Page 215 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Stay away from her.
But the crescendo of agony stole the breath he needed to finish the threat.
BANG.
The crack was like lightning in a storm. Kase’s ears rang and warred with the pain flooding his system. Sergeant’s flashpistol. He’d managed to get it off.
He’d done that despite being tortured by Correa. For Kase.
Kase could barely register that fact. Not with the fire consuming him.
The bullet screamed and sparked against the walls and the hovers. Merlin’s screeches only fused with that of the stray bullet. Eravin ducked.
The echoes finally stopped. The bullet lay dead and near the end of the hangar, so close to the doors, so close to freedom,but not far enough. Sweat and who knew what else blurred Kase’s vision.
Eravin leaned down. His eyes were completely black without the light to reflect off the white specks. It chilled Kase to his very core. “Tried to give you a chance to choose the right side of history, but looks like I’ll have to do it myself.” His smirk was cold and superior. “Things never change.”
He looked up to Correa. “Kill him, and let’s go. We have a bit of a task ahead of us. This one deserves his pain.”
Kase couldn’t do anything as Sergeant yelled out, the note so anguished and full of torment, soul-rending. And then it went silent.
No.
Eravin disappeared. The pain in his side was so intense that he couldn’t even scream. His lungs felt cased in iron; he could barely get them to lift enough to take in a breath. Pierced lung, maybe? He could barely concentrate with his vision going in and out.
He hadn’t realized the alarm was going off again, but every few seconds or so, the Cerl hover’s loud beeping interrupted the pain.
His next blink lasted too long; he only knew time had passed because Saldr stood over him when his vision returned next. Two Saldrs, actually, both blurry.
Fresh fire roared into his chest as golden light blinded him. What in the blazes was going on? Kase’s body contorted with the pain, twisting him into knots of anguish. Maybe it wasn’t Saldr. It had to be Correa; Kase had only felt this kind of pain being tortured by the Cerl general’s lightning power. Kase clenched his teeth hard. He clawed at Correa. Someone held him down.
And then it was over.
“Rest now, Master Shackley. The Vasa needs time to do its work.” Saldr. It was truly Saldr. Not Correa.
Kase couldn’t rest. He didn’t have time.Halliedidn’t have time. Sweat poured down his face, but he pushed himself up. “Gotta get…need to find…Saldr, where’s Hallie?”
“If you don’t rest, the Vasa won’t heal you—”
“I don’t care!” Kase shouted. He pushed himself to his knees only to collapse. The pain spiked in his side again. Saldr said something. More golden light. And then darkness.
Chapter 42
DAISIES
Hallie
HALLIE TURNED KASE’S RING OVER and over, staring at it for stars knew how long.
He’d asked her to marry him. Why hadn’t she said yes? It would’ve been so easy; it had been so perfect, everything she’d never thought she’d have, and if everything wasn’t going up in flames, she would’ve kissed him senseless for it.
After saying yes, of course.
That image was too much for her aching heart. She’d done the right thing, hadn’t she? She thought so. But maybe she simply liked torturing herself. And Kase, while she was at it.
She’d said she wanted to put the Essence powers into the sword, sacrificing herself and the others in the process, to defeat Jagamot. That way she would be able to keep Kase in a small way…whereas the other way, the story might end differently.
So wouldn’t marrying him now make sense, according to that logic?
