The building. It was synonymous with prison. Beyond that, it was a maze of questions. For weeks Jax had searched for an alternative to going back. He’d been thorough, combing every inch of the surrounding land, looking for any sign of another option. But every clue he’d found—the paintbrush, the easels—besides setting him on edge, they pointed back there.

Kel’s mouth was set in a tight line. Her eyes were wide, and her head moved almost imperceptibly from side to side. “No.” It came out as a whisper. Denial, not stubbornness.

“We have to go back,” Jax said. “It’s the only way. It’s our only chance of finding answers.”

“But we already searched the building. What do you think you’ll find?”

Jax stood and went to the dresser. He took out a fresh supply of paper and tape and grabbed a new pencil. “Come with me,” he said.

She followed him to the kitchen, and they sat down at the table. Jax tore off sheets of paper and connected them with the tape until they covered the entire surface of the small table. Then he began sketching. He copied the floorplan from his memory, almost without hesitation.

After a few minutes, he stopped and looked up. Kel’s eyes were wide. She blinked a few times and shook her head. “Wow. That’s some memory.”

He shrugged. “I’m just good at making maps.”

“What happened here?” she asked, pointing to an area where the floorplan stopped abruptly. “You didn’t finish drawing this part.”

“That’s what I wanted to show you. What I’ve drawn is everywhere we’ve been. But here,” he pointed, “these halls continue on north—the part of the building we haven’t covered. And from what I’ve seen of the outside…” He hesitated for a moment. “Well, let’s just say, I’m pretty sure the place is large enough to fill this entire paper. At least double what we’ve already covered.”

Her eyes widened.

“So,” he continued, “I go back. I search the heck outta that sucker until I find something. I map it all out. There’s got to be a point to all those crazy rooms, and we still haven’t figured it out. But I will,” he said, looking her resolutely in the eye. “I will find the answer.”

She frowned at him. “Why do you keep saying ‘I?’ You thinking of going without me?”

He shrugged. “I just…didn’t think it required two people.” As soon as the words were out, he remembered how the arms of smoke had captured him, how if it hadn’t been for her he wouldn’t be here now. But he didn’t voice his thoughts.

Her hard gaze penetrated him as if she was thinking the same thing. “What if something happens? You might need me.”

“It might be dangerous,” he said.

“Which is why I should come.”

He sighed.

“What? Are you trying to protect me again?”

He shrugged.

“Well, have you ever stopped to consider the fact that I might not be the only one who needs to be protected?”

“I just want to keep you safe.”

She crossed her arms. “Well, maybe I want to keep you safe, too. Remember what you said when we were in that prison?”

Jax frowned, unsure what she was referring to.

“You said we should stick together. That we’d have a better chance together. I think you should take your own advice.” The smallest hint of a smile tugged at her lip.

Jax nodded. “We go together then.”

“When?” she asked.

“Tomorrow.”

She raised an eyebrow and looked like she was about to protest, but he spoke before she could say anything. “Listen, though. If anything happens to me in there…if I’m captured…you have to promise me you’ll just get away. It’s not worth risking both of us if…if something happens.”

She frowned.

He put his hands on her shoulders and stared into her eyes, trying to burn into her all the intensity he felt. “I mean it. This is important. If something happens, you run, Kel. Don’t look back. Use those legs of yours, and run as fast as you can. You just get away. Come back here, and bolt the door behind you.” He took a deep breath. “Just leave. Don’t try to save me.”

Her eyes stayed locked on his, the silence heavy between them. He waited for her to argue, praying she wouldn’t fight him on this one.

Finally, her jaw slackened. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“Give me one more day.”

He cocked his head and arched a brow.

“Let’s not go tomorrow. I just want one full day here with you before we leave. Who knows what we might find in that place…what might happen…” Her voice turned to a whisper as she choked on the last word. She blinked rapidly and looked back at him. “I just want to enjoy one last day here with you.”

