Remiel's lips anchored me in a haven while Mara's fiery storm raged. Cool darkness cocooned us, further pushing away the nightmares. I'd been pulled between reality and nightmare for so long that it took me a moment to understand he was actually kissing me, and I was so overwhelmed by relief that I didn't respond.

But when he started to draw away, I jolted out of the daze and grabbed both sides of his face. Eyes locked on his, I counted every amber fleck glinting in the dark brown. Bits of burnished light I hadn't been able to see until now, and I tucked away the memory of how they seemed to blaze brighter when I pulled his lips back to mine.

His groan vibrated through me, and his grip on me tightened as if he was afraid I might run again. As long as he kissed me like this, I didn't think I was capable of anything else. I was at his mercy, greedy for every heated press of his skin against mine, and when his tongue whispered over my bottom lip, I sat up with a hiss, twisting in his arms so I could straddle his lap.

Remiel chuckled and took full advantage of the new position. One hand tangled in my hair and the other slid down the arch of my back, settling on the curve of my ass. His fingers kneaded the lush flesh there as I rocked into him, and with every stroke of my center over his hardness, a new fire grew inside of me. Within seconds, we were both panting against each other's mouths.

The part of me, still capable of rational thought, remained mostly quiet as Remiel's kisses moved away from my mouth, down my neck, and settled just above my breasts. There was no warning issued as his teeth sank into the charred material of my tunic and tugged it lower, exposing my nipple to the cool night air and his attentions.

Instead, I only felt amazement as his lips closed over the tight bud and pulled tight. Pleasure whipped through me, and I laced my fingers through his hair. A familiar pressure coiled low in my stomach. A pulsing knot so close to coming undone.

Only this time, there was no hint of embarrassment hanging over the experience. No sense that something wasn't quite right. Tievel's expert touch had brought me over the edge that night in the camp, and I'd thought it was something special. But now I knew it had been a means to an end. I had been lute strings plucked by a maestro. Technical perfection but no passion.

Unfortunately, thinking of Tievel caused me to tense, and Remiel, so in tune with my body, froze at once. Expression glazed, he blinked slowly as he lifted his head to look at me, and whatever he found in my gaze seemed to douse the lingering lust between us.

"F-fuck, Morana," he whispered, tugging my tunic up to cover my breasts and sliding me off his lap.

I shivered and wrapped my arms around my chest. Without his touch, the world felt frigid, but he wasn't the only one coming out of a daze. My cheeks blazed, and I looked everywhere but at him. What the hell had just happened?

"I am so sorry."

"You...um...it's fine," I spluttered, rising to shaking feet. He hovered beside me, his hands close enough to catch me if I stumbled.

Remiel shook his head, sending his dark hair fanning over his eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you to the nightmare again, and I panicked."

Of course. It had been a means to an end. One that had spiraled wildly out of control. Likely brought on by the magic and adrenaline. I said as much to him as we walked through the ghostly forest back to our camp.

"Sure." The neutral, almost flat tone to his voice left me colder than the winter wind.

My legs ached by the time we reached our camp, and the cold rays of the morning sun pricked the horizon. I had run at least a league, and much of that had been uphill. Remiel cleared his throat and picked up his bedroll, rolling it into a tight tube before stuffing it into the horse's saddlebag. The beast snorted and nuzzled his hand.

"You should ride for a few hours," he said, kicking ash over a yellow puddle of vomit on the ground. "Maybe get some sleep."

"No, I don't think I can sleep right now," I said, flinching at the thought of closing my eyes again. The charred remains of my luxurious bedroll offered its agreement.

Some of the awkward tension dissipated with my statement, and Remiel tensed, eyes darkening with concern. I tried not to think of how they had looked earlier, just before he lowered his head and—

"Are you okay? You don't feel her or see her still? Do you?"

"No. Not even a whisper since..." Since you kissed me. I swallowed those words and the question I so desperately wanted to ask. Why did you kiss me?

He stepped around to the other side of the horse and rummaged in the saddlebag. A moment later, he handed me a fresh tunic and trousers. A streak of red slashed across his cheeks, and he turned away while I changed into clean clothes. Thankfully, I'd taken off my boots before going to sleep, so they were unharmed.

