The gentle snowfall quickly turned into a nuisance as we wound our way up the mountain. Flurries turned to fat clumps that obscured vision and made the path treacherous beneath the horse's hooves. After much cursing, Yoko announced we could go no farther and stopped at the first traveler's rest area—a small flat space beneath an overhang and evergreens that provided shelter from the worst of the inclement weather.

Between Yoko and Tievel, now much improved after hours of rest, the tents were raised quickly. With a snap of the prince's fingers, a cheerful fire blazed within a circle of stones that had been put together so long ago they looked as if they'd risen from the ground in a perfect ring.

Needing to be useful, I set the water to boil and threw together a simple stew. It wouldn't be the tastiest meal this lot had ever eaten, but it would fill our bellies with sustenance and warmth. Yoko appeared mildly impressed when she peered into the pot, but she smothered the expression quickly when she caught me watching her.

"I thought you only found one tent," Astreia said, tugging a woolen cap over her head. Bitter cold forced her to cover herself from head to toe, an uncharacteristic sight at night for the Starlight princess who adored showing off her sparkling skin whenever the chance presented itself.

"Found two."

"Obviously," Tievel muttered, twirling a finger over the fire, calling the flames higher into the air until a golden glow washed over our encampment.

"One for the girls?" Astreia said, rolling her lip between her teeth before flashing a wicked grin in Yoko's direction.

Tievel snorted. "Don't be foolish. I have no need for an entire tent to myself. Morana will share with me."

Yoko and Astreia protested simultaneously. The spoon in my hand slipped and landed in the stew with a splat. Napping next to one another beneath an open sky was one thing. Laying side by side in a dark, enclosed space with the cold pushing us together for heat was another thing entirely. One that thrilled and terrified me.

"It's not up for debate."

"She's a Deathsinger," Yoko emphasized, her blunt hair slicing across her cheekbones as she looked between Tievel and me.

"Tievel, may I speak with you?" Astreia's tone was unusually respectful.

He dropped his hands to his side, his head tilted while he stared into the fire, his normally pale blue irises a black backdrop for the reflection of twisting flames. It was as if they were portals to the Other Realm, swallowing all the surrounding light.

Blinking slowly—once, twice, and a third time—he at last jerked his chin at the princess in acknowledgement and sauntered to the treeline. Astreia joined him, and the wind carried away their whispered words.

I spooned dinner into a tin cup and handed it to Yoko, even though I wanted to toss the contents into her beautiful face. She took the offering, sniffed it with uncertainty, and grimaced before shoveling the first bite into her mouth. Eyebrows shot into her hairline and a second and third bite quickly followed.

"This is palatable," she admitted around a mouthful.

"Not bad for a murdering Deathsinger," I said with a snarl as I settled on a log with my food. The other two could make their own plates once they were done discussing me.

Unfazed, the soldier shrugged before shoveling in another spoonful. "You cannot help what you are. It is in your nature to be a creature of Death, and High Elves are your targets. You may believe them to be your friends, but eventually, what you are will overcome any good intentions you have."

"Then, I suppose you can't help your nature, either," I replied, poking my spoon at her.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're a woman. Soft. Delicate. Good for nothing more than spreading your legs and breeding." The coarse words soured on my tongue, but I continued, "No matter what you want or how you dress, you will always be a woman. Your true nature will win out, correct? Your hands were made to rock cradles, not to swing swords."

She flinched after every sentence, each word gutting her. Every nightmare the soldier had was verbalized. Wiping the back of her mouth with her hand, she dropped the tin cup and excused herself to the tent. I finished eating my meal in silence, my victory not an enjoyable one.

When Tievel and Astreia returned to the fire, the stew sat in my stomach like a stone, and watching them consume their meal was enough to make me queasy. As a High Elf, Yoko knew nothing of Deathsingers other than they were born to take her precious immortality. Maybe that was true of others, but I was not like that, and I grew tired of the constant mistrust. If we were going to make it to the portals, we had to work together. Pointing out a connection between our situations was the only way I could think to do that.

Astreia lowered her utensil and patted her lips with the bottom of her mustard yellow blouse. She smiled when she saw me watching, but it faded when I did not return the gesture. Here I was thinking about how little Yoko knew about Deathsingers, but Astreia reminded me of how little I knew myself.

Clearing her throat, she said, "That was good, Morana. Thank you."

Keeping up with the polite charade, I replied, "You're welcome."

Silence echoed around the campfire, interrupted only by the scraping of Tievel's spoon against the bottom of his cup. He paid us no mind as he licked the remnants of his dinner from the metal surface and then his fingers before piling his dishes on top of the others.

"Yes, excellent." He stood and stretched his arms above his head. Then, holding out his hand to me, he said, "Ready for bed?"

"Am I allowed, Mother?" I asked the princess, aiming for sarcasm and ending up somewhere just shy of nervous. The heat in Tievel's eyes as he waited for me to follow him changed my queasiness into something else—something aching.

"If it's what you want," Astreia said at last. "There is room in our tent if you want to stay there."

"Best not to be crowded," Tievel insisted, grabbing me by the hand before I could protest and leading me to the empty tent. He held open the flap and bowed low as I slipped by him.

