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“Occtis! No!!” Were the last words Occtis heard before his last breath left him. Your scream is full of anguish and echo throughout the entirety of Palazzo Davinos. You hear your brother, Julien, call your name from somewhere else in the building, worried that you were slain. You barely register anything other than Occtis’ body on the table and the blood rushing in your ears.
There’s another scream, one full of rage. You think it was yours. You don’t even remember breaking out of the ghoul’s grasp and charging at Ethrand, blade out. You do remember the yelp of pain he made as you manage to slash him deep, twice, sending his blood spraying across your face.
He throws a spell at you, sending you flying into the wall, hitting your head, hard. Then everything goes to black.
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You wake up on a soft surface, sitting up quickly with a gasp, immediately looking around for Occtis. A hand touches your shoulder and you look up to see Julien staring down at you with a worried, mournful expression.
“Occtis. Where is he? Is he okay? I-I saw him-“ you choke out, Julien squeezing your shoulder to ground you, kneeling next to you.
“He’s gone. So is father and most of House Royce and Davinos.” He tells you. A strangled noise leaves your throat and hot tears streaming down your face before you can stop them. Julien wraps his arms around you in a hug, holding you close as you cry into his shoulder. This all has to be a bad dream, right?
You manage to steel yourself, pulling away from Julien and wiping your tears away.
“Is Aranessa okay?” You ask, voice hoarse. Julien nods and you sigh in relief at least someone survived. Julien helps you up and takes you to the others. Aranessa, Thaisha, and the newcomer Vaelus, all surround Occtis’ body, his head resting in Thaisha’s lap as she protects his body like a mother bear. You feel your heart break once more. It seems his wounds have been healed, most likely by Thaisha.
You start to walk towards him, steps hesitant. You could’ve saved him. The others look up to you and you see the looks of sympathy on Aranessa and Thaisha’s face, but you ignore them. You kneel next to Occtis’ body, raising a shaky hand to move some stray hair out of his face. You hear more people enter but don’t look.
Thaisha gently steps away to give you a moment with Occtis’ body and talk to whoever came in. You hear Hal’s name mentioned. Your eyes don’t leave Occtis’ face until Aranessa pulls you out of your head.
“Bolaire and Murray need to take a look at him. He has something in his chest.” Aranessa says softly. You don’t resist and let her pull you away, sagging into her side.
You have to close your eyes when Bolaire and Murray open Occtis’s chest, the familiar wet and horrible sound of flesh tearing fills your ears.
You only open them when Murray says they removed a stone. You see his body reopened, organs exposed. It makes you recoil.
Suddenly, the ground starts to shake and there’s a powerful energy in the air before Occtis’ eyes snap open and he sits up, trying to catch his breath.
“What happened?” He asks, unsure as he looks around, just in time to see you running at him, tackling him in a hug, burying your face in his neck. You don’t care that the blood from his open wound is getting all over you. You just care that he’s here.
“You’re alive? How?” Your voice is confused but relieved. He’s surprised by the hug but quickly reciprocates it.
“I…don’t know.” He admits. You feel rustling from him and pull back just in time to see Pincushion’s head pop out from the wound in Occtis’ midsection. He jumps out, wagging his tail and yipping happily like he didn’t just crawl out of Occtis’ midsection and is now covered in gore. He nuzzles Occtis in a disturbingly cute kind of way.
The stone is still held in Murray’s mage hand, covered in Occtis’ blood. The blood drips from the Stone of Nightsong, turning into a ribbon and stitching his wound closed.
You are all silent for a moment before Occtis is swarmed by questions. He explains the best he can, what he remembers. The concerning vision he had.
Vaelus, the tall elf who you don’t know much about, crouches next to Occtis and asks if she can place a hand on his chest. He nods, confused but curious. You can see she’s thinking about something, trying to find something. She uses a spell on him that seems to make him uncomfortable but he doesn’t stop her.
“Remarkable.” Vaelus says after a long moment. Occtis furrows his brow.
“What is?” The confused look never leaves his face.
“You are.” Is all she responds. It’s quiet for a moment before Julien speaks up, raising his blade and pointing it at Occtis’ chest, sending a spike of alarm through you.
“Remarkable indeed.” He mocks. “What do you know?
Occtis is still confused, still not over the fact that he is alive but not. No heartbeat. No breath.
“About what exactly?”
Julien doesn’t seem to like that answer and steps closer. You spring into action, positioning yourself between him and Occtis.
“Julien, don’t. I just got him back and I won’t let you take him from me.” You growl, reaching for your own weapon. He seems a bit hurt that you’re choosing Occtis’ side. But he shouldn’t be surprised. You always choose the wrong people, in his opinion.
