past, Thalia had gone out of her way to treat it like a friend. Not only had she smuggled sustenance into its prison, but she was also the reason that it was still alive today. When she'd died, had it mourned her passing? Or had it leapt straight into the next vessel without hesitation? Her body's reaction to the song made Octavia suspect that it was more likely to have been the former, but who could tell with parasites?

Rin drifted off first, however, Octavia wasn't far behind.

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It was unclear how long she'd been asleep, but it was still dark out, so it couldn't have been more than a few hours. Octavia pushed herself into a sitting position and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. If it hadn't dropped cold all of a sudden, she would have probably slept through until morning. Sadly, autumn nights weren't as forgiving as summer ones.

Rin didn't stir as she shuffled towards the edge of the bed in search of a second blanket. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the bedside table, where a yellow rose had been placed amongst the horde of unlit candles. Where did you come from? she thought, reaching to pick it up. It hadn't been there before. She would have noticed. But how else could it have gotten there? Unless . . .

She returned the rose to where she'd found it and slipped out of bed quietly, adjusting her robe as she went. She tiptoed over to the door and reached out to turn the handle. Her hand froze when Rin muttered something in her sleep, then rolled onto her other side. Octavia stopped holding her breath and swiftly exited the room.

The corridor was no warmer. It seemed as if nature itself was warning her to go back to bed, or maybe it was just the lack of central heating making it feel chillier than it actually was. Nevertheless, she crept along the polished floorboards towards the stairs. When she arrived at her destination, her heart was beating so fast that it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest and make a break for it. Balling her fists, she approached the large doorframe that was shaped like an arch and took a deep breath, then tapped the wood twice with her knuckles.

She wasn't left waiting for long. Seconds after she'd knocked, one of the double doors opened to reveal Sesshoumaru's bemused expression. Octavia held his stare. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to budge, he moved out of the way and held the door open for her. Adrenaline gushed through her veins, giving her a much-needed boost.

She stepped over the threshold.

No words were exchanged as she ventured further inside. Sesshoumaru lingered by the doorframe. Although her back was turned, she could feel his eyes on her as she walked towards the bed he'd placed her in the previous night. The longer the silence stretched, the more her doubts grew. What if he didn't want her there? What if she was being overly presumptuous—

"You reek of smoke."

She was so relieved to hear his voice that she almost laughed. Smiling helplessly, she turned and met his intense yet comforting stare. "I know. Technically, it's your mother's fault, not mine. I couldn't exactly say no to the former Lady of the Western Lands now, could I?"

"She has no power over you. Her days of ruling are over."

"Or maybe I did it because I wanted to. Some people like the smell of smoke. How do you know I'm not one of them?"

His eyes narrowed, but not out of malice. This was something else. "I would prefer it if you refrained from partaking in such pastimes," he said. "Especially with my mother. She is not to be trusted."

"I'm not gonna become best friends with her if that's what you're worried about, and the smoking was just a one-off. There's a reason I stopped. It won't happen again."

"Ensure that it doesn't."

"Why so serious?" she teased. "It was only a few puffs."

"I do not want you smelling like her."

Oh.

"Fair enough," she muttered. "I guess that would be pretty weird."

Her eyes flicked down to his robes, which were a deep shade of indigo that accentuated his paler features beautifully. She couldn't fathom why someone who looked that good in black and blue would insist on wearing white all the time. The fact that he was willing to deprive so many people of such an impeccable sight was positively criminal.

"Was it you who left the flower?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I saw it and thought of you."

She did laugh that time. "And you say you're not a romantic," she said in response to the puzzled look he gave her. Before he could argue otherwise, she turned so that she had her back to him and lifted her hair to expose her nape. "Could you undo the clasp for me?" she asked. "It takes forever when I do it—short nails and whatnot . . . Do you mind?"

No response.

She was about to peek over her shoulder to see what he was doing, when she felt the press of his hands on her neck. His claws made short work of the mechanism – much to her chagrin – and the necklace tumbled into her waiting palms. She tried to hide her disappointment as she placed the Prophecy-Breaker on the chest of drawers beside his bed. Was she being too subtle?

"Thank you—"

Her train of thought flew off its tracks as his hands gripped her biceps, yanking her against the hard wall of his chest. Her pulse floundered when he lowered his mouth to her ear and rasped, "Why are you here, Octavia?"

"I couldn't sleep," she lied, fighting the urge to tip her head back and rub her cheek against his.

"So you came to me, a creature who hardly ever sleeps?"

"Something like that."

His grip tightened. "That excuse may have worked on me once before, but I will not fall victim to it again." One of his hands travelled up to her shoulder, then kneaded her skin through the flimsy fabric. She closed her eyes and melted under his ministrations. "Tell me what you want."