Heavy furs covered the ground in a single pile, barely big enough for one person. The prince squatted beside it and rearranged them to create more space for two bodies, but we still could not sleep comfortably without touching.

"I can make two separate spots," he said when I did not crawl into the space next to him.

Back against the canvas wall, I fiddled with the ends of my hair and shook my head. "No, it's fine. We'll be warmer this way."

Tievel dragged his tunic over his head. The firelight pierced the thin fabric of the tent, providing enough light to see his lean torso and sculpted abdomen. I traced the lines across his stomach to below his navel where a strip of dark, navy hair disappeared beneath his low-slung trousers.

"Body heat is best shared skin to skin, and it's going to get colder before the morning."

"Um, right," I said, not moving to take my blouse off. He had never seen my scars, and that wasn't a conversation I wished to have right now.

He rose to his knees and reached for me, his features arranged in gentle patience even while an inferno raged behind his eyes. I let him draw me to the ground beside him, and my breath caught in my chest when he turned me to my side and drew my leg over his hip.

"Morana, you know I would never hurt you, don't you? Or pressure you into anything you didn't feel comfortable with."

I nodded, even as his hot hands moved beneath my shirt and made goosebumps spread across my skin.

"I once apologized for kissing you, but do you remember what else I said?" He spread his hand over my ribcage, his top finger just a hair below my breast.

"That it did not mean you didn't think about doing it again."

That moment felt as if it had happened in someone else's lifetime. To a girl who didn't believe there could ever be anything between them other than the single, stolen kiss. I'd certainly never let my fantasies go this far, and my head was having a hard time getting on the same page as my body right now. It whispered this was too fast and too much, even as I arched against Tievel instinctively as he drew his thumb over my nipple.

"I was so cruel to you when I discovered the truth, but even when I hated you—because I did for a split second—I never stopped wanting you. Last night, while I burned with fever, I dreamed of you. Not just of begging you to Sing, but of making you beg. I dreamed of only you and a chance to show you what you mean to me. It would almost have been worth being trapped in limbo if I could spend an eternity doing the things to you I did there."

"Tievel," I said—a half protest, half plea.

"I am a man who has lived my life believing I will always have a second chance, but I know that isn't true now. Not with you, and I won't risk missing out on what could be between us."

His mouth came down on mine hard, and I was so caught up in the way his lips moved against mine, I did not realize his hands had slid beneath the band of my skirt. A single finger dipped between my legs.

I grabbed his shoulders and squeezed as lightning bolted through my body. The bliss was blinding, but his finger felt foreign—almost intrusive, because I had not been prepared. Gasping, I rolled to my back and adjusted to this unfamiliar sensation, biting the back of my hand to keep from crying out as he added a second finger. He moved them in an ancient rhythm I knew only from reading naughty books from the library.

"Tievel," I groaned again, my hips bucking against his hand as he increased the pressure.

"This is as far as we have to go," he whispered against my ear before nipping the tender shell with his sharp teeth. "Just let me make you feel good. Let me apologize to you the way I know how."

Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply and gave into the sensations. It was strange how, as I relaxed, the tension inside of me increased. It coiled in my stomach and moved down my legs; the muscles seizing as he increased his pace. And then I exploded, stars bursting beneath my eyelids, my body hot as a furnace, as my toes pointed, and my back arched off the furs.

"Yes," he said, kissing my forehead, my cheeks, and at last my lips before withdrawing his hand and pulling me against him. "This is just a taste of what things can be like for us."

Chest heaving, I coiled my arms around his waist and pressed my face into his chest to hide the embarrassed flush staining my cheeks. It felt so hot; I was certain he could see it even in near total darkness. But it had the added benefit of letting me feel his heart in his chest, and it thudded almost as hard as mine.

"Is it always that intense?" I asked.

"It's almost always good," he admitted, "But for those made for one another as we are, it is always amazing."

"Tievel!" Yoko's angry voice called from just outside our tent.

I shrank away from the prince and dragged a blanket over my face, terrified if she came inside, she would know what had happened between us. When I wasn't really sure what had happened yet.

"What?" he called out lazily, pulling his shirt over his head before sticking his head outside.

"Care to explain that?" she demanded, thrusting her hand toward something I couldn't see.

"Shit," he said, leaping out of the tent before looking back at me with an open mouth.

"What?" I asked, creeping to the entrance and peeking outside.

I didn't have to ask again. The campfire was no longer small and contained. Now, it roared towering in the air, its heat nearly overwhelming.

"I've heard of you fire boys losing control during your first time, but I figured you had several notches on your belt by now," Yoko snapped as Tievel worked his magic over the fire and returned it to a reasonable size.

"Watch your tongue," the prince replied.

I said nothing, staring at the space in the sky where the flames had been moments before until I heard Astreia exit her tent. She did not look at the prince or the soldier who were arguing quietly. Instead, she stared at me, her eyes glittering with some indiscernible emotion. She knew what had happened. I was certain of it.

Then she shook her head and disappeared inside her tent, taking her knowledge and secrets with her.