For Ethan and Kyia, the search for food had not turned up any favorable results. The constable station came off as void of any source of nutrition, at least, ones that were consumable. The plague had begun just a few months ago, which rendered most forms of sustenance unsuitable to eat. The food at Kyia's shelter had already been prepared for such circumstances. Canned goods could last a long time, even though they were hardly delicious.

The brunette just wanted something to help settle her stomach. It had been a long journey up to this point, and they all needed their energy. Ethan's grief had managed to quell his appetite, but his strength would need to be at its peak if they were to survive whatever else would find them. He knew that he'd have to eat, so taking her up on her offer to go look for food was a smart choice in his mind.

With the threat of the infected still lurking around every corner, the two did not exchange many words with each other, which left Ethan to his own thoughts. It was only when a room would be fully cleared that he could break for a whisper or some conversation. That kept his thoughts off the loss of his daughter, but they were never too far away. Once their mouths shut, the memories of Rose and how she died would scream his name.

He felt so beaten down; robbed of everything. All he wanted to just do was quit, but the sight of the woman beside him helped him press forward. Somebody needed him.

After moving through some more of the hallways that he and Bela had previously cleared out, they found themselves back in the captain's office. Ethan set his gun down beside a desk as he went to search through it. The entrances and exits had been shut and barricaded. He was taking no chances when it came to their safety on this one. Kyia wasn't as adept at fighting as Bela had been. If any one of those monsters came rushing in, the woman would be as good as dead in his book.

Setting the lantern on the table, Kyia stood close to the man as he rummaged through the desk. "What do you think you'll find in there?" She asked.

At this point – the concept of a stashed away bottle of whiskey sounded great.

Sadly, the drawers held no bottles that would disguise his pain.

"I don't know," he replied, shutting the drawer slowly before he stood back up. The pale lady's green eyes were the first thing he saw under that yellow glow. She gazed at him with a distinct curiosity, as if she was trying to burrow into his head and figure out what he was thinking about.

She wouldn't want to know. It was nothing but the same sort of trauma that she had endured all those years ago. Maybe that's why she was so curious, he thought. Kyia may have wanted to know how he handled such a loss.

The woman remained casual as her eyes drifted down to his hands, then over to his gun. "You killed a lot of those things along this way, I see."

"Yeah," he replied. "Too many."

"How do you do it?" She asked, reaching over to pick up the lantern, but only to retract her hand once she saw that he was not going to move away. "How does someone survive so many fights?"

Ethan rolled the right corner of his mouth and flexed his brow, barely making eye contact. "Luck, as Bela said. I don't know. I fight like hell, only thinking about why I'm fighting at all. Sometimes, though, I forget why I'm there. It's just the fight at that point. Me and…whatever I'm trying to kill. So, far, that's what's been on my mind whenever push comes to shove. Not to jinx myself, but it's worked out well. Either I have enough bullets, or they didn't land the best hit."

He sighed as he finally looked her way, "Maybe Bela was right. Maybe it is all just luck."

She took hold of his hand, both sets of fingers encased around the sides of his palm. Kyia stared at the bloodied bandages, imagining the two digits that used to be there. "You have gotten hurt time and time again." Her thumbs caressed the bumps of his knuckles. "I can see it on you. The world just chips away at you, bit by bit."

Ethan gently withdrew his arm, which caused her to let go. "That it does."

However, Kyia reached out again and placed her right hand on his shoulder. "So many marks of someone who never rests. I marvel at how you have managed to make it this far."

"What are you saying, Kyia?"

She dropped her hand. "I have seen a lot of people die here. So, so many. When Vikcia came forth from the skies on that bright day, the entire city became filled with darkness. Then, her clouds dispersed, but by the time they did, many of the populace were infected with her dust. They slaughtered the masses in droves. An ocean of blood washed over the streets."

Kyia glanced at her palm. "They never knew what was coming."

"I'm sorry that you had to witness that."

"I have witnessed many horrible things, Ethan," she said as she crossed her arms and dipped her chin. The brunette stepped away from the desk and moved over to the bookshelf, where the light of the lantern illuminated the titles of the various books that lined the boards. "Even before this nightmare, I have seen people die, and for no reason. I thought death existed only in the wilderness. My dream of a civilized society had been crushed once I came here."

