It didn’t begin as a dream at all. At first, it was only a sound, soft, muffled, like I was underwater. I could hear fire in the distance, metal scraping against stone. I thought I was awake, and I could feel the cold air around me. Smell the sea salt and smoke in the air, but I was alone. Azure had left me, and Basin was nowhere to be seen. I swung my legs over the edge of the raised altar. I knew I was weak; every muscle ached as I moved. I need to find them. Where are they? The silence broke.

  “Yann?k?” Said a hollow voice.

  I snapped my head in the direction of the sound. It sounded just like Leo. It couldn’t be. She’s dead. I killed her. As my eyes adjusted to the spotty lighting from the broken glass in the ceiling, I started to see her. Leo, standing barefoot between the rotting pews. Her hair was damp, like she’d just come from a bath. She looked clean, no blood, no wounds. Her dress was the same one she’d worn that night, though the fabric was clean now, unburned. Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, the faintest shimmer of gold caught in its strands.

  This is wrong, I thought. Yet I couldn’t stop looking at her. The sight of her stole the air from my lungs.

  “You’re~” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. Saying she’s alive felt wrong. Like I’d be lying.

  She tilted her head. “Alive.” She said it like she was trying the word for the first time.

  I walked towards her, every step burning worse than the flames had. My body wasn’t ready for this much movement. That much was clear. The air around her was cold, thick with the scent of wet stone and smoke. It felt heavy, like it didn’t want me to speak.

  “Leo, I killed you ,” I said, trying my best to keep my voice steady. “How are you here?”

  “I know.” Her voice was calm, too calm. “But you didn’t see everything.”

  It doesn’t make sense. “What are you talking about?” I asked her, desperate for answers.

  She smiled faintly, the corner of her mouth lifting in that familiar, infuriating way.

  “I’m glad you’re alive”

  “It’s a miracle, I suppose” I said and took another step forward. Her eyes didn’t change, but something in them did, something distant, detached, like she was looking right through me.

  “Leo, what happened?” I asked. “In the ritual, after~.” She shook her head. “Don’t ask me that.”

  “I have to know.” I pried.

  “You don’t want to.” She kept shaking her head. “I saw the blood~.”

  “Stop.” She hissed, bearing her remaining, pointed teeth.

  Her voice broke on the word, sharp as glass. It was the first time she’d sounded real. For a heartbeat, the air flickered. The world seemed to fold, as if the light itself shuddered. When it settled again, her hands were shaking.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” she whispered. “Where else would I be?”

  “Not with me.”

  She stepped closer, close enough that I could see the faint freckles along her cheekbones, the tiny scar near her jaw. She smelled like rain and smoke and something I couldn’t place, something old.

  “What are you?” I asked, barely audible. “What you made me.”

  The answer hit like cold water. “What I~?”

  “You swore you’d save me,” she said. “You remember, don’t you? You promised you’d find a way.”

  “I didn’t… I couldn’t save you.” I cried.

  You did.” Her tone softened. “Just not the way you meant to.”

  It was like a whole different person. Leonora pushed through the harshness that had been there just a moment ago. Something other than her was behind those violet eyes. I grabbed her hand. It was cold, colder than stone, but she laced her fingers through mine. I could feel the faintest pulse, uneven and distant.

  “You’re not real,” I mumbled before I even realized I was speaking.

  She smiled again, sad this time and the light began to fade. Not like dawn, but like drowning, colors dissolving, shadows thickening until only her face remained, framed in gray.

  “Leo~” I whimpered. “Don’t look for me.”

  “What are you talking about? I~”

  “Don’t let them find you,” she said. “Promise me.”

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  “Who?”

  But she was already gone. Her hand was gone from mine, and the silence rushed in to fill the space she left behind. I fell forward into the dark, weightless, breathless, my heart hammering like something alive in a hollow chest. Then light flooded my vision, and I was awake. Really awake. The chapel ceiling loomed above. The candles had burned almost to stubs, their wax pooled and cold. Azure sat slumped in a chair, fast asleep, her head tilted against her shoulder. The faintest thread of dawn crept through the cracks in the roof. My hand, the one she’d held in the dream. It was trembling. I clenched it into a fist, willing the shaking to stop. My heart wouldn’t stop racing, beating so fast I could barely breathe. I pressed my shaking hands to my chest, thinking this is how I die. My heart is giving out after everything. There was a second heartbeat, thumping right behind my own, out of sync.

  Azure stirred beside me. Opening her blue eyes wide when she saw me sitting up. She flew to her feet and rushed to light a candle. She struck a match and quickly had a lit stump of wax in her hand, placing it down next to where I sat upright on the altar. Her hand reached up, tucking a strand of hair away from my face. I felt her touch like electricity against my skin, and I felt ashamed that she was seeing me like this. She shouldn’t have to take care of me like this.

  “What’s wrong? Yann?k.” She asked me, her voice like silk woven with worry.

  “Nightmare,” I grunted, the first real word I’d spoken since I woke up.

