Author's Corner
Hi everyone! I hope you're all doing okay! I had my first Covid vaccination yesterday, so my left arm feels like a balloon. At least now I have an excuse to stay in bed lol. Thank you to those who reviewed both here and over on AO3. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me :)
Without giving too much away, I think you'll all be pretty pleased with this chapter. It's definitely one of my favourites, so I hope you guys enjoy it, too!
EIGHTH BLOOD
Chapter 65: Sesshoumaru and Octavia
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Octavia didn't spare the chapel a second glance as they leapt through the portal into twenty-first-century Greece. They didn't stop running until they arrived at the other portal connecting to Japan.
The space around the crack was warped and fluctuated wildly.
Sesshoumaru seized her hand as strong gales swept through the forest like tidal waves. She met his stare and nodded, giving his hand an answering squeeze. They lumbered across the leaves towards the convulsing crack, white-knuckled and holding their breaths.
Augustus was in hot pursuit. Octavia could feel his magic calling out to hers. She blocked it out and focused on getting to the crack while it was still safe to do so.
As a precaution, she used the hand that wasn't clasped in Sesshoumaru's to draw the mark for 'wood', summoning tree roots from underground. They burst out of the soil and created a wall between them and their pursuers. The roots wouldn't last long with Augustus heading the charge, but they would buy them some time. Her right eye burned as the roots held firm. The pain was indescribable. It felt like someone had dunked the right side of her face in acid.
The roots caught fire and toppled over, revealing Augustus and a group of acolytes.
Sesshoumaru growled and released his whip, but Augustus blocked it with ease. Octavia glared at him from over her shoulder. The wind pushed against her, rushing out of the crack and slowing their progress. There was no way that she was going back to the kasbah alive.
Clenching her teeth, Octavia raised her free hand and drew the mark for 'grow', then shoved it towards Sesshoumaru's light whip. The green surged and tripled in size, overwhelming Augustus.
"Now!" she yelled, flinging her arms around Sesshoumaru.
He withdrew his whip and flew them into the crack before Augustus could retaliate.
The lights in the schism raced past, like streetlamps on the side of a road, and Octavia clung to Sesshoumaru with all her might. The once flawless blue realm was marred with patches of yellow, green, and purple. They looked like bruises. Time really was bleeding.
When they exited the schism five hundred years earlier, Octavia dug her heels into the ground of the sandbar and aimed her palms at the crack, which was trembling violently. It would be irresponsible to leave it open, and not to mention idiotic. She contemplated using the mark for 'close', but she doubted it would be strong enough for something of this scale. Her eyes were inexplicably drawn to the crack's fraying edges, which reminded her of torn fabric . . .
She gasped.
Sesshoumaru looked at her dubiously. She flashed him a reassuring smile and closed her eyes. Purple light enveloped her hands, mixing with the blue light from the crack as she drew the 'bind' mark in the air in front of it. The mark shone brightly before vanishing into the crack. As soon as it did, the ground beneath their feet rumbled, and the wind curled around the crack, which was shrinking rapidly. An invisible force was pinching the edges together and sealing them shut.
Octavia smiled wider as the crack finally closed. She breathed a laugh and threw her arms around Sesshoumaru's neck, hugging him tightly. Eventually, the wind died down and the waves around the sandbar ceased churning in favour of lapping gently against the shore.
The sunrise that followed was especially stunning. Streaks of peach and apricot appeared on the horizon, transforming the sky, whilst a great golden ball emerged from behind the waves.
"We did it," she mumbled into his shoulder. "It's over."
"For now," he reminded her.
She pulled back and met his searing gaze. He was right, of course. There were probably a thousand other ways to reach this particular moment in time, and she knew for a fact that her brother wouldn't rest until he found them.
Oddly enough, she wasn't worried about any of that right now.
"What happened to your armour?" she asked, secretly missing the feeling of metal against her chest.
"I had to leave it behind."
She chewed her bottom lip abashedly. "I'm sorry."
"It couldn't be helped. Besides, I had more pressing concerns."
". . . I was afraid I'd never see you again," she said quietly.
His mouth twitched slightly. "I experienced a similar fear once or twice myself."
The rising sun warmed her skin. "How did you even find me?"
"Look up."
"What?"
"Look up," he said again.
She glanced vaguely upwards and almost laughed at what she saw.
The sky was full of dream butterflies. They danced in circles above their heads, producing pinkish-purple sparks that rained down on them like snow. Octavia's cheeks ached from smiling, but she couldn't stop.
One butterfly separated from the rest of the swarm and landed on her arm. Several others followed its example and used her as a perch. She waved one off her nose with a giggle.
"Fine," she told them. "I forgive you."
"For what?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"I thought they were messing with me, but they were actually making amends. They're the reason I lost my memories, so they kind of owed me one." He raised an eyebrow, making her laugh. "A lot's happened since the last time I saw you. I'll tell you about it sometime."
"I look forward to it."
She held his gaze, heart pounding in her chest. Looking at him made her understand why they named storms after people. Her insides fluttered. The butterflies hadn't flown inside her, had they? She was about to unwind her arms from his neck and check when his hands settled on her waist. His supernatural heat seemed to seep through the fabric, warming her from the outside.
"I didn't know you could dance like that," she murmured.
He smirked. "You have my mother to thank for that."
"Why didn't you tell me it was you?"
"I couldn't risk my cover being blown so early. You aren't exactly known for your subtlety."
"True."
