Page 24 of Swords of Soul and Shadow (Gate Chronicles #3)

Niels wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it for himself. “You did it.”

Hallie pushed herself shakily to her feet and stumbled forward, the locket swinging in her fist. Niels jumped up to help, but Hallie waved him off. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” Niels murmured under his breath, but he joined her.

If she’d heard him, she didn’t act like it. She just handed the locket back over to Fely, who quickly reattached it around her neck.

Niels ran a hand through his hair. He would figure this out. He just needed to be patient. Normally that wasn’t hard for him, but the Fogs had begun chipping away at that.

Just the thought made his headache flare again. He clenched his teeth against the pain. No one noticed as the King’s eyes opened fully.

“I cannot feel…I cannot feel my legs.” He didn’t sound regal anymore. His usual silky voice was rugged and raspy. “I need to walk. I need to find…my uncle needs me at the chamber. What happened?”

“You almost died,” Hallie said frankly.

Filip blinked, looking at Hallie. “Did you…?”

She shrugged. “Good thing you showed me what to do.”

Fely smoothed back his hair. “She used my relic’s reserve—not entirely her own power.”

The King was silent for a moment, his eyes closed, his face strained. After a moment, a soft golden glow enveloped his body. Both Hallie and Niels flinched, but Fely stayed steady.

It was over as quickly as it had begun. The King opened his eyes once more, his breathing labored, his skin cloudy. “I might be able to supplement with my own, but it will not be an easy feat, nor a quick one.” His jaw worked. “If I can’t find the sword, all of this will have been for naught.”

If the King was putting on a show, Niels had to admit he was an excellent actor. The distress in his voice seemed real enough.

Niels didn’t know if that made him feel better or not, but as a man, he could sympathize.

As a man, you needed to be the strongest, the best, the one to have all the answers.

When you didn’t, you felt useless. He barely understood what the task was.

He’d only agreed to come along with Hallie because she needed him, whether she knew it or not.

Though he was beginning to doubt that now.

He’d been completely useless the entirety of their journey thus far.

He’d only gotten in the way. He was the reason she’d nearly burnt out from using her power; if he hadn’t been hurt, if she hadn’t tried to heal him, she would’ve had enough power to open the portal with no problem.

“Where are we, exactly?” Niels asked, interrupting the King and Fely’s conversation.

Hallie patted her lip once more, but it had stopped bleeding. She fetched a canteen from her pack and took a sip. “I think this is the old city.”

He leveraged himself to his feet, using the nearby stone pile for assistance. His hand slipped, scraping his palm. He sucked air through his teeth.

Hallie set aside her canteen. “You need a medic.”

Niels pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth to try to relieve some of the headache that roared when he’d slipped. It didn’t help much. “I think we both know we ain’t gonna find one of those out here.”

She gave him a skeptical look and pulled her pack onto her back. “If we’re lucky, we’ll find some medicines in the healing wing of the palace. The only problem is, we’ll have to hike to get there.”

Fely finally pulled her hand back, panting heavily; she wiped her wrapped brow awkwardly. The bandage wasn’t soaked, but a few fresh spots of blood had appeared near where she’d been injured. “We can’t go anywhere yet. We need the sword.”

“What sword?” Hallie asked, packing the canteen back into her pack and standing. “You keep mentioning it.”

Fely and the King exchanged glances. With a subtle nod, Fely looked back at Hallie. “Kainadr’s Shadow, an ancient blade forged with the power of a god. It is the Myrrai Gate’s guardian.”

Niels blinked. He had no idea what any of that meant. Hallie looked equally confused.

“But that’s just a fairy tale.” Hallie played with the straps of her pack. “All the scholars say so. Even if the story is based upon truth, the legend has expanded so much it’s unrecognizable—like King Arthur and Excalibur from First Earth.”

Fely shook her head. “Your scholars are wrong. Asa was supposed to control the Gate and acquire the sword when he was in Myrrai, but something went awry.” She pushed herself to her feet, a little wobbly.

King Filip looked like he wanted to help, but his jaw only clenched harder.

“There is another sword, but that one may be lost forever. We pray Asa is successful in his own mission. We must be successful in ours.”

Niels reached out to help her and winced at the pain spiking in his shoulder.

Fely held up a hand. “I am well enough.” She took a few steadying breaths and looked Hallie directly in the eye.

“I do not know if Filip’s body will accept the healing, and his Essence power must go into the sword before all Yalvara is lost. I cannot risk moving him.

I need you to find Kainadr’s Shadow and return here. ”

“That doesn’t explain what you need the sword to do,” Hallie countered.

“It explains everything.” She looked over at the statues at the other end of the ruins. She wiped a shaky hand across her brow once more. “It’s their legacy, and the reason we are here to deal with the consequences nearly three thousand years later.”

Hallie seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then she nodded. “All I need to do is get to the Gate Chamber and ask it for a sword?”

If Fely detected the disbelief in her statement, she didn’t show it. “I am unsure it will be that simple. But as an Essence wielder, you should be able to sense the Shadow.” She rubbed at her wounded head. “This is not ideal, but it is all we can do.”

“You should go,” Filip rasped. “They might—”

“I am not leaving you.” Fely glared between Hallie and Niels. “They will go and come back with the sword.”

He couldn’t tell if she was asking or threatening.

Hallie nodded stiffly, then turned to Niels. “Then let’s go. We have a hike ahead of us.”

She walked away. He’d not seen that look in her eyes in a long, long time. Something was wrong, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to figure it out.

With one last look toward the Cerls, Niels hurried to follow, the unease in his stomach simmering with each staggering limp. He just needed to give Hallie time. He’d earn her trust back soon…or he would die trying.