EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 110: No sanctuary

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Upon waking, the first thing Octavia did was reach across the bed for Sesshoumaru, only to be met with the feel of cold sheets and static pillows.

Disappointed, she sat up and stretched both of her arms before diverting her attention to her equally stiff legs. As soon as that had been taken care of, she forced herself to get out of bed and trudged towards the washroom to take her morning bath. The water was freezing, but it was nothing that the right mitama mark couldn't fix. 'Heat' had steam rising from the tub in a matter of seconds and filling the room with luxurious warmth.

Dawn broke as she was bathing and changed the colour of the steam from white to gold. Her lips curved into a smile as she closed her eyes and sank deeper into the bath. She had always loved the feel of sunlight on her skin, even as a little girl. It made her feel strong. Invincible, even. Maybe that was why she had spent most of her life feeling perpetually tired and weak. England and Wales weren't exactly known for their tropical weather patterns, after all.

As if in answer to her musings, her skin began to shimmer faintly, illuminating the water like a swarm of bioluminescent algae. She smiled wider and lifted her hands above her head, letting the sunlight soak into her palms. What would have happened if her silent passenger had woken up sooner? If she had known about the Radiant One prior to falling down the well, she wouldn't have left it alone in the dark for so long.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to see you," she whispered. "But I see you now. And I think you're wonderful."

The light shone brighter in response to her words, followed by a powerful surge of emotion that caught her off guard with how earnest it was.

The feeling in question was love.

Dizzy with happiness, she climbed out of the tub and dried herself with a towel, then exited the washroom to procure a fresh set of clothes. Once dressed, she dug through one of the many bedside drawers until her fingers closed around the handle of an antique hand mirror. It was the only mirror in the room, and she was fairly certain that it was of a mystical design.

The face in the mirror was indisputably hers, yet at the same time, it wasn't. Those were her eyes gazing back at her, but the dark circles underneath them were gone—replaced by plump lips and round, rosy cheeks. Even her hair seemed brighter and fuller than it had looked before. The previously dull strands were streaked with varying shades of copper and gold that glimmered in the light of the morning sun. It was mesmerising . . . And so obviously fabricated.

Deep down, she knew that it was too good to be true. The mirror was clearly only showing her what she wanted to see.

She placed the mirror back inside the drawer and picked up the enamel cuffs that Totosai had made using Kumoshi's fangs, then slotted them onto her wrists. The right cuff contained a small concentration of Sesshoumaru's youki, whereas the left one was infused with some of Cyril's. It was unlikely that she would need them now she had mastered so many mitama marks, but experience had taught her that it was always better to air on the side of caution. The cuffs were only to be used during emergencies or as a last resort.

Mere moments after exiting Sesshoumaru's chambers, a flurry of servants raced by carrying piles upon piles of linens and bundled-up clothes. Octavia flattened herself against the wall to allow them space to pass and prayed that they were too focused on what they were doing to notice how fast her heart was beating. Why hadn't she checked that the coast was clear before swaggering out of his room without a care in the world? Stupid, stupid, stupid—

She didn't have time to berate herself properly because another horde of servants was already barrelling down the corridor with their arms full of bedsheets and pillowcases. Why were they all in such a hurry? Was there some sort of laundry-related event going on that she didn't know about?

There was only one way to find out. She followed them all the way down to the ground floor and watched from a distance as they ferried the fabrics into the Great Hall. No matter how much they had been carrying prior to entering, they always returned empty-handed. Octavia soon realised that they weren't just transporting laundry, but also food and water. Crates loaded with fruit, vegetables and roasted meat would pass through the enormous double doors never to be seen again, and the liquid in the barrels made sloshing noises as they were wheeled along in large wooden carts. Her stomach growled loudly as the delicious smells wafted into her nostrils.

"Finally! I've been looking everywhere for you," Rin's voice echoed from behind her. "Where were you, anyway?"

Octavia ignored the question and asked, "What's going on?"

Rin arched an eyebrow. "Seriously? It's been like this for hours. Sesshoumaru-sama ordered everyone awake not long after they arrived."

Everyone except her, apparently.

She tried to keep the edge out of her voice, but it bled through regardless. "After who arrived?"

Rin seemed baffled that she didn't already know. "Hasn't anyone told you?"

"Told me what!"

"The Southern Stronghold was attacked."

Her words sucked the breath from Octavia's lungs. "When?"

"About a week ago," Rin replied, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Lord Taiki is dead. Nagisa-sama says he was murdered."

Octavia's blood ran cold. ". . . Was it him?"

Rin nodded.

"Shit. Is Nagisa okay?"

"She was injured pretty badly, but it's nothing she won't recover from."

Octavia felt determination flood her chest, drowning her fears in the process. "Where is she?"

"In the war room. Sesshoumaru-sama asked her to—"

Octavia spun on her heel and marched in the direction of the war room.

