The more time Octavia spent in Hedalda, the more accustomed she grew to the villager gatherings. Though this one felt more special. With the netherborne gone, the villagers mover around ore freely. They smiled brighter, laughed more. This was her vision for the rest of the world and the motivation she needed to keep going.

Octavia inhaled and tipped her face up to the morning sun, her shoulders relaxing. Today was the first day she hadn't awoken run down. Her body didn't feel and though she was carrying around a lead weight on her shoulders, and the fog of maddening paranoia had cleared. She and Quintus sat on the slabs of stone by the destroyed inn and watched the crowd.

The priests lingered around the sides of the road, saying final goodbyes to the villagers. Sicero stood in their midst hands stuffed in his pockets and eye on the village's entrance, the white streak behind his ear stark against his black curls.

"Horses spotted," Zhen announced from her post by the gate. She stood on her trunk with a looking glass up to her eyes, gazing into the trees. "They don't bear our crest."

"Ah. That must be my ride then," Quintus said. "As much as I'd love to spend more time with you lovely people, I have obligations elsewhere."

The clopping hooves against the frozen ground cut through the hum of converation as a contingent of guards came through the trees bearing flags emblazoned with a red and gold sparrow. The sunlight gleamed on their polished armour, and winked off the tips of their halberds.

In their midst rode King Jaredeth upon a fearsome black steed. Even though his armour didn't gleamed as brightly as the others, he still drew the gaze of the crowd. He furrowed his brow, eyes roaming over each face before he found Quintus. He came down from his horse and weaved through the people.

Quintus shot to his feet. "Jaredeth, what are you—" His words fell short when the King grabbed him by the collar and dragged his head down for a kiss.

Octavia had to held back a laugh as jaws dropped and eyes popped around her. It brought back memories of when Quintus had first introduced her to Avaly's King.

"When I said I needed a boat, I didn't expect you to come with it," Quintus said, his voice low and husky. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I know, but I missed you. I trust you've been treated well here." Jaredeth's gaze drifted past Quintus and landed on Beatrix.

He shrugged. "Well I'm not starving or in chains, so well enough I suppose."

"Good. Octavia my darling." Jaredeth kissed her cheek. "You're a bit weathered in the face."

"And in the soul. But my work here isn't quite done." She eyed the guards. "Although if I didn't know better, I'd say you came to overrun the place."

"And it's a good thing I did." He shivered and turned towards the forest. "You won't believe who docked beside us. Two massive Divine City ships."

"We should hijack them and burn them to the ground," Quintus said. "Or we could keep them. Repaint them in Avaly's colours. I bet they have a lot of good loot."

"Carriages," Zhen said, cutting through the conversation. "It's the City."

Thunder rang through the air and shook the ground and five carriages charged through the pillars. They circled the crowd, kicking up clouds of dust and snow before slowing to a stop. Of course the Divine City had to make an extravagant entrance.

The lead carriage opened, and an elder man with salt and pepper hair stepped out. He wore the pristine white and gold of the Priests, but his coat had a higher collar and pins on the lapel.

The Priests took a knee, one fist planted in the snow, a gesture he acknowledged with a curt nod. He scanned the crowd like a bird of prey searching for its next kill, and his eyes fell on Octavia, the corner of his lip twisting. "Night-Blooming Rose."

Octavia gave him a sugar-coated smile. "Marius. You're looking well."

"He knows you?" Quintus looked down at Octavia. "You know him?"

"Unfortunately. I happened upon him in distress years ago, but he'll never admit that. Which is fine."

Marius snorted and wrinkled his beak-like nose. "Quintus and Jaredeth too. This place is filled with disgusting heathens." He gave them his back and turned to the councilors. "Beatrix, shame that you would allow yourself to be brainwashed by these necromancers. You sully your family's name."

The Head Councilor stuck her nose in the air. "These necromancers saved my village, in much less time than your priests. I will not have you stand here disrespect them. Or me." She took the sword from her belt and tossed it at his feet. "Take your things and leave."

A stiff wind from the north filled the silence, and Octavia thumbed the pommel of her dagger. Jaredeth's guards moved closer to him, hands on their weapons and eyes on the priests who rose from the ground. The air buzzed, charged with unspoken threats and well-aged anger.

Marius raised a hand. "They're not worth the hassle. Sicero, is everything ready for our departure?"

The High Priest squared his shoulders. "Yes, for your departure, your grace. I'm staying."

Marius blinked, his lips thinning into a harsh slash. "Excuse me?"

"I'm taking a leave of absence. My work here in Hedalda isn't finished."

A murmur rose from the crowd, with both the priests and the villagers looking on with varying expressions of shock. Even Octavia was blindsided by this decision. Sicero hadn't expressed and desire to stay in Hedalda to her, so perhaps this this decision was spontaneous.