“You trust all so quickly. This one who walks from the realm without a heart once again amongst you and you’re so easy to call him a great gift from beyond,” he hisses “His family has always been nightmares. And tonight, they have taken everything from me.”
“From us.” He adds, looking at you as he says that, pressing forward. “His family killed ours and yet you still stand by him.”
“Occtis isn’t like his family. You know that. They killed him.” You retort. “I know I’m not your favorite, Julien, but trust me this once.”
He scoffs, not backing down, pressing his blade against your shoulder. Occtis steps in, not liking that there’s a blade against you.
“Everybody. Just calm down. I’m so sorry about your family. I have no idea why my family was there. I haven’t seen them in years. I’ve been traveling with Thaisha and your sibling. I-I tried to help Thjazi. I-I don’t know what they were doing.” Occtis explains.
“Did you see anything across the veil? Did they- Did they unveil some great plan? What did they take from you and why? Are you still the bait in our midst? Is this miracle a way to gain more trust so we follow you even further into whatever their great plan is to- to guide us into what meat shredder will make more of whatever it is that killer everything that matters to me?! So you put your hand and you defend him. You call him a miracle. You laugh. You sit there and you- you are so prideful with what you do here.” Julien explodes, voice raised, anger, grief, and confusion in his tone. He jabs his blade into your shoulder. You’re unsure if it was an accident or not but you see he doesn’t even notice the hiss of pain from your lips, too focused on Occtis.
“I don’t have an answer for you.” Is all Occtis can say. Julien grits his teeth, his blade going further into your shoulder. Aranessa steps in, a hand on your chest and one on Julien’s wrist, pulling you apart. Only then does Julien snap out of his anger and see his blade in your shoulder. A flash of regret is seen in his eyes. You press your hand over the bleeding wound, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Tonight, the House of Davinos, the House of Royce, have fallen. Our allies turned against us. This city is no longer safe. But we are not without our own strengths. So understand me when I say this, Julien. There is a fight waiting for you, and it’s waiting for me, too. Shadows lengthen. They surround us all. The doors to Faerie have closed. Step by step, wound by wound, we are made less. I will not have it. They have counted on our acquiescence, our kindness, which they see as weakness, but no one in the wide world has counted on what we have all just seen here. If there are answers, we will find them. We will find them!” Aranessa says firmly. She turns to Occtis. “I know you saw something on the other side. Please, Occtis, however you can, tell us what you saw. Perhaps the fate of this city, our houses, and this world depends on it.”
You leave after her words, needing to cool off. You don’t spare a look at anyone as you head back inside the Lloy estate. You know you’re way around well, having been here plenty of times before.
You head to the library, perusing books to try and focus on something else. The wound in your shoulder stings and still bleeds, but it seems to be slowing. You find a couch, sitting down, running your hands over your face.
All gone. The House of Davinos and House of Royce have fallen. Your father is gone. You’re didn’t get to say goodbye. You don’t stop the tears that well up in your eyes. You feel the warm drops fall onto your pants, darkening the fabric.
Time passes and you don’t notice quiet footsteps entering, only realizing you’re not alone when you feel someone sit next to you. Occtis. You always know when it’s him.
“Hey.” He says quietly. You don’t respond, keeping your gaze on your lap. He reaches over and moves the hair from obscuring your face, hooking it around your ear. “You okay?”
You don’t answer, slumping into his side instead, ignoring the sharp pain in your shoulder. You feel him wrap his arm around your shoulders.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” You whisper, your voice barely audible.
“No, don’t say that. We were outnumbered.” He chides softly. “Besides, Aranessa told me you managed to get a few good hits on Ethrand.”
“It wasn’t enough. I lost you. And I couldn’t even manage to take down one man.”
Occtis says your name firmly, turning your head towards him, holding your chin so gently.
“I don’t blame you. The attack was planned and a surprise. You lost so much, don’t add this onto your plate. I’m here. I may not need to breathe anymore or have a heart, but I’m here. Not even death can pull me away from you.”
More tears fall. “I was so scared. You mean so much to me and I didn’t know what to do with myself. Occtis, I-” you pause, “I love you. And I should have said it sooner. You could’ve been gone forever and you never would have known how much I love you.”
He’s silent, blinking in surprise. His face would be red if he still could blush. He cradles your face with his hands, wiping your tears away. You can’t help but lean into his touch.
“I-I love you too.” He responds. “And I’m not leaving you again. Aranessa, Sir Julien, Thaisha and I think it best to leave Dol-Makjar. Vaelus is also coming, though I’m not sure why. I assume you’re coming as well? ”
“Of course. Where you go, I go.” You nod. He gives you a small smile, full of fondness and devotion.
“Where you go, I go.” He repeats and leans in, pressing a kiss to your forehead.