"No," he said at last. "You've not mentioned nishani."
"She is well," Ne'Rin said with shortness. A'Ran waited. If that were the best Ne'Rin could say of the difficult woman … She should have settled by this point, adopted her role and been properly behaved. She apparently wasn't, and it made him uneasy. He didn't need his people to see someone quite so … unusual. Their confidence in him would fall further.
"She's been … training with the boys," Ne'Rin said at the long silence.
"Training?" he echoed.
"Swords."
"Women are forbidden to fight." Even as he said it, he knew he was contradicting himself. He hadn't stopped her yet from creating battle plans. Swords, however, were different. The chance for physical harm was too great.
"Your sisters do not possess the temperament needed to deal with her," Ne'Rin said frankly.
A'Ran listened. He intended for the problem to right itself in his absence, once she adjusted. If his sisters could not handle nishani, he must.
"You have direction?" Ne'Rin asked.
"I will handle her upon my return," he said.
"Yes, dhjan. When will you return to meet the Council here?"
"In two days' time. I have matters to settle first."
"We will make preparations," Ne'Rin said.
A'Ran reached forward to sever the connection. Ne'Rin's face disappeared from the screen. He relaxed and tested the muscles of his arm again, dissatisfied with being injured.
Nishani. Kiera. He could think of one solution to his problem, and his jaw clenched. He altered the course of his tiny craft for Qatwal.
He traveled for a day and slid beneath the radars of Qatwal easily, having stolen the codes needed to jam their tracking systems during one of his scuffles with Kisolm. He landed outside the main city, in the center of which sat the royal family's residence. Waiting until nightfall, he changed into clothing more suited for the Qatwali society and covered his face with a hood to creep into the city.
Evelyn sat at the window seat, gazing at the dark sky as she had every night since Kiera disappeared. One hand rested on her expanding stomach. She tugged gently on the moon dangling from the necklace Kiera gave her for her wedding. She relaxed after a nice, long soak in the bathtub, her thoughts wandering among the stars.
Suns, she corrected herself with a small smile. They didn't call the distant suns stars in Qatwal. One of those distant suns was hers, and maybe, one of those distant suns might be Kiera's.