AN: Do keep in mind, there's a good deal of timeskip between this chapter and the last one...

"I hate you," I complained, dropping down in front of the fire and fighting the urge to cry out in relief as the blessed warmth started to defrost my popsicle limbs.

From what I had christened 'his' chair, Baltor looked up from the book he was reading, his face contorted with barely contained amusement. "What is it this time?"

"It's a freaking blizzard out there! And while I've been casting protective spells so all our hard work isn't undone in a single night, you've been in here, all warm and cozy by the fire."

He chuckled. "You were the one who insisted on going out to do the protection spells. I tried to tell you it was pointless, but did you listen to me? Obviously not."

Struggling to find an appropriate comeback, I ended up just sticking my tongue out at the fire, moving my hands closer. "Whose turn is it for dinner?" I asked idly, realizing just how ravenous I was now that the feeling was coming back to my fingers.

"Well, it was supposed to be yours, but I ended up taking care of it when I couldn't find you. There's a plate on the table." I looked up to see his attention was already back on the book.

"Good book?" Fighting the stinging pain shooting up my half-frozen legs, I got up and peered over the side of the chair; then rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh when I saw what it was. "Of course – another spell book. You're obsessed."

Without even looking up, he aimed a curse in my direction, but I ducked and it hit the wall instead. "Sparx was considered the epicenter of the magical dimension for magical history and knowledge, before it was destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of years of research and study are contained in these tomes. And to think, all these books are considered gone forever."

"Like the Library of Alexandria," I mused, thinking out loud. I had, out of curiosity (okay, more like crushing boredom), been through the collection, but only when I'd found a shelf tucked way in the back corner filled with actual novels had I started to regard the books as anything more than background furnishings. Unlike, Baltor, who had to have read almost every single book in here by now – although I guess considering his former hobby, it shouldn't have been all that surprising.

"The what?"

"In a place called Egypt, on Earth. Thousands of years ago, it was supposedly sort of like the way you described Sparx: an epicenter of history and learning. But then it burned down in a fire and much of the information was never recovered." I frowned, noticing the disheartening parallels between the two. It wasn't a nice thought.

"Don't think like that," he said, and my frown quickly turned to a look of surprise. "Sparx isn't beyond repair. We're going to bring it back."

This wasn't the first time he'd said something like this – like he could read my thoughts – but I'd never actually gotten up the courage to ask him if he could, mostly because I was scared of what the answer would be. Regardless, it always made me uncomfortable when he did that. "I'm gonna go eat," I said, already weaving my way through the bookshelves.

The library had turned out to be far more spacious than I could have ever imagined – but, as to be expected, it was hardly designed for anyone to live in long-term. Still, we'd made it work, designating little alcoves for eating and sleeping, as well as the main area with the fireplace as a sort of all-purpose 'room'. (Thank God the library had a bathroom, otherwise things would have been extraordinarily awkward.)

Nearly eight months had passed since that fateful day Baltor pulled me out of the snow and offered his help. And despite the intial awkwardness – because let's face it, there was no way it wasn't going to be at least a little awkward at first – we'd developed something of a rapport that translated immensely well into working together. It still never failed to amaze me that I could carry on such eloquent conversations with a man I used to think wanted nothing more than to see me dead. But the truly astounding thing was how much we had to talk about.

It should have scared me to realize just how easily I had slipped into a rather intimate partnership with my former enemy. We'd blurred the lines so much I couldn't even pinpoint what 'side' either of us was on any more, and that thought alone should have terrified me. Incongruously enough, though, it didn't; in fact, the only time I truly felt apprehensive at the choices I'd made was when I thought about what would happen when this was all over. And even then, I'd be lying if I said that the idea of turning Baltor over to the proper authorities didn't make my stomach roll over in knots.

If I hadn't seen another side of him these last six months, I might've assumed this was all one giant, devious scheme to buy him enough time to recuperate and launch his attack on the magical dimension again. It would've been a lot easier to just think that way – use him for his Dragon Fire to defrost Sparx, then toss him back in Omega when it was over. Thanks for everything, but now you have to pay for what you've done. Enjoy eternity as a popsicle!

