Ryder pov

"I should be there." She insists. "Those captives will be traumatized, terrified. My empathy gift could help calm them, make the extraction smoother."

"Or you could be here, fully rested, ready to start healing them the moment they arrive." I counter. "Let us bring them to you instead of draining yourself further trying to do everything."

She wants to argue—I feel it through the bond. But she's too tired to fight effectively, and part of her knows I'm right. The divine part that ...