Page 133 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Maybe he couldn’t have stopped the progression in his life. What if he was merely a product of circumstance or…or…what?
“Was Father always that way?”
What made him snap? Had he always been cruel?
Jove remembered his mother’s words from before the sentencing, though now they seemed like light years away. Harlan had promised her happiness and a countryside escape, a life of fulfillment and joy. It didn’t align with the father he’d always known.
His mother took a shaky breath. “No.”
“Then what happened?”
His mother was so silent for so long, that he wasn’t sure if she’d fallen asleep or merely had no desire to speak of what might’ve been only a dream. “I only have bits and pieces, but…”
“Tell me. Please.”
His mother placed her hand on the one holding her shoulder and squeezed. She pulled out of his grip and let his hand fall. The Les Shackley he’d known in recent years had been a proud woman, holding herself high when hosting dinners and charity events or hunting down rare editions of her favorite books. Now, she sat starving in a cave with miraculously healed injuries, but no amount of magic dust could heal what was broken inside her. She still sat with her ankles crossed underneath her dirty skirt and her hands folded primly in her lap, though her shoulders sagged ever so slightly. She looked up again, the tears streaks still evident on her face, though her eyes were clear.
Her voice was thick, but it grew stronger the more words she spoke, “Your father was born in a small town on the other side of the Nardens, a little hamlet called Ravenhelm…”
Chapter 26
IRKSOME LIZARD
Hallie
THE CHAOS OF THE CAVE in and black smoke that smelled and looked too much like Yalvar fuel with its stench of burned flesh was just another tick on Hallie’s list of everything to go horribly wrong that day. After the conversation with the Stradat Lord Kapitan and Saldr, she hoped that this might be something she’d dreamed, because just about everything that had happened could very much be considered a nightmare.
Then Niels had collapsed from blood loss. Not only had his sword wound been spilling blood, but his leg wound had also reopened. Hallie was rubbish at using her power. Could she heal? Yes. Somehow. Could she transport people across the world? Also yes.
But she couldn’t do any of it accurately.
Thankfully, Saldr had enough Vasa to stabilize him, but Niels hadn’t woken up. He needed more blood, but that wassomething Saldr couldn’t fix with his limited supply of dust. His body would have to replenish on its own.
She tried not to blame herself. She’d done her best, but it wasn’t enough.
After her father had done an initial assessment at the Stradat Lord Kapitan’s tent and declared most everyone else stable, he insisted they all be further assessed at the hospital ward just in case he missed anything. He whispered something in her mother’s ear, then helped Saldr carry Niels.
Hallie felt sick.
Kase took Hallie’s pack onto his shoulders and took her hand. “I’ll walk you down.”
Zelda grabbed Hallie’s other arm in her vice-like grip. Not only did it make for an awkward gait traversing the crowded tunnels, but it was also odd, because her mother hadn’t seemed to care when Hallie had loaded herself up on the carriage heading for Kyvena.
She’d only received three letters from her parents in the time she’d been at the University. Maybe they would’ve written more if Hallie had put forth more effort, but now, it was like her mother was scared her daughter would simply vanish if she didn’t keep a death grip on her.
Old Hallie would’ve wrenched away, annoyed at the gesture. Current Hallie only allowed her to continue because…well, if she was honest, she needed all the stability she could get.
The earthquakes had become more intense since Achilles. She’d merely thought it a coincidence, though she really had no reason to believe that other than she didn’t want it to mean anything else. She hadn’t expected the corrupted Zuprium crystals to be the reason, and she hadn’t expected it to be the heralding of Jagamot.
How useless her studies on the Yalvs had been. She felt lost and unstable without her knowledge to rely upon. She felt like a bird with clipped wings.
The smell of the Yalvar fuel still penetrated her lungs with each step away from the cave in.
What did it all mean? How was the fuel going to do anything to them? It was corrosive. Was that what Saldr had meant? Was Jagamot the fuel?
That didn’t make a lick of sense.
Hallie’s head ached just thinking about it. As if he knew, her father turned around and kissed her forehead while they walked, promising one of his headache cures if the hospital ward was overloaded.
