Page 182 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Kase ignored the jab, though he eyed Sergeant standing a few feet away, his face half in shadow. Would he intervene if Kase decked Eravin? “Telling her about the card game was low. Even for you.”
“How do you know it was me?”
Kase rolled his eyes. “I know your style.”
“Telling the truth? You caught me.”
“It was my story to tell, not yours.”
Eravin ran a hand down his day-old stubble, rubbing his chin and going quiet when a group of women and a few children passed, their chatter echoing off the tunnel walls. “Why do you care so much? It’s still difficult for me to believe you’d care so much about a girl so far below your station.”
“Shut up.”
“Surely, your father wouldn’t approve. She’s not much better than gutter scum. No money. No connections. Though I have to agree with Waylan…sheisrather pretty.” The corner of Eravin’s mouth quirked up. His eyes caught on Kase’s cheek. “Is that why you’re sporting that new scar? Your father found out about your latest rebellion? Looks like Harlan’s gotten sloppy.”
For the third time in a week, Kase’s rage boiled over, but instead of using his fists, he grabbed the front of Eravin’s shirt and shoved him against the wall, his face so close, their noses nearly met. He wasn’t certain Hallie would approve, but he would not back down. He would fight for her.
Sergeant moved closer as Kase shook his old friend. “Leave her out of this. That’s all I came to say.”
“Is that really all, or is there something else about her you aren’t saying?”
Kase shoved him away. “Touch her, and you will regret it.”
Eravin straightened his clothes and dusted off his shoulders. “Regret it? You must know that whenever I deal out, I’m never caught.”
“I know you better than you know yourself. I’ll catch you.”
The other man chuckled darkly. “Doubt that.”
And then he vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
His head spun, trying to unravel Eravin’s shrewd smirk and double-meanings. Did Eravin know about Hallie being the Essence? Was that what he’d meant? Kase had been forced to tell the Stradat Lord Kapitan, but he refused to betray her trust like that again. It was only in the name of saving the country that he’d done it the first time. Still made him feel terrible.
He rubbed a hand down his face. Before he could come back to his senses enough to head for the more populated corridor, a voice echoed behind him: “Hey, Kase!”
Freezing, he looked to Sergeant, who wasn’t reaching for his weapons. Friendly then. Besides, Eravin wouldn’t call him by his given name.
The voice was one he recognized but had been avoiding for obvious reasons. He wasn’t sure his anger from the encounter with Eravin had burned off, and he did not want to have it out with Niels there in the corridor.
He acted as if he hadn’t heard his name and moved down the hallway instead, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Kase shrugged it off but turned. “May I help you, Mr. Metzinger?”
He’d accepted Hallie’s explanation and had truly understood her need for closure, but that didn’t mean Kase had to be friends with the guy. Niels stopped short. “Can we talk?”
Eyes narrowed, Kase shoved his hands into his pockets. It would keep him from lashing out, he hoped. Niels nodded toward one of the nearby cavern rooms. “In there?”
Kase shook his head. “No, I’d rather not.”
A group of refugees shuffled by, giving them strange looks. Kase ignored them.
Once they’d passed, Niels said, “Listen, I just came to say—”
“That you’ll stop messing with her head? I know about the kiss, and I should clock you for it.” Kase clenched his teeth, nostrils flaring. “But I promised her I wouldn’t, so you should be thanking her on bended knee you aren’t back in that ward.”
Niels threw up his hands. “Look, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done it. I was just acting on instinct, and I misread everything, I’ll admit it. But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Kase opened and closed his mouth, the wind dying in his sails. “Oh.”
The other man held out his right wrist and plucked at a braided cord there. “I just wanted to thank you for the blanket. One of the nurses, Petra, helped me braid it into this cord so it’d be easier to lug around.”
