Chapter Fourteen: Transit
The separation from Jared hit Kia hard. She had gone with Rial and Nagavi without a single word of protest while her heart felt as if she was leaving half of it behind.
Rial was quiet and withdrawn as the lights of Ylväs Suq disappeared into the necklace of stars dusting the darkness of space behind them. Tajriba was fourteen days away, and Teyrn would arrive before them. The atmosphere on the Kadaugan was somber, and Nagavi worked them hard. In addition to the team’s regular maintenance duties, he put them through a series of practices in different martial arts and weapons practices with space battle simulations.
Most nights Kia fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Rial came to bed later and was usually gone before she woke. The camaraderie and play