She pried at one of the books, pulling it out and gracing the corner of the stacked pages with her soft finger. "They were hanging people in the city square, all because of their perceived crimes. I asked myself, 'What kind of society would do this?' I struggled with that question for a long time, until I met you. Unlike these people, you are kind, and you know how to survive."

Kyia ended it with a giggle, "Who would have thought those two qualities could co-exist?"

The expression of amusement on her part caused him to pause. It was a strange end to such a terrible explanation of events, but everyone handled things their own way. Even he himself had managed to find a sense of humor in between his interactions with all the freaks he came across.

In times like these, Kyia was probably just searching for something to smile about. At the very least, she was still trying to throw a compliment his way. That was what counted.

"Is kindness weakness, in your eyes?" He asked.

Her stare turned blank, but only for a second. She rolled her shoulder and pushed the book back onto the shelf. "Sometimes it is."

"Why so?"

She let out some air as she considered the way she would answer that. A faint escape from whatever was stored up inside her. Kyia felt like she could have sat him down and told him her entire life story at that very moment, but now was not the time. Would there ever be a time? She didn't think so.

Not just for him – but for her.

"People have taken advantage of my kindness," Kyia stated. "I have helped people recover from their injuries and illnesses, only to have them steal from me. I've healed those who ended up harming others, including those close to me. To them, my only purpose was to bring them back to where they needed to be to do what they wanted to do. I was kind and they thought I would always be. So, one day, I quit. I gave up."

She shook her head as she muttered to herself, yet, loud enough for him to hear, "They were better off dead."

"Kyia, are you alright?"

Her green eyes turned to him, almost surprised that she had let that negativity in her heart slip out. "Forgive me. I'd rather not think about it. This was just the place where I was supposed to do better. I hope that your world will provide me with that kind of life. Until then, I only want to help you. If all those people I met were just like you, Ethan, then I would have gladly continued my work."

He still didn't know what to say, but he understood that he wouldn't understand anything at all. Her life was her own, and if she wanted to shed some more light on it, then all she needed was just for him to listen to her. Up until recently, Kyia had been a woman shrouded in mystery. A beacon in the dark that had led him and Bela to safety. She only divulged what was needed for them to understand the threats they faced.

She may have been a person, but he had always wondered who was behind that pale face. A mother whose motherhood had been stolen from her. A healer betrayed by those she had sworn to take care of. A theorist branded as a fanatic and a criminal by the powers at be. A woman whose life had been upended by an otherworldly plague, living in a place that she already despised.

She had every right to keep it to herself.

"Don't give up on what you used to believe in," he said. "It is still out there."

She smiled and raised both her shoulders; her hands cupped together. "I won't."

Ethan returned to his search for more food. The office had not been completely ransacked due to the finding of the metal fragment. With that and the argument that had followed with Bela, he did not get to spend much time in that office at all. They could have missed something along the way, he was sure of it.

Combing through more of the drawers, Ethan found a collection of papers that immediately caught his attention. They were more of the letters that referenced the strange event that preceded the arrival of the plague. He picked up the pile and brought it close to his eyes, all while the brunette beside him looked on.

"To all constables of the 5th Station,

I, Peak Bishop Lannell, have personally interviewed the woman reported to have appeared in the middle of the city square through an unknown force. At this current time, she is still not answering any of our questions. Harsher measures have been applied, but to no effect.

One of our fellow clergymen has noted her fixation on the fragments of metal at the Onolask Clock Tower. It is my understanding that several high-ranking constables are also in possession of individual fragments. It is at our request that those fragments be immediately surrendered to the church for further safekeeping. Upon her transfer to a station yet to be determined, we do not want her to be able to access them.

We look forward to your cooperation regarding such matters."

Ethan turned his head to Kyia, wanting to know her thoughts on the incident, "These papers talk about a woman who arrived in this world just like me and Bela. Surely you've heard about this, right."

The brunette approached him with calmness as she gently retrieved one of the letters from his possession and began to read it. She raised a brow in irritation as her eyes scanned through its writings. "Unfortunately, I do. The church once again put fuel into the fire. The woman that came from the skies was Vikcia."

"But, she wasn't a demon back then, was she?" Ethan was perplexed as ever, yet, curious as to what this could do to help them fight her.

