SEBASTIAN

The residual heat of the burning workshop singed the fine hair on his forearm as he shielded his eyes from the glare. Sebastian heard the old crone scream, an eerie sound for the fact it was borne of rage and not agony. He hurried away with the realisation that he'd made an enemy for life — an exceptionally powerful one, at that.

He fully expected the dream to continue on its current course, but instead of diminishing as he recalled, the light flared with every step, bleaching the woods of all colour and shadow. Something is wrong, he thought, right as the sound of cracking ice filled his thoughts and the vision splintered into a million pieces.

His eyes flew open to the underside of a whirlpool and he was dragged through a crack in the bedrock, swept away with a swirl of midnight dust. Lungs burning and eyes smarting, Sebastian was helpless to control his descent as he was pulled through the guts of the mountain and over the lip of an underground waterfall, hurtling through the air before he'd even had time to process the impending drop.

Black, cool and blissful, deadened all feeling as he made impact with the rocks below. It seized him again an instant later, as the jagged boulders — nay, clusters of crystal, he realised, swollen face smarting as his eyes widened at the varying shades of amethyst beneath his palms — started to glow from within with the same light that drenched his vision. At first it was the soft, muted glow of a new morning, and then it waxed into the blazing gold of a midsummer day, radiating heat that made the water hiss and his skin prickle with discomfort. Sebastian clambered to his feet just in time, the soles of his boots were already melting, letting off the foul stench of charred leather. Every bone in his body itched as it repaired the fractures and tears from the clumsy landing.

"Am I still dreaming?" he muttered, squinting at his surroundings. The light set the entire cave ablaze, and he was perturbed to realise there was no way out. The river slipped through a crack that could barely fit his groping hand, though there was a dry patch by the shore where he supposed he could die in relative comfort.

All in all, the space was about the size of Gretchen's cottage, though far prettier for its natural minimalism. It was like he'd been transported into the heart of a geode yet to be cleaved in two. He couldn't have asked for a more extravagant tomb.

A shift in the light drew his attention back to the waterfall. He frowned as something golden tumbled over the edge; and then he was running, splashing noisily through the water as he held out both arms.

Red's limp body crashed into his chest with so much force it nearly ripped through the circle of his arms, pulling some of his fingers from their sockets. The sudden weight drove Sebastian to his knees and he absorbed the shock through his joints without a whisper of complaint, already cradling her head as he waded towards the shore.

She was dripping wet, skull gilded by a slicked-back curtain of hair. For once her skin was chalky and cold to the touch, turning blue around her lips and fingertips.

Sebastian swore at the white lacerations all over her body, thumb tracing the bloody marks on her forehead. Some of the wounds were already scabbing, healing incredibly quickly on account of whatever strange magic she possessed, but it wasn't enough to stop him from wishing he had Gretchen's power instead. Nya's Grace targeted the soul and the mind, and while he knew countless ways to infiltrate a mental fortress or tear a body apart, his heart almost stalled at the prospect of having to patch one up.

"Come on," he whispered, feeling for a pulse. It was alarmingly faint. "You're not going to give up on me now, are you?"

Water leaked from her nose and dribbled from the corner of her mouth. Sebastian realised with a start she wasn't breathing properly; she would have come straight from the bottom of a pool like he did.

"You've had worse odds than this," he snarled, lacing his fingers together and compressing her chest with short, rhythmic thrusts. "Remember when that golden idiot pushed you off that cliff? And the time you beat a giant mantis to death with your canteen?"

He paused briefly and lowered his head, bringing his mouth to hers. It wasn't how he'd imagined their first kiss — and he'd pictured it many times, in countless scenarios, like he was planning for battle and needed the perfect strategy — but he took it just as seriously, pinching her nose and forcing air into her lungs so that her brain wouldn't die of starvation. Once her chest lifted twice, he started the compressions again, feeling the cold trickle of fear run down his back.

"What about that time you were dragged into a Weaver den, huh? Or when you nearly killed yourself trying to climb over the ashwood walls? I never got a chance to tell you how stupid that was."

It was a lie; he'd had plenty of chances, but instead of grasping them with both hands he'd driven her away with his sulking, so afraid of losing somebody else that he hadn't even tried to make it work. Sebastian delivered another two breaths and went back to work, his certainty slipping with the every thrust. Something hot and wet slipped down his cheeks, but he didn't dare to stop and wipe the tears away.

