Leaving took longer than he expected.
Not the preparation — the preparation was Sera with three packed satchels and a route mapped to the northern road and a budget for Aldren's school left with his mother in writing before dawn. That part took two days and went exactly as planned because Sera was involved and things Sera planned went exactly as planned.
The leaving itself was the part that took longer.
His mother stood at the clinic door on Saturday morning with her hands folded and her face doing the layered thing and didn't say don't go because she was not a woman who said things that weren't going to change anything. She said: "Crestfall."
"First," Kael said.
"How far?"
"Four days north on the main road. Three if we move fast."
