Page 65 of Her Magic Light

“I’ve been watching you since you first came into the room, Meira. I saw what you did to the hummingbird.” My heart twisted.No!I held my breath and tried to avoid glancing at Coop, but Dr. Anderson didn’t seem to have any interest in him.

“I came straight down from the viewing room when I saw the bird fly away. Welldone, Meira.” He rubbed his hands together again. “You’re ready for a new phase in the testing.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Maybe he hadn’t seen how I healed Coop, and I tried to feign innocence. But he just laughed.

“Oh, I think you know exactly what I mean. How are you feeling now? Cold? Tired?” He strolled to his desk and opened a drawer. “I have energy bars already here.” He grabbed one and tossed it in my direction.

It landed on the sofa next to me, and I looked at it. I’d never heard of the brand, and I wasn’t interested in anything from Dr. Anderson. But my stomach grumbled. Maybe the healing had used up every bit of the energy from the morning pastry.

“Just a little something we had developed to fuel our stars.” He was so smug. “And I really do think you could be one of our stars, Meira. A jewel in our crown, if you like.”

I shook my head, still speechless.

“Eat up,” he demanded, nodding toward the energy bar. “We’ve got lots to do.”

I didn’t want to, but I was famished again, and I didn’t think Dr. Anderson would take no for an answer. So I ripped the foil wrapper open with my teeth and bit into the bar. It was sticky and sweet, but I couldn’t identify any of the individual ingredients.

Dr. Anderson zipped around the room, moving prisms and other objects into various positions, and each time he moved something, he’d step back and tap his lip. Then, sometimes, micro-adjust it before moving on to something else.

“Agent Cooper.”

Coop actually jumped at Dr. Anderson’s bark, suggesting his thoughts had been further away than usual. “Yes, sir?” He still hadn’t moved his hands.

“Escort Meira outside into the sun. We need her at full capacity for the tests.”

Coop swung his head toward me, and I stood. There was no point in arguing with the doctor on this. He’d just force his way, anyway. I shuddered at the memory of the gun pointed at me, but I gave Coop the tiniest smile.

Coop and I walked outside side by side, which was unusual. There was something equalizing about it, and maybe I liked being on equal footing with Coop.

“You okay?” His mouth barely moved as he asked the question.

I nodded. “You?”

He nodded as well.

“Let the sunlight hit you, Meira,” Dr. Anderson called from inside. “All of you. Turn your face up, arms out, turn around—all like you did the last time.”

I followed his instructions, closing my eyes and leaning my head back. Warmth flooded me, and I basked in it. Almost against my will, energy began to fill me again. It rushed into my chest and elevated my mood.

By the time I returned to the room, Dr. Anderson was nodding approvingly. “Perfect… Yes, perfect. I see it now. Fear as a motivator; the sun as a battery. Now that we’ve unlocked you, I think things are going to be just fine.” He studied me for a moment. “I can’t believe you didn’t discover your talent on your own.”

I gritted my teeth behind my closed lips and said nothing. The constant references to mytalentmade no sense. Except… I glanced at Coop as he moved to stand behind me.

Healing.

Actual fucking healing, and I’d done it.

Perhapsthatwas my talent. A small prick of pride flared inside me.

But Dr. Anderson was watching me, and he looked more malevolent than full of pride. “Are you ready? Stand on that spot over there.” He pointed to a circular sticker he’d stuck onto his carpet, and I walked to it. “We’re trying to get you to direct split colors today. Now you know how each makes you feel, you should be able to tune into them and direct them where you want them to go.”

As before, his instructions made no sense, but I didn’t ask him to explain further.

“Meira?”

I turned to him as he spoke my name.

“We can do this the easy way, or we can do it the hard way again.” He flipped back his lab coat to reveal his gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.

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