Author's Corner

Hi! Sorry I've been MIA these past few weeks. I caught Covid again and it felt like I was dying lol.

Thank you to all the people who've read, followed and favourited whilst I've been away. I hope you're enjoying the story! The title of this chapter comes from a quote from Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, which is one of my favourite books of all time.

Enjoy!

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 111: The dream chooses the dreamer

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Hiroto looked unconvinced. "Killing their souls? What does that even mean? How does one kill a soul?"

"I don't really understand it myself," admitted Octavia. "But I'm guessing it has something to do with the way Shikonstone is made. It can only be created using spirit magic or in the presence of it. The magic within the crystal seems to trigger a sort of spiritual combustion within the body."

"Spiritual what?"

She shrugged. "It's just a theory. I'm not exactly an expert."

"And that's all it takes?" Nagisa asked. "One measly little stab and you're gone forever? On Namida, the children used to fall and cut themselves on the crystals all the time, and they were fine afterwards."

"Maybe it works differently in its natural state," Octavia suggested. "Raw iron isn't nearly as dangerous as processed iron."

Nagisa's eyes blazed with resolve. "We can't let them get away with this."

"They won't," Octavia assured her. "I promise—"

"We are at war!" Nagisa snapped, making her flinch. "What use are promises on the battlefield? Two warlords are dead! How long until it becomes a third? The Northern Stronghold is already partially underwater. The mage could be sinking it as we speak!"

"My mother flew north to warn your parents of the impending threat," Sesshoumaru reminded her. "Assuming that she wasn't delayed along the way, she ought to be there by now. If the mage and his followers intend to attack there next, they will have plenty of time to prepare—"

"What good will that do! I've seen what that man is capable of. Believe me, no amount of preparation will prevent him from destroying my home and slaughtering everyone in it."

"Then what do you propose instead?"

She took a moment to compose herself before continuing. "Have you heard of the Ether Clan?"

"No," he replied curtly. "Who are they?"

"They're a tribe of Daiyoukai that hail from the Northern Mountains. Their fortress sits on the summit of Mount Reimei and is rumoured to be made of solid gold. According to the stories, they worship the sun goddess, Amaterasu, and are said to have been blessed with her divine powers."

"How is any of that relevant to our current situation?" grumbled Hiroto.

"You believe they will help us," stated Sesshoumaru.

Nagisa nodded.

"And if they won't?"

"They will if we make it worth their while. Everyone wants for something. Depending on what it is, perhaps we can give it to them." Her eyes glittered with tears. "Please, Sesshoumaru. This is my family we're talking about. I've already lost Taro . . . I can't lose them, too."

Octavia saw Hiroto's gaze darken with jealousy as he crossed his arms and turned away. She almost felt sorry for him, until she remembered that he had chosen to side with Nagisa's father over her.

"I will consider it," Sesshoumaru answered finally.

Nagisa's face brightened with relief. "Thank you."

Jaken suddenly dropped to his knees and declared, "Should you decide to heed her request, I would be honoured to act as an ambassador for you, milord. With your permission, I will beguile these mountain-dwellers with tales of your many thrilling adventures."

Octavia grinned. Some things never changed.

It took a keen eye to notice the vaguely upwards tilt of Sesshoumaru's mouth. "Hn," he said, feigning boredom.

Hiroto uncrossed his arms and exhaled slowly. "I will be departing for the Southern Lands either tomorrow or the day after," he announced. "My father deserves to be honoured with the appropriate funeral rites, as do my mother and Toshiyuki." He paused for a moment, then added, "I do not expect any of you to accompany me on this journey—"

"I will," Kanetsugu volunteered himself.

Confused murmurs passed through the small crowd of witnesses.

Even Hiroto seemed baffled by Kanetsugu's decision. "Why?" he asked.

"You're the Lord of the Southern Lands," Kanetsugu replied matter-of-factly. "With your father gone, the future of your court rests solely on your shoulders. Besides, if you get yourself killed out there, it will break your brother's heart."

Hiroto pressed his lips into a tight line and muttered, "Very well. But don't slow me down."

Kanetsugu flexed his powerful wings. "That won't be a problem."

Sesshoumaru dismissed them all shortly afterwards and walked around the table to study the most northernly part of the map. Octavia headed towards the door with the rest of them and was about to leave through it when Sesshoumaru spoke up. "Not you, human. I would like a word with you."

She froze.

He waited until the sound of retreating footsteps disappeared completely, then lifted his gaze from the table to meet hers. "The door," he said quietly. "Close it."

Unsure of what he was planning, she closed the door and bolted it for good measure.

Sesshoumaru didn't speak as she approached the table cautiously. Her eyes raked across the map greedily, taking in the details and marvelling at the meticulous paintwork. The cartographers responsible for breathing life into the map had done an excellent job. She hadn't realised how different the country had looked in ancient times. Seeing familiar locations with unfamiliar names was incredibly jarring, but it was also exciting.