"Where are you going!" shouted Rin. "I'm supposed to be on refugee duty! Octavia!"

The doors to the war room were emblazoned with dozens of swords and shields welded together in one giant twisting web. Octavia paused in front of them to admire the impressive woodwork, before lifting a hand to draw the 'open' mark.

Rin shot her a pleading look. "You can't just barge in without an invitation. There are rules."

Octavia grinned triumphantly as the bolt on the other side of the door succumbed to the mark's influence. "Watch me."

She shoved the doors open before Rin could protest and stapled her gaze to the back of Sesshoumaru's head. He was the only one who didn't immediately turn to look at her. The others all regarded her with wide eyes and slackened jaws, but he simply beckoned her forwards with his hand and said, "Close the door behind you."

Octavia herded a rather shell-shocked-looking Rin inside and did as she was told, lowering the bolt back in place. The room was uncomfortably quiet as they approached the massive table that was embossed with a map of Japan in its entirety.

Her eyes found Nagisa's from across the table and brightened instantly. She looked thoroughly battered and bruised, but it was good to see her back safe and sound. The former princess flashed her an affectionate smile and dipped her head in respect. Octavia did the same, eliciting murmurs of apprehension from the other demons in the room.

"Quieten yourselves this instant," Sesshoumaru said without raising his voice.

The murmuring ceased.

Octavia resisted the urge to smile. It was nice having someone in her corner for a change.

"You must be joking."

Her cheerfulness quickly transitioned into terror when she realised who had spoken.

Hiroto glared at her from where he was standing, radiating hatred and revulsion. The scars on her throat burned as the memory of his claws raking across her skin appeared in her peripheral vision. She hadn't expected to see him. With his father gone, she had assumed he'd met a similar fate at the hands of her brother, but evidently, that wasn't the case.

"Not now, Hiroto," sighed Nagisa.

"Why not?" he retorted harshly. "The Southern Lands are in shambles, yet I am expected to stand here and pretend that she had nothing to do with it?"

He knew about her connection to the Church, then. Nagisa must have told him before the attack happened.

"I swear I didn't," Octavia protested. "I'm doing everything I can to stop this country from falling into ruin. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't. Please, you have to believe me."

"Believe you?" He snorted in disbelief. "You said your family were dead! Or does that word mean something else where you come from, you foreign cunt?"

"Control your tongue," Sesshoumaru growled. "Or I will have it removed and fed to the castle's termites. You may be the Lord of the Southern Lands now, but whilst you are under my roof, you will accord her the respect she deserves."

"Respect?" Hiroto parroted, ignoring the warning. "She's an abomination! They both are! Think of the damage they could do if left to their own devices. Mark my words, Sesshoumaru. The second that we take our eyes off her, she'll run straight back to his side. There will be no sanctuary. Not here. Not anywhere. The whole world will be theirs for the taking—"

"I would rather die than go back to him," Octavia snarled. "There's a reason I left. I'm nothing like my brother. If you knew anything about me, you would see that."

"That wretched mage slaughtered my parents and burned my home to the ground just to get your attention. That makes you complicit in my eyes. And if you were serious about killing him, you wouldn't be hiding behind these walls waiting for him to come to you. You would have hunted him down like an animal and gutted him for good measure. But you haven't. Why?"

"She isn't ready yet," Cyril answered. "We need more time to—"

"So she's useless to us?" Hiroto turned to Sesshoumaru and said, "Even her own flesh and blood has given up on her. If she's the weaker sibling, what's the point of having her—"

He was inexplicably silenced halfway through his sentence. Although he still had full control over his mouth, no sound emerged from it, much to the bewilderment of him and everyone else in the room. It was as if he'd been placed on mute.

Octavia smirked. The 'silence' mark was definitely one of her favourites.

Hiroto's eyes burned with fury, but he refrained from reciprocating. She thought about taking things a step further by severing his vocal cords as payback for the grotesque stripes he'd given her, until she remembered what he had said in the training grounds all those months ago.

Never forget that you are weak and we are not. It is your magic that is powerful. Not you. Without it, you are nothing.

She had never been nothing.

"I may not have all of the Radiant One's power, but I'm still Erem's Vessel," she said fiercely, flexing her glowing fingers. "Be grateful I let you keep your tongue."

She didn't have to hurt him to get her point across. His humiliation was payment enough.

Without tearing her eyes away from his, she released him from the mark's influence and let her hand fall. To his credit, he kept his mouth closed, but his gaze was anything but friendly.

The sound of Nagisa clearing her throat shattered the tension and stole her attention away from Hiroto. "Returning to the matter at hand, we still have no idea what this new foe hopes to achieve by invading our lands and massacring our people." She looked Octavia right in the eye and said, "If it was simply to get your attention, then he only needed to attack the Eastern Stronghold. Why waste resources and risk further casualties by targeting the South, as well? It doesn't make any sense."