Kyia continued to read the note. "I don't know the specifics, but the barriers between the realms must have filtered out her powers. The church was afraid that she would come into contact with the metal fragments that they held in the very same tower as her, so they requested them all. Needless to say, she got her claws on them, and then somehow regained her abilities. She opened up a gateway to her infectious world, and then…here we are now…"

Ethan quickly handed her the next note, hoping that she could tell him more about it, but Kyia turned it away. She parted her lips with a displeased flick of her tongue before she spoke, "I only know this because I was also in the custody of the constables when this all happened. I overheard what was going on, and knowing what I know about the other realms, I knew it was a bad idea."

She then shrugged her shoulders and brushed it off, "But, did they listen? No."

"Why were you in their custody?"

Kyia pointed to her book. "You can say I read too much of the wrong scripture, Ethan. I spoke too loudly, and wrathful ears heard my voice. I told you I was a criminal, did I not? I did not know this until I came to this city. It's a funny thing, what the opinions of others change you into, I'd say."

Persecuted for her beliefs – a tale as old as human history itself.

Evidently, it wasn't restricted to just his world, either. Ethan felt stupid for not having seen this truth coming. Kyia had made little nods to it here and there. Given the extreme values and laws of this place, it should have come as no surprise that someone like her would have walked against the wind and been charged for it. He was just thankful that she had survived the initial disaster.

That was the most that life could give her right now.

"I'm just glad that you're safe, especially after everything." He wanted to lift her spirits. There had always been a certain animosity that she displayed toward this city, and now he understood why. This world had not been kind to her, even though she had been kind to it.

That was why she gravitated toward him; considered the man as a friend. He was the kindness that she had never gotten after her good deeds. Her anger was born from her resentment, but his commitment to the brunette had caused her to re-think herself time and time again.

The great mystery that was Kyia may have finally been solved.

"As I am glad that you are safe," she said with a smile, crumpling the piece of paper and tossing it over her shoulder. "Enough of these letters. They are nothing but bad memories. The church has ruined enough lives."

"Do you believe in a higher power?"

She turned away, craning her neck over her shoulder in an almost teasing fashion as her green eyes shined at him. "We all go somewhere when we die. I believe in that."

She didn't ask him for his opinion, and he left it at that. Ethan chuckled to himself as he watched the woman trot along toward the other side of the room, where she began to open more drawers in search of something to eat.

Perhaps, the great mystery that was Kyia may not have been solved after all.

.

Ethan kept his eyes on the remainder of the notes that had been left on the desk. His desire to know more was getting the better of him. Something – anything – that could paint a better picture of what they were up against tempted him to no end. There had to be something in those papers. A glimpse at an event that forever changed this world.

Kyia had already explained it herself. She was there, after all. The best source of information that he had. But, for some reason, it still wasn't good enough.

Just as his hand reached out to pick up one of the notes, Kyia rose from one of the drawers that she had been searching through. "Oh!" She exclaimed as her thin body turned to him, "I found something!"

A bottle of whiskey – oh, how right he had been.

Ethan's eyes opened wide at the sight of it. It wasn't because of a gravitation toward alcoholic tendencies. Not at all. He was just excited that his concept of a police captain storing liquor in his office was right on the money after all. Kyia wouldn't have understood his mantra of all the old cop movies he had seen back in his day. So, he saved his words and kept his mouth shut, but a silent victory would be played in his head as she approached him with the bottle.

"I think you did," he replied, reaching out and taking it from her when she handed it to him. The large container was half-full, if one was to be an optimist in a time like this. A dark blend of a brand that he had never heard of, but otherworldly drinks were quite rare on Earth, at best.

'Bertow Tranquis.' It sounded elegant.

Kyia softly approached him from the side, resting her hand against his arm as she read the label on the bottle. Her slim finger skimmed along the sticker on the front, her curiosity causing her to pry at the edges of it with her nail. "Hmm…" That was all she would say.

"I wonder how strong this stuff is," Ethan remarked.

In a show of awkwardness, the brunette tilted her head toward him and squinted her eyes. "How can a liquid be strong?" She sounded genuinely concerned, as if this bottle was some sort of threat.

