Page 89 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Kase hid his face in his hands once more. What would his father do if he knew about Hallie? Send someone to fetch her? Imprison her? Force her to use that power no matter what it might do to her?
For a moment, the tent disappeared, overcome by fire licking stone as the fort crumbled around him.
“Answer me.” His father’s voice was hard, but it lacked its usual bite.
Kase ground the heels of his palms into his eyes once more.What to say…what to say…
“Kase Michael Shackley, if you withhold information that could win us this war, I will not hesitate to throw you in a cell.”
That would be difficult, since the only cells Harlan could throw him in were now a pile of rubble on top of Kyvena’s tallest hill. His writhing emotions kept the retort twisted up inside.
Besides, to his great displeasure, his father was right. If he didn’t tell him all he knew, they might as well surrender; they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Cerl forces, much less the end of the world. He apologized to Hallie silently as he muttered, “Hallie Walker took the Essence power from the Lord Elder.”
Kase still didn’t look up, but Harlan’s sharp intake of breath told him everything he needed to know.
“She’s not here,” he said quickly.
“Then where is she?”
Kase dropped his hands and met his father’s gaze. “Myrrai.”
“Why?”
“She believes there’s something there that’ll help us.” Kase took a shallow breath. He hoped his father didn’t notice just how shaky it was—or how uncertain he was about everything beyond what he’d already said.
He couldn’t be sure exactly what they were facing. Correa could be some unhinged fanatic, his rambling about Jagamot nothing but religious drivel. But Hallie had donesomethingat Achilles. Massive forts didn’t just come apart at the seams.
Harlan turned away from him, looking toward the back of his tent once more. Kase was silent. He wasn’t sure what else he could say to help. He’d delivered the message—that was as far as he’d planned.
The tent flap opened; the subtle breeze it delivered felt cold on Kase’s neck.
One of the guards said, “I apologize for the interruption, Stradat Lord Kapitan. But Lord Stephenson needs to speak with you.”
“Not now.”
“He says it’s urgent.”
Harlan let out a frustrated sigh. “Tell him I will see him in five minutes.”
The tent flap closed, and Kase stood. “I’ll just go…go find somewhere to sleep for the night.”
“You’re under house arrest.”
“Father—”
Harlan let out a growl of frustration, voice lowering dangerously. “The city wants you to hang. And with the continued flyovers, everyone is already on edge. Your presence here is a bomb waiting to detonate.”
“But our hovers…what’s keeping us from fighting back?”
Kase already suspected the answer, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted it confirmed. The airfields likely hadn’t survived the bombing he’d witnessed. But what about before that? What had happened during the attack?
Harlan cleared his throat. “The Jaydian hovers were not operational during the initial assault, courtesy of Abram Loffler. That is why knowing Essence wielders were still at large ahead of time would have been helpful.”
Kase’s face grew hot once more. “We were only trying to protect…I…”
He couldn’t find his words. What if he implied something about Hallie? What if Kase came clean, and his father retaliated against her if she returned?
If.
