“You’re leaving? Now?”
Worried, Jess had slipped away while the tournament was still ongoing to find Laarn in his lab again. This time, though, he wasn’t working. Instead, he was packing cases with medical equipment.
“Yes,” he replied, his expression grim and his long hair dancing over his broad shoulders. He didn’t look at her at first, carefully packing some medical gadget into a padded case and then adding it to a bigger one. “The situation on the outer borders has gone into meltdown. The emperor has ordered a war group to head out and check the situation. Apparently, some colonies have been destroyed, so healers will be required.”
“Destroyed?” Her eyes widened. “Will you be safe?”
Worry coiled in her gut, her heart clenching at the thought of him in danger. A chuckle rumbling in th