But every fiber of my being wanted to revolt whenever my thoughts brought me down that path. Whatever this was, whatever we had become (allies, 'frenemies'… there wasn't a good enough word or words in any language in all of existence to define us), I knew that that was not an option. There had to be another way this could end. So I tried to push it out of my mind most nights, focusing only on the seemingly impossible task of defrosting this cold, barren place.

You know you have to figure this out eventually, a little voice in the back of my head nagged. You're getting closer every day to having to make that choice, and acting like it doesn't exist isn't going to make it go away.

I hate it when the voices in your head are right.

"Dragon Fury!"

I'd been almost too lucky in my time here so far, that I hadn't encountered any of the ice monsters that had plagued us freshman year. Of course, I should've known better than to think that they'd all just up and died or something.

This one was much bigger and, well, icier than the ones I remembered from three years ago – some kind of a giant snake that reminded me a lot of the ones from the Omega Dimension. And unfortunately, it was proving to be just as impossible to beat.

"This approach isn't working," Baltor said, as I tumbled backwards through the air from the force of the recoil.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I grit my teeth and pushed my hair out of my face, trying my hardest to fight the urge to just fly fast and far away from this ugly, powerful monster (learned the hard way just how well that worked). "Got any ideas?"

"Just one. But it's mad."

"At this point, I'll try anything." He didn't say anything, just grabbed my hands. I was about to yank them back (and yell some well-placed expletives) when I noticed the glowing ball of energy encasing our hands. All of a sudden it hit me what he was trying to do. "Are you serious?" I shouted over the roar of the wind. "How do you know this isn't going to backfire in our faces?"

"I don't!" he answered, and I would've smacked him if I hadn't been concentrating all my energy on this attack. "Hey, you said you'd try anything!"

As crazy of an idea as it seemed, it actually seemed to be working. The glowing ball of power increased so that it was almost double the size of anything I could've ever hoped to create on my own. In perfect unison, we both let go and exclaimed, "Dragon Fire Convergence!"

The snake seemed to swallow our attack, which I thought was a good sign – maybe it would destroy it from the inside out, and we'd finally be done fighting it. I turned my back to the creature, about to congratulate Baltor on a job well done.

In hindsight, I definitely shouldn't have done that.

There was a deep, groaning roar from the direction of the snake below us. I barely had a split second to realize what was happening before an icy blast hit me in the back, sending me plummeting out of the sky at an alarmingly fast rate.

"Bloom!" I heard Baltor yell, but there was no time for him to react; in seconds I had covered the expanse between sky and ground, crashing through what I had thought was solid ice and sinking deep down under into the frigid waters below.

I tried to fight it, but the blast was too strong; it was like my powers had been cut off, made inaccessible, and without them I had no chance of being able to swim back to the surface, not at the rate I was sinking. The water grew darker and colder as I started to lose momentum, floating along like a rag doll with limbs askew. Dark spots clouded my vision, and my head felt foggy. Any minute now, I knew I would run out of oxygen, and that would be it – this would be the end.

Stella, Flora, Musa, Tecna, Layla, Mike, Vanessa, Kiko, even Sky – I'm so sorry it has to end like this. I'm sorry I never said goodbye. I just wish…

There were ripples as something broke the surface of the water – so many feet above – but I lacked the strength to hold on for much longer. This quiet, dark place wasn't so bad after all, was it? I could feel myself losing consciousness already, hovering perilously on the edge of life.

Oritel, Miriam, I'm sorry. I failed you…

Cold. Bitter, arctic, frozen-straight-down-to-the-bone cold.

I awoke with a start, coughing and choking, chest heaving with exertion as my lungs tried to suck in all the good oxygen they'd been deprived of. It stung, and I winced. But I was alive.

How was I alive? I'd all but accepted that I was going to die back there in the water – hadn't tried to fight it. What had happened?

