Page 77 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Until that exact moment.
The Jayde Center’s atrium had been pristine the last time Kase had graced its threshold. The marble floors had been polished, the Jaydian emblems hung with pride. Government workers and aides had crawled through the corridors and traversed up and down the stairs, light streaming through the glass dome, drawing rainbows on the walls.
Now it was a scene from a doomsday novel.
Moonlight stretched through the gaping hole where the glass dome had sat upon the central tower, lording the wealth and engineering prowess of its makers over the city. Now it chilled him like the sight of any corpse would, its remains only highlighting the destruction before him.
No matter how high you climbed, how strong you were, how prepared you were for the inevitable…you could still fall.
If Kase had thought the destruction at the Manor had been bad, it was nothing compared to the Jayde Center. There might not have been bodies lying in disarray or in varying states of decay like he’d expected, but uneven bulbous brown splotches and streams now marred the once-polished marble floors. The banners that had proudly displayed the Jaydian emblem lay shredded or burned, trampled and thrown in corners. Theground glittered with pulverized glass, shimmering like the sneering stars outside.
Funny, how he hadn’t quite believed the city conquered until that moment. He’d seen his razed childhood home, taken in the general destruction of the city, and watched as they bombed the airfields. But to see its heart torn out and destroyed like this…
There was no more Jayde.
And he hadn’t been there. He hadn’t been home to defend it, to make sure his mother got out safely. All that was left of them was an empty Manor, a marred portrait, broken glass, and Kase’s ripped leather jacket.
Breathe. Just breathe.
He took a breath in, counting to three, and let it out in four beats. He repeated the rhythm with three successive breaths. He pressed his feet into the ground below.
He couldn’t change what had already happened. He could only move forward.
A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. “There will be survivors. They would’ve prepared for something like this. We just have to find them.”
Kase cleared his throat. “Yes, the bunker. I’m certain there’s an entrance we can get to. They had one at the airfields, but…well…there should be one here. Probably check my father’s office.”
“Lead the way, then.”
If Stowe felt anything at all, he was hiding it well. But then, this hadn’t been his home.
Kase could barely keep his thoughts straight. All he was good for was flying hovers—not collapsed governments and tracking down survivors. Maybe he should just leave, run for Tev Rubika—or heck, even Myrrai. He could meet up with Hallie.
His heart leapt. With the Cerl hover’s speed, he could make it there in record time. He wouldn’t need to deal with the Bay of Storms or any of the other dangers they’d faced in the autumn.
“Son?”
Kase blinked away the daydream. “Right. Sorry. This way.”
He couldn’t entertain that option until he’d exhausted all possibilities to find his family. He couldn’t run again. He’d run before, and look what had happened.
He’d known that turning Eravin down and fleeing would cause issues. He’d known that his father would have to deal with the fallout. Kase just wasn’t sure if that fallout was what had collapsed Jayde’s defenses.
The corridor was so dark he couldn’t see where he was walking, the only light shining from the end of the narrow hallway. Stowe paused beside him.
“There’s light coming from the door at the end,” Stowe whispered close to Kase’s ear.
For the third time that evening, Kase had to be pulled from his thoughts. He needed to do so much, but he wanted to be anywhere else.
He took another moment to get his thoughts and breathing under control.
A great crash echoed from the corridor behind them. Both Kase and Stowe somehow caught themselves on the wall beside them. Kase slid down the wall and covered his head. Stowe followed.
As quickly as the quake came upon them, it ceased. A dust cloud met them, and Kase pulled his shirt over his mouth.
Once the dust settled, Kase peeked up. He kept his mouth and nose covered, which muffled his voice. “What was that?”
“Felt like a mine collapse, but there are no mines here, are there?” Stowe kept his own shirt over his mouth and nose andstood shakily. He looked back the way they’d come. “Guessing our way back is blocked.”
