After the sparring with Eirney, Nikk returned to the main hall of Kelas. Not a single person was there at this time—according to the clock, it was almost midnight. The lights were off; only the dim lanterns behind the green plants on the walls shooed the shadows away.

Nikk took the stairs to the second floor, approached one of the doors and stopped in hesitation.

What am I doing here?

The concern coiled inside Nikk. Or, it wasn't concern now? It was... exhilaration.

What am I doing?

He took a deep breath. He knocked on the door.

There was an utter silence in the room at first, but then someone's soft footsteps were heard, and the door slowly opened.

"Oh, Nikk... Hey," yet half-asleep, Anya gave him a faint smile as she straightened the fluffy bathrobe she was wearing. Her onyx black hair was in disarray, framing her face gently.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," Nikk mumbled sheepishly, scratching his neck. Perhaps, coming here wasn't a good idea after all. "I just wanted to know how you're doing in a new place."

"Yes... No. I mean, that's fine. I wasn't really sleeping." She tilted her head from side to side once, shaking the slumber off, and stepped aside. "Come in."

Nikk entered the room. The forest on the walls was obscured with shades of the night that conquered every last corner, and the chilling wind raked through the tree branches.

"Do you like the interior?" he asked incredulously. Standing in the room was as spooky as being in the real woods during the moonless night.

"It's... refreshing," Anya shrugged with one shoulder, sitting on the bed. "But to tell the truth, I'd love it to be a little bit warmer."

"Air conditioners adjust to the picture, and the picture adjusts to the time," Nikk explained quickly.

Another gust of cool air rose gooseflesh on his arms. It wasn't just refreshing—it was freezing cold! How could Amarillis have failed to mention how the system worked? Nikk thought he'd give Rill a good scolding the next time he saw her, but now...

He pressed the flat of his hand against the wall, closing his eyes, imagining the tender sun warming the skin.

The landscape started to transform. The tree silhouettes slowly faded away, replaced with the twilight sky illuminating the room with the arrows of sunrays.

"I shouldn't be awestruck, should I?" Anya let out a blow of astonishment at the sight of the scarlet clouds leisurely floating around them.

"As you wish," Nikk smiled.

He couldn't help admiring the way how fascinated Anya was with everything he considered dull, ordinary and boring. Her eyes were shining with pure joy. Her gaze held contagious fire that children usually lose at an early age as they face the reality, as they realize they have the entire world to fight with.

Anya didn't fight the world—she embraced it.

"If you don't like the clouds," Nikk said, "we can stick to striped wallpapers and an image of a window with curtains."

"No, Nikk, I love it. Heavens are... mesmerizing."

The conversation lulled for a few minutes. Anya was seated on the edge of her bed, stealing glances at her phone. Meanwhile Nikk, despaired to speak, was looking around the room, seeking out for a hint, for anything to talk about.

His eyes soon found a fruit dish on the chest of drawers.

"I'm sure Rill has already showed you our garden."

"Yes," Anya's sleepy face brightened. "She gave me this chocolate pudding fruit..." she frowned, remembering.

"Krizām"

"That's what Rill called it." She nodded and looked sideway at Nikk. "Is it true what she said? That daitias never cook?"

"True," Nikk shifted from foot to foot, still standing by the door awkwardly. "We have food cooked only for special occasions, or it's brought from oversea."

"Interesting," Nikk saw frustration written all over Anya's face. Obviously, the perspective of being on a raw food diet for the next days didn't excite her. It was a hint.

"Well, it's true that you'd rather find a portal to the other end of the world in Kelas than real food," Nikk began, running his hand through his hair. "But only if you don't know where to look. Actually, that's why I came in the first place." No, not that's why. But... why indeed? "I was going to eat, and thought you'd be hungry too. Are you?"

"I'm starving."

"Let's go then?"

"Wait a minute."

Anya disappeared behind in the bathroom, but truly was back in a minute. Instead of the bathrobe, she was now wearing a light yellow dress with dandelion embroidery.

"I see a touch of Amarillis's style," Nikk said. He easily pictured Anya walking the marble streets of the capital of Sutāla in her new outfit. As if she was born for his world. The image rose up in Nikk's mind so naturally, he laughed at the feeling.

