Spikeid VIII

And so we continue! Book IX will be coming very soon, which is possibly the only excuse I have for the ever-so-slight cliffhanger ending of this one... Hope you enjoy!! Massive thanks to brutti_ma_buoni and verity for their super-betaing. :D

As usual: Spuffy (as I always forget to say, not that it makes much impression here); PG-13; ~4000 words (~530 lines); warnings for the series of death and denied agency, with only brief mentions in this book. Extra note, though! The origin myth of the Watchers' Council sketched out in this book is very much dependent on a conversation brutti_ma_buoni and I had a while ago, so credit needs to go at least half her way. (Said conversation may well make it to your screens in a less scattershot form at some point, by the way, so watch out!)

Willow tells her tale; Illyria is challenged.

[VII]

VIII

      Although she always knew she’d have to tell
Her story, Willow wishes she could wait,
That she could bail and put it off until
Tomorrow, maybe, when she’s had some sleep.
But Buffy’s looking angry, disbelief
A threat and challenge in dry, hazel eyes.
( ... )