Eventually, they would open up all the dorms. And she hoped she could move up to level six and install a mirror pipe. When she lived in Zirdai, her room had been on level three and she missed being close to the sun.

At about three meters by two meters, the space was…cozy. The thin mat kept her off the cold floor and she used her sun cloak as a blanket. There was no need for a heavy fur this deep as the temperature remained at ten degrees Celsius no matter what the angle. A long table stretched along the wall on the other side of the room. She set her pack down on it. A couple bedraggled sitting cushions were beside it. Two druks kept the darkness at bay, although she wondered if she’d still need them while she slept now that she had the ability to sense people nearby. It’d been embarrassing to admit she was afraid of the dark.

A pile of clothing occupied one corner, and a pyramid of scrolls sat in another. Borrowed from the monks, one of the scrolls showed the layout of the Temple of Arinna, their current home. Another contained information about The Eyes.

She closed one druk and turned the other low before lying down. But her thoughts whirled with all the tasks she needed to do and sleep refused to come. After a few angles, she gave up and unrolled the velbloud skin with the guidance on using the power of The Eyes.

The problem was the information was written in an archaic language and rather cryptic. She’d learned how to read it as that had been her specialty—transcribing old tablets and scrolls—but it took extra time to translate.

So far, Shyla had learned how to block others’ thoughts and emotions, which helped keep her sanity. And she was getting so good at lowering and raising her mental shield that it almost didn’t require a conscious effort. The Eyes also increased her magical power. Before she woke them, she could only influence one person, but afterwards she had persuaded twenty-five people that she’d disappeared. And now she could also alter a person’s memory. She wondered if that was the real reason for Jayden’s reluctance to teach her. Perhaps he was scared of her powers and didn’t want to give her even more abilities. She didn’t blame him; if she thought about it too much, it frightened her as well.