“Fade with me. Come on.” Jeren takes my hands. “Exhale and become the space between the stars. The darkness that is everywhere.”
His eyes are almost hypnotic, and the fire in my blood begins to lessen, covered and devoured by a seeping shadowy presence. One that offers comfort in the gloom, an embrace of the hidden and the unknown.
“I said stand down or I will order my soldiers to—”
“Ignore him.” Jeren’s voice cuts through Bartanz’s yell. “Go dark with me, my beloved. Darker. Breathe.”
I focus on him until our breaths are matched, and he fades from view steadily as Bartanz advances toward us.
“Larenoan, stop what you’re doing!”
“Jeren,” Master Harlan calls, warning in his tone. “Don’t do this. Come back to the academy now. You’re only making it worse on yourselves.”
Jeren is gone, totally faded. I can see him, though, see the shine of his eyes and feel the touch of his hand.
Jeren smiles. “Now let’s go.” His voice is the hint of a whisper, something easily ignored as a breath of wind or the creak of a door hinge.
The fury that had been bubbling in my mind is gone, the fear subsiding through Jeren’s firm touch. “But I’m not a shadow.”
“Look down.”
I do. But I’m not there. Panic tries to well up inside me again, but Jeren’s steady grip keeps me grounded.
“You’re the space between the stars.” He pulls me away from Kyte and Ceredes, our steps oddly silent as we retreat toward the churned ground where the Sentient ship had been.
“No one’s looking at us.” I peer at the soldiers, some of whom stare with looks of disbelief on their faces, but they’re looking at Ceredes and Kyte. “Can they see us?”
The nearest Fleet soldier turns toward us, but his eyes search and focus on nothing.
Jeren puts his fingers to his lips, and I hurry along with him, the night our companion as Ceredes and Kyte send me mental reassurances down the bond. Once we’re past the line of soldiers, we break into a run. No one looks at us, though I can hear Bartanz bellowing incoherently at our backs.
“Bartanz has turned a nice shade of purple. It’s a rather delightful change for him, don’t you think, Ceredes?”
“He needed to mix it up some. The Fleet grays are a bit drab.”
“Have fun with that. I’ll bring her back to the academy when she’s cooled off a bit.Can’t have her going all spiky suleruan every time Bartanz threatens.”
“What’s a spiky suleruan?”
An image flashes through my mind of a huge porcupine-like creature with green fangs and tentacles instead of legs.
“Forget I asked! Oh my god, make it go away.” I cover my eyes with my hand, which is dumb, because the mental picture is, well … mental.
“Don’t stay gone too long.” Ceredes’s voice is almost a growl in my head, and the sound sends a tingle through me.
“Down, tiger,” I mutter to myself.
“I heard that,” Ceredes says, and I can feel the smirk, almost see the curve of his lips, the blue of his eyes.
Jeren squeezes my hand. “Faster, Lana.”
“Faster?” I’m already huffing a little.
“Shadows can move faster.”
“I don’t even know how I’m doing this.” I look down, my legs barely visible. “Sealing the circle did something to me. I’m all wrong.”
Jeren turns so abruptly I slam into him. “You’re not wrong.” He cups my face gently. “You are precious to me, to all of us. Never doubt that.”