"What's so funny?" A troubled line appeared on Anya's forehead. "Do I look stupid?"

"No, no! You don't look stupid. You look..." All the words evaporated from Nikk's head. How was that possible? "You look not stupid."

Dismay flickered over Anya's face, but she swiftly veiled it with an impassive smile. "Let's go then," she slipped into the hallway through the half-opened door.

Nikk sighed, cursing inwardly. Did he say something wrong?

Offensive? Foolish? That was exactly what he was afraid of—that trying to know Anya better, he'd only push her away. And who cares about the dresses anyway? It's not about the clothes—it's about the girl who wears them.

He hurriedly left the room after Anya who was patiently waiting for him right outside.

For a mere heartbeat, he unintentionally met her eyes, and went rigid. He had never actually noticed that Anya's green eyes were silvery around her irises. Like magical stardust around the enchanted forest.

And in this dress, with her elegant waist, with the curve of her shoulders, her bare neck, Anya was... beautiful? Spellbinding?

Desirable to touch?

To kiss?

Oh, no.

Yes.

"You look lovely," Nikk blurted and started to walk before she saw him blush.

"Thanks."

It was a relief, though, that Anya's cheeks were pink now, too. Nikk suppressed a smile, satisfied. It seemed like he'd chosen the right words after all.

They went down to the main hall, and Nikk led Anya through the maze of passages, hastily searching his mind for an appropriate subject they could discuss.

Nothing dawned on him. So they just walked in thorny silence for a while.

"How is that you don't get lost in this labyrinth?" Anya asked as they took another turn.

"You haven't yet seen the castle on AmaraVrāti island," Nikk began eagerly. "But the truth is there's a secret here." He pointed at the wall colored with tiny, barely detectable flowers hidden among all the green leaves. If you looked closer, you could spot them resemble the shapes of curly arrows. "See? The white ones show the directions to the central entrance, the blue ones will guide you to the labs, the red—orchards. That's where we're going now."

"And what about the purple flowers?"

Nikk hesitated, "The purple usher to the heart of Kelas. The portal to Da'Ariya and the energy generators."

In five minutes they passed three staircases and four hallways, rounded the garden, and finally reached their destination. The orchards.

The reason why Nikk loved this place the most was because of the stars. These weren't the real stars, clearly. But still they were. The ceiling here was made with the same technology the walls of the living rooms were. By day, trees were enjoying the light of the sun, by night—resting under the star pattern.

"In here," Nikk ducked amidst the beeches.

"That's all for us only?" Glee was plain in Anya's voice as she saw a backset of sandwiches, biscuits and other ordinary human snacks for any taste under the blossoming tree at the end of the path.

Nikk nodded, rather pleased with himself. "I figured if you have to hide from the fomoires, at least you deserve not to suffer from our eating habits."

They settled right on the grass. Among everything else, there also was a bottle of wine in the basket. Nikk failed to find any tea in Kelas, but discovered a great collection of drinks. Duat who'd recently returned from Crete turned out to be quite a connoisseur.

"Thank you," Anya took a porcelain teacup filled with strong grape aroma from Nikk's hands.

The tattoo on her wrist flashed in his eyes again. This time Nikk managed to see what it was. Three leaves intertwining into a lotus bloom.

"What does it mean?"

Anya followed his gaze questioningly. "I don't know," she shrugged and sipped from the cup. "When I was small, my mam used to sketch it on the pages of books she read. I don't remember what the books were about, I don't remember much of her, but this lotus never left my mind."

"My mother loves books, too." The memories of his childhood bubbled up to the surface of Nikk's memory. "When I was a little boy, my mother often read me to sleep with the legends of Da'Ariya and its heroes."

"Of Da'Ariya?" Anya arched her eyebrows, puzzled. "Tell me one of them."

"Eh..." Nikk was confused for a moment, caught off guard with the request. "Okay."

He sucked on his lower lip, recalling the story he loved hearing the most.

The glimmer of constellations shining across the ceiling above their heads suggested an idea. When Nikk had only been learning to control astral projections, he'd always started with the creating of the sky. One bright dot of a distant star—and you are lonely no more.

