Page 78 of Swords of Soul and Shadow (Gate Chronicles #3)

ONE OF LIGHT

Kase

HEART POUNDING, KASE TOOK OFF into the fray. In the time they’d been in the supply tent, the chaos in the ward had only intensified. Hallie still held the bandages in her arms, and Kase still felt like his legs were too heavy and stiff. Sergeant led them both.

If it weren’t for the fact that his mother and Jove had returned, he might’ve tracked down Waylan and given him another black eye. Of course, those actions would further cement in Hallie’s mind that he was exactly like Harlan Shackley.

Hallie had been honest with him. He couldn’t ask for more than that. Didn’t mean it didn’t sting worse than the cut on his hand still wrapped in a stupid sock.

He wished he could take it all back, but he couldn’t undo the past. It only made him realize even more just how much he didn’t want to lose the woman beside him. He’d do anything if it meant she’d stay.

And never, ever kiss Niels again.

He tried not to think about the last meeting with Saldr, that they were heading toward the end like a speeding hover unless Hallie did something.

That only meant it was paramount he not lose her now when they didn’t have much time left.

He hardly understood anything about that meeting—only that Hallie was going to have to do things with her power and then lose it.

But what did that entail? Or hadn’t there been something about a second Gate?

It was all a mess to him.

He shot her a quick glance. Still stormy. She was squeezing the life out of those bed linen bandages.

Tension still flooded the tunnel air as Sergeant led them to where more dirt-streaked and battered refugees attempted to take care of one another, even though many had no experience doing so outside of the occasional cold remedy.

There had to be a few certified medics or medical colonels like Zeke had been, or even village-trained like Stowe, but the volume of people needing attention must have overwhelmed their numbers.

He spotted Hallie’s father first. He was covered in dust, dirt, and sweat, but he was holding up well.

Was he simply there to help, or had he been the one to go down into the holes?

Kase looked around. Probably the latter, as the hospital ward couldn’t afford to spare anyone else with all the dead and dying sprawled across the cavern floor—especially as his mother and brother had been unlikely to survive such a fall. But they had. Somehow.

Behind Stowe stood a woman whose evening gown hung in tatters on her bruised and battered frame. Her silver-threaded dark hair fell limply down her back in familiar wayward curls. She argued with a female medic with tanned wrinkled skin and snow-white hair.

Kase froze, and Hallie bumped into him. He barely caught her. His heart stopped. His mother was there. Right there. She wasn’t dead.

Hallie’s hand slid into his and squeezed.

“I will be fine. Attend to my son, immediately. He needs the most help.” His mother pointed at someone behind her.

“Yes, but the Stradat Lord Kapitan said—”

“I don’t care what my husband said. You will see to my son first.”

Kase caught sight of his brother slumped on a makeshift chair, hand crudely bandaged like his own, looking like he’d aged a few hundred years in Kase’s absence.

His eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, as if he’d been crying.

He was saying something rather forceful to the soldier next to him.

The soldier nodded, saluted, and hurried off.

Kase nearly choked on his joy.

“Mother!” He pushed past the guards, Stowe, and anyone else who got in his way. “Jove!”

They both looked up, his mother cutting off her next argument.

Jove’s eyes widened, and his mother’s mouth dropped open in a silent gasp before bursting into tears.

She lunged forward, slamming into him and gripping him with all the strength she had left.

He returned it, tears budding in his eyes.

She was okay. Jove was okay. They were here. They had survived.

“My Kase,” his mother whispered. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

A tear escaped and slipped down his nose. “I’m sorry.”

They stayed like that for a few more moments, shedding a few more tears.

After everything Kase had been through in his time away from the capital and upon his return, it was nice to feel safe in her arms once more, as if he were a child scared of the dark and she’d just turned on a nightlight.

For a moment, there was peace. For a moment, there was nothing wrong with the world.

He was home.

His mother pulled back and wiped her eyes with one hand, the other still holding onto his arm. “Have you seen Clara? We’ve only heard she’s alive.”

Kase nodded. “Yes, I’ve also gotten to meet little Samuel. You made a cute kid, brother.”

Jove just froze, his eyes immediately filling with tears. Eyes that were slightly, worrisomely crazed. “You’re sure they’re okay? They won’t let me leave the hospital ward.”

Kase nodded once more. “Yes, they’re fine. Lady Davey is also here. She got stuck outside the city during the…riots.” The riots he’d been responsible for.

