"I'm...not grieving, exactly," Karla said, trying to sort through her muddled mess of emotions to figure out exactly what she was feeling. "I'm saddened. It hurts to lose her and it hurts knowing what she will go through before Caius finds her again. But knowing that she will be back and much the same as I knew her--it's a comfort. But a cold one."

She eyed him. "I don't think a hug will go amiss, though." For either of them.