Ethan let his guard down a bit. Against all his anguish, he needed the laugh. She smacked him on the arm as soon as his amusement sounded off.

"Don't laugh at me," she scolded him.

"No, no," he told her. "It's not that. Have you ever had alcohol before?"

Kyia was as petty as ever, still allowing her emotions to cloud her words, "You keep telling me things that I do not understand, Ethan." She crossed her arms and looked away. "It is most frustrating."

"I'm sorry. It must be called something different in your world." He rotated the bottle around and inspected it further. The glass was dusty. It had to have gone untouched for quite some time now.

She looked at him with a set of curled lips, seemingly oddly playful, despite her slight aggravation. "It must be..."

Ethan set the bottle on the desk as he gestured toward the cabinet that she had found it in. "Any cups?"

'As a matter of fact…" Kyia kept her arms crossed as she waltzed over to the fixture and bent over in front of him. She reached in and pulled out two equally dusty glass cups, holding them at her chest as she returned to the desk. The brunette proceeded to wipe them clean with her skirt, restoring them to a glistening shine before they were placed beside the bottle.

Seeking to push all of his troubles away for a bit and find a bit of normalcy, Ethan decided that partaking in a drink or two would be alright. Getting intoxicated in this city was a death sentence, but a break from the madness would serve him well. Kyia seemed just as willing to jump into it as he was. She must have been excited to kick back, especially after all the arguing that she had witnessed, coupled with her time spent alone in that room.

Ethan unscrewed the top of the bottle and poured some of its contents onto his glass. The hefty container was set back down, just as the rim of the glass touched his lips.

"Ethan…" Kyia reached out and gently graced his forearm with the tips of her fingers, "…would you mind pouring me a glass, as well?"

"Uhm?" His lips rolled in as he lowered his arm. Her request had caught him by surprise, for whatever reason.

"It is proper for a man to pour a lady her drink, is it not?" She held a smile on her face as she cupped her hands again and leaned against the edge of the desk. Customs and traditions, so be it, he thought. Ethan poured her the drink and Kyia happily picked up it. "Thank you," she said.

"Of course." Ethan shrugged off the interaction, brought the alcohol up to his mouth, and ingested a fiery swath of the liquid. It burned his tongue just as badly as he had expected it to. The harsh taste was never something that he had preferred, even during his college years. A smooth beer would have done the trick, but the joys of drinking faded away over the course of his younger days.

But, in moments like these, he could see why some people would turn to it to numb their pain. It was too good at the job.

Kyia brought the glass to her nose and took a quick sniff. She curled her nostrils and squinted her brows at the scent, but decided to try it anyway. The woman must have never drank before, as she took a mouthful at once.

Not even a second later, she stumbled back and spat it out on the ground. "Ugh! That is disgusting!"

"Yeah, it tastes pretty bad." Ethan mimicked the same kind of repulsed face that she had.

Against all expectations, contrary to how she had always acted, Kyia glanced at him for a bit and simply laughed. "I cannot imagine how someone would want to drink this." She took a tiny sip this time. "It is so gross."

Was she actually enjoying herself after all that discomfort? To say that Ethan was shocked by her response would have been putting it lightly. He watched as she wiped the moisture off of her lips and indulged in another sip.

Kyia spoke again, "The pleasures of our lives, I suppose."

Ethan sipped some more as well. "I never took you for a drinker."

With the glass brought back up to her mouth, her green eyes stared at him with a coyness that he could not shake off. They would not blink or pull away, fixating on him as she replied to his remark, "Never was."

The whiskey cleansed his pallet as he swallowed another helping. It occupied him during the slightly awkward exchange. Kyia's mannerisms shifted like a revolver's cylinder. Who knew if a bullet was seated and ready to fire? Only she did.

She pursed her lips as she grabbed the bottle and poured some more to refill her glass. "I prefer to keep my mind on task," her voice carried on calmly. "It mustn't drown."

"Wise words." Ethan disobeyed that very idea by drinking some more. By now, he wasn't keeping track of how much of the drink had traveled down his system. Between the woman he was with and every horrible recollection, consuming alcohol was as easy as breathing air.

He had to put the glass down, lest he be ensnared in its claws.