"Actually, it does," rebuked Octavia. "No offence, but you're looking at this all wrong. That's not your fault, though. You were all raised by war heroes and military-grade strategists, but my brother wasn't. From the moment he was born, he's believed that the universe revolves around him, because that's all anyone ever told him. He's not thinking like a general. He's doing what he thinks he was born to do – which is to use his powers to wipe out every last one of you. Technically, it's a bit more personal than that, but it's not relevant to this conversation."

"Personal how?" asked Kanetsugu.

She blinked in surprise. Had he been there the whole time? Why hadn't she noticed?

The ngea are the oldest demons in existence. If I hadn't been taken, you wouldn't have forgotten about me. I never forgot about you. And I never stopped loving you. Not for a second.

She sighed. "I got out. He didn't. I was fortunate enough to have grown up away from all of the madness, but Augustus wasn't so lucky." Her throat tightened as she continued, "They knew the burden was a heavy one, but they just kept adding and adding to it until it crushed him. They crushed him . . . They took an innocent little boy and turned him into a monster."

A hush fell across the room, making her feel uncomfortable. She opened her mouth to add that his past didn't excuse any of the awful things he'd done, but a familiar voice beat her to the punch.

"Excuse me, Hiroto-sama?" Jaken stammered. He was standing several metres away from the table beside a low sofa with a small figure laid upon it. "P-Pardon me for interrupting, but your brother seems to be experiencing some minor discomfort—"

Hiroto was at his younger brother's side in less than a second. Rafu was tossing and turning in his sleep. His face gleamed with sweat and his eyelids flickered wildly, indicating the presence of a dream. Hiroto placed a hand on Rafu's shoulder and called his name gently, rousing him from his sleep. The young prince jolted awake and thrust his claws into the sofa, presumably in an attempt to anchor himself. Breathing heavily, he turned his head and locked eyes with his older brother. The sight seemed to calm him slightly, but the fear in his eyes remained ever-present.

"It's all right," Hiroto assured him, rubbing the prince's braid between his fingers. "We're safe here. I won't let anything harm you."

"I know," Rafu whispered.

"Was it another nightmare?"

He nodded meekly, his lotus-pink eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Octavia's chest ached when Hiroto wrapped his arms around his brother and hugged him tightly. She envied them, she realised suddenly. Despite his claim that she meant the world to him, Augustus would never comfort her like that. All he cared about was fusing their powers and restoring the Radiant One to its former glory—an act that would result in both of their deaths. If they hadn't been separated all those years ago, would things have been different between them? Had he grown up away from it all as she had, would he still want to go through with the Binding Ritual? Or would he reject the notion entirely out of love for her?

Please don't cry, Vee. I love you. I love you so much . . .

Whatever it was that he felt for her, it certainly wasn't love. He had deluded himself into believing that he cared about her, when in reality, what he really wanted was complete control over her. He was going to be very disappointed when he found out that there was more chance of hell freezing over.

"She came back for me," Rafu mumbled against Hiroto's shoulder. "I dreamt that she crawled under the table and—"

"It wasn't real," Hiroto said. "I don't know why she decided to spare you, but it doesn't change the fact that she did. You're still here. We both are."

That stirred Octavia's interest. "Who spared him?"

Hiroto scowled at her. "Stay out of this, human. Haven't you caused enough harm already?"

She ignored the insult and addressed Rafu directly. "Who was it?"

The prince was trembling when he answered, "I don't know her name, but she had yellow clothes and a glowing whip. I think I heard one of the soldiers call her 'Captain'."

Octavia's eyes widened dramatically. "Asuka?"

"You know her?" Hiroto asked dubiously.

"Unfortunately, yes. But that's impossible! She would never—"

"Perhaps the boy misinterpreted her behaviour," suggested Sesshoumaru. "It's far more likely that she simply failed to detect his presence. Most humans lack the ability to sense auras, you see, and their sense of smell is virtually non-existent."

Rafu shook his head. "She saw me," he insisted. "She looked right at me. It was after she'd killed . . ."

They waited for him to finish his sentence, but the words never came. Instead, he screwed his eyes shut and trembled violently.

"Where are Toshiyuki and Kosuke?" Sesshoumaru asked, vocalising what they were all thinking.

"Gone," Hiroto responded blankly. "Toshiyuki gave his life to protect Rafu, and Kosuke perished whilst we were on the road after taking an arrow that was intended for me. I killed the archer who fired the arrow, but it was too late . . . He died in my arms."

Sesshoumaru's brow creased. "A single arrow took down a member of Taiki's bloodline? I find that highly unlikely—"

"You weren't there," hissed Hiroto. "And it was no ordinary arrow."

"What makes you say that?" queried Cyril.