He nodded. “I can do that.” He knew all too well how she felt. He was just as worried as she about what they might find. Maybe more so, he thought, remembering that weird ribbon that had shocked him senseless in the woods just a few weeks back. The sensation was still fresh in his mind. He still hadn’t told her about that.

He got up and pushed his chair in. She stood as he folded up the map.

“Jax?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you really think this is the only way?”

He held her gaze for a moment. Then he nodded.

“Okay.” She sounded dejected but resolved. It was decided. They were in it together. If it came to getting out again…Jax couldn’t think about that. He couldn’t afford to lose his resolve.

He took a step closer and wrapped his arms around her in a close embrace. She sighed and dropped her head on his shoulder. She seemed to melt into him. She sighed deeply, finally releasing her tension. He stroked her hair, feeling her relax in his arms. He remembered their kiss. How it’d felt—like breaking into a vault. Like finding the pure ecstasy behind its seal. On the outside, Kel was strong and stubborn, but that hardness only protected the tenderness inside.

He wondered if she could hear his heart thudding away inside his chest. Holding her like this was like having a tiny piece of home. He craved more of that feeling—and more of her.

He let his face fall into her hair, his lips resting against the soft tresses, and breathed in her scent. A jolt of recognition trailed through him like flames. The heady sensation was intoxicating. The steady pace of his heart accelerated. He closed his eyes and brushed his lips to her forehead, letting the scent envelop his mind. Under his lips, he felt her face lift to meet his.

Inhaling deeply, his cheek brushed against hers. His lips found her mouth. Her arms trailed up his back and pulled him in tighter. He kissed her. And she kissed him back.

He knew the shape of her mouth perfectly—as if he’d kissed her a hundred times before. The softness of her lips sent tingles through him—a delicious familiarity. While letting his mind swim through oceans of bliss, he held back some, not wanting to scratch her tender face with his thickly stubbled one. She didn’t seem to mind, though.

She pressed in farther with each kiss as if she couldn’t get enough. He slid his hands up her back to the nape of her neck, and his thumbs caressed the delicate skin just above her shoulders. A soft, nearly inaudible moan escaped her lips. Her hands gripped fistfuls of his shirt. He kissed her harder, wanting to absorb every bit of her.

This was what he’d been seeking—the wholeness of having her so close that she was almost a part of him. This tangible bit of home tantalized him. It was wonderful, but he knew there was more. If they got back, how much more intense would the feeling be?

Submerged in her aroma, in the texture of her skin, in the moistness of her lips, he ached with longing, not just for her, but for the place they both belonged. He kissed her once more and pulled back to look at her. Her wide blue eyes were full of an emotion he’d never seen so clearly there. Honest, unveiled adoration. She was absolutely gorgeous.

He touched her cheek, just taking her in for a moment. “Kel?”

Her unblinking eyes didn’t leave his. “Yeah?”

“Does this feel…” He let the sentence hang for a moment before finishing it. “Familiar?”

She was silent a moment and then released a breathy, “Yes.”

“Like…” He hesitated. “…we’ve done this before? Like in another lifetime?”

She nodded, bringing her hands around and placing her palms on his chest. She spoke so softly it was almost a whisper. “Like this is where I belong.”

We have to get back, he thought.

 

 

~

 

 

The next day passed all too quickly for Kel. Jax made breakfast. They waded in the stream, enjoying the cool relief from the heat of the day. Jax used his power to splash her without lifting a finger. She grinned and telekinetically overtook him with a tidal wave, destroying his casual stance and innocent expression. For lunch, she cooked an elaborate meal from the finest crops in the garden. Afterward, they sat in the orchard, playing apple races with their minds to see who was the fastest. She was quicker, but he had better control of the ability.

“Who’s the winner?” she sang out, laughing at him. “Whatcha gotta say about that?” Her heart was dancing. It was a perfect day. She couldn’t remember feeling happier.

“All right,” he said, rolling his eyes but smiling in spite of himself. “It’s you. You’re the fastest. Happy now?”