Kyia, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying hers. The brunette briefly took another swig, but her eyes glanced at him and caused her to withdraw. "Don't mind me. I am taking advantage of the time I have to enjoy myself. As repulsive as this drink is…"

She sipped another helping down and shook her head. "It's worth the time." Her face grimaced at the fire inside her organs. "Time that I greatly appreciate. Thank you for going with me."

"I'm glad you're happy," Ethan smiled and picked his glass back up, hesitant to drink. Seeing Kyia like this was an odd scene. Never before had she been as willing to come outside of her shell, but whenever Bela was out of the picture, she had been more social.

It could have been her fear of the blonde that had driven her into a quiet state of anxiousness. Whenever the Bela was in the room, Kyia would bury herself in her book, mindlessly reading until the opportunity arose when she could speak to Ethan in privacy. The whiskey may have helped, but it was still too early to pin the blame on the drink.

This may have just been all her.

"I'm glad that we're in this together," she said, peeking at him before her eyes drifted around to the rest of the room. This was a pleasant environment. A nice, cozy office, sealed away from the decay that surrounded them. The lantern set the tone for a relaxing setting. The brunette lost herself in the abyss of bliss. She wanted to make the most of it; a stranger to such things.

Something like this may not have happened often for her, or ever at all, Ethan rationed. From the start, she looked like someone who kept to herself for so long. Kyia was hesitant to welcome others into her life nowadays, but her good nature was always there. She lent him a hand in his greatest time of need. Saved him from the horrors of what was out there, only to be stunned by how much he paid her back with kindness.

He had met a few people like that in his world. They were loners; most lacking the confidence to change the perception of them. Good-hearted people at their core, but turtles who never left their shells. The thing about Kyia that likely spurred her to socialize at times was that she was a woman around his age, who mirrored a few aspects of Mia's personality, which made talking to her easier.

There was that true sense of care and consideration that she'd toss his way. A cute little laugh to end a comment or a story. Most of all – an honest interest in what he had to say.

The differences were that Kyia was quite stern, too engrossed in her ideals to sometimes make room for things she didn't understand and believed she would never. A debater through and through, she was often argumentative, seeking to establish her point, rather than concede.

The shifting levels of confidence indicated that she molded herself in relation to her company. Someone like Bela would have gotten nothing from her, while he had earned her trust. It made him wonder how she conducted herself prior to this disaster, as her mannerisms had likely adjusted in response to the danger around her.

Indeed, he thought, a break from reality such as this had shed light on the woman she may have been. This could have been the Kyia that had not yet lost a child. A shimmer of a young lady at the forefront of her life, invigorated with youth and ambition, as well as the belief that life was meant to be good.

There was joy in her smile. She wanted him to be with her in this room. Ethan had not seen a look like that tossed his way since Mia at that party. The occasional glances during class. The feminine exaggeration of a giggle to tell him that he had her full attention.

Her dainty hand touched her abdomen. "It is not food, but this quells my hunger." Her fingers gently massaged her slim gut, stroking the fabric of her top in various circles. "Drinking on an empty stomach, I've heard, is risky. Oh, how I hate the feeling of sickness," she said with another giggle to end it off.

Ethan finished off what was left in his glass and set it to the side. The cup wasn't going to get filled again. He needed to keep his head straight, or his thoughts would get off track. The slight boost in relaxation was all he had desired from the bottle. Too much of anything was bad. Play with fire and you're bound to get burned.

And burned he would – if his eyes compared Kyia to Mia any further.

She was nothing like her. Another brunette, but nothing the same, when he really thought about it. The visuals of his beloved getting gunned down on the ground like that were within arm's reach. He was thankful that Kyia had not been a spitting image of his former bride. It would have felt like there was a ghost in the room; one who he wished to apologize to endlessly.

Kyia couldn't take that kind of pain away. She never could. Any form of attraction was nothing more than an instinct. She was pretty and sweet. All of the effort that the woman had put in toward restoring his hope had not gone unnoticed. He commended her for taking the time to help him. Perhaps, in a different life, he could have found a connection with her. Had he met her in his college, a coffee shop date and a trip to the library might have started a peculiar romance.

But, she was not the woman he met at college. She was the Elena of a different universe. The woman he would try to save. This was someone he should have never met and bending the arms of fate would only break everything else around it. He thought back to his wife and then thought of his daughter.