"What do you think I should do?"

She raised an eyebrow. "It's not my call to make."

"I would hear your opinion regardless."

He was staring intently at a section of the map that depicted a long line of mountains in the Tohoku region—or 'Oshu' as it was called in this time period. Octavia had never heard of a place called Mount Reimei before, but there it was, sandwiched between several smaller mountains.

"I agree with Nagisa," she said. "I don't want anyone else to die because of my brother's god complex. If Susumu and Taiki couldn't stop him, I doubt that Arashi will fare any differently."

"He may bypass the Northern Stronghold entirely," Sesshoumaru countered. "He is marching in the opposite direction, after all. It is more likely that he will set his sights on our lands next."

"Why didn't you say that before?"

"It would have made no difference to Nagisa. As long as your brother is still breathing, her kin will always have the potential to be targets. It is not an unfair assumption given his track record."

Octavia shifted her attention to the left side of the map. The Western Stronghold looked so tiny from where she was standing. "I still think it's worth a shot. Not just for their sakes, but for ours, too."

"How so?"

She sighed. "Look at us. We're not much of an army, are we? We don't have the numbers to defend this place. Tsunayoshi made sure of that. Our enemies might be human this time around, but there are a hundred of them for every one of us, and they're armed to the teeth with Shikonstone. Even with support from the Panther and Wolf Tribes, we don't stand a chance. Unless . . ." She shot him a determined look. "Nagisa said that the Ether Clan were supposedly blessed with the sun goddess' powers. It's probably all bullshit, but we could use a bit of divine intervention, don't you think?"

"Do you not count?"

She laughed. "Shut up."

"I'm serious," he said, completely deadpan. "No god has ever watched over me as you have."

Her smile faltered. How was she supposed to respond to that?

He must have sensed the conflict within her because he sighed and murmured, "If only you could see what I see."

"Your heart has blinded you."

"It is not as unpleasant as I anticipated."

"So you admit it?"

The gleam in his eyes made her chest tighten with warmth. "Come here."

She danced out of his grasp. "No way."

"Tease."

"It's a public space!"

"So was the library."

Her face heated at the memory of the shelves digging into her lower back. I've created a monster, she thought. She couldn't say she regretted it, though.

"Later," she promised.

A dangerous smile spread across his lips. "I will hold you to that."

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The prince had bean paste on his face. He blushed when Rin pointed it out to him and wiped the sticky residue away with a handkerchief. The old head cook, Saya, had unfortunately been killed during the invasion. Her replacement was a stocky young man named Kenji whose sweets were undeniably delicious, but not to the degree that Saya's had been.

"You can have mine if you want," she said once Rafu had finished eating his.

He gaped at her, then at the untouched steamed bun in her lap. "Are you sure? They're really good."

Rin's stomach turned as he sucked his fingers clean. The stains around his mouth reminded her of blood. "Take it," she urged. "Please, I want you to have it."

Beaming, he happily accepted the bun and took a large bite out of it. "Fanks, Rin-san," he said with his mouth full of mushed-up bread and bean paste. "You're duh best!"

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

"I don't! Honest!" She giggled at the mortified look on his face. He finished swallowing his food and hastily added, "Kosuke-oniisan was the womanizer, not me! Ask anyone! I'll never so much as look at anyone besides you, Rin-san!"

Her expression softened. "You must miss them. Your family, I mean."

He nodded sadly. "Yeah. It sucks." His brow crinkled. "What about you? Before Sesshoumaru-sama made you his ward, had you always been an orphan? Or did you have a family, too?"

"I did. We were very happy together."

"What happened to them?"

"The same thing that happened to yours."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Rafu placed his small hand over hers and squeezed. "When did it happen?"

"A long time ago. I was around your age, actually. I still dream about them sometimes."

"So do I! I like those dreams." His smile faded without warning, making her stomach drop with anticipation. "The nightmares, not so much . . ."

Rin could see tears forming in his eyes, but he blinked them away with a loud sniff.

"I dream about you, too," he said. She rolled her eyes, expecting him to transition into another long-winded marriage proposal, but his expression remained serious. "I dream that you're walking through a forest I've never seen before. Everything is covered in snow – even the path – but you aren't worried about getting lost."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not alone. There's a butterfly showing you the way."

Her pulse quickened. "Did you say butterfly?"

He nodded. "Uh-huh. It's beautiful. Whenever you enter a dark patch of the forest, its body lights up like a glow worm, making the snow glitter like diamonds. I wish I could show it to you."

Rin's breath caught in her throat. How could little Rafu possibly know about that? Were the dream butterflies responsible for these recurring dreams of his? If so, what were they trying to achieve by showing him a scene like that? Was it a glimpse into the future? Or was it merely symbolic? Either way, why share it with him instead of her?

"What's wrong? Why do you look so scared all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing," she answered quickly. "I just . . . To be honest, anything that has more than two legs and can still fit in the palm of my hand kind of gives me the creeps."