“Yeah, actually. Maybe now you’ll learn not to talk trash when you don’t got the skills to back it up.”

“But my accuracy beats yours, big time.”

“Whatever. I’m the winner.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I give up,” he said, raising his hands in surrender and falling backward onto the ground. He folded his arms beneath his head and stared up into the tree above.

Kel sat next to him. She watched his chest rise and fall as he took a deep breath and blew out a pleased sigh.

“This is nice,” he said after a minute. “Getting to relax for a change.”

“You should do it more often. You’ve been working too hard,” she said, frowning at him. “I’ve barely gotten to see you the last few weeks. Maybe…”

“What?” he asked, glancing at her.

“Well…I was just thinking maybe we could stay here a little longer.” There was hope in her voice, but she knew it was a futile wish.

He propped his chin on his elbow. “It’s fun just hanging out for a change, but it’s not enough. I couldn’t be happy without knowing I’d done everything in my power to find the answer—to get us back. And I have a feeling you wouldn’t, either.”

Her heart sank, but he was right. She didn’t want this moment to end. But could she be truly happy here? Ignoring that pull for familiarity? How long before this place might feel like the home she was missing? Would it ever? “So I guess this is it, then? Our last day here.”

He nodded and sat up. “I think it has to be. Staying longer won’t help. You know that.”

She held his gaze for a moment then finally nodded.

“We’ll leave first thing in the morning.” His eyes grew wide, and his voice fell to a whisper. “The answers are in there, Kel.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do.” He shook his head. “I can’t explain it. I just have this feeling we’ll find what we’re looking for.”

She was silent for a moment, remembering the little girl. “Jax?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something I haven’t told you.”

He arched a brow.

She took a deep breath. “That girl in the woods…she didn’t exactly disappear this time.”

He frowned.

“She went into the building.”

“What?”

She nodded.

He whistled.

“I have no idea how she made it up the cliff, but I saw her at the top. She went through the door. What does that mean?”

He blinked and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“I think it means you’re right.”

Kel felt as if she should be relieved about the prospect of finding the answers, but the only sensation permeating her was a sense of dread. It started in the pit of her stomach and slowly worked itself up into her lungs. She couldn’t put her finger on what exactly, but something was not right about that girl. Why can’t she just come out here and tell us? Why do we have to go back there?

Jax was playing with a twig. She wondered what he was thinking about. Remembering all that had happened in that monolith made her heart race and her palms sweat. “Are you scared?” she asked in a small voice.

“To go back?”

She nodded.

His gaze flicked to her and back at the stick. He seemed to be wrestling with whether or not to deny his feelings. Then he sighed. “Yeah.”

“Me too.”

She picked at the grass, thinking that even though her nerves and symptoms had calmed considerably since those first few days here, the idea of going back made her utterly restless and miserable all over again.

“Jax?”

“Yeah?”

“There’s something else I’m afraid of.”

“What?”

She looked down at the thinning patch of grass and plucked another blade, twisting it between her fingers. “I’m worried about what we might discover…about ourselves. I mean, of course, I want to know. But what if our pasts aren’t what we hope they are?”

His eyes met hers again, and she stared back at him, silently wondering about the truth. What if he wasn’t a part of her life? What if they’d never known each other…or worse, what if she was partnered with someone else? They both longed for home, but what if those homes weren’t the same? She couldn’t imagine not being with him.

“Kel,” he said in a husky voice, grabbing her hand in his. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after we get our answers, but I know one thing. I want to be with you. That won’t change. It can’t. No matter what we find. In any reality, I’ll want to be with you.”

“I want to be with you, too,” she said, “but I won’t hold you to it if…if something changes.” The words tasted bitter as she forced them over her tongue. Somehow, though, she felt she owed him that.

“It won’t.” He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her, and she knew that he believed what he said with his whole heart. Kissing him was arousing and comforting all in one. Like a tiny piece of that haven she craved so much. More than anything, she hoped what he said was true—that they would be together forever.