Page 56 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Niels barely watched where he was walking. He only concentrated on not throwing up, keeping his leg as steady as possible, andnotfocusing on the girl walking in front of him, her red braid swaying as they climbed.
He lost track of just how long they climbed, but it was well past midday, bordering on golden hour, when they approached the immense gates made from what could only be Zuprium—a metal in which he was nearly an expert. He took deep, controlled breaths, aware of the slick sweat coating every inch of him, and tried not to topple back down the mountain.
The crisp air did feel nice after the hike, but it did nothing for his leg.
On the outside, the gates, towers and wall looked as if they hadn’t been touched with anything but the rich, waning sunlight in quite a while.
“Should we call out? I don’t want to addcrossbow bolt to the stomachto my list of injuries.” Niels limped forward, shielding Hallie from the nearest window. No one appeared in it or on the walkway, but he didn’t want to risk it.
He was naked without a weapon of his own. All he had was a girl with some sort of power he couldn’t explain and she couldn’t control. He was useless as anything but a shield.
Hallie strode forward. “There’s no one.”
He caught her jacket. “Hal.”
She turned and shook her head. “Just trust me.”
Her eyes were as heavy as the rain laden clouds at their back. He swallowed and cleared his throat. “I’ll follow.”
If she thought his behavior strange, she didn’t let on. Instead, she threw her shoulders back and marched toward the gates.
The towering gatehouse and doors that could swallow his childhood home held a history he didn’t understand. They were made of Zuprium, but someone had taken a graver to it and created a scene that reminded him of the one displayed in the tunnels beneath the other city. A bright and shining sun lay between two doors. People danced around it, but as Niels got closer, he realized an archway was tucked away within the sun. It was barely visible in the fading sunlight; he couldn’t tell if that had been done intentionally or caused by weathering and time. Maybe the pain clouding his mind was also messing with his eyesight.
With their combined strength, they were able to push the left door open. The metal scraped and screeched against the stone beneath their feet. Niels tripped when they stopped, but he caught himself on the cold metal door. White-hot fire zinged up his leg. He couldn’t stop himself from crying out. Hallie twisted to look at him, alarm clearing the clouds from her eyes. “Niels?”
“It’s all right,” Niels said, pushing his hair back and tucking the stray strands behind his ear. He gritted his teeth and willed himself to hold on a little longer. He could do that. He’d been through worse.
Well, he hadn’t. But lying to himself made it easier to bear.
“You can stay here in the gate house if you’d like,” Hallie offered, pointing to the shadowed archway that was visible now that they had opened one of the doors. “I’ll go find what we need, and then we can go back.”
“No. I’m not leaving you to wander around by yourself.”
Her nostrils flared; her jaw stiffened. “I know what I’m doing.”
She was under a lot of stress. They both were. But how many times were they going to have this argument? He straightened and readjusted his grip on his makeshift staff. “I’d rather not split up.”
“And I’d rather you not ruin your leg any further.”
Ah. She felt guilty. But this wasn’t her fault, not really. “I’ll be fine. I have to get used to it anyway. Not like the bullet’s going anywhere.”
Her face darkened. That was the absolute wrong thing to say, but it was true. His leg ached, and his lungs still burned from the more difficult hike; if he wanted to keep up, he’d have to adapt.
Hallie looked away. Her hair was falling out of her braid. The sweat coating her face and the exertion it took to climb the mountain had given way to a pink flush across her cheeks and fine, fiery wisps curling at her temples.
Stars, she was beautiful.
As soon as he thought it, the image of her kissing Kase in the cavern came back to him and sobered him quickly.
Blast everything.
He looked past her and up at the city at last.
The buildings here were made from Zuprium, the roofs impossibly slim and pointed. The structure jutting out above the rest nearest the mountainside must have been a palace by the smattering of towers and turrets. In the golden light, the city glowed like radiant starlight. But an emptiness and sense of losshung heavy in the crisp evening air. The wind sang a mournful song through the trees at his back and freed the hair he’d tucked behind his ear.
“Welcome to Myrrai,” Hallie whispered.
Niels stepped forward and slid an arm around her shoulders. It was a little difficult with her pack, but he pulled her close. “I’m sorry.”
