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“He is following you?”

“No, well, I don’t think so. It was odd that he appeared. Rane said his friend learned about the class and brought him along. I don’t think there was anything sinister behind it.”

“Don’t be so certain. The cleverest aliens are always masters of disguise.”

Nell felt her throat tighten. “Rane is hiding something from me?”

“He must be. Go on. What about your other interactions? You said in your communication he is manipulating you with his ability.”

“I asked him to.” Nell ducked her head. “The first time he did it, it was after we met on Starland.”

“Exactly how much time have you been spending with him?”

The sharpness of Doctor Kingsbury’s words was unusual. She was acting more like a jealous girlfriend than a therapist. “Most evenings over the last few weeks.”

Doctor Kingsbury sucked in a breath. “He uses his ability every time you are together?”

“Yes. It helps to take away my panic. I’m calm around him.”

“He is manipulating you. This alien is not helping you to heal and move on. He’s masking your pain. He’s like a pain pill you take when you have a headache. It takes away the ache but doesn’t deal with the reason for the pain. That is not a way to help you.”

Nell sank back in her seat. “I’ve never thought of it that way. I feel better, even when he’s not using his ability on me. I have better focus, and I’m more rested. I consider that progress.”

“How long will that last? How long is he willing to drug you and lull you into a false sense of security? What’s to say he isn’t playing with you and being amused by what he does? He could disappear at any time, and then where would you be?”

Panic flooded through Nell. “I would be in a mess.”

“You’d be back to square one, or you could regress. The work we have completed would be undone. Any progress would vanish due to this alien’s manipulation.” Doctor Kingsbury leaned forward and lit the oil burner on the coffee table.

The heavy, musky scent of warming oil drifted up Nell’s nose. “Are you sure he is manipulating me? Rane wants to help. I was the one who insisted he use his ability on me.”

“How can you be sure of that? Olickie are known for their sneaky ways to bend people to do what they want. How do you know he wasn’t manipulating you to ask him to use his ability?”

Nell dropped her chin to her chest. “I don’t know for certain.” She was sure that wasn’t the way it happened. Rane had been reluctant to influence her. That time on the shuttle, when things had gotten heated between them, he’d been the one to slow things down.

“This alien is using you.”

“For what purpose?”

“To conduct more experiments. Have you stopped to think he could be the one who took you all those years ago? Maybe he’s come back to complete his study.”

Nell froze in her seat. It couldn’t be true. Rane couldn’t be her abductor. “He doesn’t need me. There are lots of willing humans who get paid to be studied.”

“You are his original case study. He might have grown attached to you. When he discovered you on Prodigy, he decided to complete his study. He is dangerous to be around.”

Nell’s chin trembled. “Rane doesn’t feel dangerous. I have no memory of him from when I was abducted.”

“You’re unlikely to. That is why they are masters of manipulation. He will have removed all memories of your original encounter. You are left with nothing but those scars.”

Nell shivered and wrapped her arms around her middle. “It was really him? You know for sure Rane was the alien who took me?”

“I cannot think of any other reason he would be doing this now. He has an unhealthy obsession with you. You must sever ties immediately. If you don’t, I fear not only for your sanity but your life.”

Nell blinked back tears. She didn’t want Rane to leave her. She grimaced. Was she suffering from that condition where kidnap victims get attached to their kidnapper?

“I should speak with Rane and confront him with this information. Isn’t that a good thing to do with regard to my immersive therapy? If it is him, and I tell him what I know, it will help me. I can remove him from my life permanently and show him he can no longer influence me.”

“That’s out of the question. It’s too dangerous. You cannot spend another second with this alien. Forget all about him.”