Reclaiming Mystique (SpaceStalker Saga Book 2) by Bevan Greer Page B

constant chaos of Dark World.
    As her eyes continued to burn, she reached the hem of her blouse and tore a good portion free, then wrapped it around her eyes. The smooth material provided her a measure of relief while still being thin enough to somewhat see through, and she made good use of her new eyes to study her surroundings.
    The room was the same size as the cell she’d been imprisoned in on Dark World. Though this room gave comfort while the prison had not. A bed big enough for two, a small table and chair in the corner, and a door lining one wall were all that stood out in the room. The bland gray walls looked much like the stone at home but offered comfort all the same.
    Naria stood on sure feet. Her sleep had done her a world of good. She moved to the security panel by the door. After trying the locked door and unable to get it open, she pushed a few buttons on the panel. Nothing happened. A few moments went by and still no one appeared, leading her to believe the room wasn’t monitored. Another difference from the prison cells at home.
    “Hello?” Perhaps the people who controlled the locks didn’t know she’d regained consciousness.
    No one responded so she tried again. She pounded on the door as well. Again, nothing.
    A terrible thought struck. What if she hadn’t left Dark World after all? Her father could have broken through her mental shields and toyed with her mind. Horrified at the prospect, she sat back on the bed and concentrated.
    Naria closed her eyes and sent her thoughts out to pick up signs of life. Thankfully, she didn’t sense darkness around her except in one small area outside of her room, and it was too faint to be anything seriously malignant. As she let her mind separate from her body and wander, searching for energy, she saw bright white light along several corridors. Fading blues and browns pulsed with life. And there, a seething brilliant gray ball of energy—the Rovi.
    She had to be away from Dark World. So where was Jace?
    Her mind traveled farther before she saw a bright violet orb so magnificent and speckled with color that she knew it had to be Jace. It mesmerized, and as she stared at it, she noticed how his colors took on those of his companions. Brown for Castor—solid, dependable. Blue for the Fenturi Carinna had helped, and where the darkness pulsed, a smattering of dull blue remained. That had to be the other Fenturi her half-sisters had tormented.
    Then Jace’s colors turned a mottled black, prismed with color. Oddly, they reminded her of the patterns of her own energy Carinna had once described. Carinna. Distressed she still coulnd’t sense her sister, she started to—
    A band of energy pulled at hers, and she quickly regrouped her thoughts, shielding them once more before she sank back into her physical body.
    The door to her room slid open, and Jace stepped through looking well-rested if a bit battered. Satisfaction filled her from head to toe, and she had to force herself to sit still when she wanted to bounce with excitement over seeing him again.
    “Naria.” He studied her as intently as she watched him. “How are you feeling?”
    In this light, his hair looked darker than the white-blond it had appeared on her world. His eyes were brilliant, shards of colors swirling within the deep black of his gaze. She could stare into them all day and night.
    When she realized she hadn’t answered him, she said in a rush, “I’m fine. Thank you.”
    “What’s wrong with your eyes?” he asked, looking at her blindfold.
    Naria wasn’t sure what to tell him. If he believed her story about coming from planet Seven, he would think it strange for her eyes to be so unaccustomed to the light. Whereas a Dark Worlder would naturally shy from such brightness. Even the torturous light cells on Lysst were only half as bright as the illumination in this room.
    “I, um, I’m not sure. I think Lord Demise did something to me that made me light sensitive.” Thinking about what