"Mansr, take us lower!" he ordered.
"A'Ran."
Mansr's calm voice sent a tremor through him.
"Lower, Mansr!" he said again.
"There's no life anywhere down there. The temple is gone."
A'Ran heard Mansr's words as if in a dream. Mansr closed the door as another mine exploded and guided the spacecraft farther off the ground. A'Ran crossed to the cockpit and gazed at the viewer.
There was nothing but a gaping chasm where the temple had been. Mansr still scanned for signs of life, and A'Ran watched as they grew farther from the temple.
He'd left her there to die, assuming she'd be safer in the temple than anywhere else. He watched explosions wrack his planet until they rose high enough that the toxic dust storm he'd started marred the surface of the planet from view.
The space battle stopped completely as Qatwali, Anshan, and Yirkin alike watched the devastation of his planet. A'Ran could only stare. He heard Mansr issue orders to others to rally on the moon and Jetr's voice come over the speakers. None of their words registered, nothing but the sick feeling at the pit of his stomach. His people were safe. His planet was destroyed, yet all he could think about was her. "A'Ran!" Mansr shouted. "Suns, man, I need your help here!"
The words jarred him out of his daze, and he blinked, turning to look at Mansr. The momentary pause of the space battle quickly turned to chaos, and Mansr was struggling to outmaneuver the ships darting away from the planet. A'Ran took control of the ship, forcing himself to focus.
Forgive me, Kiera. He hadn't just destroyed any hope his planet had of recovering, he'd destroyed the woman he needed, too.