Every muscle in my body ached like I'd spent the previous day lifting thousand-pound weights, but I lifted and craned my head, trying to figure out where I was. There was great, glorious warmth to my left, and I was lying on something soft, with a high ceiling above my head. Even in my addled state, I could recognize the library. Curiouser and curiouser…

I inhaled again, but coughed and sputtered, like there was something lodged in my throat. My eyes watered and nose burned, body doubled over with the sheer effort. It felt like I was suffocating, dying…

Then I felt a soft pressure against my lips, and warm breath not my own filled my lungs. I looked up to see a very familiar pair of gold eyes hovering over me.

And promptly started to choke again.

"Shhh, take it easy," he said, placing one hand on my stomach and the other on my chest. "You've basically just come back from the dead. Don't want to strain your body any further now."

"I… you… what?"

His hands glowed faintly with magic, and I sighed happily as my still-frozen skin started to defrost. "I don't know what that ice snake thing did to you, but by the time I got you back here, you were gone, Bloom. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing seemed to work." He hesitated. "And then… I guess something did."

There was something like a humming sensation in my veins, as if I were a machine coming back to life. It was strange, but not unwelcomed, especially since the pressure in my chest was starting to subside. My ability to form complete sentences, though, had still not returned to me, and so even though my mind was racing with questions faster than the speed of light, all I could say was, "How?"

"My best guess would be the Dragon Fire. It's not called the Flame of Life for nothing, after all." That made sense, but it felt like there was something missing from his answer.

"Why?" I asked, starting to feel somewhat normal again. "Why did you save me? That makes it twice now – no, three times if you count Tides. Why do you keep saving me?"

Silence.

"Get some sleep. Your body needs to heal. I'll leave food for when you wake up." His boots echoed on the floor as he walked away.

Sleep was the last thing on my mind. My lips tingled slightly, and not from the cold. I brought two fingers up to my lips, imagining I could still feel his lips against them. My heart beat faster at the thought, remembering the soft pressure, the comforting warmth…

Wait.

Was I seriously fantasizing about kissing Baltor?

"You should stay in tomorrow," he announced from his chair by the fire. "It won't do us any good if you fall in a snowbank or get caught in a blizzard or something in your condition."

"Whatever you say," I mumbled, dragging my chair closer to the fire and at the same time somewhat farther from his. He didn't seem to notice, since as per usual his nose was buried in a book. Sighing, I opened up my novel, but reading it was about the last thing on my mind.

Try as I might to convince myself that that weird little fantasy had just been an adverse reaction to the shock of coming back from near-death, it just wasn't working. The question was, why? Was it just overreacting hormones, from spending so much time with only him for company? Did it maybe have to do with the Dragon Fire, the ancient magic running through both our veins that seemed to bind us together in ways I couldn't even begin to understand?

I didn't let myself dwell on that other option. It couldn't possibly be that.

Glancing up from pretending to read, I stole a glance at him out of the corner of my eye. His concentration was completely on the book, a piece of hair framing the angular line of his jaw, his gold eyes shining in the firelight.

Had he always been this… handsome?

Okay, I'm definitely experiencing some kind of weird reaction to something, I decided. There's just no other explanation for this.

Unless…

Ugh. I sighed audibly, sick of this back-and-forth between the two parts of my brain.

"Is something wrong, Bloom?"

Damn. He noticed that.

"No, it's nothing," I insisted feebly. He stared at me for a moment, then started to go back to the book.

Say something, idiot, the bolder part of my brain yelled.

Yeah. A lot easier in my head. "Um, actually, Baltor, there is something."

"Hmm?" He looked up with what looked like only partial interest.

Gathering all my courage, I got up out of my chair, taking slow steps towards him. I twisted my hands nervously, trying to figure out what to say. He closed the book and stared at me curiously.

"What's on your mind?"

Do something. Now.

Impulsively, before I lost my nerve, I leaned over and kissed him. It was obvious he wasn't expecting it, and I saw his eyes widen a fraction of a second before I touched him, butterfly light, on his lips with my own.

