The silver fog never changed. Only I changed as I floated through it, my mind churning. Corei'Neana was back. She stood beside me, her body a construct of our minds, a way to make me feel more at ease. I felt the effort she made to maintain the illusion. I didn't know how to interpret her intentions.
"It is time to make your choice," she said. "We have gathered the Lost Ones. It is our time to go."
She turned her silver eyes on me. I met them and found myself falling into them. I saw what my future could be with the Hrissia'noru. I was narushui'zhri, one of only a handful gifted with all three powers. I would be valued, treasured for who and what I now was.
I would be valued for what I carried in my genes, for the powers I had, not for me. The truth struck me with all the force that Rian's blaster had. And it shattered the world around me just as thoroughly. I felt the silver fog shredding and fading.
"So be it," Corei'Neana said. She bowed her head in benediction.
I felt her in my mind, touching the broken place where my power bled into me.
"You must be one or the other, not both," Corei'Neana's voice sounded in my mind. "You have made your choice. Be happy, Dace."
The broken spot wrenched to the side. Pain ripped through me. My perceptions rippled and twisted.
"So be it," chorused voices of people around me. Their minds faded from my awareness.
The pain ebbed away, carrying with it all trace of power.
"Fare well, in your choice," Corei'Neana said, her voice faint and far away. "Find happiness."
She was gone. They were all gone. The silver mist was gone. All trace of psychic power was gone. I was me, myself, alone in my head for now and for all time. I felt a pang of loss. It was my choice, this time. I could not have lived with them, no matter what they promised. I had a life, a family, friends who waited for me. I would survive.
My consciousness faded until I knew nothing.