"Are you really going to let the Goddess of some shitty little moon push you around? I know She's immortal, but —"

Red twisted abruptly, vomiting violently into the running water. Sebastian held back her hair and rubbed circles into her back, feeling his brows lift at the sheer amount of liquid pouring from her lungs, practically a waterfall in its own right. The coughing that followed was even harder to bear witness to, because it was obvious she couldn't catch her breath as her body adjusted to being on land again. It looked like she was drowning all over again and there was nothing he could do to help.

When it was over, Red slumped against him and quietly wept, shivering as if she would never feel warm again. Her hand found his chest automatically and he sucked in a breath as it slid over his skin, the velvety pads of her fingertips pressing in search of something. Once she found his pulse her breathing slowed, evening out to match his.

He worked hard to stay calm. The encounter had throughly shaken him and he buried his tears in her hair, slowly rocking them back and forth. It felt so right to hold her; like everything was going to be alright, even though it was far from the truth. They were trapped in a cave with fresh water but no food and no way out.

"It's not just Nya we're up against," Red murmured against his collarbone.

"What?"

"All three of them suck," she said, sighing heavily. "Rya and the Earth Mother are trying to use us, too. They don't care who gets hurt so long as they get what they want."

"That sounds troubling." And familiar, he thought grimly, not surprised the other deities' moral compasses were in question. "Maybe we can pit them against each other."

"That's the problem," Red said. "They're already at each other's throats, but neither can survive without the others."

"Then we'll just have to find something they all have in common," he said stubbornly. "Knitting, perhaps?"

The crystals around them brightened with her laughter, then dimmed as she fell into a troubled silence. Sebastian realised Red was responsible for the cave-in earlier; she'd obviously channeled too much power while the Earth Mother was digging around in her memory and made something explode.

The silence that followed was too dense, laden with unspoken thoughts.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling away to look at her. It came as no surprise that the hair at Red's temples was dusted with orange, pink and blue now, the colours blending and shifting in the light, reminding him eerily of an open flame. The white-hot coals of her eyes had softened into opal, with fiery hints of iridescent rainbow that mimicked tongues of fire. For somebody who couldn't shift, she was an evolutionary miracle, slowly morphing over time until he was barely able to recognise the gaunt, clumsy girl who'd fled the Blood Moon Village in the middle of one fateful night. For a splint instant he missed her, even though the woman she'd become was that and so much more.

He found home in the way she cocked her head, eyeing him with blatant curiosity. Red always had a way of pinning him in place, as if she was painting a picture in her mind that he needed to keep still for. She was also hidden in the looping patterns that trailed over the corded muscle of his shoulder, so gentle and yet somehow so possessive. It staked an unspoken claim and reminded him of when he masqueraded as a wolf, desperately holding onto the delusion that he was savage and wholly unaffected by her charm.

His heart hammered faster. Her lips quirked up. Sebastian's cheeks warmed as he remembered the hand on his chest; she could tell that he was flustered.

"Do I make you nervous?" she asked.

The words were like oil sliding over his skin, teasing every nerve in its path. He nodded, not trusting his words.

She bit her lip. "When you're with me, do you get this weird feeling like everything is where it belongs?"

"Yes," he managed, his voice sounding husky and strained. "Red, I've been meaning to tell you for a while now. It was you I saw when I looked at the Orchid Mantis. You I thought I was bowing to, and the terrifying thing is I'd do it again if I thought it would make you happy."

There it was — the hideous, hypocritical truth he'd been hiding from ever since that day in the wildflower meadow. After spending his whole life fighting for independence, it was ridiculous that his instincts were clamouring now to give it up, to serve and protect something weaker than himself.

Or so he'd thought. Now he looked at Red and realised he was but a pale reflection of her strength and beauty, a tiny moon to her endlessly burning sun. He felt more like himself in her presence. She brought out the best in him, made him want to realise his full potential.

"I saw you too," she admitted, voice breaking as fresh tears lacquered her eyes. "Before I'd even seen your human form. I thought I was going insane, but it all makes sense now."

The relief that hit him was staggering. She feels the same way, crowed a little voice in his head — so why was she starting to cry?

"I know what you are," she whispered, pulling away. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Sebastian's heart dropped through his ribs and took his spine with it, leaving him gutted and helpless as her face turned hard. "Red, I can explain. I —"

"That's not my name. But you probably already knew that."

"What?" His mind was reeling. He was guilty of so many secrets that he wasn't sure which one she was referring to. Had she seen the visions of his past? Had she been privy to his thoughts throughout, or did she think he'd killed Arabella of his own volition?

"My name is Oriana," she said, rising above him like a vengeful spirit. A flicker of power came to life and dried her clothes in a rush of steam, ruffling her hair with unearthly grace. "And I am your mate."