“What do you want?” I asked him, but my tone was light. Conversational. Red eyes peered at me from the black flames of his face. “What do you think I want?” I picked up a cookie, at the last second remembering to examine it before biting. I set the cookie back when I realized that what had appeared to be chocolate chips had antennae that were waving. “Why would I know that?” My voice held none of the bitterness I felt toward the creature that had cursed me, a trick of the dream. The roiling black flames of Kouros’s lips split in a smile, revealing the red fire that was his insides. “Because we’re a part of each other, little Lyla. You came to me willingly enough once, didn’t you?” I nodded. What he said was true. “But you tricked me.” His Fire flared even darker, making him appear larger. “I gave you a gift. A taste of immortality. Of power. You would be a pile of bones in a dank hole somewhere were it not for me; instead, still you glow.” “You made me a slave,”