"According to the myths our people recite," Nikk said in his best storyteller's voice. "Hundreds thousands years ago, darkness and chaos ruled in the universe.

"Souls of every living being were invisible spirits wandering in search of a glimpse of the light. They were sauntering, as they thought, for infinity of time, but could find not a single spark in the whole world. They were fumbling side by side in nothingness, unaware of the existence of each other."

Out of the corner of his eye, Nikk watched Anya. She was motionless like a quieted breeze, listening to his story. He liked it.

"Once upon a time, I could say, but no time existed then," he went on, "so simply once. Once, one of the souls became despaired. Ze stopped and thought: why are we so eager to spend the eternity searching for something that does not exist? And, if it truly does not exist, then why cannot we create it by ourselves? The soul imagined a planet under the burning star. Ze imagined oceans and mountains, seas and forests. Ze imagined hirs corporal body walking the planet, breathing. Living.

"Instantaneously, all the thoughts came true. The darkness retreated. Other souls saw one another and realized they were never utterly alone. They were just blinded by their own ignorance. From all over the universe, the souls started to come to the miraculous planet under the burning star—for everyone knows the weakest light kills the impenetrable blackness while the strongest shadow dies in the glimpse of the light.

"They called the creator of the first planet Ariy, which means 'wise' in our language. Following hirs example, other souls constructed countless planets and worlds, but none of them could be compared to the majesty of Ariy's dimension.

"Nevertheless, Ariy was not only wise, but also a generous ruler. Whoever wishing could join hirs realm. Thus, in no time the forests were full of beasts, and seas of fishes. Cities were built and inhabited by people of various races and nations."

"Does it mean," Anya interjected discreetly, "that the souls could incarnate themselves into any form they wanted?"

"Precisely," Nikk gave her a knowing look. "Those who desired peace turned into stones at the bottom of the ocean; those who desired to see the beauty of the world became birds flying high in the sky; and those who desired to make the world a better place were the first people..."

He paused to take a sip at his wine. Or to make a dramatic minute gap. Who would know?

"That's all?" Anya stared at him, a naughty spark flickering in her eyes. "Every miracle needs a villain who triggers a hero to make the story a real miracle."

"Wait, the most thrilling part is ahead." Nikk promised.

He tossed back the last of his drink and continued.

"As you now understand, our planet is named after the first soul walking the earth. Da'Ariya means 'A gift of Ariy', or 'A blessing of the Wise one'. However, not every soul agreed to a new world being born. There were those who were scared of changes. They wished to destroy the light. They designed Black holes consuming all around them, eating up the whole galaxies.

"It had been a long battle of those of the light and the dark. They were creating and destroying, building and crashing everything built. During those times, the universe was full of demons. There was no place of calmness and peace..."

"And then Ariy..." mimicking Nikk, Anya prompted.

"...And then Ariy made a deal with those of the dark side," Nikk nodded. "He offered them to create another dimension. A whole new realm that would be a mirror reflection of ours, with the only one difference—instead of the light, the darkness would rule upon those lands. The black sun would shine.

"Yet, Ariy could not contain two dimensions while staying in one; ze was forced to leave hirs life behind in sake of prosperity of the both.

"Since then, day comes after night. One world crosses another, and two of them exist in the sole. And the creator travels along the realms as an invisible keeper, helping us on our mortal path."

Nikk fell silent, waiting for Anya's reaction. She was eyeing him for a long moment, her unreadable gaze full of mystery.

"You daitias are very imaginative," she said at last, a sly smirk tugging on her lips.

"It's just a legend, don't ruin its magic," Nikk frowned, feinting resentment. "At least the daitish mythology doesn't include those weird creatures of yours. People with hooves," he sneered. "How do you call them? Fauns? Centaurs?"

"I'll ask dad about it," Anya laughed, then raised her eyes at Nikk again. "But still, how does Ariy help us, if ze literally doesn't exist anymore?"

Nikk shrugged. "They say Ariy appears as a shadow by day, and plays with the light by night. When the first and the last rays of the sun touch the ground, you can hear hir whisper or see hirs majestic figure in the mists."

Anya licked her lips, thinking. "That's a very beautiful legend. Inspiring."

"Inspiring to create new dimensions?"