"And how long will your leave be?" Marius asked.

Sicero shrugged a shoulder. "Indefinite."

"Indefinite?" The Prefect's voice was soft, but held an edge that could cut stone. "Need I remind you—"

"No, you needn't remind me of anything your grace. I've been fighting the scourge for almost two hundred years. I'm tired." Sicero reached into his pocket and produced two documents. "These are formal resignations from Claud and Pilar."

Pilar too? Octavia spotted the elder woman sitting on the stoop of the florist, arms folded across her chest. Part of this was her fault; she'd converted them into degenerate heathens. And she wouldn't apologise for it.

Marius snatched the documents from Sicero's hand with more force than appropriate, his gold rings winking with the sharp motion. "Pack up! A moment longer in this cesspool and I'll grow mad enough to toss myself to the netherborne."

"Wait!" Diann weaved through the sea of bodies with Kensi in tow. "Your grace." She knelt at the Prefect's feet. "I beg your ear for but a moment."

Marius peered down his nose at her, hand tucked behind his back. "Speak."

"Your grace, I humbly offer my sword and prowess to the Divine City. In exchange I ask that you take me away from this place."

Quintus rolled his eyes and made a gagging noise. "She may as well stick her face up his—"

Octavia thumped him in the chest. "There are children out here."

"Rise child," Marius said. "It's a blessing to see a beacon of hope in this wretched place. The Divine City will be grateful for your sword."

Or grateful for another puppet. Octavia frowned as Kensi climbed into the carriage with her mother. Shame the child had to be dragged along in her mother's deluded quest.

After another round of goodbyes, the Priests piled into their carriages and rolled away, through the gate and into the trees, the clopping of hooves and rolling of wheels echoing in their wake. Octavia had seen this scene play out many times before. The Divine City, nor its representatives would set foot in Hedalda again. According to them, any place that welcomed necromancers was defiled and unworthy of their presence.

"We should've slit his pompous throat," Quintus said. He mounted Jaredeth's horse in one fluid motion. "There's still time if we hurry."

The King jumped on behind him. "No chaos and discord today, my love. We need to be back post-haste, and I don't need the City breathing down my neck." He waved to the Council. "Beatrix, I will be in touch."

"I look forward to it you Highness." The Chief Councilor inclined her head in a bow.

"Octavia, do come visit us after you're done here and rest a bit before your next jaunt."

"I will." She saluted them with her dagger. "Safe travels."

As Jaredeth and his company disappeared into the trees, Octavia stood and stretched. The villagers went back to mingling, but Sicero was nowhere to be seen. She made a mental note to track him down and ask him why he'd done something so rash. For now, she needed to make good on a promise to some daywalkers.

She found Tallis and Lyra by the bakery munching on pastries with Coralee and her older brother. "Tallis? Can I speak with you for a moment?"

"All right." He finished his pastry in one bite and brushed the crumbs on his pants.

"Let's take a walk." She started towards the pond with him walking alongside her. She hadn't seen him since the vigil the village held for Arietta and Pauletta. They'd lit candles, offered flowers and reflected on happier times. Most were spared the ugly truth of what happened to the girl and her mother. But for Octavia, it was a grim reminder that her work went far beyond just fighting the scourge. If they couldn't untie necromancers and non-necromancers then history would repeat itself.

"How have you been?" she asked Tallis.

He shrugged and kicked a stone out of his path. "I wish everyone didn't have to leave."

"Me too. But Sicero and Pilar are still here. And I'll stay for a while longer."

They walked to the far side of the lake where a slab of rubble lay on the shore, stretching into the shallows like a mock pier. Octavia picked up a flat stone weathered smooth by time and erosion and skipped it across the water. It bounced three times before sinking with a splash.

"You can do that?" Tallis asked, his voice an octave higher than usual.

She picked up another rock and held it out. "Can you?"

He looked down at the stone and his shoulders sagged. "My dad tried to teach me once, but I couldn't get it right."

"I know. That's why I promised him I'd teach you in his stead." Octavia skipped the rock, putting extra spin on the throw, and it bounced four times.

Tallis frowned. "You knew my dad?"

"No, but I spoke with him. Nice fellow. Definitely where you got your skepticism from."

"How? I thought you said people go to eternity when they die."

"They're supposed to, but your parents' souls never left the village. They were watching over you, all this time."

Tallis scuffed his boot against the stone. "So they're not here anymore?"

Octavia shook her head and sat on the mock pier. "You wouldn't be able to see or talk to them either way. It's a necromancer thing."

"Oh." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned away, his shoulders bunched and head hung.

This wasn't the reaction Octavia had hoped for. She'd expected him to be eager to know what his parents had to say. "Is something the matter Tallis?"

