Page 36 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
He'd been cautious and distant since they’d been reunited, though he’d made sure she had food. He’d helped fight off the soldiers and then Correa. She’d shot him with the flashpistol for his trouble.
This was merely a tenuous friendship based on memories. Nothing about their interactions should have signalled any possibility of anything else, so why was he spouting off something so personal? In front of the enemy, no less?
Niels had always had a good head on his shoulders. He’d gone along with her and Jack’s schemes, but usually he’d been the voice of reason keeping them from doing something too dangerous. Mostly.
Something was off. That was the only explanation. But she didn’t know what.
Niels moved a little, as if to push himself to his feet, but he hissed through his teeth and sat back down with a grimace.
“What?” Hallie asked. Lady Fely looked over at last.
Niels shook his head. “Fetch another roll of bandages from my pack, will you?”
Apparently his shoulder wasn’t fixed, either. Shame and guilt warmed her face. Not only had she failed to heal his knee, she hadn’t even tried to help with his shoulder. She glanced toward Lady Fely, asking the silent question; the woman merely nodded, allowing Hallie to crawl closer and help Niels untangle the pack strap from his unhurt shoulder.
Even after the chaos of the last day, the contents were still packed relatively neatly. He’d brought rations, another pistol, a light wool shirt, and bandages. She pulled out one roll and helped him work it around his injured arm, fingers fumbling as she tied it off. She tried her best not to touch him any more than required.
He adjusted the sling a little as she sat back on her heels. He winced with the movement, but his face quickly calmed. He gave her a small smile. “Thanks. That’s a tad better. Ma would be impressed.”
His mother, the daughter of a sailor who’d retired to the mountains, was clever with knots. She helped the miners with all sorts of ropes and pulls when needed. And she wouldnotbe impressed with Hallie’s work here.
“How’s your Ma doing?” she asked, not sure what else to say. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to catch up with her.”
Not that she’d had the chance, as she hadn’t actually seen Mrs. Metzinger at all. That wasn’t entirely strange, since she’d rarely left her tent, but knowing his mother, it was odd that she hadn’t come to see Hallie.
Niels took a moment too long to answer.
An uneasy feeling began in her gut. “Niels?”
Niels’ jaw feathered, the shadows deeper in the flickering light from the floating fireball.
Unease sharpened to horror.
No.
“Nadia? Andre? Your pa?” she choked.
“I’m the only one.”
“During the attack? The first one?”
“Yes.”
His voice was so quiet, but in the stillness, the single word clanged like the University’s clock tower bells. His sister, Nadia, couldn’t have been older than ten.
Sweat immediately beaded across her forehead and hairline, heat gnawing at her insides as her power throbbed. She wobbled, pressing one hand against the stone floor to steady herself.
The Cerls would pay. She would do everything she could to find what she needed in Myrrai…then she would have her own vengeance.
“I am sorry for your loss,” Lady Fely said from the door. Hallie blinked, surprised—not that she’d been listening, but that she’d offered something other than hatred.
The woman smirked. Her beauty was evident even in the dim lighting with the dirt smudged on her cheek and her hair in a tangled braid. “While I am betrothed to the King, I am not of Cerulene.”
When neither Hallie nor Niels responded, she sighed. “I am of the Isles. They chose me because of my lineage.”
Hallie’s heartbeat ticked up at the information. The Isles were a Rubikan city-state. They’d been one of the supporters of the old queen during the civil war, if she remembered her history correctly. She quickly dampened her surprise.
She didn’t want to feel any sympathy for the woman who was helping her enemy. This could be Fely’s way of trying to lure her into complacency. She would work with them, but she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into their trap.
