He was so peaceful when he slept. So breathtaking. This was the first time she had really watched him like this. His dark hair was bending and sticking out in random directions. He smiled slightly as though he was in the middle of a pleasant dream. Although he was sleeping, his desire to be close to her was evident. His body was curled around her. The way he looked right now was almost angelic. If she didn’t know who he was already, she wouldn’t think for a moment that his heart was corrupted. She wouldn’t think that he was capable of doing the terrible things he did everyday. But her heart softened knowing that he did them to survive.

She knew he needed his rest. But… she wanted to tell him about the amazing things she had read and discovered about her gift and to share with him everything that she had decided to do with this new knowledge. She needed his help. That meant she would have to wake him. He looked comfortable, and she thought it was cruel to disturb him. But she couldn’t wait to tell him. The stress that had plagued her earlier had began to wear off. Not completely. However, she felt better.

She caressed his jawline and sighed, feeling bad that she was interrupting his sleep. He began to stir as she continued stroking his face.

“Hale?” Pandora whispered.

His eyes squinted as if he had winced. She hoped that she hadn’t interrupted him in the middle of a wonderful dream.

“I have to tell you something,” she murmured closer to his ear.

His eyes fluttered open, flashing his crystal blue irises each time. “What?” Hale asked hoarsely.

“I found something in the book.”

Slowly, he pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times. He looked over her shoulder at the book open in her lap.

“Well?”

Pandora smiled and pointed to the pages. “It speaks of a way to strengthen my gift so that I can heal my home world.”

Hale yawned and stretched his arms. “What does it say?” Hale managed to ask in the midst of his lingering exhaustion.

Pandora stared down at the book for a while and reread for herself what she needed to explain to Hale. She had to admit it would seem farfetched, especially to Hale, who was already skeptical of her entire mission. These steps to strengthening her ability were straightforward enough for her. But Hale would likely doubt everything. She could only hope that he would still support her.

“Just promise me you will try to stay calm and give this a chance,” she told him.

Hale frowned. “Now I’m nervous.”

Pandora laughed uncomfortably. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said that then.”

He scoffed. “Just go on.”

“Um… the short version is t—that you take Elani crystals and melt them down into a liquid. The liquid is mostly the pure energy within the crystal. This energy is the same type we have in us that gives us our gift.” Pandora stopped to read Hale’s reaction. He seemed merely interested.

“Okay…” he said, waiting for her to continue.

Pandora flipped the page back and forth between her hands. “This liquid can be injected into the bloodstream.” She flattened the page and pointed to the diagram. “This is an example of where to inject it in the body. It’s quite—”

“Wait a second!” Hale interrupted. He ripped the book from her hands. “That’s not even possible. Hot liquid like that would kill you. You couldn’t even touch it without burning your skin.”

Pandora turned and reached for the book. “Wait! Let me explain. It’s not what—”

Hale stretched his arm back to keep the book from her reach. “You’re going to kill yourself. What if someone made this all up?”

“Give it back!” Pandora shouted. “Please, let me explain.”

Hale nodded and handed the book to her very reluctantly. “I just can’t see you hurt. I can’t lose—” Hale looked at his hands and clenched them into fists. He gave a long sigh and met her eyes again. “I want you to be safe.”

Pandora let go of her frustrations with him and smiled slightly at him. “Thank you. But I promise I will be extra careful. Elani crystals aren’t the same as regular crystals. Once they are melted into a liquid, they remain that way, a type of liquid energy basically. Sometimes, back home we would melt them down to use their energy to power machinery and other things.”

Hale narrowed his eyes critically. “I will take your word for it.”

“As long as the central crystal is alive, the energy from the crystals and within us is limitless. To me it makes perfect sense to inject myself with more energy to strengthen my powers.”

Shaking his head, he held onto her hands. “What if it hurts you? It’s not worth the risk.”

“It is to me! If I don’t do this, I can’t save Elani. My people will lose everything. You don’t understand because you don’t live there.” Pandora tried to refrain from crying.

“Why is it all up to you? What about the other millions of people on Elani?”

“I have the ability to fix this. Why would I wait for someone to save my home when I can do it myself?”

Hale dropped her hands and got off the bed. He stood in front of her and brought his hand to her chin and lifted her face to his. “I don’t want you to do this. It sounds dangerous. Besides, we don’t even have enough crystals or the equipment to do this procedure.”

“Thank you for your concern. But I have to do this, Hale. I’m going to figure it out. I can find crystals and—”

He growled, cutting her off. “No! You don’t have to do this. You can just ignore it. You’re putting this responsibility on yourself.”

“I want to do this.”

“I can’t support this. You’re could die.” Hale didn’t give her a chance to respond. He stormed out of the room.

Pandora watched him, saying nothing. She was aggravated and hurt. Before she told him anything, she knew he would be skeptical of her ideas and would likely disagree with her, but she didn’t think that he would refuse to listen. She only wanted him to be there for her. He didn’t have to agree with her. She just didn’t want to have to do this alone.

She blinked her eyelids a couple times, prompting tears to fall from her eyes. The way they could go from affectionate one moment and angry with each other the next astounded her. He was becoming a little overprotective of her. He must have forgotten that she had survived her entire life without him.

