Her home returned to her. The library returned to her.

Still it wasn't her library, at least not the one Agatha had walked from end to end. The shelves no longer contained the simplicity of the wood, they shone thanks to the gold that covered them; the hallway she was in was twice as long as she was used to; and the comforting smell of books was tainted by the aroma of smoke.

It was his bookstore, but it wasn't. It was as if someone had visited the original site just once and was trying to replicate it.

The truth was that to Agatha it didn't even feel real.

"Hello?" She screamed. Her voice echoed through the hallway. "Is anybody there?"

She received no answer, not a single sound apart from her voice and her steps made It to her ears. The young woman turned around, her gaze on the books.

Green spine, without label. All of them. She took one off the shelf, the cover and the back cover were the same color. What caught her attention the most is that they were blank.

"Maybe there's something inside", she whispered.

Blank. Not a single word.

Agatha returned the book to its place and took out the next one. She let out a breath. There was no difference. It couldn't be real, she thought. But where was he? Had she finally lost his sanity? Or was she dreaming? If it was a dream, why was she aware of her surroundings? She has never experienced anything like it.

"No, it happened to me before." The words slipped out of her mouth.

She could remember it. The beach and Lorcan.

A smile worked its way onto her face. She shook her body in a little dance and did a quick spin.

"Lorcan! Are you there?" She screamed, cupping her hands on the sides of her mouth to amplify the sound.

The sound of footsteps covered the hallway, every second that passed the noise was louder. Agatha started to run.

The path never came to an end, it was as if the bookshelves continued to lengthen with each step she took.

Until she finally saw it.

Lorcan's figure, rapidly approaching her. His speed didn't slow down when he was close to her. The way his eyes narrowed and the scowl he wore said more than enough for Agatha to remember: he couldn't see her.

So she approached him, careful not to get in his way. She put her hand on the young man's shoulder, wishing there was another way to communicate with him. She could see and hear him, but she couldn't imagine how frustrating it was for Lorcan to only be able to feel her presence.

"Agatha?" He asked.

She squeezed his shoulder and Lorcan's posture relaxed. A dazzling smile appeared on his face.

"Where 's my hug?" He joked, extending his arms.

Agatha fell into his embrace. She clung to him like wanted to keep him forever. He wasn't far behind, he squeezed the young woman's waist with enthusiasm and rested his face on her hair.

"I miss you so much, I don't think I can last much longer without you." Lorcan cried. "What am I saying? You're the one who is trapped by a demon and I'm the one who complains."

She put her hand on his hair and began to play with it. Agatha wanted to tell him that he had every right to feel sad, the fact that she was the one who was kidnapped didn't mean that those who were still at home weren't suffering.

She wanted to tell him that she knew he must be doing everything he could to find her. Assuring him that soon they would meet in real life.

But she couldn't.

What she could do was place a kiss on his shoulder and caress his cheek. She was able to dry the tears that ran down his face and leave another sweet kiss on his forehead.

It was her way of saying that everything will be alright, at least as long as they stayed together.

"I'll find you," he promised. "Well, not only me. Demir is searching as desperately as I am. And Clio and Flora are helping. Your parents are waiting for you too, they call me every day to ask me if I found something new. Maybe I could ask Celina to bring them next time. Would you like to see your parents?" 

Could she see her parents? Agatha didn't react, caught up in the millions of memories of her family that plagued her mind. The tears fell without her being able to stop them.

"Sweetheart?" Lorcan asked after several minutes passed without her answering. "One handshake for yes and two for no."

The young woman shook her head and squeezed his hand once.

"I'm going to bring them as soon as possible, I'm sure they're going to bother Celina to hurry up. Are you alright? I mean, safe for now?"

She thought about her last encounter with Borbala, a moment she'll keep for herself even after returning home. Her hands trembled as she answered yes.

"We found the truck he used to kidnap you, but that asshole is smart, the truck was technically destroyed in the middle of nowhere. Demir thinks he has some experience and knows exactly what he's doing. There has to be some way to find something useful. Maybe if we can provoke him he'll come to us instead of us having to follow him."

Taunting Zagar to the point where he makes a mistake sounded like a tricky idea to Agatha. It was true that at times he could give the impression of being impulsive and violent, but she was sure that he actually knew what he was doing.

After all, he was a being that had lived at least twice as long as her.

But she'll find a way if that'll get her out of her prison.

"Enough bad news, I want to take advantage of the little time we have left in your dreams. The author of Children of the Void published a special chapter of the sequel this week, I thought you might like to hear about it. I can't read it because I can't bring it here but I tried my best to memorize the chapter. Do you want to hear my version of the story? Children of the Void, special chapter, Lorcan's remix?"

The young woman let out a laugh. He could be very sweet and funny at times. Instead of squeezing his hand, she cupped his face and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"I'll take that as a yes. Can I have a hug as well to get inspired?"

Agatha wasn't even going to refuse, after all she wanted to be in his arms and forget everything that had happened to her since she was uprooted from her life.

A small flame of happiness grew inside her once she rested her head on Lorcan's chest. For an instant she was back in her home.

Slowly the young man began to narrate the story, stopping at times to choose the correct word to express what he wanted to say. Sometimes his voice cracked and he would let out some insults.

Agatha found it adorable, not only did he do all he could to search for her, but also he memorized an entire chapter so she could hear it.

She tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. There was so much she wanted to say to him, so much to be thankful for, and that was the only way she had at the moment to show her appreciation.

"Sorry, that's the best I can do." Lorcan held one of her hands and gave it a kiss.

With a gentle squeeze on his bicep and a kiss on his chin, she tried to send his doubts away. She looked up, a shy smile was present on his face, the one she could never get tired of.

It was in those precious moments when her hatred for Zagar grew, every time she remembered what he took away from her. She'll find a way to get back to Lorcan, she had to.

The sound of knocking contaminated the dream. The noises were weak, as if they didn't belong there.

The stage began to fade. Some distant shelves turned to dust and little by little the destruction advanced.

"Time to wake up," whispered Lorcan. "I'll be back soon with your parents. I promise."

And he joined the dust that flew through the air.

A hole formed in Agatha's heart as she opened her eyes to reality. The room, previously dark, was illuminated by the sunlight that entered through the window.

"Who is it?"

The question was more to prepare herself for what awaited her on the other side of the door than to pique her curiosity.

"Excuse me. We don't know each other but Zagar sent me. He says that from now on you'll have breakfast in the dining room."