Necromancy In D Minor ✔️

Twilight Oratorio (Encore)

"Octavia!" Sicero screamed, loud enough to rouse the spirits in the nether.

Octavia tried to get up, to move, but her body hadn't recovered from the shock of the blow. Damn what they thought of her, she should've used her necromancy, and saved herself the pain. It wasn't too late. The rosebud charm of her necklace glinted in her peripheral. If only her hand would move. 

The netherborne's shadow stretched over her, the back draft from its whipping tail wafting over her face. As she braced herself for the blow that would surely cripple her, glowing text snaked through the air and coiled around the monster's neck. Sicero's musical chants rose over the din, drowning out the gurgling screeches of the netherborne.

White light eclipsed her vision and flower petals rain over her. A haze of stars and gnarled branched hung over her head, twisting, stretching, reaching down to pull her into an inky black void. Footfalls echoed through her head, and Sicero's blurry face blocked out the sky.

"Dear gods." His voice quavered. "I need some help. Someone grab me a lantern."

Octavia squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm fine." It would take far more than a blow from a puny netherborne to take out the Night-Blooming Rose. She pushed herself up on her elbows and blinked her vision clear.

The sounds of battle were gone, and several priests stood over her, some frowning, others shaking their heads. Sicero knelt beside her head, a lantern in the snow beside him. The fire danced inside his eyes and cast playful shadows over his face.

"Don't get up." He laid a hand on her shoulder, using the other to undo the buttons on his overcoat.

She brushed his hand off and groaned as she sat up. It felt as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to her ribs. Her braids fell forward,loosed from the many clips that had held them together. "Did you find Arietta and Lyra?"

"We're still looking." He draped the coat over her shoulders. "Come. We'll get you back to the village so the medics can—"

"I'm not leaving until I find them." She braced a hand against the tree and pulled herself to her feet, wincing when pain lanced through her left ankle.

"No, there is no we, Octavia. You took a bad hit, you're not dressed for this weather and it is not safe out here. Zhen and her team will take you back while the rest of us continue to search." His words carried an air of finality, and his eyes challenged her to protest.

And Octavia accepted that challenge. She stumbled forward and scooped the lantern up from beside him before limping off. "Thanks for the coat."

"Octavia," he called after her, but she picked up speed.

If she kept moving, she could stay warm enough. But she wasn't leaving this forest until she found the girls, or what was left of them.

"Octavia!" Sicero's footfalls sounded in her wake. His hand closed around her bicep, halting her march. "Will you listen to me, please? Do you understand how much danger you're putting yourself in? How much danger you're putting my priests in? You are a liability."

The words hit her like a slap, and she turned to face him, hands shaking with the urge to lash out and blood heating to a boil. The air between them buzzed with tension. "Get your hand off of me," she said through gritted teeth.

He blinked at her, lips parting. "What demons have gotten into you?"

A priestess gave a small cough to get the High Priest's attention. "My Lord, she's being belligerent. Just apprehend her and we'll take her back to the village."

Octavia ground her teeth together, her anger spiking enough to make her toes curl. "I don't have time for this nonsense! My students are out here, lost and freezing to death. And all you want to do is stand around and argue. I'm already out here, and I'm going to find them whether want me to or not." She poked Sicero in the chest. "So, if you're not going to help me, then stay out of my way, damn it!"