Chapter 3

“Valen, I want you to create a shield,” I say, looking at the hatch. “Keep yourself and dad and Edan protected. I’ll lower the hatch and go outside. If anything goes wrong, at least you can close it and get off this moon.” “Nova, that’s-” my father begins to protest. “Trust her, Torin,” Valen says, cutting him off. “She knows what to do.” I meet Valen’s eyes, grateful for his faith in me. I wish he could sometimes have that same amount of faith in himself. I walk toward the hatch, telling myself to keep moving forward without fear, but still, when I’m in place with my hand hesitating over the control, I look back. Valen stands in between my father and Edan, and I make out the shimmering, blue bubble that surrounds them all. I summon Neron, the easiest I ever have, creating a shield around myself. With one nod to my family, I press the control, and the hatch begins to open. The already blinding light grows increasingly intense as the doors open, letting more and more inside. I raise a hand to shield my eyes, but it doesn’t do a bit of good. One step at a time, I head down the ramp. I take a cautious breath in, and find that there is oxygen. It tastes charged. It tastes like power and magic. I feel Neron rush in my blood, and I feel absolutely electric. Like I could fly. Like power will crackle from my fingertips at the slightest thought. I feel…I don’t even know how to describe it. I feel like a goddess, returned to the source of her power. I’m hardly even breathing as I walk down the ramp. My footsteps barely even feel as if they’re touching solid surface. Nothing. I see nothing but frozen, white Neron. This feels familiar. This feels like my vision. And I know it. This is what my future was trying to show me. For the first time, I purposefully tried to fulfill what the future gave me. With a shallow, shaking breath, I take a step forward. It’s like the world explodes and disappears at the same time. The second my foot sets down on the surface of the moon, every bit of Neron releases like a breath, and suddenly disappears. Instantly, I can see everything surrounding me. It’s beautiful. Green trees surround me, not as tall and towering as the planet Valen and I crash-landed on, but still tall and lush. The ground outside our burn circle is covered in grass, just as green. To our left, I find a road, and my eyes follow it, to where I find a city. Small, but vertical. Footsteps running down the ramp pull my eyes back for just a moment. All three men I journeyed with come to stand at my side. Valen’s Neron shield is gone. “How…” my father muses, shaking his head. “That amount of Neron, and it all just…listened to you.” I feel a hand slip into mine and I give Valen’s a squeeze. In my mind, I hear that familiar confidence. He understands. He knows. More than I can grasp. He knows why the Neron listened to me. Because I came from here. “What do you think we’ll find in that city?” Edan asks, his tone unsure. I shake my head. “I…I don’t know.” “Only one way to find out,” my father says. He places his hand on my shoulder, giving a supportive squeeze, and takes a step forward, aiming for the road that leads to the city. As a group, having no idea what to expect, we step forward. Pound, pound, pound goes my heart with every step we take. I study everything, wracking my brain for any sense of familiarity. It’s there, but only for the Neron I feel in everything. I can still hear it calling to me, singing the name I cannot hear. But this place itself is not familiar. And how could it be when I was only around three solars old when I left? My palms sweat as we get to the edge of the city and we begin passing homes on either side of the road.