I waited until I had forced down dinner and made an appearance on my hour out before I grabbed one of my books, the advanced physics one, and settled into my bunk. I hung a bedsheet from the upper bunk to conceal part of the bottom bunk. It effectively concealed my upper body when I laid back on the mattress. With my inmate ID card, I dug out a couple of my psych pills from the wall. Ten two-toned blue capsule pills fell into my palm. The shininess of the capsules slightly appealed to me, though it was their purpose that enchanted me. At 50 milligrams each, I only needed three capsules to accomplish my goal; I replaced the other seven back into their hole.

My orangish-red rubber cup was waiting beside me on the floor, already filled with water. I threw the three capsules into my mouth, took a swig of water, and relaxed. Shutting my eyes, I waited for the medication to take effect. I focused on building, constructing. Just like how I had when I twirled around trapezes and the silks, I focused on my breathing. Beyond my breathing, I could feel my body relaxing in a way it hadn’t been able to since the last time I had taken this avenue. It used to scare me when the medication immobilized my arms and legs. Now, I loved the sensation, knowing what it would bring.

The drugs relaxing my system helped me find that little thread to that secret place. Hawk had called it my black hole in the universe. My focus on my desired destination deteriorated into one lazy and fuzzy flow of thought... until suddenly, I was no longer in that jail cell.

My eyes flickered opened. My breath got caught in my throat from my awe of the city arrayed in front of me. Pride rushed through me over the knowledge that I had created it. There were the visually appealing buildings that were inspired by the Berliner Fernsehturm and Seattle Space Needle. A Ferris wheel spun on its axis. Cathedrals offered a contrast to the modern architecture. To the west of the city, colorful rows of buildings stood over a wide canal that parted the city. Twilight was gripping the city and casting it in soft blues and purples. Stars were already dotting the skies. The buildings' lights were switching on to combat the approaching darkness. The city was of the usual sort. There was one key difference that made it magical, however: it was upside down.

The wind brushed against my revealed skin; it itself was a contrast to the temperate summer heat. This time, I had clothed myself in a turquoise halter-style dress. The skirts flared with the small gusts. A single strand of sparkly fabric ran parallel to my spine. My hair was down, and compelled by the breeze, tickled my exposed skin pleasantly.

I tilted my head up slightly to catch the wind just right. My eyes shut as I enjoyed the sensations. On earth, it had been four years since I had felt the summer breeze against my skin, smelt the salt from the ocean. Here, I could experience it anytime.

"You outdid yourself this time. I'm surprised you left me in regular clothing after what you did last time.” An amused voice announced his presence behind me.

Unable to keep my smile contained, I twisted to look over my shoulder.

Hawk stood a couple of feet back. Underneath the twilight sky, shadows played across his skin. It gave him a mysterious aura. Over the past four years, his appearance had become gruffer, less regulated. He had allowed his dark jet hair to grow in; to my fascination, it grew in wavy. His toned body was covered by a navy-blue button-up shirt and a pair of black khaki shorts. Physically, he had changed little over the past couple of years. Yet, he had lowered his guard with me, and I with him. The reluctance that had made him tense at our first meeting had metamorphosed into a sparkle in his eye.

"I could have always left you naked with just a boa," I flirted. Warmth swarmed my core, and I had to lock my knees just to keep from running to greet him. It was probably weird that I had such a reaction to him. In my defense, he was the only one in my world who didn’t look at me with judgment or pity. Although it helped he didn't know my history. We had given each other aliases, and for four years, that was what we knew each other by. It worked for us. It was just Shadowfire and Hawk in the sanctuary. No other distractions.

Hawk joined me at the cliff's edge overlooking the city. His hands were nonchalantly tucked into his pockets. A small grin lit up his face, which added to the beauty behind the symmetry of his oval face. His dark hair crept into his view, and with a jerk of his head, he forced it away from his eyes. Throughout these past four years, I had seen his hair shaven close to his skull, and then I had seen his hair shaggy and almost brushing his shoulders. The same with his facial hair: there had been the clean-cut days, and then the scraggly days. Today, however, he was in the middle of these two extremes. I found it dangerous, and my heart skipped a beat.

He shook his head. If it wasn't for the amused smile, I would have been concerned that he was irked by my creation. "You think I'd let you keep me naked? And what would I do with a boa?" he teased.