His mother hugged him again, but she tugged Jove into it as well. “As long as we’re all together again, it’ll be okay.” She sniffed, then pinched Kase’s ear. “But if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I’ll ground you for eternity.”

Jove shrugged out of her hold and brushed a tear out of his eye. “Seeing as he’s an adult, I doubt your threat is all that effective, Mother.”

She brushed aside one of Kase’s curls from his forehead. “My threats are always effective."

She stepped back, and after a moment’s hesitation, Kase grasped Jove’s good hand. “Glad you’re okay, too.”

But Jove wasn’t happy with that. Instead, he pulled Kase in for a stiff hug. His brother smelled of dirt, sweat, and metal. He couldn’t remember a time when his brother had hugged him, but Kase found he didn’t mind. He’d been through a lot—he could be forgiven for such a sappy display.

Jove’s words were full of steel, but tinged with emotion. “And if hers aren’t, mine better be. If you even think of running again, I will hunt you down myself.” He pulled back and squeezed Kase’s shoulder. “Understood?”

Kase clenched his jaw but nodded. His mother then smiled, noticing someone behind Kase. “Miss Walker! Oh, it’s so good to see you’re all right as well.”

Hallie had given away her bandages and had just finished speaking with her father, who waved and strode off with another one of the medics. She stepped up. “I’m happy to see you both.”

His mother pulled her into a tight hug. Kase smiled at Hallie’s surprised expression. After a second, Hallie hugged his mother back. When it looked as if his mother wouldn’t release her, Kase tapped her on the shoulder. “She might like to breathe sometime soon.”

His mother released her slowly and sniffed. “When we couldn’t reach you during the riots, I was worried. And with my Kase gone…we feared the worst.”

Hallie’s cheeks pinked. “I’m sorry. That was my fault. I needed to get to Stoneset quickly, and well, Kase had a hover, and it just made sense he go with me, and I didn’t realize what a problem that would cause and…” She trailed off. “Worrying you wasn’t my intention at all.”

A beat before Jove cleared his throat. “So you went to the mountains?”

Kase clasped his hands behind his back to keep himself from fiddling. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Jay wouldn’t allow a trip like that, and we needed to get out quickly, and…well, at the time, it just made sense.” It wouldn’t do to go into the whole blackmail thing here. It would only make everything uncomfortable.

Jove snorted, the seriousness from earlier evaporating in an instant. He waved his hand—the injured one—then winced, as it hadn’t been attended to quite yet. “That has to be the stupidest idea you’ve ever had—including the time you got that tattoo.”

It was Kase’s turn to flush scarlet. His mother glared at him, and Hallie looked between them before landing on Kase. “What tattoo?”

Kase shook his head. “Nothing. Jove’s had too much morphine shot into his arm.”

His brother just laughed. The stress and pain must’ve finally gotten to him. Kase glared.

A hush fell over the ward like water being thrown onto a campfire.

For a moment, Kase thought it might’ve been the Cerls or Correa—or even Hallie, doing something with her power.

She wasn’t supposed to start training until the next day, but maybe she’d lost control.

He glanced down at her and found his confusion reflected in her eyes.

Guess not. He allowed himself a quick moment of relief.

“Les.”

The word was spoken with authority, and while it wasn’t loud, it echoed in the nearly silent ward.

The Stradat Lord Kapitan had arrived, his own guards in tow.

No one moved. It was as if everyone had frozen into place, silent and watching. Harlan strode forward. He looked no different than he had three days before. Kase subtly shifted in front of Hallie, hiding her from the Stradat Lord Kapitan’s view.

“Harlan,” Les said, finally breaking the silence.

She didn’t move to hug him; in fact, it seemed like that stiff acknowledgment of his existence might be the beginning and end of their reunion.

While Kase had never witnessed much affection between his parents, this interaction seemed abnormal, even for them.

All he’d gleaned from his time back was that Harlan had taken the blame for getting Kase off after the fire, and the Cerls attacking had saved him from hanging.

How had his mother felt about it all? What had she found out?

What had she been through, to greet her husband in such a cold manner?

“Have you been treated for your injuries?” Harlan said, looking his wife over. He reached out as if to stroke her face, but she pulled away.

“I’m fine,” she replied as his hand fell back to his side. “It was good we had Master Kainadr with us.”