Time dragged. Days and nights blended together, and the journey that was supposed to take three days spilled over into a fourth. Remiel insisted we sleep during the day and travel during the gloaming, which drastically shortened the amount of time we were moving, but I understood his logic. If I was caught again in the nightmare, it would be easier for him to fight against phantoms in the gray light of day.

My head bounced on something solid, and I jolted upright in alarm. Remiel let go of the horse's reins and braced it over my stomach. Its heavy weight was a comfort. The shadows he'd woven around me slid away, and I relaxed in his embrace.

Darkness descended through the trees and neared the ground, signaling an end to our travel for the day, but I had no memory of getting on the horse. The last thing I remembered was walking alongside Remiel in what had become a customary awkward silence and thinking about how my blistered feet ached. Then...nothing.

"What happened?"

His chin grazed the top of my head, and his voice rumbled through me when he answered. "You fainted."

I snorted. "I did not faint."

"You did." He didn't sound amused. "I turned to ask you if you were thirsty, and you pitched forward. It terrified me until you snored, and I realized you'd fallen asleep."

Mortification seared my cheeks, and I squirmed in discomfort, earning a grunt from Remiel. Then a warning squeeze from the arm around my waist. I wasn't sure what the issue was, but when I stopped moving, his grip relaxed.

"You told me you were sleeping fine."

"I–I have been."

It wasn't a complete lie. Falling asleep was not the issue. Staying asleep was. Every time I nearly slipped into the deepest part of sleep, I jerked awake with the echo of Remiel's words bouncing through my head. Was Mara truly evil? Had she almost killed me when I was a child? Unless the rest of my memories returned, we would likely never know, but for now, she had not returned to my dreams, but that was because I never fell asleep long enough to allow it.

The saddle creaked as Remiel shifted and lowered his mouth to my ear. "Liar, liar."

My skin pebbled, and my nipples hardened. The tips of my fingers glowed orange, forcing me to curl them against my palm to hide the light. It wasn't hot enough to burn my skin...yet. If I didn't get myself under control, there could be dire consequences. Like spooking the horse, or worse–burning my last set of clothes.

"Stop being so smug," I said, wishing I could get down from this beast and get far away from Remiel.

"Damn it, woman," he snapped suddenly, hauling me backward and pinning me against him. "Stop moving."

Beneath his fingers, my heart fluttered wildly. If he shifted that hand just a few inches upward, he could cover my breast with it, and I hated that I knew what that felt like now. How good it felt.

"I'd like to get down now. I can walk."

"Fine."

Remiel stopped the horse, slid off the side, and helped me down after him. A smoky breeze cooled my fiery cheeks, and I crossed my arms over my chest as I took off walking. It pained me to admit that I felt refreshed after getting some proper sleep, and it was on the tip of my tongue to tell him thank you.

But when I glanced over at him, the gratitude fell away. Stone was softer than his expression right now.

"Don't worry," I said, swallowing back a wince as my boot rubbed against a tender spot on my foot. "Your Deathsinger is still well enough to perform her duties, if that's what has you in such a foul temper."

It was an easy taunt to fall back because it was why I wanted him to be upset. The alternative was that he was mad, maybe even disgusted, at what had happened between us when I came out of the nightmare. And that bothered me more than I would admit out loud.

Jaw flexing, he tugged on the horse's reins. "We'll camp right over this–"

We stopped on the hilltop. There, just a few hundred yards away, sat the temple. It had not seemed so close earlier, but in the dim light of dusk, distance was difficult to judge.

"We made it," I said, dashing down the hill, no longer bothered by my aches and pains.

"Morana," Remiel shouted. "Wait!"

He followed me, choking on the ash my feet stirred up. We didn't have time to wait. It was a miracle we had made it this far without being caught in the fire, and the longest Araphel had gone without burning was nine sun cycles. That meant we only had five more at most to find the portal and relight it, and if it took all five, we wouldn't make it out of here alive.

"Why must you be so foolish?" Remiel said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to a stop just in front of the temple doors.

Ignoring his barb, I gestured at the temple. A faint glow emanated from the white stone. "Look. It's made of ravenstone. I didn't notice that before."

"We should be careful. What if there are traps, or what if Seraphina is inside?"

"It might be the best-case scenario. Not the traps, of course, but Gwendolyn thought I might be able to reach my mother. If she stops burning, then we have more time."

Giddiness filled me. I knew this place. Words in an ancient language were chiseled into the stone over the pointed archway directly before us.

"My fires favor the righteous," I read aloud, walking up the steps and reaching for the handle to the door.

Remiel's mouth dropped. "You can read the Old Tongue."

I paused. "Is that what that is?"

He shook his head. Some of his irritation melted away, but his gaze remained sharp as he looked over the temple.

"We should wait until morning before we enter. Better to brave it in the light."

"Why? Everything in this land is ash. Except for this temple and my mother. That won't change by morning." I tugged on the handle. It didn't budge. The bronze glimmered in the temple's light, almost as if it mocked me.

"Even the temple agrees with me."

Disappointed, I started to turn away, but a sudden idea struck me. Pulling on my fire magic, I let it spread through my hand and into the metal handle. With a hiss and spark, the door sucked the fire from my skin and lit up as brightly as a firestar.

The world whipped by as Remiel yanked me off the stairs and dragged me several feet from the temple. The orange blaze continued to grow, spreading out from the center and covering the temple from top to bottom. I tensed, waiting for the flames to erupt out in the forest, but Araphel remained quiet. Almost like it was holding its breath, and then the door swung open, revealing a cavernous space flickering with firelight.

"That was..."

"Amazing," Remiel finished, taking my hand and leading me toward the temple, his body positioned so that any threat that might arise would encounter him first. We walked up the stairs and entered.

"Look!" I pointed at drawings etched into the walls along the narrow hall. They depicted a bird of fire clashing with darkness in the sky.

"Now this is a story I know," Remiel said, lifting my hand and tracing the carvings with my finger. The fire in the stone was warm and pulsed in response to my touch.

"Is it my mother?"

"And the Shadow King. It tells the story of how they met, or at least the legend of their meeting. I suppose no one really knows but them."

"Tell me."

"This says a god of death from the Other Realm grew curious about the undying fyrbyrd."

Our hands moved over drawings of four arches touching on each side. From the center of one, the dark cloud emerged. It rose and met the fyrbyrd in the sky.

"She met him eagerly, hoping he might finally free her from her curse."

"Why would she think not dying was a curse? So many High Elves are desperate to live forever."

Remiel glanced down at me, his dark eyes thoughtful. "Immortality itself was not the curse. It was the loneliness. Not only did she have to watch everyone she ever loved die, but no one could touch her. Her flames would consume them."

Understanding dawned on me, and I stepped in front of the drawing that showed the dark cloud becoming one with the flames. "But the god of Death could?"

"He could." His voice softened. "He fell in love with her and bound himself to a mortal form to be with her. Some say, even in his mortal form, that he was powerful enough to withstand her flames. Others claim it was the strength of his love for her that protected him. That they were soul bonded."

"Wait..." I jerked my fingers away from the wall. "You're not saying what I think you're saying?"

"That your father, the Shadow King, is the god of Death? That's exactly what I'm saying."