I tried not to worry about what thoughts he might have glimpsed. “How do I make it stronger?”

“Valovian children learn to shield instinctively. Your shield reminds me of a child’s. Did someone teach you or did you learn on your own?”

I’d learned during the war because it was that or die. Without shields, a mediocre telepath could make you see things that weren’t there. A strong telepath could make you turn your weapon on yourself or your allies, all while thinking your behavior was completely normal.

I’d watched more than one soldier fall to friendly fire while the shooter smiled.

I focused on the pressure of my fist against the table so the memories would stay dormant. Command had produced dozens of training videos, but none of them had worked as well as brutal experience.

“I learned on my own,” I said, my tone flat and distant.

Torran nodded, as if he’d expected that answer. “How do you construct your shield?”

Heat bloomed in my cheeks. I had no idea how Valoffs protected their minds, but I doubted it would be as silly as how I did it. I swallowed my pride and said, “I imagine donning an armored helmet.” I’d tried imagining many things—walls, bubbles, shiny shields, mountains—and the helmet was the only thing that reliably worked for me.

Torran’s mouth quirked, but he was smart enough not to laugh.

“What do you do?” I asked. If I was going to open myself up to ridicule, it was only fair that he did the same.

“It’s different for me, because my brain works differently. But at a simple level, I build overlapping nets, with each layer allowing certain things through and blocking specific threats.”

“So you can communicate telepathically without others being able to read your thoughts?”

A faint smile curved his lips. “Exactly.”

With the comm implants, humans had gained a fraction of that ability, but the implants still relied on technology to work. Innate biological skills would always have an advantage.

“Could you communicate telepathically with me, even through my shield?”

“Yes. And if we were close enough and I focused, I could hear your replies, too.”

Curiosity had always been a weakness of mine. Before I could think better of it, I asked, “Will you show me? Not the hearing the replies part, but what telepathic communication sounds like.”

Torran frowned. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, even though I really wasn’t.

Torran took me at my word. I felt the slightest brush of coolness, then his voice whispered across my mind. “Octavia.”