Page 270 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
But he would see her again in the ever after.
He wouldn’t know when that would be, but he would wait for it.
He’d promised to find her in every timeline, and that included the end of all things.
She was his fate.
“All right,” he whispered, even though it killed him. “We’ll stay.”
He barely got the words out.
It was still cold in the cavern cathedral, but with each minute that passed, feeling came back to his fingers and toes. The sword in the Gate flickered, but it didn’t disappear. It was quiet. Hallie’s labored breathing and the soft hum emanating from the Gate were the only sounds that met his ears.
He shut his eyes tight, setting his forehead against hers. Waiting, dread choking him, for her to draw her last breath.
He would hold her until he couldn’t physically do so any longer. She wouldn’t be alone. He clenched his teeth as another wave of grief rolled over him. She hadn’t acknowledged him or responded at all since the Gate ritual had concluded. White hot fear burned through him, and he hugged her harder. He looked down. He expected to see her take her last rattling breath.
But instead, something changed.
Hallie stirred a little in his arms. He jumped, pulling back, focusing on her completely.
Her eyes were open again, their honey color on brilliant display. The corner of her lips quirked up. They were pink, not white, not blue.
He blinked. Her skin was no longer cold to the touch. A soft flush splashed across her cheeks. The bruises on her neck didn’t stand out as much, almost like…
Almost like they were fading.
“Hals?”
Shaking, she brought her hand up to trace her fingers along the outline of his jaw, letting the catch on the stubble there. She brushed her thumb over his lips. “Looks like you saved me again, Master Pilot.”
He shook his head, his eyes stinging. He couldn’t get a full breath. “No, I killed you. I—” He choked on the emotions in his chest. “You’re—I—”
She pressed her index finger to his lips before holding up her hand, the one with her ring. “You did this, didn’t you?”
It still glowed a soft blue if smeared with blood. In the daylight, the light might not even be visible, but in this dusky cave, the only light coming from the Gate, it shone.
He opened his mouth and closed it again.
He’d said he’d give up his soul; some, half, all.
He’d thought the cold came from shock, from blood loss, from the horror of watching Hallie slip away…from anything besides what it was.
The ring had accepted the Soul he’d poured into it without him even knowing it. He’d never thought it’d actually work.
Hallie looked at him like he was the hero of a storybook tale. He’d defeated the dragon, the man bent on destroying the world, and had brought her back from the brink of death.
He stared at the ring. He wasn’t sure how he’d done it. Desperately, he’d prayed, but he’d not expected it to work. Those prayers were the ramblings of a man clinging to what he could. But there was no denying the Soul Tech at work. Hallie lived and breathed in his arms. She was getting stronger, not weaker.
She smiled softly, slowly. “Guess we can thank your uncle for that. And that Gate.”
“But I…I…I don’t understand. I don’t deserve…”
He couldn’t even put a sentence together.
She brushed her fingers over his cheek again. “I forgive you, Kase. It wasn’t you…” she trailed off for a moment. She paused as if rethinking her assessment and forgiveness. Kase’s fingers shook. Then her eyes found his again. “You gave me your soul, part of it,” Hallie said, her words choked. “Like the story, like Xera and Kainadr. It’s true.”
A few tears bubbled over the ledges of her eye and cascaded down her cheek. Kase wiped them away with his thumb.
