Page 236 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
The Stradat Lord Kapitan nodded, sheathing his own blade and strode past his wife, pausing only briefly to brush his fingers against her own before moving down the corridor. Everyone else made to follow, but his mother, though white and shaking, stopped Skibs. She clasped his arm and pulled him into a hug.
“Despite what his legacy became, my brother was the bravest man I’ve ever known. It takes courage to admit when you’ve done wrong and accept your consequences.” Then she let go and followed her husband down the corridor.
Jove joined Kase and held out his hand to Skibs. “Cousins.”
Skibs took it, but he still seemed out of sorts. His eyes were unfocused. Was he losing control? Was the Essence power taking over? Jove let his hand go and joined the others, who had also begun to follow.
Kase and Skibs were the only two left. It was Kase who finally said, “Does this mean that…I lose you again after this?”
Skibs rubbed a shaking hand down his face. He glanced toward his uncle’s corpse and shook his head. “Honestly? I’m just ready for this all to end.”
CORREA BEING DEAD WAS SOMETHING Kase’s brain couldn’t quite accept. After what the man had done to Hallie, really, his end was poetic justice. Kase didn’t grieve it, but he didn’t understand why his father had executed judgment in a way that felt too personal. Kase had been the one tortured by him. But Harlan had mentioned something about a brother.
To Kase’s knowledge, the only uncle he had was Ezekiel. Maybe that was what Harlan meant? Maybe Correa had something to do with Ezekiel’s betrayal. That made sense with his uncle being involved with the Queen…and being Skibs’ father.
Shocks.
To be honest, Kase didn’t know if he’d ever be able to keep all these revelations straight. Not only was Skibs healed, but he was now the King of Cerulene. Furthermore, he was Kase’s cousin.
And he couldn’t reckon with even one of those new realities until he found Hallie.
Hopefully Fely was right and she’d found the Gate. Then Skibs could use his power to find her, right?
His fingers twitched as if he could reach out and grab her hand, but she wasn’t there.
Of course, the only time he’d seen Skibs’ power in use was in Myrrai, and he had created a sword out of the Yalv, Rodr.
He hoped that Hallie didn’t have to be a sword for her to be free from the Gate.
His heart couldn’t take it.
Eravin’s absence made him uneasy. His side still ached, but his body seemed to be ignoring the worst pain thanks to the adrenaline still coursing through him…or maybe the Vasa was working well. He didn’t care why it was—only that he was nolonger favoring that side. He’d need to be at his best if and when he found Eravin.
As he followed the others through the corridors to the tunnel where Hallie and Fely had discovered the Gate, where Kase and Hallie had argued over what she was going to do, he kept his head on a swivel. There were very few people left in the tunnels now. Most had gone above ground, and the ward had cleared out with the arrival of Correa. Hopefully Clara made it to safety. He dearly hoped she’d not been caught up in any of it. Samuel had been with Lady Davey, well away from the chaos—that was a relief.
The group made it to the dark tunnel without much fanfare, but that quiet lack of confrontation was almost more jarring. He kept expecting enemies to jump out of every shadow.
Fely led Skibs over to a section of the tunnel as Saldr used his power to spark one of those little fireballs above his head. He joined Fely. “If the Nether Gate was here, I would have felt it, I’m certain. I can only detect the trace of Miss Walker’s power like petrichor after a heavy mountain rain. It was much the same yesterday.”
Fely gestured to the space just to the left of the wall. “All I know is that the book she had was what opened it. It looked different than the one in Myrrai. This one was all rope-like, and it only held one timeline. It resembled a Passage—a strong one. But if it was a Passage, there would be a brick.”
Skibs bent down and rubbed his fingers over the stone floor. “It’s definitely faint, but I sense something. The Aurora Gate in Myrrai was basically screaming at me by the time I got to the city. This one is more like a whisper, but it’s there. Or…it was. Miss Walker entering it might’ve caused it to collapse, which would also account for no one else being able to sense it now.”
Kase squatted next to him. “But you can open it?”
He needed it to open. He needed to find Hallie. If everything devolved into chaos, he needed to at least say goodbye. Surely, the universe wouldn’t deny him that.
Skibs held out his hand. Slowly, a golden glow pulsed into existence around it, almost like he wore a translucent glove. He tapped it on the floor and muttered a few words Kase didn’t recognize.
The glow disappeared, and Skibs let out a soft curse. “It might take a bit. I need to find the right words of power.”
He tugged a delicate chain out of his collar. A familiar Zuprium pendant dangled on the end—a phoenix. Skibs had worn it since Kase had met him.
Les gasped and stumbled forward. “Is that…”
Skibs paused and looked up. Les knelt next to them both and held out a hand. “Do you mind? Just a moment?”
Shrugging it off over his head, he handed it over to her. “Mother gave it to me before she died. I was only seven.”