Her fingers traced the pointed bridge of his ear, sending shivers through his body.
"I was so sure you hated me," she whispered. "After I left, it was all I could think about. And when you didn't come looking for me, I thought . . . I wanted to apologise—"
"There's nothing to forgive."
Her eyes glistened and her breathing turned harsh.
A butterfly floated down and landed on the Prophecy-Breaker. Sesshoumaru ignored it, too lost in her eyes to care about what it was doing there. "I thought about you all the time."
Her eyes widened slightly. "Really?"
His reply was a solemn nod.
"You're always going on about how much of a nuisance I am, though."
She expected him to respond with a light-hearted insult, but his throat bobbed anxiously, like he was struggling for words.
"When we met," he said after a moment's pause. "It was as if someone was holding a mirror in front of my face. I saw my worst qualities reflected back at me, and I hated you for it. It was only later that I realised it wasn't you I hated; it was me. And I didn't know how to fix it. I was cruel to you because I wanted things to return to the way they'd been before. I didn't want to face the truth. But then I realised something else. In order to move on, one must first come to terms with the past, no matter how difficult it may be. Only then can one create a future for themselves."
Octavia nodded in understanding, and his eyes swirled like melted gold.
"Every moment without you was torture."
Her heart did a somersault. "It was for me, too."
His hands tightened on her waist. Her eyes darted between his, noting how big his pupils were as they flicked down to look at her mouth.
Spurred on by the action, she cradled his face in her hands and leaned in to give his lips a chaste kiss. He froze, prompting her to pull away, mortified by her own actions.
"Shit," she muttered. "Sorry, I thought you were—"
His mouth slammed against hers, silencing her for good. Fireworks exploded in her chest as he kissed her hard. Her fingers found their way to the back of his skull, where they pressed and scraped, whilst his arms locked her in place. Their chests were crammed together so tightly that they might as well have shared a ribcage, since their hearts clearly wanted to be closer than they already were. Her knees buckled as his hands raked up and down her back.
The dream butterflies scattered, taking to the skies, and a bed of forget-me-nots bloomed beneath their feet, covering the sand with pastel pink and baby blue petals. Octavia only noticed when one snaked around her ankle and squeezed, causing her to jolt in surprise. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, seemed unbothered by the stems travelling up his legs, and carried on kissing her.
She didn't want him to ever stop.
"Shall we go home?" he rasped, breaking away temporarily to look at her.
The word pierced her chest like an arrow.
Home.
She nodded and pecked his lips. "Yeah. Let's go home."
He brushed her fringe out of her eyes. It was longer than it had been when he'd last seen her, but still not long enough to tuck behind her ears. His fingers trailed down the side of her face and touched her torn earlobe, before moving to trace the thick scars on her throat.
The rhythm of her pulse seemed to calm him. Jaken had once told her that Daiyoukai had slower heartbeats than humans. Octavia wondered if that would be the case now. If she pressed her hand to his chest, would his pulse be as fast as it had been in the cave?
She shivered unexpectedly. Sesshoumaru noticed and took off his antique jacket. He draped it around her like a blanket, sheltering her from the cold.
"So chivalrous," she teased. "Next, you'll be offering to carry me."
"If you want to get off this island, you don't have much of a choice."
"I thought I was too heavy for you."
As if to prove a point, he hoisted her into his arms effortlessly, supporting her back and legs with his arms. "You are as light as air," he said, brushing his forehead over hers.
She smiled and let her eyes slide closed. "Show-off."
His lips once again found hers and he kissed her like he was afraid that she was going to disappear. It was a lot less coordinated than before, but neither of them really cared. She wrapped her arms around his neck and angled her head sideways to deepen the kiss. Her heart soared as she felt him carefully flick his tongue against hers, before tracing the inside of her mouth.
Their faces were both flushed as they pulled away to gaze into each other's eyes. Meanwhile, the sun continued its ascent. She could feel them rising steadily into the air – like gravity had lost its hold on them – before they vacated the sandbar, which was now a meadow in the middle of the ocean. Octavia couldn't help but smile as they travelled in the opposite direction of the sunrise.
The sky was fully blue by the time they flew over the border and entered the Western Lands. Sesshoumaru landed halfway up a hill and set her down gently on the grass. Beaming, she leaned in to kiss him again, when his expression changed, and he pulled away to sniff the air.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I smell ash," he answered, then marched towards the top of the hill.
Octavia jogged after him. A knot had formed in her stomach and was growing tighter with every hurried stride.
The stench worsened, making her wrinkle her nose in discomfort. Sesshoumaru's jaw was set as he hiked over tree roots and stones, his eyes fixed on the goal ahead. They didn't speak for the entirety of the climb, but that wasn't why it was so quiet. The birds had stopped singing. The silence was utterly deafening.
Eventually, they made it to the summit, but neither of them was prepared for the sight laid out before them.
The countryside was in tatters. Smoke billowed out of the earth, pumping ash into the atmosphere, and the ground underneath was black and smouldering. The forests were gone, and the few trees that remained were singed brown. Without the greenery, the roads and footpaths stood out like veins. Sesshoumaru's eyes surveyed the barren wasteland before shifting to the distant sea. The grey sky made the water look like sludge crashing against the cliffs.
Octavia could pick out the shape of the stronghold, meaning it was still intact, but Sesshoumaru's murderous glare did little to inspire optimism. What her human eyes couldn't see were the large banners hanging from the walls around the stronghold, which bore the crest of Ryukotsusei.
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