"Cover your manhood." My grin grew bigger as I went on. "You'd have no choice. Apparently, I'm the Queen of the Universe here."

"You think rather highly of yourself."

"You can blame that on yourself for helping me advance as far as I have here." I shrugged before holding out my hand in offering. "Have you ever walked through an upside down city before, Hawk?" I inquired loftily, already knowing the answer.

"No." His fingers intertwined in mine. I tightened our hold and took the first steps towards the upside down city. I made it so that we didn't have to traverse down the hillside as I pulled, and he followed through our linked hands. We were crossing into the city's threshold within a few steps. We fell into silence as both of us wandered through the city streets, lost in awe over seeing different parts of architecture that were usually never seen from our vantage point.

When Hawk had let me go that first time, he had taunted me that my curiosity would betray me. He was right. My curiosity became untamed, and with nothing else productive to occupy my mind while I laid awake in the middle of the night at the state hospital, I had evaluated that first venture into the sanctuary. There were several questions that crept up once my fear had deteriorated. Then came the undeniable yearning to return, to learn exactly what Hawk meant by creating my own worlds, my own universes. Hawk had said he would teach me how, and I had fled. Yet, it wasn't long before I returned. So, I acted out and got the Haldol and ketamine injection a second time. I manipulated the hospital staff for some time with the injections. Every single time, the concoction sent me to the sanctuary. This lasted for only a month, however, until the lead psychiatrist sat down with me, declared he knew what games I was playing, and prescribed me the drugs in pill format as an effort to compromise. Although slower to enter my bloodstream, they were just as effective as the injection.

I was prepared for the sanctuary that second time, and Hawk was there, waiting. He accepted my declaration to learn and started the first lesson. Hawk had me start out in a white room, a tabula rasa, where I could concentrate. It was a better alternative than just floating out in space, where I had been extremely disorientated. Those first couple of world-building attempts were hilarious. They were probably the equivalent of a toddler's crayon picture.

My trees were rough, drooping far to the side as if they had been windswept. The buildings were so poorly constructed that they would stand completed for thirty seconds until they fell apart into a pile of damaged parts. My worlds were just sandcastles and play dough, easily destroyed. None of it looked realistic, and if I looked close enough, I could see pieces of the white walls of the sanctuary's base. This was something I had never done before, and I knew I was going to screw up. I accepted it and didn't give Hawk excuses. I remained focused.

As a teacher, Hawk had started out as serious. Impersonal, even. He had taught those first couple of lessons without any emotion whatsoever. His reluctance kept him distant, although he never exploded when I failed to get the concepts immediately. Then his reluctance faltered as he saw my improvement and eagerness to learn. He became more approachable. Laughter started to appear in our lessons, beginning when the newly built bakery I had just constructed exploded into a million pieces thirty seconds after it was completed. Cake had splattered everywhere. I had frosting in my hair; Hawk had it smeared across his face. I had just laughed over the failure—thinking I had been doing better—and Hawk joined in. We laughed for a long time, encouraged on by the other's laughter. He started to talk to me about books and philosophy as we enjoyed the final settings. (I did improve enough to hold them in place after they were constructed.)

I was constructing worlds that were part memory, part imagination. The white walls of the blank slate faded with these new universes. I found joy in all of them and the stories they told. Hawk and I danced in vast halls cast in marble, murals stretching across the ceiling. We swum through cities as the pathways were one giant pool. We disrupted the peaceful sandy shore bordering the ocean with our footprints as we tore down it. Ice castles formed around us, the snow crackling underneath our feet. One day, we spent hours at a private cenote, ziplining and jumping off cliffs into the water. We had a day where we played in the snow and slid down the mountainside in tubes. With mugs of hot cocoa in our hands, we stared up at the simmering Aurora Borealis.

We ventured through worlds filled with cherry blossom trees, turquoise water caves, bridges winding through redwood forests, milky way skies lurking behind sandstone arches, a world with clouds as floors and stars as walls, and a white room that we painted with color. That time, both of us had arrived in the sanctuary exhausted from what our personal realities had been putting us through. My defense team and I had been meeting for at least five hours a day during the week. They had a lot to present to me, from the case discovery to teaching me about the criminal justice system. It had been a lot to take in. I needed time to decompress. As Hawk and I had agreed to not discuss the outside world in the sanctuary, I wasn't sure why Hawk needed that time, either. Painting the white room provided relief and distraction away from the craziness of our lives.

