“Because that’s how you forget, and if you forget, you repeat the same mistakes over and over. And then, before you know it, the next Palpatine comes along to take power.”
“That’ll never happen,” I said. “We learned.”
He shrugged. “So you see, I can’t say my mentor was nice, but I do believe that she thought she was good. And so do I.” He blew out a breath. “It’s exhausting trying to live up to her expectations, though.”
“I feel the same way,” I mumbled.
He grinned at that, propping his head on his hand, elbow on the console between us. “Look at us, Starlight. We’ve got similar scars, after all.”
“Why do you call me that?”
He blinked in surprise.“Why?”
“It doesn’t really suit me.” I swung my chair toward him. I knew what I looked like—the same reflection stared back at me every morning. Auburn hair more mess than curls, freckles with no discernible pattern, a gap between my front teeth, and thighs that made it hard to fit into most trousers comfortably. I wasn’t short and cute or tall and elegant. I was just…
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
I rolled my eyes. “Come on, I’m not blindorfishing for compliments. I know exactly who I am. I’m not pretty like Kotti or elegant like Daaric or striking like you.”
At that, he rotated his chair to face me, too.“Striking?”
I scoffed, too tired to be coy or embarrassed. “Of course you are.”
He scrunched his nose. “It’s my hair, isn’t it?”
“And your eyes. I’ve never seen any like yours before.”
“Most people haven’t,” he agreed, before I uncurled my legs and leaned forward, squinting at him. He met my gaze, searching my eyes as I searched his. “And most people can’t look at them for long without feeling uneasy.”
That surprised me. “Why would people feeluneasy?”
He shrugged. “They just do. I think it’s the way my eyes look. I can sort of…hypnotize people.”
“Have you hypnotized me?”
“No,” he replied quickly, and then winced. “I mean, I haven’t on purpose. Most of the time I can control it, but sometimes it’s instinctual. When I’m threatened or nervous or…” He pursed his lips. “It’s hard to explain. But I don’t think Icanhypnotize you.”
I scooted a little closer to him. “Show me?”
He blinked. “What?”
“I’d like to see,” I went on.
“You trust me to hypnotize you?”
“You just said you don’t think you can.”
“Okay. If you’re sure.” Then he took a deep breath, as if to steady himself, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the immovable white specks widened, like pupils—larger and larger, like distant stars coming closer in the viewport.
I did feel a tug of something—a strange fuzziness in my head—but it evaporated just as soon as I started to spin away.
“Oh,”I whispered.
He quickly put his hands atop mine, blinking, releasing me from his gaze. “Are you all right?” He sounded concerned. “I’m sorry, I should have warned you—”
“That was beautiful.”
He sucked in a sharp breath. Then he looked at me again.“What?”Then, a little calmer: “You sure you’re okay?”