Rose. His beautiful, little Rose.

Kyia's hand still would not leave her stomach. That was when she angled her chin down a bit and said the words that cemented Rose into Ethan's mind, "When I was pregnant, it wasn't so bad. I carried my child without a problem. I was worried about the sickness, but my worries were unfounded."

"Kyia…if you don't mind –"

She did not seem to hear him. "I miss the days when my worries were so trivial. Then I had my daughter. Would you say being a parent is all about worrying?"

Ethan shut the conversation down right then and there, "I don't want to talk about this, Kyia, please."

The brunette turned her eyes to him with a bit of a saddened gaze. She parted her lips and expelled a breath, taking another helping from her drink right after. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Ethan said as he rubbed his face. "I'm just trying to get away from these thoughts right now, but I can't stop thinking about my daughter."

"I know you can't," Kyia replied as she leaned against the desk. Her narrow hips swayed against the edge and she decided to lift herself up and take a seat at the top of the table. Her slender feet slowly kicked back and forth just a foot or so off the ground. "Just like I can't stop thinking about mine. We will never be able to stop thinking about our children, Ethan."

The way she said that last part was a tad odd. Her voice had hung on those final few words, which even seemed to grab ahold of some of her consideration as well. Her green eyes dwindled around in space, likely thinking about what she had just said.

Ethan stuck to the topic, "You know this hurts me, right?"

"I wish it didn't." She ran her tongue across her lips and rolled her eyes around, correcting herself, "I mean – I just wish that you weren't hurt. Seeing you the way you are is devastating. You know I have been trying to do my best, right?"

"Thanks."

She paused for another second and then looked down at the ground, eyeing her swaying feet. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Am I foolish for wanting to be a mother again?"

Ethan's mind fell flat on its face. He didn't know what to say to that at all. The man stumbled around on his responses, stammering before he could even form a single word, "I – I, well…I don't think so."

"Can I ask you another question?" She spoke even more sheepishly.

"Yes…?"

"Do you plan to ever find someone else?"

Those two questions were not paired by coincidence. Ethan knew he had been oblivious to many things in the past. So many telltale signs of the truth waved around in his face. While there were still some things about his life he had not deciphered, what Kyia had just asked would not be one of them. He looked at her with shock, as well as confusion.

Did she really just ask that?

"What?" That was the first thing that came out of his mouth. He had heard her loud and clear, and she knew that. The brunette's own awkwardness would not come into play this time. She would not go on to repeat herself. The way he had said that was the easiest way one could say, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

Kyia glanced at him in an instant, as this had not been the response that she was expecting. In a blink, the friendly atmosphere between them had been caught up in a storm. She had hit a nerve. A big one. The only thing that would hopefully balance her in the coming wind was the fact that she had nothing to do with the death of his daughter, unlike Bela.

With that factored in, hopefully Ethan would find some reasoning and remain calm.

Hopefully.

Kyia cautiously straightened out her posture, not taking her eyes off his for a second. She'd cut her losses short, "I shouldn't have asked that. Please forgive me." Her lips shut like it was the end of her turn in a game of chess. Her pawn moved forward, positioned strategically so that she could stay in the match.

It was Ethan's turn. The queen would watch as the king pushed his glass further into the center of the table, past the bottle. There would be no more consumption for him. It was also his way of warning her to abstain from the beverage as well, as she would only sink deeper into looser ground if she didn't.

"I lost my wife a few days ago and I just learned that my infant daughter is dead," Ethan tried to restrain his anger. He wasn't about to lash out like he did with Bela. That kind of rage was something else. Kyia had slashed his heart with words, and likely not intentionally. She didn't deserve anything close to that. "Please, don't ask me if I am looking to replace either of them."

Kyia closed her eyes and turned her head back to the front. The brunette cupped her hands at her lap and raised her shoulders, right before she slowly exhaled down her chest and lowered them. "Then why do you look at me the way that you do?"

He squinted his brow, unsure of what she was getting at. "I'm sorry, Kyia, but what do you mean?"

