Page 209 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
But even if they’d made a mistake going up in the hover, Kase had defeated a dragon—the same monster that had destroyed much of Kyvena. Even if he’d been reckless, he’d proved he could take down the entire Cerl fleet with only his single ship, Merlin. Why couldn’t his father see that? Was it solely because of his fear of the technology? Or was it something else?
Did he actually care for Kase in his own, if demented, way?
Another voice spoke up; the other shadow. “Miss Walker is stable,” Jove Shackley said. “Kase got her to Saldr in time. No lasting damage was done.” He paused, and neither his brother nor father filled the brief silence. “This may also prove shecanrestore the electricity. Saving Ben Reiss was quite the feat.”
A few other voices joined the fray.
“Where is she?” Her mother’s voice demanded, her shadow joining the others.
Her father followed, his silhouette thicker than the others. “Where is my daughter?”
Kase parted the sheet in front of her and allowed her parents inside. His eyes were rimmed in red, as if he hadn’t slept in days. His curls were even more unkempt than usual, like he’d gone flying with the windshield down—or like he’d been dragging his fingers through them over and over.
How long had she been out?
When he made eye contact with her, his shoulders caved in. He broke eye contact almost immediately, ducking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose, expelling a harsh breath she could hear all the way on the cot.
She couldn’t read that reaction. Frustration? Relief? Was he angry she’d used her power?
Her still-aching body protested as she sat up further. Her parents were both rather pale, but upon seeing her awake, they perked up. Her father hastened over and helped her. She winced.
“What hurts, Lark?” her father asked, eyes combing over her, trying to assess what he could do to fix whatever was broken.
Hallie shook her head, but that only made her wince more. Kase swiftly closed the sheet, staying outside rather than joining them. He said something low, and the other shadows moved away.
Nausea squirmed in Hallie’s stomach for more than one reason. She needed to speak with the Stradat Lord Kapitan. It wasn’t all Kase’s fault.
She was the one who’d chosen to use her power.
The pain in her head only sharpened the longer she sat up. Her father pulled a vial of Pick Up out of his pocket. He popped open the stopper and helped her drink it. “Last one.”
She grimaced as the moldy taste slithered over her tongue but got it down. Her mother sat on the edge of the cot.
Hallie tried to give them a smile, but even those muscles hurt. Her mother’s eyes watered, and she flung herself on top of Hallie and squeezed her. Hallie sucked in a breath at the pain. Her father tucked away the empty vial and put a hand on her head, stroking her hair. She bit her cheek to keep from crying outright.
Her mother released her and pulled back, kneeling on the rocky floor, hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “What possessed you to do that?”
…And the reunion was over.
Guilt flooded Hallie’s face with heat. Not the painful kind. “Mama, we were just on a patrol,” she said, repeating Kase’s excuse. Her mouth felt funny, like it was moving too slowly.
Her feeble protests weren’t enough to dissuade Zelda Walker.
“After everything you went through,” her mother hissed, squeezing her shoulders harder, “you went and made yourself a target?”
“Zelda.” Hallie’s father went around to her and pulled her to her feet. “Easy. She’s still recovering.”
“Mama, I appreciate the concern,” Hallie said, trying to adjust her position. Her father hurried to take the pillow and prop it behind her. It only helped a little. “But just because you showed up in the capital doesn’t mean you have any say over what I do.”
The lines on her mother’s face deepened, and Hallie knew she’d stepped over a line—even if she’d told the truth. She winced. Her parents simply cared, and Hallie had immediately become defensive. But this was one of the reasons she’d left Stoneset behind.
Her mother sat back a little more. Her father cleared his throat. “That’s not fair, Lark.”
“I know.” Stars, Hallie’s head hurt. She rubbed her eyes. She’d just woken up from whatever had happened, and now she had to have it out with her parents. She was too tired to dig into the matter, and she didn’t care to rehash the past. While she knew she wasn’t being fair, that didn’t repair the damage her own parents had done over three years prior. And it didn’t change the fact that she could make her own choices.
Zelda sniffed. “I just want you to be safe.” She crossed her arms and rubbed them as if she was cold. “A mother shouldn’t have to Burn her child, much less two of them.”
Hallie didn’t have a response to that, not at all. She was the worst daughter on the planet. “I’m sorry, Mama.”
