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Shape after shape appeared—circles, squares, stars, hexagons—and Fenella punched the keys more to appear as if she was cooperating than because she was sensing what shape was coming next. After twenty minutes, she was too frustrated to continue and had developed a headache.

"This is pointless," she muttered. "I told you I don't have any special abilities."

"Let's see how Kyra does," Amanda suggested, gesturing for Kyra to switch places with Fenella.

Relieved to be free of the electrodes, Fenella walked over to where Din was sitting and sat on the chair next to him.

He reached for her hand and clasped it. "How are you doing?"

"Not good. My head is about to explode."

"Ready?" Amanda asked, and Kyra nodded, her fingers wrapping around her pendant.

The first shape hadn't even flashed on the screen when Kyra punched a key and spoke. "Green circle."

The green circle appeared.

"Blue square," Kyra said confidently, and sure enough, a blue square followed.

"Yellow star... Red hexagon... Purple triangle..."

Kyra identified shape after shape with perfect accuracy, her expression calm and focused, fingers never leaving the amber pendant at her throat.

"Show-off," Fenella muttered, but there was no real heat behind it. Instead, she felt a twinge of something like envy. Not for the ability itself, but for the confidence with which Kyra wielded it.

After a few minutes, Kyra started to make mistakes, and Amanda stopped the experiment.

"Incredible readings," Amanda said, studying her tablet, then moving to another station. "Jasmine, you're up next." She waved her over.

Jasmine settled into the chair with an ease that suggested she'd done this before. Instead of a shape-guessing task, Amanda provided her with a sealed envelope that had something written on top of it.

"Those are coordinates," Amanda said. "Try to describe the location."

Jasmine closed her eyes, and after several moments of silence, she opened them. "Sydney Opera House," Jasmine said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Am I right?"

"I don't know," Amanda said. "If I knew what was inside, you could have picked it up from my mind, which could have confused the results, but since those envelopes are prepared ahead of time by my assistants, I have no idea what is inside them. You have to open the envelope to find out."

Jasmine did as instructed and pulled out a postcard depicting the opera house.

"Look at that." Amanda grinned. "Just as I suspected, that was far viewing. The ability to perceive distant objects or locations."

"Wow. I had no idea," Jasmine said. "I thought it was the scrying stick."

"It helped you focus," Amanda said. "Now let's see what happens when you work together. Did you bring the stick with you?"

Jasmine nodded. "It's in my purse."

"Go get it," Amanda instructed.

After Jasmine got her stick, she and Kyra sat side by side. Kyra's hand was on her pendant, while Jasmine's fingers were wrapped around her stick. They joined their free hands, forming a connection.

"Let's try something more challenging," Amanda said, producing a new envelope. "This contains coordinates to a location that's not a major tourist attraction. See if you can describe what's there."

The women closed their eyes, their clasped hands tightening. The air in the laboratory seemed to thicken, an almost tangible energy building around them. Fenella felt the fine hairs on her arms stand up.

"A temple," Jasmine murmured. "Ancient... crumbling... half-buried in sand."

"There's a false wall," Kyra continued, her voice distant.