"No, rather to save dimensions. To heroic ventures."

"Let's call it a toast," Nikk lifted his cup festively.

Some time was spent for eating and drinking, but the conversation refused to die so simply.

Shortly, Nikk found himself talking again, this time about Earth. He confessed how hard it was for him to get used to this planet, and how quirky humans seemed at first. How uncomfortable it was to fight the habit of transpassaging in the middle of a street.

In return, Anya admitted she was terrified to death when Nikk showed her their dream with his mere touch. She wanted to scream and laugh hysterically at the same time.

"I feel now like many years have passed," Anya said, sighing. "But the reality is that we've met only a few days ago. How am I supposed to return back home when this is all over, and pretend as if nothing has ever happened?"

"You can always take Astarta's offer to erase your memory," Nikk reminded quietly. "Blank the fomoires out of your mind. And us. And... me." His voice quivered. No, he didn't wish Anya to abandon the memory of him.

And the worst part was he didn't know why.

"No way!" She made a sound of something between excitement and angst as her eyes caught Nikk's own. "Would you agree to forget everything what has happened to you on Earth? To forget me?"

Nikk smiled stupidly. "No way."

Hours flew by in chatting. The two of them didn't notice as the night dissolved the stars on the artificial sky and the soft dawn glimmer arose.

"We should probably head back to the rooms," Anya said. "Rill promised to stop by in the morning, and if she finds me gone, I bet she'll turn the whole place upside down looking for me."

"That's for sure," Nikk chuckled. "She can drive anyone nuts if she wants to, with no effort."

The guests of the orchards started to gather things back in the basket. At the very bottom, among the napkins, there was a small crystal, its energy Nikk and Eirney used for hiding their secret stash from the eyes of the others.

A peculiar thought entered Nikk's head.

"Anya, I want to give you something," he said, snatching the aquamarine gem out. "Every daitya has a personal adri, a stone. And, since you're living among us, even temporarily, it's only fair if you have one, too."

"But... I don't know how to use it," Anya gaped at the stone Nikk had put in her hands.

"That's not a problem. All you need is your borderless imagination."

Anya ran her fingers over the facets of the glistering adri, carefully as if she was scared to shatter it. "Can I transpassage with it?"

"For a few feet maybe," Nikk rubbed his forehead, calculating the numbers mentally. "It's too small for teleportation. But, let's say, you want to charge your phone or light up a road you're walking in dark, or restore the energy of your own body after a sleepless night, that'll do." As Nikk was explaining the details, he felt Anya's eyes fixed on him. He felt some kind of strength, some enigmatic power looming at the back of his consciousness.

He couldn't understand it, but yet, he sensed it.

*

After the picnic, still talking and sharing laughs, they returned to the residential floor. There, to Nikk's surprise, Daphne was waiting for him, stomping back and forth by his door impatiently.

"Where the hell have you been?" she peered at him demandingly, folding her arms on her chest. "I've spent half of the night counting minutes of my life wasted in vain!"

Nikk drew a deep breath, quelling a billow of anger rising up in his throat. Daph didn't want to see him earlier, and now, when some frantic idea struck her, she suddenly needed him? No way would it be a warm family chit-chat.

"We went out for dinner," he spit out. "Or supper. Or breakfast."

Daphne's face twisted with temper. She opened her mouth to say every last accusation she could think of—she could think of quite a list, no doubt—but then her eyes fell on the crystal glowing through the fabric of Anya's pocket peacefully.

For a split second the mask of icy indifference was wrung from Daph. In her pupils, a spark of annoyance and indignation and resentment flashed. Then she regained control over her emotions.

She looked past Anya as if saw nothing but a shadow standing next to Nikk.

"We need to talk, brother," Daph said in a flat voice, and marched off into his room.

Loosening a tired breath, Nikk turned to look at Anya who watched Daphne leave. He had to say something, explain it, make things right, but how? Your brain always refuses to work when it's needed the most.

"Thanks for your company tonight. See you." were all the words Nikk managed. As he rushed after Daph, he could tell Anya's frustrated eyes were still on his back.

*

When Nikk walked through the doorway, he saw his sister sitting on his bed and rapping her fingers against the cover