Estingai woke to complete and utter darkness. The first breath she sucked in came out in a coughing fit that hurt her side. Something inside her was broken. Dust had gotten underneath her mask somehow and the air was thick and stuffy, smelling of sweat and blood.

  Her mind... it wasn't working right.

  And she hurt. So much.

  She tried to move and found she couldn't. Her aching muscles worked, but something else restricted her.

  Light. She needed light.

  And air.

  Estingai reached for her jacket's zipper. She could manage that, at least. She loosened it and tugged at the padding and shirt she wore underneath, then frowned when the light she expected didn't come.

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  When Estingai's clouded mind processed that and what it meant.

  I'm lightless.

  Estingai closed her eyes, fighting down the momentary panic and trying to remember what had happened. It was hard. People could function while lightless, but the absence of Auroralight depressed them in every way. It dulled everything, emotions, thoughts, sensations, even pain. The last of those worried Estingai the most.

  She'd been fighting, about to run, when she saw...

  How? Kweshrima and the others wouldn't have lied about that. They would have made sure—

  Estingai shuddered. Even her lightless mind couldn't dull the horror at remembering what she'd seen.

  Don't focus on that. Not now.

  The ceiling had caved in. She'd flared her greennodes and rednodes at the last moment, pushing back at the rock and conjuring a hardlight shell around her. That had saved her from being crushed by the falling rock, but used up most of her remaining Auroralight. After that, even flaring her opalnodes for a massive burst of power hadn't been enough to shove the rubble away. The strain and sudden lack of Auroralight in her system had caused her to pass out.

  I'm trapped. Trapped and lightless.

  A/N: That's the end of the prelude. Do you think Estingai will make it out of this? Let me know if you're enjoying this so far!

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