Page 91 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Harlan grabbed his shoulders, gripping them so hard Kase winced. “I willnotlose another son.”
Jove. He was ashamed he’d nearly forgotten. How cruel that Kase was the son Harlan hated most, yet he might be the only one left to continue his legacy.
Kase swallowed. “Why are the caves collapsing?”
“We can’t be sure, but we assume it’s because too many people are in the tunnels, and the infrastructure cannot withstand the influx. That’s why we’re looking to move people out as soon as we can.” He released Kase.
Kase swallowed and searched for the tea bag, discarded at his feet. “Where’s Mother? How’s she taking it?”
He looked around, half expecting her to appear and give him the lecture of his life for scaring her.
Harlan was silent. He looked toward the corner of the tent, then back at Kase.
He’d never seen Harlan’s face wear this kind of tension before. His eyes gleamed, but not with anger or hatred. If Kase didn’t know better, he might have said his father was…emotional. Yet, his voice shook only on the final word. “We haven’t been able to locate her. I believe she may have perished during the attack.”
Numb. Kase was numb.
Harlan stepped past him toward the entrance. “I’ll arrange for your own tent and a few guards to keep you safe from the masses. By order of the High Council and the Stradat Lord Kapitan, your house arrest begins now.”
Chapter 18
AS IT SHOULD
Kase
IT’D BEEN HOURS SINCE KASE had been moved to a new tent, and he’d received no word on Jove or his mother. Nothing at all. He’d paced the floor until his feet hurt. No one came to visit. No one had told him anything at all.
The initial attack had happened only a week ago, so his mother could still very well be among the refugees in the tunnels or even hiding somewhere in the city. Kase refused to believe she was dead. His mother was too tough to die.
If he didn’t keep believing that, he would lose his mind.
Covering his eyes with his leather-clad arm, he fell heavily onto the cot and laid back. The more developed cavern his prison tent was in allowed for the conversations and any sound to echo around him like a discordant symphony. There was no way he’d be able to sleep with the racket. He was set up just down the tunnel from the larger cavern where his father’s tent andother important officials had congregated—still loud. While the smaller cavern chamber might offer a less complicated escape, it would also make it easier for someone to slit his throat.
He briefly wondered if the elevated voices had anything to do with him. Maybe his father hadn’t been able to control the population after they’d realized he had finally returned.
The two soldiers guarding his tent wouldn’t be much good against a determined mob.
His mother and brother were missing. He was trapped in a tent. He might never see Hallie again. And all of it was for nothing.
Harlan had already known most of the information Kase had to offer thanks to his defectors. In the end, Kase had been the one with horrible news dumped in his lap—Jove and his mother missing, likely dead; the city having fallen to riots before the Cerls ever showed up, thanks to him; the Crews decimated,dead, except for a handful of incompetent greenies…and Kase himself. And he couldn’t do anything to make his own survival worthwhile, because he was stuck in thisblasted tent.
He clenched his hands into fists. Being up in the sky was the only way to calm his racing thoughts, but he had nothing above him but canvas and rock.
After another half hour or so, a few words from outside had him sitting up. He had no idea how much time had passed, but it no longer mattered.
Amidst the annoying, indiscernible chatter, someone approached his tent and spoke with the guards, voice soft and feminine. “The Stradat Lord Kapitan has given me permission to speak with Master Kase Shackley.”
Kase’s heart leapt into his throat.
Clara.With everything that had happened, he’d forgotten about her. How thoughtless of him. Relief shoved him to his feet,giving him the energy to straighten his spine and smooth his rumpled clothing.
Clara might have information about what happened to Jove or his mother. She wouldn’t keep it from him—he could trust her to be honest. She might even help Kase get out of this tent so he could do something.Anything.
Whipping the tent flap back, Kase took in his sister-in-law. She looked like herself, though a little worse for wear. Her blouse and skirt were wrinkled. She probably hadn’t grabbed anything else when fleeing the townhouse. Bags hung like specters underneath her dark eyes—they probably rivaled Kase’s own. But she gave him a small smile, and Kase immediately felt at ease. She was still the Clara he remembered.
The bundle of blankets in her arms began to squirm.
Shocks. Is that…?
