Page 14 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
“But what if we can’t—what about—” Stars, she couldn’t even get a sentence out.
He dragged her along. “The tunnel is just ahead.”
“But—”
A hand reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her out of Niels’ grip. Without thinking, she shoved her pent-up energy into them.
She didn’t turn around to see if they’d unraveled just like the first soldier. She didn’t want to know—and the sight ahead of her held her attention too tightly, anyway.
Niels must have slowed to look back for her—he’d been surrounded by soldiers. His wide eyes found her over their heads.
Run.He didn’t have to say it again. She knew what he wanted.
The ground shook. Pistols fired. Blood ran down the stone. Hallie fell against the wall. Her hand stung.
The ground moved again, shaking hard and fierce.
By the time her brain registered that it was an earthquake—by the time she realized the force of it had knocked the soldiers surrounding Niels to the ground—it was over.
Niels tugged her up. They sprinted toward the tunnel, leaping over bodies trying to rise. Hallie’s knees rattled, her bones clacking together as she ran for her life.
Blue fire zinged behind them, ricocheting off the walls and floor and everywhere. Blood sprayed her face.
Niels went down, hand to his shoulder.
“No!” Hallie screamed, but he was up before she could help.
“We need to get to…get to the tunnel,” he panted. “It’s just a graze. Keep moving.”
They made it to the edge of the cavern and turned down the tunnel that would lead them to the ruins of Ravenhelm.
Something moved behind them. Hallie didn’t think—only thrust what little power she had left into the rock. The sparks in her vision dissipated.
And then everything finally went silent.
Chapter 2
SOMETHING SPIRITUAL
Kase
KASE SHACKLEY DIDN’T THINK HIS father would execute him on the spot…emphasis on the wordthink.But he had been wrong before.
His stomach twisted, instinct screaming for him not to go to Kyvena, but he had no choice. Not really. If he wanted to make anything right, if he wanted Jayde to have a chance of winning this war, he needed to face his past. And that included his father.
Out of the two Walkers, he would have preferred Hallie’s company over her father’s. She was much more amenable than the bald man with the fatherly girth guiding him through the dank, dark mountain passages. He’d met other fathers—Jove would become one soon—but the only one he’d spent any notable time with had been his own.
How did one even make conversation with a father?
He’d only ever known his father’s disparaging corrections or his silence. Kase had always assumed that lack of warmth came from his father’s time in the military—that any love had been beaten out of him by a particularly strict sergeant. The same kind of command he’d instated over his household and his sons.
But if the military was to blame, Kase’s late brother Zeke would have been just like Harlan. Cold. Angry. And Zeke had been neither.
So maybe Harlan had simply been born that way. It didn’t really matter why he was the way he was—he justwas.
Even in his own head, he couldn’t stop his thoughts from going in circles, which wasn’t helpful when he was trying his best not to make as terrible an impression on Hallie’s father as he had Hallie herself when they’d first met. There was more at stake now, and Kase didn’t think an adventure to the lost continent of Tasava was in their future to give them time to clear up any miscommunications.
In the twisting tunnels underneath the mountains, Stowe Walker was even more intimidating—especially when he stood like he did now, sipping from a canteen and staring off into the darkness ahead, waiting in silence for Kase to be ready to move on.