A fast inhale and another drawn-out exhale came out from her nose as she opened her eyes and pressed her lips. She looked displeased. "I've seen how you gaze at my lips as I talk. Don't think that I haven't noticed those same eyes fall across my chest or legs as you turn them. You tell me one thing, but your actions speak another. Mixed-messages, Ethan. The one thing I truly hate about them is how they allow someone to play both sides of the field, clinging to whichever argument keeps them right."

"This isn't an argument, Kyia."

She wouldn't allow him to escape without addressing what else she had said, "Then why do you look at me like that?"

Ethan took a breath of his own. He wasn't about to play this off, nor would he fall into the perception of a lustful man. He would tell the truth, and only that, "I have looked at you that way, yes. A quick glance, but then my mind straightens out. I respect you, Kyia. I'm sorry about what I did."

"I'm not asking you to feel sorry, Ethan," her frustration died down in her words. She carried a calmer tone, trying to level out with him. "I know that you respect me. I feel safe around you. If that doesn't show you that I am not angry with you looking at my body, then I don't know how else to convey that."

It was like a loop. Ethan felt he was back at square one with her, though the progress of this conversation had carried along with it. She was still trying to link herself to him.

"Then what is all this about, then?" Ethan wanted to get to the core of their discussion, as it had now become a complex minefield. Any comment could lead to a varied explosion of emotion, on both their parts. He had been through talks like these before. It was never easy to navigate them. The worst thing one could do would be to jump to conclusions.

Kyia glanced at his coat, then at his hands. She studied the man, taking note of how much he had been through in that chaotic life of his – wondering if it had a place for her. "Ignoring my insensitivity to how fresh all of your hardships are, I wanted to ask you if there was a possibility that I could one day take on that role?"

The cat was out of the bag. It had clawed its way through the paper and took off running across the room. Those nails were sharp. Sharper than steel. It had cut through the bag like it was a jet through the air. With how prepared he had been, with all the clues shoved into his brain, Ethan still had not expected her to ask that.

All he could do was stare at her blankly. Kyia parted her lips after a few seconds as the dread of rejection began to creep in. She didn't want to lose him. Not at all.

The brunette waved her hand across her body. "Look, I shouldn't have –"

Ethan needed clarification. "Are you asking me to give you another child?" There was a spark of resentment building up inside of him. Did this woman really believe that his Rose was replaceable? That he would just forget Mia as soon as she offered herself to him? Most of all – was he just a vessel to which she could obtain that which she had lost as well?

If so, it was disrespect in its purest form. Ethan would have hated to believe that those were Kyia's goals. They couldn't be. If so, then she was not the kind of person that he had thought she was.

"No, I…" She fell short of an explanation, pausing as her green eyes gazed at him wide and helplessly. It looked like she had just admitted to everything that he believed, but the second before Ethan could open his mouth and call her out on it all, she found her answer, "I don't know. I just think that you and I have lived similar lives. I have never felt like anyone understood me before you, and the way you have treated me is the way I want to be treated. I know that you are broken. Believe me: I feel disgusting for asking at a time like this, but I am anxious about the time that remains between us."

Ethan pressed his brow and sighed, his anger vaporizing inside his chest. This was all just one big, unending tragedy set between the lives of two people from different universes. "Kyia, I am definitely not in a good place right now. You are an attractive woman, but this just isn't the right time."

"That's my question, Ethan: Will there ever be a right time?"

"I don't know the answer to that, Kyia." He tried to remain civil with her. She was desperate to hold onto the only thing good that she had left. It was a common trend between everyone in this nightmare. "I can't undo years of my life in just hours, not like that. I hope you get a chance to be a mother again, but I don't think I can ever make room for anyone else in my life besides Rose."

Kyia closed her eyes and dragged the tip of her tongue across her lower teeth. "It took me years to deal with what happened to my daughter by myself. I've learned, harshly, that I cannot re-write the past. It is over and done. When it happened, I was an inconsolable mess, so I do not misunderstand your words, Ethan. Again, I should not have asked, but I needed to know. I want to make it through this world with you, and if we do, I ask that you allow me to continue to be by your side. You will heal with my hand at yours, I promise. I have suffered your pain before, so I know what it is like. I also know that my life is not at an end, and neither is yours. You can still have something to live for."

She spoke from the heart and he knew that. That may have been Kyia's one saving grace in this whole mess, otherwise, she wasn't winning any favors. Ethan brought both his hands to his face and shook off the weight that had been placed on him. He almost wanted to drink, but he had drunk enough.

