Page 191 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
He caught her wrist, tugging her to him, and crushed his mouth to hers. The heat within her rose to meet his passion, but before it bubbled over, he pulled back, hands cupping her face. He looked so deep into her eyes, she knew he saw her. The real her. The raw her. The one who wanted only to run away, but wouldn’t. She would stay and fight and make sure that he lived.
His words were soft yet taut. “I will find you. I will find you in any and every timeline. I’d fight every dragon, find all the stars-blasted swords, die a thousand deaths if it meant I could be with you.”
“But you can’tknowthat.” Hallie’s voice broke.
“I do.” He breathed heavily, and in the false twilight, his eyes were dark with emotion. “You’re my fate, Hallie Walker, and I’m never letting you go.”
Those words were what every girl dreamed of hearing. Hallie had. They were absolutely perfect, and if she’d read them in a book, she’d swoon. She’d cry. She’d dream about them forever.
But his words would not save her, the girl who was going to die for him. Nothing he said would change her mind.
And it broke her heart.
Heat flared in her core, and she stumbled back like she’d been pushed. Her vision clouded and darkened. Someone’s hands encircled her wrists and dragged her back.
“Hallie!” A rough hand on her face. She was burning—with fever or fire or the sun itself, she didn’t know. She couldn’t open her eyes.
All she could do was burn.
Chapter 37
HIS MISTAKES
Hallie
HALLIE’S BLOOD BURNED WITH SOMETHING worse than fire. Nothing she’d read about in any of her studies could’ve described it. She wished she’d passed out. It would’ve been less painful that way.
If not for the dirt-and-damp smell of the Catacombs and Saldr and Fely whispering above her, she would’ve thought her power had finally broken free and burned her to death. She couldn’t even speak; when she tried, her raw throat ground it down into a wordless moan. Someone smoothed her hair; her head was cradled in someone’s lap, but that was all she could figure out. She couldn’t open her eyes.
“Her Relic isn’t strong enough,” Saldr was saying. “But why?”
There was a pause, broken only by the sound of objects bumping against one another, like someone was riffling througha bag. Fely finally said, “Her original Relic was lost in Achilles. These goggles were a replacement.”
Saldr muttered Yalven curses under his breath. “That explains why her training hasn’t progressed far.”
Kase’s voice rumbled above her. “Then how do we find her a new…whatever you said. Relic?”
“None of this would matter if we had the electricity,” another voice said, harsher. The Stradat Lord Kapitan.
“With all due respect, Stradat Lord Kapitan,” Saldr said tightly, as if thatdue respecttook work for him to scrounge up, “Jagamot is here, and Miss Walker will be needed for the greater purpose of resetting the Gate. We cannot spend her power on any lesser pursuits.”
Kase tensed, his leg muscles tightening beneath Hallie’s head. “Neither of you are taking into account that Hallie has been tossed into this without her consent.”
Hallie finally pried open her stinging eyes to find the world consumed by a strange golden haze. She blinked, but it didn’t go away. She winced. It tingled so much worse than it had after Myrrai. Not pinpricks; more like being stabbed repeatedly with long, thin daggers.
“Hals,” Kase said, resting his hand on her cheek. His head hung above her, his eyes widening a fraction. “You’re awake.”
He helped her sit up. Fely knelt beside her, taking her hand. It was warm to the touch, but Hallie allowed her to give her Soul. In a few seconds, the golden haze retreated, but only a little. It lingered in her periphery. The stabbing sensation faded back to prickles before disappearing completely.
“Thought you’d used most of your reserve,” Hallie murmured—or tried to. Her throat wasn’t cooperating. She had to repeat herself so that Fely could understand her.
Kase helped Hallie stand with a steadying hand on the small of her back. Hallie glanced around best she could, but shecouldn’t see much between the dim light and the golden haze at the edges of her sight. A little further down, where the tunnels still had gas lanterns, Kase’s guard faced the opposite direction; though from what Hallie could tell, no one else was nearby. The tunnels must have been cleared out in the time since she and Kase had first come down here—either because they’d moved aboveground or because the Stradat Lord Kapitan ordered them out. She’d been in and out the last few minutes and could only recall bits and pieces as she fought to stay conscious.
Fely’s face was drawn, but she offered a wan smile, touching her locket. “There are a few cave plants that have been sacrificed to aid your recovery.”
Hallie could tell there was more to the story, but the Stradat Lord Kapitan didn’t leave room for her to question further before he argued with Saldr again.
“Then what do you, Lord Saldr, suggest we do while Miss Walker continues to prepare?” He crossed his arms before him, his eyes hard. “I expect the Cerls will mount another full-blown attack soon, especially after Kase’s stunt.”
