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At the end of the prayer, Kieran lifts the flames to the effigy. A spark, then a flare of heat catches. The effigy breathes, nearly groans at the sound of the fire invading its wooden body. It travels up its arms to its horned head, and then down to its legs searing through the intricate work of the townsfolk. The flames roar, reaching for the sky, its warm bright light illuminates the gardens and the forest that surrounds the main area. A quick glimpse shows decomposed bodies surrounding the yard.

In a blink they’re gone.

I grip Christian’s hand tighter. Kieran walks off the platform and disappears. He doesn’t look at all phased that he isn’t with me.

A muffled squeal of a speaker tears through the silence, and then, the prayer we’d just recited is playing as a song over the gardens.

Fire reaches out and pulls back as if excited by the festivities. A few people from the crowd run into the small field and begin dancing around the effigy as its flames warms the revelers. There’s an oddness about this churchyard. I look around, noting the fully bloomed trees and snow-free grounds. My eyes dart to the surrounding buildings.

Snow. There’s no snow.

Laughs and howls emit from the people circling the Devil’s effigy as it slowly crumbles.

Christian takes my hand and tugs me toward him. “Want to do that dance around the Devil?”

An ominous feeling creeps in. Still, I take his hand and allow myself to disappear into the throng of couples. I melt into the warmth of Christian’s hold as we move in a sweeping arc. Cloaks fluttering behind us.

“I will only do this for you.” His words are a mumble through a haze that slowly forms. An unwilled memory cascades over my mind, and I feel myself drawn to the past. Flames. A car crash. Two bodies. The surroundings begin to warp and slow, until I can only see the painted skull mask upon Christian’s face. I squeeze my eyes shut and reopen them after a few seconds. I feel Christian watching me.

“Are you having fun?” He moves to rest his hand at the curve of my waist, gripping possessively.

“Fun? This is creepy.”

We continue waltzing around the fire, cocooned in our own small world. People flit by in streaks of hazy light and the eerie prayer song fades to the background. I lean back to gaze at our surroundings—tall trees, dark night’s sky and the shadows dancing against the backdrop of the forest.

A figure catches my eyes in the periphery, and I smack my hands against Christian’s chest. “Oh my god, look!” Hanging from an evergreen branch is a disfigured thing, charred with only the whites of its eyes visible. It’s the woman who waved at me.

Christian’s skull mask contorts at the edges. “What?”

I grab him by the shoulders and force his attention toward the tree line; the figure is joined by another one. Together, they sit there, locking eyes with me.

“Are one of those things out there?” he asks harshly, gripping my hands.

A couple bumps into us as they’re giddily dancing, stealing our attention away from those things. When I glance back at the tree line, the branch is empty. No charred figures.

“They’re gone now…”

Christian pushes my mask up. His concerned features search mine. “Take a deep breath and follow me in the movements.” He takes my hand again and we gently hold onto one another.

It reminds me of the memory; of the man, dipping me low and devouring me with a single kiss. Closing my eyes, I try to focus, zone in on that moment breathing in the scents of rain, and closer…the scent of vanilla and sandalwood.

“Do you think the figures want to harm me?” I ask him, eyes still closed.

“I don’t know what they’re like. They never approach me.” He says, his finger slowly drawing circles on my shoulder.

“The other week, when there was that creature in the East Wing…it said to me, how many times is he going to kill you?” I open my eyes.

Christian stares at me, an impenetrable read. I wonder what his lips would feel like on mine. Would they ravish me? Or would they feel as delicate as the soft clouds that rolled through the sky? Which one did I want? To be ravished or to be coddled?

“Kieran’s father used to be obsessed with the idea of the afterlife, but not in the way you think. He was studying Purgatory—limbo—whatever you call it. He wanted to bring the dead back to life or find a way to bypass near death. A scientific necromancer. And Kieran...I’m not sure what he wants.”

It’s exactly what Daisy had told me, only what doesn’t make sense is the things that kept stalking me. They wanted to speak to me, tell me more, but never had the chance. His answer is a deflection.

“What exactly are you looking for Christian? With me and this whole thing?”

His gaze darts to the people around us, before returning to me. The space between us simmers, sweltering in heat. I maintain our eye contact, sliding my hand up his biceps and then to the nape of his neck, cupping my hands there, holding him in place. Despite the strength of the fire eating away at the looming effigy, he was too strong to ignore.

His hand reaches for my cheek, hovering there gently then brushes a strand of hair from mingling into my mask. “I want you to get out from under Kieran’s thumb. No longer crushed like a toy in the hands of a petulant child.”