He told himself he would wait at the Citadel. He told himself that three times over three days and then he got on a horse.
The first time he told himself was when Maren showed him the updated position reports and he felt through the bond that Aelara was moving with purpose. He had looked at the map and at the distance and he had thought: wait. You are building something. You do not leave before it is finished.
The second time was the morning after, when the bond had the quality it had when she was sleeping well, which she had not been doing for months, and he had stood at the window in the dark at four in the morning and he had thought: wait. She is safe. Cael knows where they are. Wait.
The third time was when she pushed the mole information through the bond and he had felt the cold settle in his chest and he had felt what it cost her to push it, the size of the thing she was carrying, and he had thought: wait.
