Shiver watched as Caledon and Vale rose with a groan. Her eyes widened as she saw two items coalesce into reality in their hands.

  So the ice cube was right. She really wasn't lying.

  Vale clutched a pale scepter forged from ivory. It was comprised of two curved pieces of bone which supported a receptacle containing sickly, green energy.

  As for Caledon, a torch of the darkest wood materialised beside him, emitting a soft flame that filled Shiver with comfort at the sight of it.

  The pair groggily shook their heads, as the black tendrils surrounding them receded back into the walls and floor. Silence returned to the temple.

  Caledon rose, offering a hand to Vale which she promptly accepted. Shiver frowned at the gesture. Vale cleared her throat, as she stood to her feet.

  "Goodness. What a terrifying spider. I’ve never seen anything like it."

  Vale examined her newfound sceptre with a mixture of incredulity and disgust.

  "I thought he was dignified. He was quite the gentleman. Did you see his monocles?"

  Vale exchanged a glance with Caledon, gaping at him, appalled at his opinion.

  "Are you two done flirting?"

  The pair started at Shiver’s bitter tone, glancing back at her.

  "Now where was I?"

  Shiver materialised a dagger and held the tip of it to Caledon’s chest.

  He gulped, and felt a bead of sweat trace down his temple.

  "Here to bring dearest daddy the heads of an orphan girl and runaway lady?"

  "Shiver! He helped us. I’m sorry Lord Cale-"

  "His father killed Blaze, Pov and Marta."

  Her words were like acid, and Caledon flinched as she cut into him with them.

  "Their only sin was harbouring an orphan girl who stole for a living. None of them deserved the death they received."

  Shiver’s neck-length, wavy silver hair was matted and tangled. Her eyes contained a wild hatred that could not be subdued with empty words of comfort.

  Caledon's mind whirled, as he struggled to find his proverbial footing.

  "My father… He told me to bring you to justice."

  Caledon winced internally, at the words that escaped his mouth.

  Nice going Caledon. Dying as soon as you awaken as a Fearshaper.

  Shiver broke into a savage smile, but before she could continue, Caledon broke in.

  "So I wanted to hear your side of the story for myself. What possessed you to steal from a Lord of House Flora in the first place?"

  Shiver barked out a terse laugh.

  "You’re asking me about a theft? Have you ever even graced the lower quarters with your presence, oh mighty Lord Brimstone?"

  Shiver swung her arms downwards, sending her dagger hurtling towards Caledon.

  "Shiver! No!"

  Caledon gritted his teeth together and shut his eyes, moving not a muscle.

  "I-is this really the time to do this?"

  "Talk."

  Caledon opened his eyes, to find the dagger’s point hovering right above his eye. Much like how she had killed the thug, Dag. Her face was expressionless and cold, just as much as the biting frost that touched his face, emitted from her blade.

  "You… Your friend, Blaze. She stole cargo that House Flora was transporting to my father. But… something isn’t right. What you said about my father killing innocents – I have never known him to commit such atrocities, it isn’t in his nature. There’s more to this than we know."

  Caledon paused, nervously gripping his newfound torch. Its light comforted him, which ironically, set him on edge.

  He was anything but at ease, but if his Fear played up, there was no way he could tell truth from deception. It could conjure words from Shiver’s mouth, prompting a response that could end with a blade of ice through his throat. It was always strange to be grateful for panic burning through his veins.

  Unexpectedly, Vale piped up with a question.

  "And you helped us, why? To satisfy your curiosity?"

  "To seek justice, through the truth."

  Shiver laughed bitterly at the lord’s response.

  "Princess, it looks like we have an idealist on our hands. Tell me, oh lordling, will our truth ever be able to satisfy you? What is to stop you from disbelieving every word from my mouth, then ending my existence in a swift moment?’ There’s nothing to stop you, oh big and scary Brimstone. Cornering two helpless ladies, like you have?"

  Him? Cornering them?

  Caledon stared at Shiver wordlessly, the chill of the temple door against his back at the forefront of his mind.

  "I have a suggestion boy! Perhaps you should follow the lasses to judge their character more thoroughly!"

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Well said!"

  The trio froze at the unfamiliar voice. It was regal, and carried a confidence far surpassing anything Vale had ever heard. Impressive, given the time she had spent with Shiver.

  A wishbone materialised on Vale’s shoulder, hopping in place. Shiver scowled.

  "Not another one."

  "Shiver! Hey!"

  "If we keep with the theme, your name must be Boney?"

  "I like your spirit girl. But call me that again, and I'll put you in a grave. Behold, the majesty of Lord Quietus Vingrave!"

  The little wishbone turned to face its charge whose face carried an expression torn between horror and despair. Vale had gone stiff at the appearance of her guide, her shoulders taught. Her eyes held a fear which Shiver could sympathise with.

  No one really explained what it was like to be irrevocably bound to a being that embodied your Fear.

  "Ahem, of course. You may address me as Lord Quietus."

  Vale’s expression clearly showed that the girl shared her feelings.

  "To have heralded the Fear to summon me girl… Yours must run deep. And its object is death, is it not? It must be."

  Under the scrutiny of her newfound partner, Vale managed a terse nod. Strangely, the wishbone’s voice did not ridicule her, it carried an odd respect – Shiver would not go so far as to have characterised it as warmth.