"Were they angry, my parents?"

She barely registered his words before the northern winds snatched them away. "Why would they be angry with you?"

He sat down with knees to his chest, but didn't face her. "My dad would always tell me to look after my mom when he wasn't there, even if he was just going next door. I know he didn't really mean it, but I always promised him I would."

Octavia clasped her hands in front of her face, waiting patiently for him to continue, even though she already knew the direction this was going.

"When the netherborne attacked our house, I ran away like a scared baby and I didn't even go back to see if they were okay. Maybe if I had..."

Octavia rubbed his back. "No, they were not angry with you Tallis. They were proud of you. Proud of the caring and responsible boy you've grown in to." She reached into her coat and pulled out the transcribed letter from his parents.

She'd spent far too much time making it just right. Looking for the most durable parchment she could find, hovering over Sicero while he rewrote it with better penmanship than she could manage and looking for a canister to keep it safe from the elements for many years to come.

"They didn't want to leave you without saying goodbye, so I wrote their words down. You can read them whenever you'd like, however many times you'd like."

Tallis turned it over in his hands traced over the flowers with his thumb, but stayed quiet.

"I know it can't replace them but—"

He flung himself into her arms, his body shaking with soft, hiccupping sobs. "Thank you Miss Octavia."

She returned his hug. "You're welcome sweetheart. Do you want to go back to the Cathedral so you can read it?"

Taillis nodded against her shoulder. "But can you still teach me to skip the rock?"

"Of course."

***

An hour later, Octavia stepped out of the Cathedral's vestibule and summoned her wings. According to Pilar, Sicero hadn't returned since the priests left.

"He said he needed some time to himself," the elder woman had said. "I'm sure he's fine."

Octavia wanted to know for herself. One wasn't simply fine after making such a life-changing decision. She charged towards the lake and shot into the air, catching a chilling updraft. The wind threaded through her feathers and her hair like the gentle fingers of a lover.

She banked south and circled the village over the main street, to the back road, then north to the farms. There wasn't a head of curly hair anywhere. She circled back to east to the small green space Kaleri had made and found it empty. When was about to head back, a flash of white winked in her peripheral, prompting her to continue east.

Sicero stood at the edge of a cliff, watching the dark grey sea beyond. Rolling waves pounded against the cliff's face, sending spray high into the air. Droplets of it glistened in his curls like tiny pearls.

Octavia landed soundlessly at the cliff's edge, and the salty spray misted her face. "I hope I'm not disturbing you."

Sicero shook his head. "It's fine."

Thunder rolled up the cliff and into her feet. She stood beside him, squinting her eyes against the salty wind. "Why did you do that?"

"It was something Claud said. The priesthood isn't enough to stop the scourge. We need necromancers." He shook his head, the liquid pearls falling free. "I believe it's time to rethink my place in this conflict. I thought I was doing so much good."

She put a hand on his arm, and he finally looked at her. She didn't know if the droplets clinging to his lashes were tears or seawater, but brushed them away anyway. "You did a fine job. I doubt this place would've lasted as long as it did without your efforts."

"If only it hadn't taken me so long to wake up." He exhaled and turned to face her fully. "I was too caught up in my blind ambition."

"The Divine City has done everything they can to malign and discredit me and my kind. But trust me when I say the prefects know they need us. If we had left humanity to its own devices and stayed to ourselves, the Divine City would've been overrun years ago."

"Makes sense, considering we were nearly overrun here twice. I suppose I should think of my next move. I want to try carving my own path through this calamity, without the priesthood."

"There's more to that than just fighting." Octavia swept a hand from horizon to horizon. "A lot of people have been displaced by the netherborne. They need new places, new homes."

"You're saying we should bring them here?"

"I discussed it Beatrix yesterday, and she liked the idea. Turning Hedalda into a haven would take some pressure off Jaredeth, connect the north havens to the south ones, and in exchange the island gets reinvigorated with resources and trade. It's a win for everyone."

Sicero nodded. "I'm guessing that means there will be necromancers here permanently?"

"And temporarily. We like to use havens to skirt around the Divine City, and to establish a clear line of communication between the archives and necromancers in the field. We need them as much as they need us."

He smiled and met her eyes. "Two months ago, I had no idea there were necromancers fighting just as hard as I was. I may have scoffed at the very idea. It must have been hard hearing me go on about how necromancers are so horrible."

"It was, and you should be ashamed of yourself," she said with mock disgust.

He laughed, a sound made pleasant by the music of his voice. "I apologise for my insolence. I'll do my best to atone for my sins."

Octavia smiled. "Well, you did get one thing right. There's no denying that necromancer doomed humanity."

Sicero put an arm around her shoulder. "And a necromancer is going to save it."