Page 102 of Antiletum
Ten Years Ago
The rest of their day flitted by in a whirlwind, racing away from them far too quickly. A light that refused to be captured.
Her hand tucked in his, Sebastian showed her the liveliest parts of the city to mirror how he perceived her. And he told her as such, making her blush furiously. Through markets with street performers, past artists painting on sidewalks while dried spring petals were tossed upon them from rooftops.
“An offering to theNocturne, praying for rain,” Sebastian explained of the wilted flowers landing in their hair with a grin. “Omnitas is always driest in spring.”
They kept contact, their skin always touching, as if the action would draw out their time together—make it last.
Delaney’s hand stayed clasped in Sebastian’s through a quiet library where he shared more history of Omnitas and theNocturne, familiar with the shelves and rows of books as if it was his own home.
Surprisingly knowledgeable, infinitely passionate, he knew much about theNoctuadeo, the wise barn owl and the shifter gifts he imparted on his people. Not limited to only owl strains, but all manner of birds. He shed light on those facets of history deeper than what she had been taught.
Their interactions were easy. Smooth.
“I don’t want this day to end,” she told him while tiredness ate away at Delaney by the time the sun had set. But reluctance had never held her up so thoroughly—dreading appearing at The Citadel. Leaving Sebastian behind.
“Neither do I.”
Never speaking of it, they both knew the precarious unlikelihood of ever seeing each other again. That knowledge hung between them like an albatross, becoming more and more difficult to accept by the minute as they talked and laughed and shared. Actions foreign to both, but natural with each other.
A poor boy, an orphan raised by the streets. And an enigmatic noble girl who haunted anantiletumestate far away, secluded by her wealthy family.
A quiet neighborhood took them in, trading Delaney’s expensive hat to buy bread and fruit and sweet iced tea when she could ignore the growl of her stomach no more, unaccustomed to the hunger that Sebastian seemed wholly unphased by. As they walked in the dark, sustaining themselves after the long day of ignoring trivial needs such as eating, they came up on a smallspirlinary. Delaney stalled, grinned. She tugged him towards it, and he obediently followed.
“You wish to pray?” he said with a laugh. A sound that had become more frequent over the hours. And it was obvious to Delaney that it only belonged to her.
“Not exactly. I want to show you something.”
Anticipation surged through her. Ever since he killed that man, stirring her magic, she was itching to expend it. So much death thrived throughout Omnitas. It wrapped around her in tormenting temptation. She shoved away thoughts of her parents. Of how they might react, what they might say and the consequences she would face.
Throughout the day, Delaney decided one thing with absolute certainty: She trusted Sebastian. And she wanted to heed his request to know everything about her.
Inside the sanctuary, it was quiet and cool, the spring evening holding a bite of chill. Dusty with neglect, a meager spread of casting ingredients littered the altar.
Delaney walked the length of thespirlinary, looking for anything that she might raise back to life. When nothing presented itself, she instructed, “Wait right here,” and went out the door to pluck up a dead bird she saw on the minuscule lawn. It was small, cold, and motionless in her hand.
Sebastian stood patiently inside when she returned. “I was starting to think you were finally bored with me.” Meant as a jest, she could hear the truthfulness behind it.
Delaney didn’t have a chance to quip back that his suggestion was asinine and entirely impossible before his brows drew in and he nodded towards the wasted bird curiously. “What’s that for?”
Delaney didn’t answer. Only laid her subject upon the altar.
“Can you keep a secret?” she asked, eyes bright and slightly breathless.
“For you, I could change the world.”
If only he could.
Nose wrinkled at the rusty knife provided by thespirlinary, Delaney bit into her thumb. Hard enough to draw a few droplets of blood. Moonwater beckoning, she swirled her blood within it andflicked the droplets over the bird. Though she had mostly mastered her necromancy, fear reigned that she may slip at this moment and ruin her demonstration.
Sebastian watched her intently, disbelieving, almost as if he was well aware of what she planned to do.
“Delaney.” Now he sounded short of air.
Before she could lose her nerve, hold this secret close and preserve herself from the possibility of Sebastian’s rejection, she laid her hand upon the bird, not yet rotting in the embrace of death.
Magic crackled through her fingertips. Invisible and silent, it reached towards the veil separating life from death. Delaney released a death rattle, cold and stale from her lungs, expiration absorbed within herself just as she offered life.
