I froze in terrified wonder. It was completely different from communicating via comm implant. I somehow knew that the thought came from Torran, but like our subvocal comms, it didn’t exactly sound like his speaking voice. Unlike our comms, it was closer, more intimate, like a caress. I shivered and forced myself to start naming things in the room lest he catch the direction my thoughts had taken.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes. Thank you for demonstrating. I thought it would be like our comm implants, but it’s not, exactly.” I had a million questions, but I brought my focus back to the reason I’d asked for help in the first place. “If I can’t build nets like you do, then what can I do?”

Torran took the change of subject in stride. “Can you tell when I touch your mind?” When I nodded, he continued, “I can build a shield for you, but I don’t know if you’ll be able to feel it well enough to figure out how to duplicate it. If that doesn’t work, I can try piercing your existing shields to see if you can fix the holes that way.”

I swallowed. Neither choice sounded super fun. “Are there any other options? How would you explain it to a child?” While it grated to be treated like a child, I’d take it if it kept Torran out of my head.

“In public, parents shield for young children until they learn to shield themselves. Children instinctively learn from that example.”

Well, that was exactly zero help. “I don’t suppose you’ve taught other humans how to shield?”

A flicker of emotion crossed Torran’s face, too fast to identify. “You will be the first.”

“Fine. Show me how you’d build a shield for me. Let’s see if I can learn anything from it.”

“Are you ready?”

No, no I was not, but I agreed anyway.

I stared at the scratches in the tabletop as Torran’s mind brushed mine. I focused hard on my mental shield and what was presumably Torran’s additional shield, but all I felt was the same coolness that I normally felt, just to a much larger degree. His telepathic voice remained silent.

I glanced up. Torran’s eyes blazed with power, the silver, copper, and teal nearly obliterating the deep gray. Fierce Valovian eyes in cool, dispassionate faces haunted my nightmares, and paired with the cold feel of his power, I recoiled violently. I was on my feet and reaching for a weapon before I realized I’d moved.

Luckily, I didn’t have any weapons on me, and that likely saved Torran’s life—and mine.

Torran flinched as if struck, and I could no longer feel his power. He blinked and his eyes reverted to their normal state, then narrowed dangerously. “How did you do that?” he demanded.