Page 118 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
He searched below, lowering his hover to inspect the damage. Patches of blackened ground greeted him. Scraps of defeated hovers littered the road and caught city outbuildings on fire. Gaping, ravaged holes marred the surface. Bile rose in Kase’s throat.
Near the tree line, a crowd began to amass, bubbling up from one of the holes. He drove his hover toward them. His hands shook harder as the adrenaline started fading, the strain and the terror catching up to him. The blanket had slid from his knees during the firefight. The hover had drained him.
By the time he set the ship down onto the grass, he was shaking all over. The shock of it all, of hisvictory, rocked him to his core.
Had he saved them? Had he been enough?
He swallowed as he switched off the ship. Cheers met his ears.
Too much. The wave of sound made it feel as if he’d plunged underwater. He fetched the blanket from the floor, warmth seeping back into his stiff, aching fingers. Kase looked out the cockpit window at the gathering, the muffled words of the Jaydian anthem sung loud and off-key, but full of hope and joy. He popped open the windshield and stood. They probably didn’t realize for whom they cheered, that it was the criminal who had burned their homes three years prior. They didn’t know that he was potentially the reason for today’s attack, that those who’d died were on Kase’s conscience.
But whether they knew or not, the triumphant joy was intoxicating. His eyes ached with unshed emotion. Regardless of whether the attack was his fault or not, he’d stopped it. He’d taken down at least seven hovers all on his own.
Maybe this was the start of his repentance. Maybe he could be forgiven.
Chapter 23
HUNG THE MOONS
Hallie
A RUMBLING SOUNDED IN THE distance, the ground shook, and the grass tasted like soot. Hallie had no clue why, or where she even was, but she prayed to Toro or whoever might hear her that she was in Kyvena. She couldn’t handle anything less. A sob stuck in her throat, but it wouldn’t release. She couldn’t fall apart now.
She had Niels, Fely, and some answers. And a sword.
And she’d witnessed the Cerl King’s death.
She hadn’t expected that to hit her as hard as it had. All her life, she’d hated the shadow king she’d only heard horror stories about. She’d seen him kill Yarrow with his power, but in the end, he’d helped her.
She didn’t know how to feel about that.
Unwittingly, he’d sacrificed himself to save Hallie and Niels, and she would never get to tell him thank you. That felt odd to even think.
Everything hurt.
She’d managed to get them somewhere, but for all she knew, they were still in Myrrai, or trapped somewhere in Tev Rubika. She’d been screaming whatever she thought might work, thrusting power into empty stone. It could have taken them anywhere.
But they were no longer in the Gate chamber, so that had to be an improvement.
Pushing herself to her knees, she spit out dirt and grass. Pouring her power into the stone of the Gate chamber, she’d tried her best to focus on Kyvena, on the airfields, on Kase. But the use of her power made her feel alive and drained in the same breath. She was probably only still conscious because of Fely’s help. Or the Gate’s. She still wasn’t sure what had happened.
Fely. Niels. His bloody wrist.
Hallie turned her head to find Niels lying face-down in the grass. He rolled over, clutching his arm. Blood stained his abdomen and sleeve and pretty much anything close to him. Hallie fumbled in her pack for something that could be used as a bandage. Niels groaned, “Just use the shirt in my pack. I don’t care.”
Hallie found the shirt in question. She hastily tied it around his wrist. Niels gritted his teeth.
Hallie looked over at Fely for help.
The Rubikan woman panted heavily on her other side and stared up at the sky. Sunlight made her dark hair shine like glass, though flecks of dirt and who knew what else decorated the strands. Whether or not the blood was hers or Filip’s, Hallie wasn’t sure. All she felt was relief, tinged with guilt.
“I can heal you,” Hallie said, the sun burning her eyes as she looked up at the sky. “I just need to…”
Wait. It’d been night when they’d fought Loffler in the Gate chamber. Or maybe…
Hallie’s head hurt.
“No,” Fely said, rolling to her side and pushing herself to her knees. “You used too much power, and the only reason you didn’t die was because you had the Gate to aid you.” She sat back, pushing hair from her eyes. Her hand stumbled over the bandage still wrapped around her own head. “It’s a miracle it worked, truly.”