He rubbed his chin in contemplation. "That's fair. They can be pretty scary sometimes. Especially centipedes. I had a friend who was terrified of them. We used to make fun of her for it. She was the toughest girl I knew, but even the tiniest little centipede would send her scaling the nearest wall just to get away from it. I think those giant ones that live underground would have probably given her a heart attack." He looked up at the sky and mumbled, "I guess she's dead now."

"You don't know that."

"I do, though." He gripped the bun tighter, causing bean paste to ooze out of the bite-shaped indent like pus. "You should've seen it, Rin-san. The fire was as big as a mountain. They burned everything—even the horses . . . I thought I was in hell."

Rin wrapped an arm around the prince's shoulders and pulled him closer. "It gets better, you know. One day, when you least expect it, you realise it doesn't hurt so badly anymore. The pain doesn't go away, but you don't notice it as much."

"Really?" He sounded exhausted.

She forced herself to smile. "Yes. Trust me, it'll happen sooner than you think."

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The next day, Sesshoumaru announced his decision regarding the tribe of legendary warriors known as the Ether Clan. Jaken was to travel to Oshu and explore the mountain where their fortress was rumoured to be. The imp was positively delighted to be given such an important task and thanked his beloved lord profusely. However, his excitement dissipated when he learned that Ah-Un would be assisting him on his quest.

"This is absolutely preposterous!" he seethed. "I am perfectly capable of completing this task on my own! This hare-brained beast will only slow me down!"

The two-headed dragon snorted indignantly.

"Don't be silly, Jaken-sama," Rin scolded. "It'd take you months to scale a mountain that high on those stubby legs of yours. With Ah-Un's help, you'll be there in no time."

"Stubby? How dare you! These are warrior's legs, I'll have you know!"

"More like frog's legs," she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that!"

"Do you have the letter?" Octavia asked.

The imp reached into his robes and pulled out a small metal container with Sesshoumaru's crest on it.

"Good," she said with a nod, then added wryly, "Try not to lose it."

"I would NEVER—"

"Everything seems to be in order," remarked Sesshoumaru.

Jaken straightened his back as his lord walked towards them gracefully. "Y-Yes, milord! We are ready to depart anytime! Simply say the word and we shall be on our way!"

Sesshoumaru's mouth curved into a smirk, causing the imp's blood pressure to shoot through the roof and all the way up to the stratosphere. "Do not dawdle, Jaken. Your duties as Chief Minister cannot be placed on hold forever. Finish the mission swiftly and hurry back to us."

Jaken's eyes filled with comically huge tears. "Of course! You can count on me, milord!"

"Take care of each other," Rin said, giving Ah-Un a tight hug before kneeling to plant a kiss on Jaken's cheek.

The imp's face turned bright red and he flapped his arms around like a penguin. Octavia tried to contain her laughter but ended up failing miserably, which he liked even less. He was still shouting colourful insults when Ah-Un tossed him onto its saddle and took to the skies. Grinning broadly, Rin waved goodbye to them. She didn't stop until their silhouettes became so tiny that they were virtually invisible.

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Hiroto and Kanetsugu left the following morning, only they were heading south instead of north. Prior to their departure, Rafu and Kannika hugged their siblings goodbye and made them promise to come back alive and in one piece. Nagisa also came to say her farewells and warned them both to be careful. Hiroto seemed to appreciate her concern and told her not to worry about them.

"Good luck," Octavia said.

"Who needs luck?" replied Kanetsugu. "We'll be fine, human."

"Famous last words," she joked.

He didn't look remotely amused.

"Sorry. Just . . . Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Since when do you care what happens to me?"

Since you saved my life during Totosai's trial, she wanted to say, but held back on account of his reputation. She had never been in any real danger whilst facing off with Kumoshi, but they hadn't known that at the time. If they had, Kanetsugu wouldn't have lifted so much as a finger to help her, and she might not have passed the test at all.

"Don't be an ass, Kanetsugu," Nagisa chastised. "When someone wishes you luck, you're supposed to say thank you. Don't tell me Touga-sama forgot to teach you manners?"

Kanetsugu scowled at her. "Of course he didn't."

"Then you have no excuse."

He heaved a sigh and refocused his attention on Octavia. "Thanks," he uttered through gritted teeth. "There, I said it. Are you happy now, human?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Yes. Very."

His jaw tightened, but he didn't respond with an insult like she'd expected him to. In fact, he didn't speak another word to any of them, not even in parting. If she strained her eyes hard enough, she could almost see the stick poking out of his arse as he walked.

They watched the pair leave in silence. When they were no longer visible, Rafu buried his face in Nagisa's chest and wept. She whispered comforting words to the younger prince whilst she carried him back into the stronghold. Kannika trailed behind her wordlessly, her own eyes misted over with tears. In the end, only Sesshoumaru and Octavia remained, watching the horizon stretch on seemingly forever.

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