Attention to detail was one element Hawk had stressed as he lectured me about creating in the sanctuary. Specifically, our clothing, which I also controlled. I was elated to discover that I had all the fashion possibilities a girl could ever want. Especially when my fashion choices in reality were severely limited to one choice: a red uniform. As I grew more experienced with creation, the possibilities were endless. I found myself in gowns, dresses, swimsuits, kimonos, and jeans.

It was our own little sanctuary, our little taste of heaven, where we could do anything we wanted. The shared experiences united us. Our friendship transformed into something deeper, something untouchable and unspeakable. While it burned within me, I never acted on it. No matter where we were or what we were wearing, Hawk and I always found something to laugh about. I quickly learned that I could tease him to show my affection, and he never took my teasing as cruel. He always could return it. Our banter was flirtatious and enjoyable. We lost so many hours just talking on beaches, underneath the stars. When I was feeling spunky, I would resort to trying to prank Hawk. The pranks usually resulted in him just picking me up and spinning me around as I tried to catch my breath, which was lost because I was laughing too hard.

I was grateful for this one blessing from the universe. The sanctuary was the only relief I had from the trial and Jay’s chaos. Hawk's company kept me sane. I hoped I had the sanctuary for the rest of my life—however short it was. I tried to not think about the future and how long this could go on. That way led to nightmares about lethal injection.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

We had one unspoken cardinal rule: we would not discuss our personal lives. It seemed impossible that Hawk never learned who I was during these past four years. He spoke without an accent, and his mannerisms were clear enough that I reasoned he was from the United States, where news about the Union Station Massacre trial was widespread. He never had any curiosity about me either, especially about how I had so much time on my hands to be in the sanctuary as much as I was. Or if he did, he never acted on it. I think both of us knew it would ruin the enchantment we had formed. Neither of us wanted to destroy who we had become to one another and this place. We were just Hawk and Shadowfire in our little piece of heaven, nothing more, nothing less.

His superiors remained completely silent and didn't provide any guidance regarding my advancement. I took that as I was not ready, no matter how realistic my creations had become. Yet I became bored with the normal worlds. I wanted to push the limits. I checked out as many physics books from the jail library as I could to gather inspiration. Soon enough, Hawk and I were exploring worlds that lacked gravity and where we could breathe underwater.

This upside down world was something I had never done before. I was playing with the dimensions of the world. On a whim, I created a street where there wasn't one in the original plan. The buildings separated to form the street. Next to me, Hawk was in awe as we stared down the newly formed street. "I never even thought that we could play around like this in the sanctuary. You... what you're doing is extraordinary."

I gestured with my head that we should walk down the street. Hawk followed without protest. I eyed the brick building directly in front of us. With a thought, it became impossibly thin. "That's surprising. I thought you were an expert at all things sanctuary."

"Through practice and observation as a third party. Not innately, not like you," he advised.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, frowning. I stopped at the brick building. My palm rested against its rough exterior as I considered it.

"Do you remember when I told you we are in your sanctuary?" he inquired. I nodded. "Not everyone has sanctuaries. In fact, very few people do. It's become extremely rare."

I released the power of intention through my palm. The world shifted around us as I took my first curious steps onto the brick. The building became our ground. The axis of the entire world shifted so that I could walk along the brick building like it was a bridge. My arms splayed out to my sides as I balanced on the brick in front of me. "You said you learned vicariously. Does that mean you don't have a sanctuary?" I wondered.

"No."

I cast a sideward glance at him. Despite the disorientating shifts of the world, he had remained by my side. "Then why were you appointed as my tutor?"

Hawk's frown became more prominent. A haunting darkness enveloped him as he avoided looking at me while looking everywhere else. His eyes became distant, as if he was traveling down a dark memory that had been dredged up by my interrogation. I waited, silent, until finally, I could feel him pulling further away from me. Unable to accept the distance, I acted quickly.

A staircase formed in front of us, just wide enough to fit both of us side by side. It climbed upwards and twisted at intervals. I did not know where it led to. Still distracted by his memories, Hawk shot me a look. He said nothing as he followed me onto the staircase from the building.

