Page 154 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
His mother hugged him again, but she tugged Jove into it as well. “As long as we’re all together again, it’ll be okay.” She sniffed, then pinched Kase’s ear. “But if youeverpull a stunt like that again, I’ll ground you for eternity.”
Jove shrugged out of her hold and brushed a tear out of his eye. “Seeing as he’s an adult, I doubt your threat is all that effective, Mother.”
She brushed aside one of Kase’s curls from his forehead. “My threats are always effective."
She stepped back, and after a moment’s hesitation, Kase grasped Jove’s good hand. “Glad you’re okay, too.”
But Jove wasn’t happy with that. Instead, he pulled Kase in for a stiff hug. His brother smelled of dirt, sweat, and metal. He couldn’t remember a time when his brother had hugged him, but Kase found he didn’t mind. He’d been through a lot—he could be forgiven for such a sappy display.
Jove’s words were full of steel, but tinged with emotion. “And if hers aren’t, mine better be. If you even think of runningagain, I will hunt you down myself.” He pulled back and squeezed Kase’s shoulder. “Understood?”
Kase clenched his jaw but nodded. His mother then smiled, noticing someone behind Kase. “Miss Walker! Oh, it’s so good to see you’re all right as well.”
Hallie had given away her bandages and had just finished speaking with her father, who waved and strode off with another one of the medics. She stepped up. “I’m happy to see you both.”
His mother pulled her into a tight hug. Kase smiled at Hallie’s surprised expression. After a second, Hallie hugged his mother back. When it looked as if his mother wouldn’t release her, Kase tapped her on the shoulder. “She might like to breathe sometime soon.”
His mother released her slowly and sniffed. “When we couldn’t reach you during the riots, I was worried. And with my Kase gone…we feared the worst.”
Hallie’s cheeks pinked. “I’m sorry. That was my fault. I needed to get to Stoneset quickly, and well, Kase had a hover, and it just made sense he go with me, and I didn’t realize what a problem that would cause and…” She trailed off. “Worrying you wasn’t my intention at all.”
A beat before Jove cleared his throat. “So you went to the mountains?”
Kase clasped his hands behind his back to keep himself from fiddling. “Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Jay wouldn’t allow a trip like that, and we needed to get out quickly, and…well, at the time, it just made sense.” It wouldn’t do to go into the wholeblackmailthing here. It would only make everything uncomfortable.
Jove snorted, the seriousness from earlier evaporating in an instant. He waved his hand—the injured one—then winced, as it hadn’t been attended to quite yet. “That has to be thestupidest idea you’ve ever had—including the time you got that tattoo.”
It was Kase’s turn to flush scarlet. His mother glared at him, and Hallie looked between them before landing on Kase. “What tattoo?”
Kase shook his head. “Nothing. Jove’s had too much morphine shot into his arm.”
His brother just laughed. The stress and pain must’ve finally gotten to him. Kase glared.
A hush fell over the ward like water being thrown onto a campfire. For a moment, Kase thought it might’ve been the Cerls or Correa—or even Hallie, doing something with her power. She wasn’t supposed to start training until the next day, but maybe she’d lost control. He glanced down at her and found his confusion reflected in her eyes. Guess not. He allowed himself a quick moment of relief.
“Les.”
The word was spoken with authority, and while it wasn’t loud, it echoed in the nearly silent ward.
The Stradat Lord Kapitan had arrived, his own guards in tow.
No one moved. It was as if everyone had frozen into place, silent and watching. Harlan strode forward. He looked no different than he had three days before. Kase subtly shifted in front of Hallie, hiding her from the Stradat Lord Kapitan’s view.
“Harlan,” Les said, finally breaking the silence.
She didn’t move to hug him; in fact, it seemed like that stiff acknowledgment of his existence might be the beginning and end of their reunion. While Kase had never witnessed much affection between his parents, this interaction seemed abnormal, even for them. All he’d gleaned from his time back was that Harlan had taken the blame for getting Kase off after the fire, and the Cerls attacking had saved him from hanging.How had his mother felt about it all? What had she found out? What had she been through, to greet her husband in such a cold manner?
“Have you been treated for your injuries?” Harlan said, looking his wife over. He reached out as if to stroke her face, but she pulled away.
“I’m fine,” she replied as his hand fell back to his side. “It was good we had Master Kainadr with us.”
She gestured to a Yalven man behind the Stradat Lord Kapitan. He was tall like Saldr, yet he sported a short beard. He stepped up beside Kase’s mother and bowed. “It is an honor, Stradat Lord Kapitan.”
Harlan merely nodded at the man. Kase guessed that was an improvement. Old Harlan would’ve simply moved away without acknowledging him.
