Time passed like a wound heals, Baraq felt every passing second tick pierce into his ribs. He did not wanted to be doubtful about the situation, but the time wasn't helping at all. Few more minutes until the time clicks to eight oh' twenty.

"Great," he sighed and arched back leaning on his palms giving Layla some room to move on his lap. His bare palm felt the heat all the way traveling to his forearms, but it wasn't something new to him. He survived hottest of hottest summers and coldest of the coldest winter, this minimum heat of the morning noon was nothing compared to what he went went through.

Layla saw him acting all cool on the hot desert and thought that the sand wasn't really that hot. Slowly, she stretched her fingers to the ground and touched the sand.

"Hss," she yelped, yanking back her hand and bite back her tongue. Her eyes watered instantly as she checked the tips of her fingers. They were red and burning with the aftermath. She exhaled a heavy breath, blew cold air on her fingers.

Her eyes traveled back to the man, who was casually leaning on the sand. Who is this man in reality? A questioned rang in her head until she pushed it behind with her thoughts of fresh wounds and focused on it.

"What time is it?" A question rumbled out of his mouth and she saw his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with a small gulp, she doesn't know why, but she felt it. A strange pull. A strange pull which only he had on her, no man before him had this kind of aura around her. Nobody had the power over her, like he did.

She never saw a man like him in her entire life.

She never felt bad for any man. Man. A simple word, which would make her mouth twist into sour frown, was now the reason of her breathing, and no matter how much she tried to deny it, she couldn't.

If Baraq would not have been there, that day, she would not be here, today, in his lap.

"Layla?" He rasped, making her jerk out of her thoughts, as she raised her wrist to her eye level, hiding the sun behind it.

"Eight twenty."

The moment those words left her mouth, she felt the ground beneath her move and found herself standing on the ground steadily. Her hands moved around her waist as she felt his tight hand secured around her.

Her mind worked fatser as she realised that Baraq stood up and pulled her up with him, just by his one arm around her waist. One arm.

Not even with the help of his palm or fingers or the other hand.

Layla blinked slowly coming back into reality and closed her wide mouth. Her eyes went to his eyes and she saw it, the arrogance. Opening her mouth, she chuckled and pulled away from him as she saw the smugness in his eyes.

God, this man would be death of hers.

Baraq pulled out the book and it flew around, basking them with golden sparkly dusk.

"Where is Qamaristan?" Baraq questioned, without wasting another second.

Nazreena and Hafsa walked closer to them, their eyes wide as they waited for the answer.

"Turn from the sun and walk ahead,
Stop where bricks stand tall and red.
Take a moment, catch your breath,
Where are you, can you guess?" The book stopped flying and fell in Baraq's hand.

"That means we have to walk into the opposite way from the sun, to the west." Nazreena summed up the first sentence, her words coming out with a soft but firm voice.

"There will be brick wall, if we kept walking straight." Hafsa continued, her eyebrows drawing closer.

"That brick marks the end of our journey and starts the line of Qamaristan." Layla concluded, as she shared a glance with Nazreena who nodded at her words and saw Baraq already turned around towards the west, with the small pouch tightly held in his palm.

"Move fast, there's a long journey ahead of me" He said as he stepped ahead, but Layla didn't let him.

She pulled him behind and stared into his golden eyes, "this is not just for you or me, this is for us." She said letting out a harsh breath.

"We all are together in this." She announced again as he turned to give Nazreena a look. He didn't say anything. He just stayed quiet as Layla rounded around and stood beside him.

This small girl, who doesn't know ABCD of his life was commanding him. He was amazed by the brave act she pulled infront of him, but he saw it. He saw the flicker of fear hiding behind her brave glare, as if that would save her from him.

"Now, let's start our journey." Saying this she held his free hand in her small ones and started walking with him beside her.

On her left was Nazreena with Hafsa tightly clinging to her shoulder.

"You are brave and the first woman to keep him in his place." Nazreena bemused as they walked further.

Sun burning their backs making them slowly began to sweat, cold morning breeze changing places with the hot ones.

"I don't think so." Layla said turning to see her.

"No you are, because the first time I saw him, I swore to never get into his way." Hafsa said out loud remembering Baraq's reckless behavior.

"What did he do?" She questioned, her eyes holding ground of curiosity as she slowly let her fingers loose around his fingers.

"You really want to know?" Nazreena drawled out the words slowly, enjoying the small scene of suspense.

"Don't kill me with suspense, just tell me." There was an edge in Layla's voice, which Baraq never heard before and he couldn't help, but raise his one eyebrow in question.

"Well if you really want to know, then hear we go. When the must we brought him over,-"

Baraq cut off her words with his cold voice.

"You kidnapped me."

Layla's eyes widened as she stared at Nazreena and stopped walking. Baraq couldn't afford to waste another second so he started dragging her with him.

"Yes, I did. But what he did was nothing compared to his kidnapping. He sat my palace on fire."

Layla couldn't breath. She felt like as if all the oxygen from her lungs was knocked out. She couldn't even move a muscle.

"Fire, as if the one with flame?" She questioned coming out of her shock, and blinking softly and slowly.

"Exactly." Hafsa agreed nodding her head far too many times.

"Are you crazy?" She questioned turning to him.

"What if they've had died?" She whispered yelled, trying to know what is wrong with this man.

"Well, they didn't. And it wasn't my first time setting a place on fire. I am an experienced guy." He smirked under his keffiyeh making Layla answer her own question.

It wasn't nothing, in fact, everything was wrong about him and Layla realised that she was wrong, too; for choosing him.