After we had climbed three stories and now hovered above the tilted and perpendicular city below us, I stopped adding onto the staircase. I peered over the city as I considered my next manipulation, which would be inspired by the physics books I had devoured over the years. Within seconds, two aerial hoops had formed within reach of staircase's edge. I pulled the closest one to me and climbed onto it. I cherished the resulting swing. My body yearned to shift around the hoop like it used to. My legs desired to be stretched and contorted into different poses. Yet, I remained stationary and leaned against the side of hoop, watching Hawk climb onto the second one. A pensive frown still rested on his face. My face pressed against the hoop and feet dangling, I finally broke the silence. "How much longer do you think it will be before your superiors will declare I'm ready?"

"I wish I knew. You're already advancing far past what I've experienced."

"Who are they? What do they want with me? What do they want with this?" I interrogated.

"I don't know." I glanced at him, frustrated. Hawk caught wind of my frustration and had the grace to look abashed. "They didn't want me to tell you anything about them. They didn't tell me what their endgame was, either. I was to be the sacrificial agent because I am the only one who knows the sanctuaries."

"So, you haven't gotten any further instructions?"

"Not since the initial briefing."

"That's hilarious." I felt disappointed by the lack of progress. I had advanced to manipulating physics in the sanctuary, doing things that were impossible in reality. Hawk's superiors remained quiet. It had been four years, and I didn't know what more they needed from me.

"You seem a bit depressed. I hope everything is okay," Hawk observed.

I shrugged, thinking about life in solitary confinement in prison. "It’s life. I'll get through it. It's not like I have any other choice."

"So I take that as a no?"

"Are you fishing for information about my personal life, Hawk?" I tried to keep my voice as light as possible, trying to add a teasing note to it. Needing a distraction from this conversation, I started to lower the hoops. We slowly skimmed the side of the upside down buildings in our descent.

His copper eyes met mine. "I just wanted to make sure you are okay."

"I’m okay with what I can control. There’s the part of life I can’t control. Yet, nothing will happen if I complain about it anyway, so why waste my breath and time?" I jerked my chin at him. "I could ask you the same. You seem a bit distracted and haunted."

Hawk shrugged. "It’s nothing. My superiors just have assigned me to something new. I’m not looking forward to it."

I swallowed over the anxiety his words introduced. "Does that mean I will see you less?" The hoops reached the ground. I hopped off mine and stood in a city park. Lush, green grass carpeted the area. Small hills added dimension, while trees and flowers provided decoration. Skyscrapers bordered the clearing.

"It shouldn't," Hawk answered, reservation in his voice.

I climbed to the top of one slope and fell backwards 0nto the field with my arms stretched out. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the vivid colors of wildflowers surrounding me. Hawk laid down next to me, orientating himself in the opposite direction so that his feet were right beside my head. I ignored the urge to reach for his hand and forced my hand to remain where it was on the grass. Instead, my fingers dug into the cool ground. I stared up at the sky hovering over the clearing. It was a calm, relaxing lavender. With the breeze brushing past my face, I felt like I could fall asleep right where I laid. "If you could have any superpower, what would it be?" I wondered. It wasn’t unusual for me to throw these random questions out there, especially since we talked little about our lives.

Hawk’s hand twitched. Mine was close enough that I felt it brush against the edge of my palm. When Hawk answered the question, his voice was even. "I guess I would love to have psychokinesis, although I would have to be careful using it too much and these extraordinary abs vanishing! I’d be worried it would make me too lazy." Hawk’s tone had transformed into self-mockery towards the end. Blinking up at the sky, I tried to keep the blush from heating my cheeks and not think about what was being concealed by Hawk’s shirt. "What about you?" he inquired.

"Maybe reverse time. There are a lot of events I would like to change," I answered honestly. If I could go back, I would try to rescue Kit, who was the first one to be taken away from me. His death happened when I was sixteen, and for the following months, I was grief stricken. We all had been. It had taken awhile for a new dynamic to settle, and the lack of his presence was felt whenever Galileo called us for missions.

"I get that. Regrets are heavy burdens. Still, we need to learn how to live with the decisions we’ve made and build upon them. It's not like magic exists," Hawk stated unnecessarily.

"I know, but what if it did? The world would be a completely different place, perhaps better."

Hawk sat up. His body was tense, and he peered to his left. There was nothing over there except for trees, so I knew he was refusing to look at me. Confused, I sat up and reoriented myself to examine his face. He knew I was too good at reading facial expressions and body language, though, and he was concealing something from me. I itched to frame his jaw with my hands and pull his face into view for closer examination. "The world would not be different, Shadowfire," Hawk declared. "Politics would still be a major component of it, as well as the question of how to lead everyone. You add magic—another way to amass vast amounts of unchecked power—and you just raise the stakes higher. Magic and human nature are a combination that can’t be trusted. Look what has happened without it: genocide and war."

