"Breathe... Just breathe."

The scent of dirt and grass filled Rey's nose. Eyes closed, she exhaled through pursed lips, pretending she was blowing away a cloud.

"Back straight," Luke said.

She straightened her shoulders and adjusted her crossed legs on the large boulder where she sat. She couldn't fathom how Master Luke sat on this rock, high up on this cliff, for hours every day and not flung himself out of boredom. Only twenty minutes had passed since they'd begun her lesson, but her bottom was already sore.

Never mind that. Focus, she thought. As her breath left her lips so did the nerves from her mind. Warm wind whistled in her ears.

"Breathe... Concentrate."

I am, she wanted to say.

"Focus."

It's a bit difficult when you keep -

"Now," he said, "reach out. And not with your hand."

Her hand came up an inch as he said it and then settled back down on her knee. Feeling her way through the air around her, her energy, warmth began building inside her. It emerged through her fingertips towards the small rocks huddled together on the edge of the cliff. They trembled from her power, clacking against each other. She envisioned them high above the cliff, floating in midair, and then opened her eyes. The stupid rocks hadn't moved an inch.

"Eyes closed," Luke reminded her.

"I can't concentrate without looking at it," she said.

"Here's some advice: don't trust your eyes. They're deceitful. Trust your feelings. Try again."

She huffed and straightened her spine, breathing in once more. This time, the smell of the sea surrounded her. She felt the grainy sand spilling through her fingers. The taste of salt in the water. Lightning shooting through the dark sky. Kylo's breath hot on her lips.

For Maker's sake. Blood rushed to her cheeks. The memory sent a ripple down her spine, down to the tips of her toes. She wiggled them in her boots, concentrating. Her warmth spread again, leaving her palms and flowing past the rocks. The force guided her mind beyond the cliff, through the windy air. Past mountain peaks and clouds that blurred her sight. Her body still sat on the boulder, Luke standing next to her, the sun shining down on them both. She felt it all. Yet, eyes closed, the force lured her mind away. Up rickety stairs, through bushes, grass, and trees until the dirt turned to sand. There, barefoot among rocks and shells, Kylo Ren sat staring at the foaming water running up the beach with every wave. His book was open in his hand, a pear in his lap, but his eyes seemed distracted, lost in thought. Too curious to stop herself, Rey pressed in further, her lips parting at the images.

She felt his frustration at failing his mission, and his rage at the Knights who fled like cowards. He worried Snoke would think even less of him once he heard. Might even leave him here. With Luke, whom he feared. He felt how the Jedi despised him. Loneliness. Confusion about... about her.

The second she appeared in his thoughts; the others melted away. Only the memory of Rey standing before him after rescuing her lingered. The way her wet clothes stuck to her body. The drops of rain sliding down her chest into her shirt. The cute crease of her brows whenever she shot him a look of defiance. The way her cheeks burned pink whenever he came close to her. This girl. His nemesis. The one who'd slashed that hideous scar on his face. The thought of her taking his path, of becoming the miserable thing he was, tore at his chest. He had made up his mind to keep away from her and prevent it from happening. Somehow, the feeling of that was worse. He wanted to be close to her.

Rey bit her lip, and Kylo looked.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" he frowned.

Very much, she responded through her thoughts. As much as you did when you interrogated me.

"I didn't enjoy that," he said, running his thumb down the spine of his book. "But I needed the map. I tried my best not to frighten you."

Why? Why not? Why did you save me?

He swallowed. "I don't know. Because... Because I want you."

A mutual shock vibrated through the bond. Rey pressed her lips together, trying her best not to let him hear what she was thinking.

"As - as my apprentice. Of course," he said quickly, covering his reddening face with his hand. "I've never... I've never met anyone who thought like me. Or had my power. You were something else." He shook his head anyhow. "I'm sorry."

Well... thank you, was all she could think to say. She didn't understand. This man wasn't behaving like the monster she knew. He wasn't thinking the way she had expected him to. She despised him for what he had done. For everything he had tried to do. Yet, there was something else about him too. Something different from the monster he pretended to be.

Light. Light shined beneath his dark eyes.

"Rey?" Luke's voice was a whisper in the back of her mind. But the fear flooding through Kylo when he heard it was deafening.

The bond broke. She gasped, opening her eyes. The rocks on the cliff sat undisturbed. Next to her, Luke gave her a look. "You know, when I was your age, I could lift a whole x-wing out of a swamp."

"And you did it on your first try?" Rey asked.

Luke narrowed his bright, blue eyes. "What is it? What's troubling you?"

"He's afraid of you," she said. "Why is he so afraid of you?"

The color drained from his face. "What has he been telling you?"

"Nothing, I -"

"You're still connected to him. Aren't you? Rey, listen to me -"

"No, you listen," she snapped. "Master Luke, I'm thankful for your teachings. Truly. But your nephew is the least of our worries right now. Have you thought about what I asked?"

He shook his head. "Rey, not this again -"

"The First Order has already wiped out most of the fleet. The Resistance needs a hero. A real hero! We need Luke Skywalker. Without the Jedi we don't stand a chance against them."

His bushy, gray brows came together in a frown. "Luke Skywalker is dead. The Jedi are dead. I've told you this. I'm only training you at Leia's request. Teaching you to tame your powers – not to be a Jedi. I've already done enough to cause this war." He turned and walked back down the rocky cliff. "You romanticize the Jedi like everyone else. Strip away the myth and you'll find nothing more than hypocrisy and failure. It was their carelessness that led to the creation of Darth Vader."

"That's not true!" she shouted after him. "Luke, we can't just sit here and meditate while our friends are dying!"

"No?" he looked back. "But that's exactly what a Jedi would do. Nothing. That burn inside you. That anger you feel imagining what might happen. The Jedi say ignore that. Only act when you can maintain balance. Even if people you love get hurt."

She stared, bewildered at this man, this Jedi legend. "What's happened to you?"

"The Resistance doesn't need a failed husk of a religion, Rey," he said. "They don't need a failure to guide them."

She jumped off the boulder and came to stand in front of her master, her voice near a sob. "That legend of Luke Skywalker that you hate so much? I believed in it. It gave me hope. I came here thinking I'd find the answer to the war. That I'd find someone to show me my place in all this. I was wrong." She marched past him back into the temple, tears burning behind her eyes.