Two months passed in a productive blur. Summer deepened toward autumn, and every day brought the departure date closer. The journey was set for the first week of September, when the worst summer heat had passed but before autumn rains made the roads difficult.
Aria threw herself into preparations with characteristic thoroughness. Medical supplies needed compiling. Remedies for common travel ailments, emergency wound care, restoration materials in carefully sealed vials in case they encountered Collector survivors along their route. Her healing knowledge needed organizing into teachable formats. What came intuitively to her needed to be broken down into steps that others could learn and replicate.
It was harder than she had expected.
