The stoic, efficient girl who managed granaries and commanded labor crews completely vanished.
What remained in his arms was a twenty-year-old girl whose heart was breaking into a thousand bleeding pieces at the thought of the man she loved vanishing into the void and never returning.
"When... hic... when will you leave us?" Kira choked out, her voice cracking into a small, broken wail as her breathing turned ragged and erratic, her entire body quivering as she hiccuped wildly, her small hands clutching at his shoulders with a frantic, desperate strength. "When are you... hic... going back?"
Sol felt a sharp, agonizing pang in his chest at the sight of her tears. He turned his head slightly, leaning down to press a tender, lingering kiss onto the warm palm of her hand, his crimson eyes burning with absolute, unshakeable certainty.
