Torn Sky (Rebel Wing Trilogy, Book 3) (Rebel Wing Series) Read Online Free PDF

hug her, or fill the silence with empty platitudes. He just leaned his head back against the wall and waited. The only thing he said was, “I’m here. You tell me what you need.”
    Tia swallowed. “I just need a few minutes. Then I’ll be okay, I promise. It’s easier . . . not being alone.”
    Baksen nudged her knee with his. “You’re not alone.”
    For a long time, they sat in silence on the cold washroom floor and waited for her demons to loosen their hold.

Chapter 6
    Mekia’s jogging track snaked through a patch of forest just behind the stationpoint, along the tall metal fence that separated the Military installation from the village. As she ran, Aris reveled in the steady, quickened pounding of her heart.
    Milek ran beside her, a gray shadow in the predawn gloom.
    When they reached a thicker stand of trees, they slowed to a walk. Milek grabbed her hand and pulled her into the darkness. Aris twined her arms around his neck.
    “I missed you,” she purred against his lips, even though they’d spent most of the day before together, locked in meetings with Commander Nyx and standing in formation with the other Spiro soldiers. They’d kept their distance. They were officers, first and foremost.
    “I love you,” Milek said, as he kissed along her throat. “I couldn’t sleep last night without you next to me.”
    “When the war is over . . .” she began, but stopped. Too many of their conversations began that way. The war had trapped her hopes for their future behind a big black wall, unknowable and out of reach.
    “Talking about life when the war is over feels like trying to plan my next dream.” Milek sighed against her collarbone.
    “Maybe if we just focus on the here”—she ran a finger across his lips—“and the now”—a light touch along his neck.
    Milek cupped her face in his hands and kissed her hard on the lips, and for a while, she didn’t think about the
if
s,
when
s, or
maybe
s.
    “It’ll be lights-on soon,” she murmured at last. “We should get back.” Even as she said the words, her hands and body remained pressed into him, filling both of their minds with other possibilities.
    When they jogged out of the shadows and into the bright light of the landing pad, Commander Nyx was waiting for them on the tarmac, next to a large green wingjet. One from Ward Nekos’s personal fleet.
    “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.” Nyx’s steely gray glare made it clear that
looking for them
was a wholly unacceptable activity.
    Aris straightened automatically. “We went for a run.”
    “Sir—” Milek began.
    “Major, your mother is here.” Commander Nyx turned on her heel and stalked into the building, not giving them time for excuses.
    “That explains the wingjet.” Aris shot a look at Milek. “Did you know she was coming?”
    He frowned. “I didn’t.”
    Aris steeled herself as they followed Nyx into the building.
    The Commander’s makeshift office was a small room with a single tiny window and a chipped desk pushed up beneath it. Low metal benches lined the walls, and dust motes floated in the early rays of sun. Nyx settled onto the edge of her desk, arms crossed, and glared at them.
    Ward Vadim rose from her perch on one of the metal benches as soon as she saw Milek. She didn’t reach for him, but the tension in the woman’s frame revealed how much she wanted to.
    “I’m glad you two are alright,” she said, her eyes never leaving her son’s face. “I needed to see for myself.”
    Aris was grateful they hadn’t been at Spiro during the attack, but she’d spent the last few days wishing they’d returned faster, that somehow they could have gotten back in time to prevent it.
    “We’re fine. It was kind of you to check on us, Ward Vadim,” Milek said formally. Then he broke into a boyish grin.
    Commander Nyx cleared her throat.
    A fresh focus showed in Ward Vadim’s eyes. “I’m also here because of the wingjets.”
    “Ward Vadim comes bearing a