The Desert & the Dreamer.

The wind was restless tonight.

Even before Layla slipped out into the dunes, she could feel it ... a strange electricity in the air, prickling her skin like sparks. The stars above seemed sharper somehow, their light almost too bright to look at.

Her heart thudded as she hurried across the sand, clutching her dimly glowing crystal lantern close.

Malik's whispers had come sooner tonight.

But they'd sounded different.

"Dreamer… hurry."

"The winds are rising… the stars are restless."

"I need you."

She'd never heard his voice like that before ... sharp, almost frantic beneath its usual poetry.

So she ran.

The moment she crossed into the dreamland, she stopped in her tracks, her breath catching.

The silver dunes were gone.

In their place rose jagged towers of shimmering glass, their edges glowing faint blue under a sky that churned with streaks of red and gold lightning.

The ground itself rippled beneath her bare feet, as though alive and struggling against some invisible force.

And Malik stood at the center of it all ... his figure blazing like a golden flame against the storm, his robe snapping in the fierce wind that howled through the dreamland.

When he turned to her, his golden eyes caught hers instantly .... bright but wild now,

as though the storm itself lived in them.

"Malik!" she cried, running toward him.

But the wind rose higher, nearly knocking her to her knees.

He lifted a hand, and the storm seemed to falter for a moment, giving her just enough space to reach him.

When she did, he caught her hands in his, holding them tightly.

"You shouldn't have come tonight," he murmured .... but his fingers didn't let go.

She shook her head fiercely. "Don't say that. You called me."

"I didn't mean to," he admitted, his gaze darting to the sky above, where stars streaked downward in long, burning trails.

"But when the storm rose… all I could think of was you."

Layla's chest ached at his words.

"What's happening?" she asked.

Malik's jaw tightened, and for the first time, she saw fear in his golden eyes.

"The bridge is breaking faster now," he said quietly. "The darkness knows. It's trying to take me back."

She clutched his hands tighter. "No. You said you'd find a way to stay. You promised."

"I promised to fight," he corrected gently. "And I will. But tonight… I have to fight harder than ever."

As if on cue, the ground shuddered beneath them. One of the towering glass spires shattered with a deafening crack, sending shards of light tumbling into the churning sky.

Malik pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her as the wind howled louder,

carrying faint whispers Layla couldn't understand .... dark, cold voices weaving through the storm.

She buried her face against his chest, feeling the heat of him even as the dreamland itself grew colder.

Then his hand came to her cheek, tipping her face up to his.

"Listen to me, Dreamer," he said, his voice steady despite the chaos around them. "I need you to believe in me now more than ever. Even when it feels impossible. Even when it hurts."

Her throat tightened, but she nodded. "I believe in you. Always."

The faintest smile curved his lips at that, though his eyes still burned with determination.

"Then stay close," he murmured. "And watch what your love gives me."

He released her hands and stepped forward, raising his arms toward the storming sky.

The winds howled louder, tearing through the dreamland, and the ground split beneath them .... wide cracks opening to reveal faint, glowing light far below.

But Malik stood unshaken.

His voice rose above the chaos, no longer soft and tender but powerful now .... a command, a vow, a battle cry:

"You will not take her from me."

"You will not take this from me."

"Not while I still burn."

The storm seemed to falter for a heartbeat ... the dark whispers shrieking louder, but the wind slowing just slightly.

Malik's glow flared brighter, golden light streaming from his hands and into the ground beneath him. The cracks began to seal, faint trails of starlight weaving them whole again.

But the storm fought back.

Lightning streaked the sky, striking the nearest glass spire and shattering it completely. Dark shadows gathered at the edges of the dreamland ... cold and formless, but growing larger, creeping closer.

Layla gasped and reached for him.

"Malik!"

He turned to her then, his golden eyes blazing.

"Stay there, Dreamer," he ordered gently. "I can't let it touch you."

But she didn't listen.

She ran to him, her fingers catching his sleeve, and he didn't push her away.

Together they stood at the center of the storm as the shadows closed in, the stars above raining fire and light down around them.

And when he spoke again, his words came as quiet poetry, even here, even now:

"If the stars fall… I will rise."

"If the winds break… I will stand."

"If the dream ends… I will still love you."

Layla's eyes burned with tears, but she didn't look away.

"Then fight," she whispered fiercely. "For me. For us."

His smile was faint but full of fire now.

"Always."

He raised his hands again, and this time the light he called down was blinding .... a cascade of gold and white that struck the ground and sent the shadows shrieking back.

The wind roared in defiance, but Malik's glow only grew stronger.

And as he pushed the storm back step by step, the dreamland began to heal ... the cracks in the glass dunes sealing, the broken spires rising again, the sky above quieting as the stars returned to their gentle shimmer.

At last, the final shadow retreated with a hiss, vanishing into the dark horizon.

The wind fell silent.

And the dreamland .... their fragile, beautiful world .... stood whole again.

Malik lowered his hands slowly, his chest rising and falling with deep, steady breaths.

Layla stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his chest.

"You did it," she whispered.

His arms came around her, holding her tight.

"We did it," he corrected softly. "Your faith… your love… it keeps me here."

She looked up at him then, and though he still glowed faintly, she could see the toll in his eyes .... the quiet exhaustion hiding behind his smile.

And she knew.

This victory came at a cost.

But she didn't let go.

Instead, she reached up, cupping his face in her hands.

"You're stronger than the stars," she whispered.

At that, his faint smile deepened.

"No," he murmured. "I only shine because of you."

The dreamland quieted around them, the sky above returning to its serene silver glow, the dunes glittering like rivers of glass once more.

And for now, that was enough.

As Malik leaned his forehead to hers, his voice came as a quiet, tender vow:

"If the storm comes again… I will still choose you."

When she woke the next morning, the crystal lantern on her table glowed brightly ... as though it too had survived the storm.

And for the first time in many days, Layla smiled.

Because no matter what the winds tried to steal… they still had each other.