The door opened.

  Who was there? Where was he?

  Voices. Soft voices. He tried to focus, tried to breathe deeper, but each time he inhaled he felt like he was choking. Something cold touched his cheeks. He sighed contently at the feeling, lucky he didn't start coughing.

  "Emrys...here."

  Solenne? Was that her? Why was she here? She couldn't be here. It wasn't safe for her to be here. She needed to go, to run. He brought his arm up, Light be his arm was heavy, and tried to talk. Nothing came out. She pressed his arm back down.

  "Shhh. Its okay."

  It wasn't okay. It wasn't. He looked at her. Was it really her? He groaned as he tried to reach up for her again. His arm was pressed down again. He groaned, trying to form words. Something cool touched his forehead. It surprised him and made him jump which spasmed his lungs. The coughing started. Whoever was in there with him was speaking in soft words but he couldn't understand them.

  He was cold. Then hot. Then cold again. He tried to speak. It only came out in groans. Whines. Whimpers. He was try to beg her to leave him be. Emrys wanted her gone. She didn't need to be here. It was all some kind of trap. She couldn't heal him. She wasn't Marked. It had all been a lie–

  A radiant warmth spread across his body. It seemed to wrap around him the way a lover's arms would, comforting and all encompassing. He gasped, lungs pulling in a full lot of air. The sudden ability to breathe caused his eyes to widen. They came into focus.

  White and golden light haloed a head of dark brunette. Honey eyes were unfocused, staring through him instead of at him. The fabric of the shirt did not hide the orange glow on her arms. It did not hide the blackened ash that spread up her arms. The warmth spread past his chest, through his entire body, and for a moment he knew what true bliss felt like.

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  He watched as behind Solenne, six wings spread open, a head coming up behind hers. Multiple eyes stared down at him. The figure from before smiled too widely for its human face. Its limbs had become impossibly long, gangly. It towered over them both. Emrys looked at Solenne who seemed to have no idea what was going on. Her hands were on his chest. Light be, she was touching his chest. The creature giggled.

  "What a thing to think when you're not even awakened fully." There were two layers to its voice. He felt he recognized one of them.

  "Awakened? Wait, is this a dream? Please tell me its a dream, a horrible nightmare, and I am not witnessing what I think I am." Emrys pleaded, looking between Solenne's glowing feathers and the creature.

  It tilted its head. That smile, if you could call it a smile anymore, seemed to grow wider. There weren't any teeth that he could see. Just a void of black in its mouth, unending, a place where he didn't think light could penetrate even if it wanted.

  "No, little seraphim. This is not a nightmare. She is Marked. You are Chosen." Its long fingers motioned between them. "It is her seraphic fire that awakens you. It will be your seraphic fire that extinguishes her."

  His eyes went wide. Tears stung them instantaneously. "Wh-what? N-no! I won't! I will refuse!"

  "There is no refusal. You do it or you all die. Not just you and the Marked one. All. Of. You." The dual voices made sure he understood exactly what it meant.

  Emrys looked at Solenne. Her eyes were starting to close. He could see blood running from her nostril, threatning to drop onto him. She was sweating now too. How did her healing work? Was she taking his infection?

  "Hurry, little seraphim. Make your choice quickly. Her body cannot take much more of this. I need to break the connection or she dies right now and then you will be the one we sacrifice instead."

  Eyes that were once green-grey, now haloed in gold, took one more look at the woman he had fallen in love with. "I'll do it. Save her. Please. I'll do whatever I have to."

  It giggled. "Sleep now Emrys Durand, Chosen One, Seraphim of Caelora." It reached out, touched his head, and the world went black.