As she walked through the door, Kel was greeted by Nesta's smiling face.
"Look, Kel. Your friend is back!"
Behind the woman were Harrow and the friend in question, kneeling at a small dingy table.
Conflicting feelings of relief and uneasiness swept over Kel as she recognized Dash's familiar face.
"Hi, Kel," Dash nodded. "You look like you've been well."
"Ah, I have. I-" Kel paused, nearly blurting 'I can't say the same for you.'
Dark circles clung underneath Dash's eyes and his shoulders were slumped. Clearly, he'd missed more than one night's sleep.
"How have you been?" Kel corrected, offering a clumsy smile.
On their journey from Serin's capital to Tael, neither of the estranged friends could bring themselves to make anything more than small talk. No matter how hard she tried, Kel just couldn't find the right words to broach the heavy reality of their situation or the dubious relationship between them.
