I felt like I was drifting but I also felt very, very heavy. It seemed like the world was getting darker and colder with each passing moment. I thought death might feel like that. “Kitai.” My dad’s voice seemed to be coming from far away. Then I remembered, he was far away, alone on a ruined ship just like I was alone in this empty clearing. I thought about answering, but my lips wouldn’t move. Or maybe I just drifted off again before I could try. “Kitai, it’s time to get up.” I thought I heard some fear in his voice now, but that was impossible. The great Cypher Raige is one of only seven humans in history to be completely free of fear. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe in the dream, my dad loved me so much that his worry for me was greater than his unbreakable, inhuman composure. Something howled around me—maybe the wind, maybe a wolf. Nothing I could do, either way. “Kitai, I want you to blink your eyes.” I just wanted to sleep, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. “Son, I need you to please blink your eyes.”