Unfortunately, that also meant the bottoms of my feet were half raw from running barefoot through the woods. I winced as I wiped away the worst of the blood and debris before shoving them into the leather shoes and lacing them up. It hadn't even been a full sun cycle since we entered Araphel, and already everything was falling apart.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, catching me off guard before he rushed to clarify. "The nightmare, I mean."

We walked shoulder to shoulder along what appeared to have once been a road. Maybe even the principal thoroughfare from the palace to the coast. The temple glimmered in the distance, and by some grace of the gods, there was no hint of fire or smoke.

"It started out like a dream I've had before." I coughed to clear the ash from my throat. "The birthday celebration. It's one of the first memories that have come back clearly. I was so excited the first time I had the dream. To glimpse my life before. But I have to admit, it shocked me to discover I had a sister."

Remiel rolled his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't look at me when he spoke. "Your tone suggests that you're upset I didn't mention her."

"Maybe a little."

"It's not like we had a lot of time to talk after we discovered your identity."

His jaw flexed, and I knew what he left unspoken. That we hadn't had time to talk because I ran off without him, but I wasn't interested in having that argument right now.

"Mara looked just like my mother, and I look just like my father."

"Mara also had your mother's power. I wonder if you have gifts like your Father's."

A smile tugged at my lips. "He called me his little Death goddess."

Remiel's brows drew together. "When Mara was born, they proclaimed her as the future heir of Araphel. They made much about her inheriting your mother's power. They called her Mara Fyrstorm."

Recalling the nightmarish vision of her erupting into flame and the agony of fire burning away my flesh, I rubbed my hands up and down my arms. I laid my hand on my shoulder, feeling my scars through the material. Fyrstorm seemed an apt name for my sister, and a dark suspicion lurked in my mind.

"And what of my power and title?"

"That's just it. They didn't mention them. My father assumed it was because you inherited Deathsinger abilities, and public opinion was souring toward them at the time of your birth. Some even whispered that you possessed no power."

His explanation created so many more questions for me. Why would the public be upset about their princess being a Deathsinger if their king already possessed Death magic? Or maybe he didn't... I didn't really know much at all about my father or his power or even how Deathsinger magic was passed down.

There would be time to ask those questions later. Right now, we needed to figure out what happened to me last night, and more importantly, how to avoid it happening again.

"In my dream, Mara burst into flame. It came out of her mouth and eyes. She was more flame than skin and bone. She grabbed me, and it was like the fire entered me too."

"That must have been when you burst into flame," Remiel interjected, a tremor running through his words.

"I wonder if it ignited my fire magic, or maybe...maybe I did inherit something of my mother's power? Have I carried fyr magic all along?"

"Maybe, but I suspect it's not the same. No one could touch Seraphina except your father because the fyr would destroy them. I don't think I would have survived touching you if you had been channeling fyr."

We paused by a dried-up creek bed. The horse lowered its nose into the ditch and snorted, sending up puffs of ash. Remiel patted its neck while I held out my hands like a cup. Ice formed between my fingers and quickly melted beneath a whisper of my flame. I repeated the action again and again until the animal's thirst was slaked.

"How did you survive?"

"You don't remember?"

I shook my head. "No matter how I try, it's like everything that happened while I was in the nightmare's thrall is a blank space. Until..."

"Oh."

There it was again. That flat tone. It made me ache.

"My shadows protected me when I touched you," he finally added.

"That's excellent," I exclaimed. Calm washed over me, and I realized how worried I'd been about hurting him if it happened again.

"Yeah. You really don't remember anything else...until you came out of it?"

"No. Just the nightmare. Mara kept grabbing at me, but she also kept telling me to run. It was like she couldn't stop herself from hurting me, but she didn't want to. What happened to her? Did she die when Araphel burned?"

My heart cracked at the thought. Strange how much it could hurt to think of her dying, even when I could recall nothing about her other than a few moments in time and a nightmare. My heart had clearly held onto memories that my mind had lost.

"I don't know," Remiel answered. Again, he wasn't looking at me when he spoke, and I wanted desperately to reach up and turn his face toward me. But I was afraid to touch him.

"I was just a boy then, but..."

"But what?"

"Morana, it really doesn't matter. It's in the past, and it won't change what we're doing here."

"Tell me," I demanded.

He sighed. "There were rumors. Some said your sister could be cruel, and that she had a temper."

"And?"

"And some said that temper is what ended your life."