They stepped out of the car. The box was now a solid block of emerald light.
"We made it," Zhuo said. She looked at Zeeshaan—torn leather jacket, grease-smeared face. He was her hero.
"I'm not letting you go back, Zhuo," Zeeshaan said. "The box is home, but you're my home now."
He took her face in his hands and kissed her—a deep, devoted promise. As they pulled apart, the box clicked open. Inside was a crystalline seed glowing with the light of a thousand suns.