  "Then there could have been no better guide! For I am death’s master."

  Shiver exchanged a glanced with Caledon, whose eyebrow appeared to twitch at the unbelievable arrogance of a wishbone of all things. It was something they could agree on, against the odds. She scanned the area surrounding the lordling, and her eyes caught on something floating behind him.

  It was something small, circular in nature which seemed to tenuously fade into and out of existence. Unlike the other guides – Icey and Quietus – it stayed silent after materialising.

  "And do you have a name as well?"

  Tracking Shiver’s gaze, Caledon’s head whipped into the spot where Shiver had seen the entity. But there was nothing in sight.

  "You must be confused girl, understandably dazzled by my brilliance. Of course, you are to be forgiven, I myself struggle to envision the grace with which I would carry myself in my own esteemed presence."

  Shiver merely stuck her tongue out at the wishbone, not bothering to untangle his sheer arrogance.

  Neither did she clarify what she had seen with Caledon. That much, was to be expected. He couldn’t expect to receive any assistance from the frosty girl.

  "You’ll have to forgive Shiver, Lord Quietus! My name is Icey, I’m the guide assigned to her."

  Icey beamed at the wishbone, her surface glistening with excitement. The two began an exchange as they introduced themselves. The wishbone’s arrogance seemed to calm Vale. She let out a deep breath that she hadn’t realised she was holding.

  Then her eyes lit up.

  "You know what this means, Shiver… The entry page that I found, it was right! This place, it awakens elves into Fearshapers!"

  Shiver raised an eyebrow, as she crossed her arms and leaned against the temple wall. All the while keeping Caledon well within her sight.

  "Well… while it was kept a secret… the patriarchs and matriarchs of noble houses must have already known how we awaken as Fearshapers. It must be through these temples. You of course, are an exception-"

  Caledon gaped, one of the mysteries he was grappling with having surfaced.

  "An exception? That is fascinating. I must ask, how did that come to pass?"

  Caledon immediately blushed at his outburst. Vale coloured as well, having let the information slip.

  Shiver just sighed, ignoring Caledon’s question.

  "And the nobility have been keeping these temples a secret."

  Vale nodded reluctantly.

  "The siblings of mine that awakened didn’t say a word about these temples… Although, I doubt they would have volunteered the information. I think they would have rather seen me dead. Still… We can’t say for sure that elves of noble blood are capable of awakening. We don’t know who your parents-"

  "I told you, Fearshaping is the right of all elves."

  The little ice cube’s words cut through their conversation. Solemn in their delivery, as it had been the very first time she spoke them.

  "The little cube speaks the truth! Fearshaping is the right of all elves."

  Caledon frowned, deep in thought.

  "If what your guides say is to be believed… then the nobility are obscuring the truth. Most likely to retain their exclusive chokehold over incredible power."

  Caledon paled as he saw Shiver’s lips morph into a viscious smile.

  "Couldn’t have said it better myself, lordling. Though I would add one, small detail. Not only are they denying the masses power, they deny them an end to their Fears."

  Shiver’s eyes gleamed in the flickering of the temple light.

  "Serenity. What Pevir mentioned, what this Archcity ushered its elves towards. Like you said, princess - the descent allows Fearshapers to be freed from their Fears. That is what the nobility have stolen."

  An uncomfortable silence fell between them. Caledon and Vale exchanged a glance.

  Before Shiver let out a loud yawn.

  "If only I could bring myself to care. We have loftier goals, don’t we my lady? Now, dear guides. I believe what you’re meant to guide is our descent. How exactly do we descend?"

  Shiver turned her gaze to Icey and Lord Quietus.

  "Why, I would be delighted to share-"

  "New Fearshapers begin in Anhedonia! The very first stage of Fear."

  "I say, colleague-"

  Icey zipped about excitedly, weaving circles between them.

  "You have two goals in this stage. The first is to acknowledge your Fear and the second is to embrace it. Simple!"

  Shiver arched an eyebrow at the ice cube’s cryptic response.

  "I’m afraid I’m going to need some detail."

  Icey came to an abrupt halt. Another stream of information poured forth from her guide.

  "Sure! To acknowledge your Fear, you revisit its inception in your nightmares. When you fully comprehend the shape of it – acknowledgement occurs. Opening your eyes to your Fear, bringing it into your awareness. That’s the very first step-"

  "Which requires us to… sleep? We achieve this in our nightmares?"

  "Yes!"

  Shiver thought back to the dream she had been visited with before she found herself awakening on Marrow, riding down the mountain pass. Her thoughts hovered over the sight of the two elves that had been present, along with the ice shades.

  Vale broke the silence that ensued.

  "Shiver… perhaps there would be a better place to descend… Look."

  She gestured to the walls of the temple. The black tendrils that had emerged during their awakening had begun to recede. Including, over the twin doors that had sealed them in.

  "I bet Lord Semille and my brother will be after us as soon as they can enter."

  Shiver and Caledon stared at her. He had suspected it from the very first sight of her, but this confirmed it. Shiver was the one who put words to his thoughts.

  "Your brother?"

  The wishbone hopped happily on Vale’s shoulders just as the shoulders it stood on shrunk in dejection.

  "Oh my, I love a good family drama."

  this one or if you preferred the .

  here.