[Phreya]

My father sat across from me in the quiet, soundproof suite of his more exclusive restaurants, nervously shifting in his seat. He turned his head up toward the ceiling, inhaling deeply and holding his breath for a long, heavy forty seconds before letting it out in a smooth, quiet wave.

I watched him carefully. Ever since my return, the new cognitive abilities my mother had unlocked in me made reading people almost involuntary. I didn't even need to focus; my mind naturally picked up ...