Searing heat caresses me, melts me to the bone. It's better, so much better, flames so hot they consume all. I wonder deliriously why I've never done this before, never lit my fingers like candles to break the dark, never set a room ablaze to fight the frost, but I already know. No one ever told me how.

He carries me out amidst falling embers, and the loss is sharp, immediate. The fire evaporates from my veins, leaving me empty, burnt to ashes.

Are you okay? he asks, muffled through his suit.

It's cold, I say.