Page 71 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
He peeked up, spitting blood. He’d definitely bitten his tongue, but nothing seemed to be gushing. “Stop! I’m a Jaydian hover pilot, you—”
He stopped himself. Insulting the stars-idiot holding a pistol would not be his best plan.
“Stole this from Nar,” he gritted out instead. “We’ve met, if you remember.”
Shocks, his jaw hurt like the blazes.
Cornhead held the flashpistol loosely at his side and didn’t raise it again. Kase took that as a good sign and pushed himself to his feet.
Cornhead narrowed his eyes. “You talk like one of them capital people.”
Interesting—a mountain dialect. Maybe that was why Hallie had danced with him. Kase resisted the urge to fire an electrobolt at him just for the wave of jealousy the memory brought on.
“My name’s Kase Shackley, and yes, I’m from Kyvena. My friend and I are on our way there.” Kase looked back at Stowe, who hadn’t left the hover cockpit—instead, he watched with a hesitant expression on his face, ready to duck.Helpful.Kase continued, “The Cerls are coming this way, and we need to warn the capital.”
Cornhead paled. “More are coming?”
“More?”
Cornhead nodded. “Been flying over a few times a day for a week now. Never more than one or two at once, and when I saw your hover, I just got plumb tired of it.”
The breath froze in Kase’s chest.
Kase whipped his head back at Stowe. “We need to go.” He turned back to Cornhead. “They’ve already taken Nar, and even if they don’t use their hovers, most of you don’t stand a chance. I’d stock up on supplies and electropistols if you can. Any hover pilots nearby should be able to fight, and—”
Cornhead shook his head. “That’s the thing. The electricity ain’t working. Hasn’t been for days now.”
Kase didn’t wait for further explanation. He merely turned, scrambled up the hover’s wing, and leapt into the cockpit.
“Let’s fly.”
AT THAT POINT, KASE DIDN’T care how cold or dizzy he felt. He didn’t question the use of the blanket at all as he wrapped it around his shoulders and pushed the hover to its full capacity. The craft didn’t question Kase’s need to fly faster, it only obeyed.
It was almost like itwasKase, in a weird way.
Of course, he fully realized that idea was absolutely stars-ridiculous. Except the hover really did seem to know what he wanted; the more desperately Kase wanted to get to the capital, the faster the hover flew. The more Kase envisioned the city drowning in flames and enemy hoverships, the more he pushed the craft, and it responded in kind. The lights flared brighter and brighter until Kase was sure they’d blind him, but he didn’t stop.
Hecouldn’tstop.
Stowe hadn’t said anything since Cornhead’s revelation about the electricity. He understood the need to get to the capital quickly. His wife had supposedly been making her way to Kyvena for weeks, but whether by foot or by carriage, it was hard to say if she’d gotten there in time. Stowe kept a wary eye out for her, but he didn’t stop Kase’s mad dash. The Cerls had been planning this for a while, and while Kase wasn’t sure exactly howthey’d done it, he simply knew they had, and his father wouldn’t have been expecting it.
Had they had help? A Yalv? Was Saldr’s willingness to go with him and Hallie to Jayde after the mission simply the desire to make things right? Or was there a more sinister reason?
The threat of what Eravin might have done when Kase rejected his offer also haunted him. What if One World was working with the Cerls? If Eravin had spread that Kase was the one who’d started the fire over three years ago, what would be waiting for him in the city? Would the High Council be able to control the fallout? Was everything that happened Kase’s fault? Had Kase destroyed the capital for a second time?
After the assassination of Forrest Richter and his household, knowing the Stradat Lord Kapitan had used his status and family name to keep his son from facing the consequences of his actions would only detonate the powder keg ready to spark.
What a mess. And that was an understatement.
Kase tried hard to think back to his time with Correa. The Cerl Commander was an Essence-wielder, as was King Filip…and Hallie. There were others. Skibs. Was there another they hadn’t accounted for? Kase wished he could remember more, but the strain from flying with little to no rest was catching up with him.
He tipped back another one of Stowe’s caffeine concoctions. Some splashed on his cheek. He handed back the vial and wiped the offending droplet away with the sleeve of his jacket.
“Should be there soon,” Kase croaked. His throat was raw. He couldn’t pinpoint why, exactly, as it’d only been a few hours since they’d left Cornhead outside Laurent.
Stowe didn’t answer. He was probably just as nauseated as Kase waiting for the capital city to appear on the horizon.
Kase’s mother, brother, and pregnant sister-in-law were still in the city. Their faces burned bright in his mind, and the hover surged again. He hoped Clara hadn’t had the baby yet. He hoped his mother was safe.