"World peace?"

He chuckled against her earlobe. A proper one too, born out of genuine amusement as opposed to malevolence. It was a wonderful sound, and so rarely heard. "Let me rephrase that. Tell me what you want right now. At this very moment."

". . . Does it need saying?"

"One should never assume. It is most improper."

"A touch of debauchery never hurt anyone, but fine, if you insist." Her lips stretched into a smile. "I want you," she said, as if the answer had been blatantly obvious all along. "You stupid dog—"

He swivelled her around and sealed his mouth to hers, looping an arm around her waist in the process. "Foolish woman," he said between kisses. "Can't you see that I am already yours?"

It was all the encouragement she needed to throw her arms around his neck and feast on his mouth with her tongue. It was easy to please him in that regard. She knew what he liked. The hard part was convincing him to get out of his head and live in the moment, free of all worries. He was always so infuriatingly careful with her.

He wasn't being careful now. Lips collided and tongues clashed, but not in pursuit of dominance. They were fighting to lose control, not gain it. Before she could process the logistics of what that meant, Sesshoumaru had hoisted her into the air and hooked her legs around his waist. One of his fangs nicked her bottom lip by accident, causing blood to trickle out of the incision and into his open mouth. He lapped at the wound under the pretence of sealing it, but it was obvious that he was simply savouring the heady taste of her life's blood.

Once the wound had closed, he carried her over to the bed and lowered her onto the mattress. "Someone's eager," she teased as he settled on top of her and reached for the knot in her obi.

"I have wasted enough of your time already," he replied matter-of-factly.

"I wouldn't say it was wasted—" His mouth descended on hers yet again, stealing the breath from her lungs as he tasted the curve of her smile. "Stop kissing me to shut me up," she said, stifling a laugh.

"Cease talking and I will not have to."

She smiled wider as he kissed a path down her neck and parted her kosode to reveal the amalgamation of dark runes on her chest. It was an unsightly thing, but he still lowered his head and trailed scalding lips across the mass of inky tendrils, setting them on fire one by one.

A moan reverberated in the back of her throat when he finally diverted his attention to her breasts. She shoved her fingers into his hair and applied pressure to his scalp whilst he worked his magic. The peaks of her breasts pebbled in response to his hands and mouth, and she moaned wantonly as he nudged her thighs apart with his knee. She fought the urge to cheer when one of his hands crept lower and pushed her kosode out of the way.

As if sensing her excitement, he lifted his head from her breast and locked eyes with her. Her heart stumbled and tripped. It was like staring into the heart of a volcano.

"Tell me you want this."

She bit back a frustrated groan as he drew circles on her lower abdomen with his fingers, but refused to venture any lower. His claws were mysteriously absent—having been replaced by blunt fingernails. Although she was curious how he had accomplished such a feat, she wanted to discourage any further distractions. "I already did," she said, her tone sharp and cutting.

His eyes gleamed with mischief. "Say it again."

If it had been in reference to anything else, she would have put up more of a fight. However, it turned out that she was infinitely more agreeable when his hand was centimetres away from sending her on an upwards trajectory towards the clouds.

"I want you," she repeated, shifting her hips. "Oh god, don't make me beg . . ."

He used one hand to lightly caress her cheek, whilst the other continued to dawdle miles away from where she wanted it. "Those heretics were right about one thing," he said.

"What?"

He paused, drinking her in, then murmured, "You are radiant."

Heart soaring, she reached down and covered his hand with her own, before guiding it towards the wetness between her thighs.

Two floors down, the yellow rose spasmed, shook, and eventually solidified. Its now crystalline surface glimmered in the moonlight, calling out to whoever might be listening.

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Rin awoke to the sound of something spinning.

Peeling open her eyes, she sat up and glanced around the room groggily. She briefly wondered where Octavia had disappeared to, until she caught sight of a peculiar object on the bedside tabletop. It was a rose head made entirely out of purple-tinted crystal, and it was rotating all on its own, casting dappled light across the walls and furniture.

The second that her fingers grazed the hard surface of the rose, her eyes rolled back into her head and she was assaulted by images of a cliffside. She saw an empty cage with markings etched into the bars, and a woman dressed in all white leaning over the edge of the cliff to gaze at something below. Whilst Rin deliberated over what she was looking at, a roar bounced along the coastline, followed by a scream and a searing burst of light that devoured everything in view.

She snatched her hand back and watched as the rose spun slower and slower before halting completely. The glow disappeared soon afterwards, causing the room to slowly fill with darkness.

The rose didn't move again.

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