He blinked and flinched like he'd been burned.

I swallowed hard and stepped back involuntarily. "S-sorry," I stammered. "I–"

Before I could finish the sentence, he was standing up and pulling me against him, cupping my face in one hand and placing the other on the back of my neck, under my hair. He kissed me gently at first, tentatively, like asking a question, but as I returned the kiss he grew bolder, his tongue sliding past my lips to explore the inside of my mouth.

My knees buckled slightly, and before I could process what was happening I was lying back against the soft carpet, him hovering over me. We were still kissing, and my head was spinning from the intense rush of desire flooding my veins. It was as if the kiss had awakened feelings inside of me that I didn't even know I possessed, like every ounce of passion in my body had been awakened by this breathtakingly, earth-shatteringly amazing kiss. Every other thought – like the possible consequences of whatever this was we were about to do – had left my head completely.

I may or may not have let out something that sounded like a soft moan as my back seemed to arch of its own accord, every millimeter of my body yearning to press itself against him. My skin felt both hot and cold at the same time, and much too tight, like I was trying to crawl out of it. These new sensations were making me greedy and possessive. This wasn't enough. I wanted more.

My hands slid under the shoulders of that ubiquitous burgundy jacket, pulling it down impatiently. Then, jacket discarded in a pile by the fire, my fingers worked eagerly at the collar of his shirt, quickly becoming annoyed with the many ties and frills.

I felt his chest rumble with laughter against my own, the vibrations seeming to move through my body as well. His fingers traced over my abdomen, leaving a trail of goosebumps on my skin, and my breath caught in my throat as they inched their way down to the edge of my T-shirt. Slowly, deftly, he started to tug it upwards.

His eyes were dark with lust as he took in my half-naked body, turning the normally brilliant gold hue a deep amber color, and any notion of self-consciousness evaporated under his heated gaze. I practically ripped his vest and shirt in my haste to get them off, wanting to feel his skin against my own so badly it was almost a physical ache. How did he get so… well-built? I wondered, placing my hands on his flat stomach, tracing his fine abdominal muscles.

His lips moved down to my neck, placing butterfly kisses along my collarbone that had me gasping for breath. This was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, like the very magic in my blood was calling out to his, drawing me to him. With a sigh, I threw my head back, closing my eyes and giving myself over to his expert touch.

And then, suddenly, it was no longer there.

I felt his absence like a physical pain; a dull ache coiling in the pit of my stomach, unsatisfied. Groaning as I opened my eyes, I saw him halfway across the room, hastily pulling his shirt back on.

"I'm sorry, Bloom," Baltor said, refusing to make eye contact with me. "I shouldn't have done that."

There were about a thousand ways I could've responded, but all of them died on my tongue before I could open my mouth. So instead, I just let him go, staring into the fire that was slowly dying in the hearth, as if it somehow held the answers I sought. My heart beat a staccato rhythm in my chest.

What the hell was that?

Lying here with you so close to me

It's hard to fight these feelings when it feels so hard to breathe

Caught up in this moment

Just a kiss on your lips in the moonlight

Just a touch of the fire burning so bright

No I don't want to mess this thing up

I don't want to push too far

Author's Note: First of all, I'm so incredibly sorry for the long wait! I really did not mean for it to take this long - I'm having such fun writing this, it's a major priority on my "to be worked on" list - but unfortunately, life decided to butt its big ugly self in. :P Gah, I loathe finals. At least they're pretty much over now, so I can work uninterrupted for the next two weeks. :D

So what did you guys think? ;-)

Next chapter (which will be up soon! I promise!) is a real game-changer, so keep your eyes out. Lots of emotions running wild, some resolution to this chapter (which is kind of an awkward ending, I realize; I changed my original plan because I thought it was too OOC for Bloom), and an enormously major event that changes the course of history.

Intrigued yet? Well, you know, I'd be more motivated to work faster if you review...

All my love,

- Authoress