"I'm still hoping to return to a point where I can save my wife and daughter," he stated. "You said it yourself: Time between these realms isn't linear." Ethan still held out a glimmer of hope in the seemingly impossible. If he could cross the threshold and return to a point before this whole disaster, then he would not hesitate to do so. That was his priority and had always been.

Kyia stared straight at him, dead-eyed as ever. "That is a theory, Ethan. What stands here in front of you is fact. Trust me, I know more about it than you do."

"I'm sorry," he said. "Either way, this just isn't the right time. None of this is right for me."

The brunette shut her eyes and turned away. To say she was dismayed would be a fabricated lie. She was downright embarrassed. Her balled fist rose to the bottom of her nose as she tilted her head down once again. He could already see the first tear forming under her lashes. It ran down her pale cheek in the span of a second.

He addressed her with concern, "I'm sorry. Are you alright?"

Her voice cracked, "No, but, you made your choice. I don't know what I was expecting."

"That doesn't mean that we are anything different than what we were just minutes ago," he reminded her. "Let's just focus on getting out of here alive, alright? You've been a great help to me and I'm thankful for all –"

"Stop."

"Kyia?"

She shook her head, still unwilling to look at him. "I said stop. I will continue to lend you a shoulder to cry on, but…"

"What is it?" Ethan asked.

"I do not wish to be thought of as someone who is only good for the moment," she said. "I am a healer, yes, but behind that is a woman with a heart. That is what powers my hands. It is a heart that I will hold onto, but it grows heavy in my hands, and I do not trust anyone else to hold it, besides you."

"You're not just good for the –" He got caught up in his own words. She had played them well. Was she right? Was he wrong? No, he wasn't, but neither was she. "Look, I'm not telling you that you're not good enough for the things you want. I'm just not the right person to be asking it from."

Kyia wiped her tears away as she stood up and walked away from the desk, picking up her book as she methodically strolled about the room. Her shining green irises glimmered with a sense of dissatisfaction, but she would not sever her ties with him. Nothing so substantial would be ended in just a few sentences, just as his ties to his past would be re-painted in the span of hours.

She understood both sides of the rules. What she truly sought was to disperse the clouds between them and get a better view of what they were. It may have been an impulsive act born from a lonely woman's ambition, but she was a debater, just as he had known.

Debaters always sought to inform the other party of what they did not understand.

"It was selfish to ask you right now, I admit. But, I will not pretend that I do not feel the way I do. I'm not going to lie to you, Ethan and I most certainly will not lie to myself."

She allowed one more tear to drift down her now-tinted thin cheek. "I have spent too many years doing that."

NOTES:

Love is in the air – well, somewhere.

A little more development between Ethan and Kyia, showing where the two of them stand. When writing a romance fic with someone like Ethan and keeping it as realistic and canon as possible, he is someone so devoted to his family that breaking those ties is seemingly impossible – even for someone like Kyia.

Now, this is a Bela/Ethan story, and we are still heading in that direction. We're starting to see Bela realize that she can and does hold a place for him in her heart, but can Ethan do the same for someone like her? It sounds impossible, but there is a way we will get there.

This isn't a typical romance story, at least, from what I expect one would find. It also won't be a typical romance in general, because these two characters are highly unique in themselves and between each other. This is also a horror story with a lot going on. It's a very slow burn because that's what will make it all worthwhile. Every experience, conversation, tear, and smile, will be put behind these characters.

Kyia, being a main player as she is, also serves as a crucial piece of Ethan's development. They do have chemistry, but it shows that he is still reeling from the loss he suffered. He wants to hold someone, but his commitment to his greater goals and his heart keeps him away. We'll see some more of how he truly misses his family, as well as what he thinks of the woman he blames for losing it all.

We're inching closer towards the end and all the pieces are being set where they need to be. It's going to be disturbing, violent, and bloody, but also heartwarming and beautiful too. Expect the unexpected.

Hope you are all having a great weekend and hope you enjoyed this double-release! For those of you celebrating Christmas, have a merry one! Wish you all a safe and wonderful weekend! I will see you all again on Friday when the next chapter comes out! Stay healthy and happy and thank you for being here! 😊