Page 124 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Fely hesitated, but she allowed him to give it a quick peck. “Fely.”
Kase then turned to Niels and shook his hand, though the exchange was cool at best. “Thank you for getting her back safely.”
Niels nodded, his jaw steely. “It’s what her father entrusted me to do.”
“Of course.”
Fely hesitated before stepping between the two men. “So, our information?”
Hallie tried to cover her unease with a smile. She only allowed herself to feel slightly guilty at Niels’ tone. She’d told him how she’d felt, but maybe flaunting her choice in front of him was too much. However, with Kase’s arms still around her, it was difficult to feel much pity for him. “Is there somewhere we can talk? And where is Papa?”
Kase looked like he wanted to forget about all his responsibilities and kiss her senseless, but he said, “He’s with your mother. They’re fine.” He looked over at the pack and weapon on the ground. “I assume you have an explanation for the scary-looking sword?”
“Define explanation.”
Kase raised his eyebrows. “Not sure if I should be nervous or not.”
“Later.” Hallie glanced at Fely, who shook her head and subtly gestured to the crowd still around them. With furtive glances at the sky, soldiers started herding people back into the hole in the ground.
“I didn’t expect you to be here so soon,” she said, squeezing his wrist. “How did you make it to the capital in only five days?”
Kase stared at her hard, his grip loosening a little. “Five days?”
“Give or take a few hours, I suppose, considering we’re on a different continent,” Hallie said, untangling herself and reaching for her pack. She made sure the sword was secure before pulling the straps onto her shoulders. “It felt like forever, though.”
Kase looked at Niels, then at Fely before finally focusing on Hallie again. “Not sure I follow.”
Hallie tilted her head. “Well, it should’ve taken you a few days to go through the tunnels in the Pass, I’d think.” She looked to Niels for confirmation, but he only shrugged. “Which wouldmean you somehow made it from the Pass to Kyvena in two days. How?”
Kase stared at her, forehead wrinkled in confusion. She’d never seen him look at her like that before.
Her heart sank, heavy with unease. “Kase?”
He shook his head. “I, uh, stole that in Nar.” He pointed at his hover. “It’s quicker than most hovers. By a lot.”
Both Hallie and Fely’s mouths dropped open. Hallie recovered first. “Youstolea Cerl hover?”
“Yeah, with your father.” He took her hand and led her to his hover; Fely and Niels trailed behind them quietly. “But that’s another story for another day. The point is, we did go faster because we had this, but it took us three days. Not two.”
“Still quick!” Hallie said, still trying to figure out what was going on. Something didn’t make sense. Maybe she’d lost track of the days? She truly was exhausted, though seeing Kase had injected some adrenaline into her veins.
Kase stared at her quizzically. Distractedly, he ran his hand along the airship’s nose as if petting some sort of dog. A second later, the hover faded, replaced by the foliage behind it. She gasped. Kase jumped, but he quickly recovered. “That explains it.”
“What?” Nothing was making sense. She thrust her hand out, her fingers colliding with the metal. It was still there—she just couldn’t see it. Interesting. She spread her fingers out, marveling at the cool metal that she could no longer see. It was as if her hand pressed against solid air. “How?”
She nearly dug out her sketchbook to take a few notes, but it was not the time. She might persuade Kase to show it to her later. This was unbelievable.
As if invisible hoverships were much less believable than her ability to create a Passage with her magic and transport her thousands of miles in seconds. She shivered.
Kase shrugged. “Not really sure, but it’s already saved me once or twice.” He held his hand out for her pack, careful of the sword; he pulled the pack onto his own shoulders before helping Hallie into her jacket.
She thanked him and nodded toward Kyvena and the invisible hover. “That’s how the Cerls took the city, isn’t it?” She fiddled with the sleeve cuffs. “Do you know when the attack was?”
It was Fely who answered her question. “The day Achilles fell.”
Kase gave her a look of suspicion. “Yes.”
Hallie would have to tell him who Fely was—later. For now, she steered the conversation in a slightly different direction. “So five or six days. Why are the Cerls still bombing the city?”
