I am standing in the middle of a clearing. Fire is all around. People are dead. Some are dying. A single white flag flaps against the wind. Sweat falls on my brow and down my cheeks. I reach up to wipe it. It's painful and I realize that it's blood. I am holding on to something, a kind of gun, but different from what I see in movies. There is no barrel and yet. I know it's loaded. But how? I hear screams, war cries. I turn around. People are rushing towards me, faces ablaze in anger. These are people I know, only older. I feel a sharp blow behind me. I gasp. I fall to the ground, my eyes blurring. I see Renz stooping over me. He points a gun at me. He shoots.

I get up as a start, sweating and breathing heavily. I try to calm myself down. I stand up and hop to one of the cabinets. I change my sweat-drenched shirt. The nightmare is still fresh in my mind. I return to my bed and sit. My heart is still hammering in my chest. I take deep breaths, close my eyes and repeat the dream in my mind.

The scene of carnage, the white flag, people screaming, and Renz—he killed me in the dream—like how he is killing my heart now. Only this time, piece by piece. I take a lungful of air. Aian said that Renz is living with Cielo on the outer part of Hiraya. I stand up, take my wooden crutch, and drag myself outside the room.

It's already night, and the air is chilly, but it's what I need–to numb my body, hoping that it can numb my heart as well. I still can't forget that conversation with Cielo a day before. How could she even suggest that to me?!

I walk around the palace and find myself in one of the secluded gardens that are close to the Babaylan's residence. This place is for patients who want to be alone. Somewhere a bit far from the infirmary, but close enough that injured people can still reach it. It's on the edge of the inner area and the only place that is not included in the sandigs patrol area.

Trees and tall hedges covered the place. I see a bench and lie down on it. I look at the stars and look for any constellations. It's difficult. Minutes pass and finally I can make out the Lynx, or is it? I stare, studying the stars. It's strange. I reach up my hand to it, but I realize that my hands are trembling. I sigh. Aside from the cold, it could be because of that dream. How could it affect me this much anyway? It's just a dream!

I cast the thought away. Instead, I trace the patterns in the sky. Ursa Major should be on the right of the Lynx, and Gemini is on its left, but the two are missing. Migo taught me how to identify the patterns in the sky. He said that Ursa Major is a bear but this Ursa major is missing its tail. Could it be a completely different constellation? If I can't find it, then maybe I can find the easiest one, the Polaris. I search, but the north star is nowhere to be found as well. I frown. How can that be possible? I always find it. After decades, or centuries, did it reposition itself somewhere?

Suddenly, Rajah Sinagtala's face peers at me, blocking my view of the stars. I exclaim in shock. I'm about to escape when I realize that his arms are on either side of me. I calm myself down—to be cool about the way he is looking down at me. I inhale and I find myself staring into his black eyes. Too close for comfort, but I won't show how conscious I am of him being this near. In this distance, I can easily touch his face. I whisk the thought away. This is no time for fantasies.

Minutes of awkward staring at each other when he finally speaks. "Interested at the stars?" he asks. His face is getting closer to mine. If I just move, I can taste his lips again. I can—I panic at the thought. I push him, but then I stop. Somehow, my hands seem to be glued to his chest and I want to touch him more. I exhale. This proximity, he's making it hard to breathe. No, he's making me forget about my sanity.

Rajah Sinagtala reaches for my hand and encloses it in his. He's not breaking eye contact. I feel myself being sucked into his eyes. As if trapped in a delightful dream, my heart starts to speed up.

"Can I have my hand back?" I say, but my voice comes out wrong. I am breathless. He knows the effect he had on me, so he starts to lean down.

My lips part instinctively, ready for him to kiss me. But when I realize that I also close my eyes, I scream, but mainly due to frustration building up inside. He's startled and I take the opportunity to push him. He hits the end of the bench while I scoot away towards the other end.

This island is driving me crazy! He's driving me crazy! Shit, no! I calm myself down. If I am not injured, I could have run away. I look at my crutch. It's on the other side of the bench, behind him.

I sit up straight and gather my wits back to me. This man already rejected me, so what is he trying to do?! I grit my teeth and glare at him. He's sitting in front of me and is wrapped up in blankets. He looks so warm.

"What are you doing here? It's chilly," he says. He looks me over and instinctively, I hug my knees to my chest. His eyes linger on my face. There he goes again. That look that makes me act like a fool.

"Want to share?" he asks, opening his blanket for me.

Underneath, he's wearing a wrap-around robe. From his unkempt hair, it's clear that he was woken up from his slumber and went directly outside. Although, unlike me, he had the sensibility to carry a thick blanket with him to fight off the chill. I look away, deciding if I can escape him.

Then my mind drifts, once again, towards his tempting invitation, to his chest, to the warm blanket. It's very inviting. I'm about to move towards him when I look up at his face and see the amusement in his eyes.

I stop and realize that he's only playing with me. I feel a small prick in my chest. I hate being toyed around. This flirting, or whatever it is called, must stop now.