A woman out of time lands on a world that has potential to become a weapon for the future.

Noma feels the pain of separation from her sister keenly, but the light that she stumbles across belongs to a man with beautiful eyes.

In a city of the rejected, she finds a purpose, and in the investigation of her destiny, she takes people with her out of the shadows and into the light.

The Citadel takes shape under her focus, and when it comes time for their first actions, her training on Resicor is used to help the talents that it had kept under control. It goes to show that education is never a waste.

Excerpt:

Noma turned to Trala, gritted her teeth and hugged her sister while the energy fought them. It crackled and burned both of them, but they held on as tight as they could until the power of the repulsion of their talents drove them apart.

That was…you are crying!

Noma smiled sadly. “Of course I am crying; I am going to be parted from Trala for the first time in my life.”

Trala sniffled and wiped at her tears. “I am going to miss you, Noma. My heart will bleed.”

“And my soul is broken, but we will both go on. I will start fresh and you will take over. We will go on.” Noma smiled and backed toward the portal; a moment later, she turned and stepped into her future.

Her shadows wrapped tightly around her and protected her from the black ice that rippled and swirled around as she took slow and steady steps. She held her breath as step after step finally began to show a thinning of the darkness of the portal.

“Where the hell did she send me?”

Noma stumbled out into the night of a world that didn’t taste like Resicor. She made a face and looked at the cavern behind her and the walls of stone to either side. On a ledge, in the darkness, she looked out over the world that she was supposed to put roots in. In the distance, she could see flickers of light, and she decided to make for those tiny points of illumination.

She wrapped herself in shadow and used the tendrils to propel her over the ground at considerable speed. It wasn’t the most attractive means of propulsion, but it got her where she needed to go.

She came closer to the city, and she lowered herself to the ground, walking the last kilometre with caution. A strange sensation was building behind her, so she whirled to see what was approaching.

A small ball of light hurtled toward her, and she caught it. The touch was all she needed. “Skiria. They sent you to keep an eye on me.”

The ball sent a blossom of warmth through her and a whispering laugh rang in her mind.

“Funny. I am going to keep you under wraps. I don’t think you are appropriate to this era.” Noma wrapped the small orb in shadow and tucked it inside her suit, hiding it in case there were curious eyes in the city.

She turned back to the points of light in the darkness and continued her journey. She needed to set foot inside that low-walled city. That much she could feel in her bones. As long as she kept moving forward, she wouldn’t think about the world she lost and the sister who was on her own for the first time in their lives.

Noma kept her pace brisk and concentrated on holding in her shadows. Something was telling her that she didn’t need to tip her hand the moment she met strangers. It was worse than Resicor; she had no idea what would happen if a talent were exposed.

“Halt. Declare yourself and step into the light.”

Noma smiled slightly, kept her hands out at her sides with her keeper robes flowing around her. “I am Noma Sheewah and I am a traveller.”

The guards lifted contained lamps toward her and examined her face. They looked at each other and shrugged. One asked, “Are you a priest?”

She inclined her head, “I have some experience with searching for a higher power.”