My eyes sting as they slowly open only to quickly close as I'm blinded by bright sunlight spilling in through the window. Problem is my window is normally behind me and my curtains are so dark and thick they completely block out the sun. The hard cushion beneath me isn't soft like my bed either and there's no sound of Mia's soft snores.

Sitting upright, I force my eyes open while keeping a hand up to block the light. What I see only makes my stomach drop with dread.

"Sleep well?" my dad asks from the coffee station in the corner of his office.

With his back to me, I look around the room as if I'll find a trap hanging from the ceiling or a neon flashing sign telling me I'm in trouble. Instead, all I find is the familiar mahogany desk with the two armchairs in front of it, the wall of bookcases, and the large stone fireplace. It looks the exact same as the last time I was here...with Hunter.

Just thinking his name creates a searing pain in the center of my chest. My hands rush to cover the throbbing injury.

I need to find him. I need to fix this.

I move to push myself off of the couch next to the door, but I've barely moved before my dad turns around.

"Don't even think about it," he says sternly, crossing the room with two coffee mugs in his hands. "Besides, he's most likely still sleeping."

Attitude and distaste lace every word as I ask, "Who says I was going to him?"

Cocking his head to the side, he lifts a brow that says it all. He's my dad; for that fact alone, he knows me better than most.

He holds out one of the coffee mugs and I take it before he moves to lean against the back of one of the armchairs.

"Why'd you do it?" I ask and take a sip of the hot liquid.

The look on his face stays completely calm and controlled. "Do what?"

"Stop. You know what I'm talking about. Why'd you turn him against me? Why would you do that to your only daughter?"

He releases a laugh so short I almost miss it. "It's because you're my only daughter that I did what I did. He's not good enough for you."

I scoff and roll my eyes before nearly downing the rest of the rich coffee.

"I'm serious, Crystal Ruby. I won't let you ruin your future for that boy."

"You mean you won't let me ruin your future for him."

Dad narrows his eyes at me and sets his cup down on the table beside him before stepping closer with crossed arms. "And what do you mean by that?"

"That journal of yours said something about blood-related dreamers having some kind of bond that can produce a lot of power. You would just hate for that kind of power to end up in Hunter and his friends' hands, wouldn't you?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know they're stronger together, maybe even stronger than you. If I joined them, you'd really lose any chance of having the upper hand. Then they'd get everything they've been looking for. Everything that you clearly took from them, based on what I saw last night. I mean...you had Hunter's mom's base all this time, after all, right?"

That twisted grin I saw on his face in the cave begins to hint at the corners of his mouth. "You just have it all figured out, don't you?"

I nod and instantly regret doing so as the room begins to teeter.

His smile spreads wider. "You have a good amount of information correct but the fact there is still so much you don't know makes me think you haven't had a chance to read the rest of the journal."

My hands start to tremble and a hazy feeling fills my head.

"You also took a bunch of my pills but if you haven't read more of the journal, I guess that means you don't know what those are for either."

At this point, it feels like he's almost talking to himself. I can't even hold my head up high enough to look at him as he continues to go on.

Crouching down in front of me, his crazed eyes lock with mine. "There's no harm in telling you now. You'll soon be left in such a deep sleep, you won't be able to tell anyone anyways." A sickening chuckle escapes him. "Yes, I have the bases of all those lost boys' parents. They were a group of dreamers that worked together, much like their sons, and they welcomed me as one of their own. But while they were content with going on their little adventures, I wanted more. More power. More money. And dreams don't help in that regard, not in the real world."

I try to follow his words as I fight to keep my eyes open. But doing both is becoming a harder and harder struggle.

"I told Hana that we should be working towards making our lives out here easier. That we could profit from our knowledge and abilities but she didn't want anything to do with that. So I had to begin my research on my own. My goal was to find a way to reproduce the magic in our blood and sell it to those with the deepest pockets. Why should we be so selfish as to keep all we can do to ourselves? Can you imagine how many people would pay to do what we can?"

I try to argue, to tell him "no." But my tongue feels too heavy to move. I can't make a single sound. All I can do is listen like a human statue as my heart races with fear.

"It took me years to figure out how to do it," he continues, his eyes no longer seeing me but seeing his memories from the past. "And during that time, I burned through so many test subjects. Seong Yun' and Mile's Parks parents didn't last long. The twins, Chan, and Woong Jung, I thought their parents might be my best bet considering they produced two children, and they lasted a while but not long enough. Noah Lee's father at least contributed to a good portion of my studies but even he couldn't survive the tests. And then there was Hana..."

He closes his eyes as a sad smile pulls at his lips. "Hana was so strong. She dreamed like no one I had ever met. And no matter how badly I didn't want to use her...in the end...I didn't have a choice. But it was she who brought me my first breakthrough. It's thanks to her that my dreams and goals were able to come true."

Opening his eyes, Dad stands back up and grabs his coffee. Despite it most likely being ice cold, he takes a sip and begins to pace in front of me.

"The blue pills are my Hana pills. They allow sleepers to temporarily dream as we do," he says, his voice back to his usual business tone. "What I slipped into your drink isn't anything special but it does one heck of a job at putting just about anyone to sleep for a long period of time. It's similar to being in a coma only when mixed with the purple knock-out pills, they also ensure that if the person is a dreamer, they won't dream. That's where the green pills come in handy. They can wake anyone from any matter of sleep within a few seconds."

My stomach sinks at hearing this and bile rises in my throat.

"But you won't need the green pills, my sweet daughter," he says in a caring voice that doesn't even sound like him. "See, during the process of creating my money-maker pills, I accidentally used a bit of my own energy. Not enough to seriously hurt me, but enough to severely lower the strength of my abilities. That's why I didn't want you to ever know about yours because while you lived blissfully ignorant of the dream world, I was siphoning your magic to make up for the lack of mine. But once you found out, once Mr. Kim told you..."

A growl emanates from deep inside him before he throws his coffee mug into the fireplace. "It's his fault it's come to this! I had no choice but to try and control how much you used. It could've worked for both of us if you had just let me help you. Instead, you turned to him and even built your own base, cutting me off from my link to your energy. Now, I have to take it all for myself."

I can't hold on any longer. My hands shake like a leaf and my head is completely dropped, my chin touching my chest. When the coffee mug still in my hand falls to the ground with a clatter, my body gives out, crashing against the hard couch.

He's gonna leave in a deep sleep...I'll never see Hunter again. I'll never get to tell him how sorry I am.

A tear escapes from my closed eyes and rolls down my face.

The last thing I hear before everything goes dark and silent is my father sighing and saying, "Don't worry, Crystal Ruby. My days of losing test subjects are long gone. You'll be just fine as you sleep peacefully. I'd never let anything happen to my most precious treasure."

Chapter Word Count: 1591

Total Word Count: 30935

Another chapter down for this project and hopefully another step closer to finishing before my ONC deadline. I'm running out of time but I'm gonna keep trying until the last moment, so wish me luck! I'll be back to update with questions later!

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