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‘I see,’ said Chergoa. ‘Er, I mean--I understand.’

Emiliana just looked at her.

‘Well, hey, you barely even need your eyes anyway. If it comes down to it, I’ll just tell you where everything is.’

That reminded Emiliana that this was going to happen again. It was only a matter of time. Unless she did something about it, of course. She knew she only had herself to blame on this one. Chergoa had warned her previously that she needed to use her power in small, controlled ways, and Emiliana had been neglecting that. It might’ve been irrational, but a part of her had been hoping that she could just sit back and never have to worry about making things worse.

Foolishness, she knew. She was just grateful that Chergoa wasn’t rubbing it in her face.

She didn’t know how she was supposed to get used to this. Everything was so bright, despite all the gaps everywhere. The oddest thing, though, was that not all of the holes were the same. There seemed to be two types, actually. Some were just strange fluctuations in light, occasionally even moving to and fro, shrinking and growing, creating an illusion of distance from her. The others were just big dark spots, blurry and completely stationary, making it feel as if she were stuck looking through a pair of mucked up binoculars.

Before they made it back to the room, however, a commotion at the far end of the hall caught Emiliana’s attention. A number of Rainlords had gathered there, and when she turned to Chergoa again, she saw that the reaper had stopped and seemed to be concentrating.

“Is something happening?” Em asked.

‘I think so. There’s a lot of movement a couple floors below us.’

“Do you want to investigate?”

Chergoa thought a moment. ‘Nah. It doesn’t seem like a fight’s broken out. We should stay close to Zeff. I’m sure someone will find us if there’s anything we should know.’

Emiliana had no problem with that. They finished returning to their room.

Something still felt odd, though. She couldn’t quite tell what it was. A stray shiver ran down her spine, and she became abruptly conscious of the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck. And even after rejoining her family, the feeling didn’t go away. It lingered, keeping her on edge and making her scan the room over and over again, trying to reassure herself that nothing was actually wrong.

If not for the holes in her vision, she might’ve had an easier time believing that.