"You seemed to have put a lot of consideration into this," I observed. My head tilted. My instincts latched onto a small bead of suspicion. I studied Hawk’s side profile. "Does magic exist, Hawk?"

Hawk inhaled deeply. "No, Shadowfire. No, it does not. We mere humans are alone in this universe."

"Then why did you become edgy with a theoretical question?" I reached out to lay my hand on his. I was silent as I waited for him to reply. The clockwork of his mind was working overtime. I saw the muscle in his jaw twitch before he looked back at me. His hand flipped over so his fingers could entangle with mine. I gripped his hard to present solidarity. He returned the motion.

"It’s just the new assignment," Hawk admitted. "It’s nothing. Like you said, I’ll get over it. I just have to finish it, and everything will be fine. That’s how it always goes. I get an assignment. They promise me my freedom. I don’t complain or debate the morality of it. I get it done. They don't live up to their promise. Rinse and repeat." I narrowed my eyes, seeing his statement as an excuse. I needed a distraction.

That’s why I quickly wrapped my arms around Hawk’s torso and pushed off the ground. It sent us flying backwards. Hawk landed on his back. I tried to inch my way up to his armpits. Hawk knew milliseconds counted with me when we were grappling. My skill might have been a surprise the first time we met; now, Hawk was all too aware of how to deal with me. Just as I was shimming up his chest, his arm slipped underneath my knee and flipped me over onto my back. I released an oomph of air.

Hawk was there, lurching over me to position my arms above my head. His hands were much larger compared to mine, so he only needed to use one hand to grip and control my arms. He moved his center of gravity over me. Before he could slide a leg over my torso, I swung my hips upwards and around in a crescent circle to hook around Hawk’s torso. He was well-built with muscle, making it hard to control his movement. I tried to push him backwards, hoping I would have enough momentum to thrust him on his back. My first push was unsuccessful. My leg strained against the maneuver.

A mischievous grin appeared on Hawk’s face. With his free arm, he attacked my side, right where he knew the staccato rhythm of his fingers tapping against my side would give him all the distraction he needed. Involuntarily laughter left my mouth, and I tried to twist away from him. My leg swung back down, which only gave him the opportunity to move further up on my body. The tickling stopped once he was in the dominant position.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

His mischievous grin lingered; his dark eyes twinkled. Hawk leaned forward so that his face hovered above mine. He was so close I could feel his breath tickle my cheeks. I was in a vulnerable position, and usually, I didn't do well with vulnerability. This time, panic remained dormant. There was a fluttering in my heart and a gasp lodged in my throat. We had been coming to the sanctuary for four years. Our strange friendship had developed on its strange foundation. We had nonverbally flirted with the idea of making things more physical, each exhibiting actions that dared to redefine our friendship, before darting a few steps back and away from the line.

This close, I could see the distinguishing features of his face. He had a symmetrical, oval face. In a neutral, resting position, it made him look like someone you did not want to insult. When he grinned, the stern and severe persona disappeared into boyish charm and dimples he never wanted to admit he had. He rested on his forearms, careful to not settle too much of his weight on me. "Leading an uprising against you and your reign," he declared triumphantly.

"What?" I blinked at him in confusion. I forgot how I even ended up on my back.

"You said you were now Queen of the Universe. I’m commandeering your throne. You’re going to hand over your crown, Shadowfire."

Understanding, I laughed. "How are you going to do that?"

"The torture of... tickling," Hawk announced. He hovered over me, his face millimeters away. We were sharing the air between our lips. I caught him looking at my mouth before his eyes flickered upward to my eyes. A question floated between us for moments until I answered it. I raised my head up before sticking my tongue out and licking the smooth section of his cheek above his facial hair. A bit of salt from his skin lingered on my tongue.

The action had the shock value I was looking for and sent Hawk trembling off me, laughing. He landed on his back beside me. Our intimate moment had passed, ruined by a swipe of my tongue. Wiping my salvia off his cheek, Hawk shook his head. "What was that for?"

Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I gazed at him. "A queen must keep her crown." I made a motion as if I was straightening my crown.

Hawk shook his head to hide his amusement.