  “Oh no, you poor thing.” She cooed as she rubbed her hand up and down my back.

  “You’re freezing.”

  That’s true. I was freezing; the night was cruel even though spring had started poking through. I couldn’t tell her that she was right. She would scramble to fix it and not get any sleep herself. I couldn’t let her do that.

  “Azure, don’t worry. I’m fine.” I tried to smile, though I doubt it looked like anything but a grimace.

  “Don’t you dare lie to me!” She scowled and stormed off towards a hearth in the far-off corner.

  I hadn’t noticed it before, but now I could see the dying embers hiding in the ash. That must be where the smell of smoke came from in my dream. It put me a bit more at ease while I watched Azure feed the fire with broken pieces of pew. She coaxed the moisture out of some grass she must have gathered, feeding it to the small flames building in the fireplace.

  She’s absolutely incredible.

  The orange glow of the fire scattered over her skin, making her look radiant, even more beautiful than she already was.

  “Come here,” she said when the fire was burning steadily. She dragged a few blankets closer, laying them out in front of the hearth, then looked back at him with that look that wasn’t a question. She walked towards me, grabbing my hand and helping me down from the altar. She wrapped her arms around me, gently guiding me towards the warm fire, lowering us down on the blankets. The fire licked at our feet, warming my weary bones. I wanted to run from it, afraid that it would lash out and try to take me again, but Azure’s steady arm around me brought me comfort. She held me in place. She pulled one of the blankets around our shoulders, wrapping it tight enough that our arms brushed. Her body was warm, warmer than I’d realized. The flames warming her watery skin, heating her like a warm bottle beneath the covers.

  “Better?” she asked quietly.

  I nodded, still shaking. “It’s… strange. I can’t tell if I’m cold or if I just forgot what warmth really feels like.”

  “We’ll remind you,” she said softly, resting her head against his shoulder. We sat like that for a long time, saying nothing. The fire cracked gently, its light dancing along the stone walls and the broken altar. Outside, the wind had died; the world felt still again. I could feel how my breathing slowed. The tremors faded, replaced by a heaviness that felt almost safe. Azure’s hand rested against my arm, a small, steady weight anchoring me to the moment. I wrapped my arm around her, ignoring the pain of the movement as I pulled her closer.

  “You scared me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the fire. “I scared myself,” I murmured back.

  I could feel her smile against my shoulder. “You’re safe. Just rest.”

  For the first time in a long while, the shaking eased. The fear didn’t leave. There was only Azure and I, alone in front of the fire. The contained fire. I didn’t notice that I fell asleep.

  Azure

  I stayed awake long after his breathing steadied. The firelight shifted across his face, gold fading into ember, ember into shadow. He looked younger when he slept, the sharpness gone from his jaw, the faint worry line between his brows smoothed away. Almost peaceful.

  Almost.

  I reached out, gently twirling his hair through my fingers; afraid to touch him too hard, as if he would vanish if I did. He was still cold but not deathly so. Just cold like a winter morning, waiting for the sun. The wind outside sighed through the cracks in the old stone. The fire snapped softly, casting little bursts of light that shimmered over his horns, his cheek, the edge of his sleeve. I caught myself staring too long, afraid to blink, afraid he might disappear again. I’d been watching him sleep for the last week, but this felt different. He’d always looked untouchable before, all control and quietly stoic, as if even his dreams belonged to him. But now… now he looked breakable. Human in a way I’d never seen.

  How close did you come to leaving me behind?

  My chest ached at the thought. I didn’t dare say it out loud, even though the question had been ringing in my head since we found him. I pulled the blanket closer, a lazy excuse to pull him closer, resting my forehead against his temple. Thankfully, he didn’t stir. Still fast asleep. The silence didn’t feel as heavy anymore, sitting here, like this, the quiet felt comfortable and intimate. Like a pocket of quiet carved out of something that hadn’t stopped watching.

  I closed my eyes and listened to the cracking fire mingling with his even breathing; to how his heartbeat sounded double. It was a strange sound, like two hearts beating out of sync.

  “You can’t leave me. Not yet,” I mumbled, barely a sound, as I pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. Feeling just how real he was. Real enough to kiss, real enough to touch. He’s still here. Outside, the first sun crept over the horizon, sliding through the cracks in the walls. It caught on the gold threads in his vest, making him sparkle in the morning light. I hadn’t allowed myself to sleep until I saw the sun rise. I knew Basin would be here soon, to check in on us and bring a meal, so Exhaustion pulled my eyes closed before I could stop it as I pulled him down, laying him in my lap. He didn’t wake. Still sleeping soundly and getting that much-needed rest. It made my chest ache to see him asleep at all. I knew he needed it to recover. The horrors of what happened outside receded just enough for me to ignore them. I hoped he was dreaming about something nice, something to make him forget about everything that had happened. For the first time in days, the chapel felt occupied instead of empty. I let the fire go out as the sun warmed our bodies. I leaned against the back of a pew, stroking his hair as I fell asleep.