Page 134 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Her eyes started to burn. She looked at Kase to hide the tears from her father.
Kase didn’t look much better. His eyes were narrowed as he inspected each person they passed. He was looking for someone, but Hallie didn’t know who. Maybe his mother? Brother? Hallie would’ve expected them to be with the Stradat Lord Kapitan, unless…
Oh stars, had something happened to them? What about his sister-in-law, Clara? She’d been pregnant. Had they been able to escape the city during the attack?
It was Stoneset all over again. It was fighting Loffler in the Gate Chamber. It was King Filip, dead and sliding into the unnatural fissure.
It was losing Jack in the mines.
The pounding of her heart hurt, and every beat pierced her chest like that sword she’d discovered. The pain spiraled out from the wound like a spider’s tangled web. She couldn’t breathe. Ice and fire warred within her as her power tried to stop the panic, only to be beaten back in the next struggling breath.
She swayed. She was losing control.
Her vision narrowed, and the tunnels disappeared. Her mother and Kase vanished. All she could see was the ground beneath her. And then it bit into her knees, but the sensation was nothing compared to the vice grip on her chest.
“I’m here. Breathe with me. In for three, out for four.”
That voice.
“In….out…”
Hallie tried to obey, but all she could get to was one. Panic attack. She was having a panic attack. She breathed again. Only got to one.
“The ground is rocky and packed with dirt. Feel it. Concentrate on it.”
Pebbles and crags bit into her palms where she pressed them into the stone. The scent of woodsmoke and leather filled her nose. Her chest loosened a fraction.
“In for three…out for four…”
She couldn’t. Everyone was going to die. There was no guesswork. There was no room for negotiation. She shivered from the chill of the tunnels and the ice warring inside her. Her power had disappeared.
Hands on her face. Rough and calloused. Woodsmoke. Leather.
Kase.
“Focus on me. Focus on the ground. Imagine your lungs expanding with air. In for three…”
He was going to die. Like Jack. Except it was worse. It was Kase. There was no way for her to save him. It’d been clear as day in Saldr’s eyes. Combining the Essences was impossible. Hallie didn’t even know what it meant, only that Loffler was gone. He’d gone through the Gate. Correa had tortured her. He’d never agree to help them.
“Hals. Listen to my voice, focus on it. In for three, out for four.” His voice was much closer and softer. His foreheadpressed to her sweaty one. She didn’t know how she could sweat when she felt so incredibly cold.
She breathed in for two. The tightness eased a little more.
“There you go. Feel the ground. Use me. Focus on me.”
Two and a half.
“In for three…”
Three.
“…out for four.”
Four.
She shivered. The oxygen flowed into her lungs again and out. In and out. Slow and steady. In and out. Her heart no longer pierced her chest.
Kase’s lips met her forehead. “That’s my girl.”