Rafu sniffed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore." He gazed up at his brother with big, watery eyes and whined, "I want to go home. When are we going home, onii-san?"

Hiroto didn't answer. The effect his silence had on Rafu was excruciating to watch. Octavia could feel her heart splitting in two as the boy's tears tumbled down his cheeks.

"He needs rest," Rin announced suddenly, surprising them all with her bravery. Hiroto's eyes slid to hers and narrowed, yet she stood her ground and continued, "He's been through a lot. So have you, but as heir, you're more equipped to deal with this stuff than he is. He might be okay physically, but his mind needs time to process what he's been through."

"What's your point, girl?"

If she felt intimidated by him in any way, she didn't let it show. "I can take him if you want," she offered. "It's no trouble—"

He snorted. "Do you take me for a fool? I will not risk my brother's life by entrusting it to a pathetic little human like you—"

"Insult my ward again and it will be your life on the line, not his," Sesshoumaru cut him off.

Hiroto laughed. "Spare me the empty threats. The Sesshoumaru I remember was never one to give warnings. What happened to him? This version of you is all bark and no bite."

"This isn't helping," Nagisa chided.

"I don't recall asking for your opinion," he fired back. "This is between us warlords—"

"That's enough!" boomed Kanetsugu. "You're behaving like a child."

Hiroto smiled smugly. "Thank you—"

"I was talking about you."

A few people gasped, including Octavia. What was Kanetsugu thinking?

Hiroto looked shocked. "What did you say?"

"We don't have time for petty squabbles," Kanetsugu replied. "How many more of our people must die for you to grasp what's happening? The divide between our kingdoms is already vast enough. Relations between the courts have crumbled over the past few centuries, and we are no longer united as we once were. At least our sires understood the importance of that."

"Your father was a traitor and an insurrectionist," Hiroto countered harshly.

"I never said he wasn't. But before he joined the Black Drakes, he would often talk about the good old days—when the four kingdoms ruled as one. Apart, we make ourselves vulnerable, but together, we are a force to be reckoned with." When Hiroto failed to reply, Kanetsugu shifted his gaze to Rafu and said, "Go with the girl. She'll look after you. The stronghold makes for a pretty great tour, and if you're nice to her, she might even find you something to eat. You can't come to the Western Lands and not try one of our famous red bean buns."

His face brightened at the mention of food. "I love those!"

Rin smiled. "Me, too."

Rafu looked at his older brother pleadingly. "Can I? Please, please, please?"

Hiroto sighed. "Fine. But stay where she can see you. And no wandering off, all right?"

"I won't! Thanks, onii-san!"

A smile pulled at Octavia's lips as Rafu reached for Rin's hand and followed her out of the room.

Once they were gone, Octavia turned to look at Kanetsugu, whose face was perfectly neutral. Their eyes met and she aimed the smile at him. She had no idea if he had intentionally distracted Rafu from his pain or if it had simply been a fluke, but she was grateful either way.

Instead of smiling back, Kanetsugu frowned and averted his eyes. She was surprised by how much it bothered her.

"What were you saying about the arrow?" she asked Hiroto, eager to move the conversation forwards.

His eyes dimmed. "We also thought it was strange that one shot was all it took to end my brother's life, so we removed the arrow in question and inspected it closely. The tip was like nothing we'd ever seen. It looked more like a piece of jewellery than a weapon one might use in battle."

"How so?" enquired Sesshoumaru.

Hiroto reached into his robes and withdrew the aforementioned arrow for all to see. "Look. Not your typical arrowhead, is it?"

Octavia sucked in a sharp breath.

"What's wrong with her?" Hiroto snapped. "Why is she looking at it like that?"

"Were all of their weapons like this?" she asked. "Or was it the only one?"

He rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Hmm. Come to think of it, they were. Their blades all had the same purplish hue."

Her head was spinning.

"What does it mean, human?"

"Is it what I think it is?" Nagisa intervened, prompting Octavia to lift her gaze from the arrow and look at her.

She nodded gravely. "Yes."

"Well?" probed Hiroto. "What is it? As Lord of the Southern Lands, I order you to tell me—"

"It's Shikonstone," Sesshoumaru answered, staring at her intently. "Isn't it?"

Hiroto waited for her to clarify.

"He's right," she said. "It wasn't the shot that killed Kosuke. It was this." She tapped the crystalline arrowhead with her finger and shivered. "That's why they attacked Namida. They weren't just looking to cleanse the island of demons—they needed the right kind of materials to make weapons out of. My brother's true intentions have been staring us in the face all along."

Nidawi's words echoed in her mind, filling her with fear and trepidation. If a spirit is destroyed, it can never be reincarnated. Even whilst withholding the truth from her, Nidawi had told her exactly what Shikonstone was capable of. And now Augustus was taking full advantage of its destructive capabilities.

"He isn't just killing them . . . He's killing their souls, as well."

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