Page 94 of Swords of Soul and Shadow
Kase rose slowly, trying not to jostle Samuel too much. “Who’s watching him?”
“My mother. She made it to the city before…everything. Between me, her, and a new friend of mine, Samuel’s been spoiled pretty handsomely.” She smiled as Kase handed her son back. Samuel cried a little bit, but Clara bounced him softly. “He’s going to be hungry soon, too.”
Kase stuck his hands in his pockets. “Thank you for stopping by. I’m glad you’re okay. And Samuel. And…just…thank you. For everything. You didn’t have to.”
“Of course I did,” Clara said, her brow furrowing. “We’re family, Kase. It’s what we do.”
Her family, maybe, but not his. His family let him fend for himself. But Kase didn’t argue with her. He only nodded. “See you soon, then.”
She left with a word of thanks to the guards, but her words lingered in her wake. Kase picked up the journal and pencil. It reminded him painfully of Hallie.
Chewing on his lip, he opened up the book. He’d write a quick note to Stowe to let him know what had happened. He also wanted to know if he’d found Hallie’s mother.
When he finished scrawling a few lines and a hasty signature, he handed it off to one of the guards with instructions on who to give it to. The man assured him he’d get it to where it needed to go, though he did so gruffly. Kase didn’t care. He went back to his cot and forced himself back into a fitful sleep.
Chapter 19
IN EVERY WAY
Hallie
HALLIE TURNED THE FINAL CORNER in the undamaged palace and found herself back at Niels’ abandoned pack. She ground her teeth. Here he was in an unfamiliar, dangerous city, and he thought it was just fine to wander off without anyone knowing where he went.
She couldn’t deny the thin rivulet of relief that trickled in, because his absence meant she wouldn’t have to face him right away. She rubbed her eyes. What a horrible thing to think. They were wandering in an abandoned city with the world on the edge of possible destruction, and all she could think was about how fortuitous it was she didn’t have to break his heart for a second time just yet.
Shame fluttered in her cheeks.
She really needed to get her priorities straight. She let out a frustrated sigh. Maybe she should just go to the library on her own. Let him stew or do whatever he needed until she foundsomething that she thought would help them. Maybe she’d even find him there.
She walked back through the palace, distracting herself by making a plan. Once she found the information on Jagamot and the Essences, she would find Niels. Once she found Niels, she would somehow figure out a way back to Kyvena. Maybe she could use her power to open up one of the Passages in the Gate Temple. She could probably handle that. She’d healed Niels, after all.
Oh stars, what if her healing had reverted like it had the first time? What if he was actually bleeding out somewhere, and she was too selfish to try looking for him?
A wave of warmth greeted her as she stepped through the archway at the palace entrance and entered the city once more.
Dread, heavy and black, filled her stomach. With the city’s empty, scorched lanes surrounding untouched Zuprium-roofed homes, it felt like entering an empty tomb, eerie and pregnant with anticipation.
Power gathered in her core and tingled in her fingertips. With her more frequent usage, she could now tell the difference between the onslaught her Essence power had been and the gently flickering candle it was now. She knew she could tug more out and turn that candle into a respectable campfire or even a controlled blaze, but if she wasn’t careful, she’d lose control and create an inferno. She didn’t think she could finesse it in a way that would light that little fireball like King Filip had. With her, it was all or nothing. The King could probably teach her how to control it, but he was currently at the bottom of the mountain in a bad state.
Hallie was going to leave him there, and she told herself he deserved it. All her life, she’d known that the Cerl King cared little for his people. He’d had his military attack Jayde in smallbands for years and years after the Great War. He was a despot. He was a monster.
That was what she’d always been told. That was what all the traders had said. She’d seen what the Cerls could do on theEudora Jaydemission. She remembered Rodr and the way they’d used him to gain access to the Gate Temple by cutting off his arm.
But the look on Fely’s face when they’d found the King comatose, trapped under the beam, would stay with Hallie forever. It was the look of horror she’d worn on her own face the day her brother died. She’d seen it in the mirror for days after.
It was the same sort of anguish she’d felt when Correa had tried to make her kill Kase.
The heat of her power flooded her with vengeance. She paused, hand on the palace wall, teeth clenched against the pain.
Find a tendril, hold on.
The power was elusive. The ground beneath her came too fast, but she caught herself before she could bust her face. She lost control, channeling the power directly into the Zuprium bricks beneath her splayed fingers.
She squeezed her eyes shut against the pain, moaning, still searching for that tendril. She grappled for it. Her breaths came too fast.
She reached far into herself until finally, her mental fingers caught the tail of one tendril and grabbed hold. Crushing it in her grip, she couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything. She just held on.
Breathing heavily, she pushed herself to her knees.