Pandora stared down at the book and flipped the page over. This section explained the risks of the procedure. At first glance, the risks seemed rather severe. She refused to delve in further, not wanting to scare herself. She was about to shut the book, but before she did, she found a note stuck onto the bottom half of the other page. The note looked much newer than the pages. Pandora wasn’t the first Elani to search and find the Ancient Book after all. Carefully, Pandora tore off the note from the page and studied it closer directly under a light on the ceiling. Written on the note was a message:

Looking to save our home Elani? So am I. Perhaps we have had similar ideas. Perhaps no one believed you too. If so, come find me. I can help you with your quest. Come find me if you please. My location is on the back.

Pandora turned over the note and found a messy drawing. She assumed it must be a map. Upon closer inspection, she realized the part of the sketch in the bottom corner of the note looked to be the library. From the library was a path drawn that ended on the opposite corner. Whoever the artist was, they included various landmarks that would no doubt be necessary for her to find her way to the destination.

She now knew her next step.

She would at least try to find the person who wrote this note. If she did, maybe they would be able to help her. It would be good to have someone who believed in her cause, wouldn’t it?

Pandora stuck the note back into the book and then dressed herself for the cold. She slipped on her leggings and wrapped herself in the warm coat. For a moment, she looked at the soft bed, thinking of what might have been if she had told Hale yes. But maybe it just wasn’t the right time for them. With the book in her arms, she left the bedroom and went to confront Hale yet again about her new plan.

* * * *

Zaya pushed against the restraints trapping her to the chair. It was a waste of energy to try to break free. Energy that she was lacking. Hunger was eating its way through her stomach and causing it to growl. But regardless of how hungry she was, she would never beg for food from Hale.

He was occupied with Pandora, so she didn’t have a chance to beg anyway. She wondered what was going on in the back room. If Pandora was any other girl, she would bet all her money on what Hale would be doing. But this was Pandora. It was almost as if Hale was afraid of having sex with her.

Zaya couldn’t withhold a laugh. Hale afraid of sex, never thought that was possible.

It was the only thing she knew he truly enjoyed. Back when they were “together,” he told her it was the one thing that gave him relief from his pain. Alcohol didn’t have as strong of an effect on him. And he refused to get involved with drugs oddly enough. She never asked him why, but he always avoided drugs. Maybe he preferred the pain.

Hale told her, “Pain is the only real feeling. It’s the only one that lasts.”

That had stuck with Zaya. She found it true for herself. It made sense to her that he would say such depressing statement. Even the way that sex made her feel was very temporary. The bliss only lasted as long as her partner lasted or as long as they were interested. It was easier for Hale to find women who were interested. But Zaya was rather picky about whom she allowed in her bed. Hale was the only one she really regretted. Not because he wasn’t good. The problem was he was too good. Hale was the one she thought about when she she was feeling desperate. It disgusted her, but it was true.

While she was trying to discard her thoughts about him, she heard a door slide open and then closed. The sound of footsteps stomping down the hall alarmed her and brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up and saw Hale.

He was shirtless….

She looked down at his feet, trying to get the image of his chest out of her mind.

She heard him whisper curses to himself about Pandora. Zaya’s eyes darted up to his face, only his face. His jaw was tense and even his eyes were furious. She wondered what had happened in the bedroom with Pandora. Did she deny him?

Zaya studied his face for a bit longer. If that were what was bothering him, he would have looked as though he was in pain, in anguish for having been denied what he saw as the greatest pleasure. He would have been even more miserable because the woman was Pandora, the one he wanted most of all. Instead of disappointment and pain, Zaya saw his anger.

“What did she say?” Zaya asked, knowing that only Pandora’s words would evoke such frustrations in him.

Hale scoffed at her.

“What is it?” Zaya pressed.

He strode to her side and sat in the seat next to her. “Why do you care?”

“I’m bored here, Hale! You have me tied up and alone.” Zaya was fine with the alone part. But the boredom was extreme enough that she wanted to talk with Hale and maybe even gain some sympathy from him, if that were possible.

“Fine. You were right. She did say something that pissed me off.” He laughed frustratedly. “I don’t know why she makes me so angry sometimes.”

“I don’t want the long version.”

Hale ignored her comment. “I thought that we were going to finally….” Hale sighed. “I just thought that she wanted to have sex. She told me she did. And then way before anything really happened she started crying!”

“Your foreplay was that bad, huh.”

“Shut up,” he said, trying not to laugh. “She was apparently stressed out about something so I think I was pressuring her too much. I feel bad.”

“But that doesn’t explain your anger.”

“Well, she has decided to do something that threatens her life. She wants me to be there for her. But I can’t be. I tried to talk her out of it, but she won’t listen. Of course, she can do whatever she wants, but I’m not going to help her harm herself.”

Zaya noticed that he left out specific details in that statement, but at that point she no longer cared. She understood the issue well enough without the specifics. Hale wasn’t the type to demand anything from a woman he wanted to be with. Not that he should be rewarded for having basic good behavior, but the others who were in similar lines of work weren’t like that. So, Zaya respected that element of his character. Others were controlling. Hale wasn’t, not towards a woman.

“As much as I think that Pandora is stupid, she knows what she wants and goes after it. She’s not a coward. Nothing that anyone says changes her mind. I’ve been around her enough to figure that out,” Zaya said

“Don’t call her stupid,” Hale demanded. “But other than that you’re right. And I don’t know what to do.”

“If she does whatever alone, she has a higher chance of something going wrong. And with your help she would have a better chance of not dying.”

He looked to be contemplating what she had said. “I can’t lose her.”

“Yeah, I know. You love her or whatever the hell that means.” Zaya didn’t withhold her contempt from the idea of love. Love was so foolish. She didn’t believe it existed. To her love was a fantasy, a nice way of referring to lust.