Page 203 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Hallie crossed her arms and frowned. “I didnotsign up to fly today.”
Kase ran his hand over the wing tip closest to him, and the ship warmed under his touch. He started his pre-flight systems checks. “You can’t get all the research you need without seeing it in the air.”
“But I can stay on the ground.” Hallie backed up a little. “I can take notes just fine down here. Up against that tree out there. It looks like a nice one to lean against.” She gestured to a pine not far from the hangar entrance.
Kase opened one of the panels and checked the wires. All good, though with everything he knew, he still wasn’t entirely sure what they did. His uncle might’ve known. Good enough that they weren’t frayed or anything, he guessed. The hover beeped at him softly as he closed the panel. “Nope, you’re coming up with me.”
“Absolutely not.”
Kase paused in his inspection of the wing and put his hands on her shoulders, turning her toward him. “I promise not to let anything happen to you.”
“Kase…” Her eyes were wide and full of fear. They sparkled like precious jewels in the early morning sun.
He blinked to focus himself. “Listen, I’ve learned a lot these last few months, and we can’t let our fears control us.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s controlling me, per se. I’d argue it’s a very natural expression of my self-preservation instincts.”
He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Well, you refused to look out the window last time we flew over Kyvena, and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen it from thousands of feet above.”
“I didn’t realize you were paying attention to me,” Hallie said with suspicion in her gaze. A stray piece of auburn hair whisked across her face in the gentle breeze.
Kase hesitated a moment, leaning in closer. “Well, you’re kind of difficult to ignore.”
And then, with a flick to her nose, he let her go and returned to his pre-flight checks. Hallie made a disgruntled noise. “Why in the blazes did you do that?”
Kase laughed and half turned to find her holding her nose. “What?”
She let her hand fall. Annoyance painted her features. “Do you regularly go around flicking people’s noses? Because in the world I live in, such behavior is considered odd, if notoutrightrude.”
“Your nose is rather cute, and I don’t necessarily think that about everyone’s.” Shocks, it felt so good just to be with her, tease her…and maybe later, kiss her. Combined with the fresh air and the promise of soaring through the skies, he could almost forget the rest of the world existed. He’d needed this. Badly. Tomorrow they could worry about the world ending.
Hallie rolled her eyes, though a light pink appeared on her cheeks. “Just don’t do that again.”
Kase opened another panel on the opposite side. “Yes, my lady.”
Hallie walked toward the front of the ship, inspecting it. “Are youcertainthis is all right? Especially after what your father said? About your uncle?”
Kase closed the panel with a snap, and the machine beeped at him good-naturedly again. He ducked under the wing. “What the Stradat Lord Kapitan doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and besides, it’s good to get out under the open sky.”
“Still didn’t answer my question.” Hallie stepped up beside the ship’s nose and rubbed her fingers against the blue-tingedmetal. The ship hummed in response. She jumped. “Wait—did it—did I—?”
“I think it likes you,” Kase whispered as he bent and kissed the soft spot beneath her ear. She shivered as Kase asked, “Got your sketchbook?”
The blush from earlier deepened on her cheeks, and she grinned, turning slightly in his arms. “By some miracle, I made it to the other side of the world and back with it this time.” She patted her satchel. “For once, I’m actually excited to sketch.”
“For once?” Kase straightened, but he kept one hand at her waist. “Those pencil strokes still haunt my nightmares.”
Hallie smiled sadly. “Haven’t really felt like it since theEudora. Tried on our way to Stoneset, but it wasn’t the same.” She paused. “I did a little the other night during the bonfire, but I was quite rusty.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize…”
Well, that was one way to kill the mood.
Kase pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. She held him just as tightly. He rested his head on hers and breathed in her scent. The breeze tousled his curls. If only they could stay there forever. That thought came back to him, the one he’d had in Achilles before Hallie destroyed it—thatof coursehe would find what he’d been looking for all this time right when he could no longer keep it. He squeezed her a little tighter.
If they figured some way out of this, he’d stay beside her until the end of his days. They’d discuss scholars, literature, and the benefits of obscure poetry. Maybe they’d even write about this adventure of theirs. She could teach him how to draw so they could illustrate it.
Kase would give anything to see that future. To make sureHallielived to see it.
