“The king has told me to ensure you both are packed and prepared to leave before noon. Is there anything I can do to help facilitate this for you?”
She sounded apologetic, so Florian held in his irritation at the whole situation and said as kindly as he could manage,
“No, we’re mostly ready to go, anyway. We’ll head out pretty soon.”
The woman bowed, not meeting his eyes. “Then it has been my pleasure to serve you. I’ll still be in the room down the hall if you need anything in the meantime. You can just leave your dishes here when you’re done.” She paused, still not looking at him, then added in a softer voice, “I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors, Winter King.”
Everyone else he had spoken to had been so kind, Florian thought. It was only Tetsuo who was adamant that they had nothing to offer him; if it had been anyone but Tetsuo calling the shots, he might have received all sorts of resources from the dragon kingdom. It was hard not to feel bitter, but it would serve as a potent reminder that not everyone here was like Tetsuo, and if Florian were ever in a position to help them, he would not be so withholding.
“Thank you,” he replied, his voice scratchy. He cleared his throat, glancing away self-consciously. “We appreciate that.”
Kade nodded silently, observing the interaction with a seemingly full understanding of Florian’s emotions with a glance. As long as he had Kade, Florian thought, he would be alright. Together, they could do just about anything.
When they finished eating, it was quick work to pack up the rest of their things—they hadn’t brought much, and now Florian wished they hadn’t packed quite so light. He could always teleport them to the Winter Court to stock up on what they needed, then teleport back here; but now that he knew that teleportation was old magic, it made him nervous to use it so freely. Nothing bad had happened so far, but Kade’s open distrust of the old magic—along with every other danger he’d heard about its use—was giving him pause now. Elodie hadn’t told himnotto, of course, but sometimes he couldn’t make heads or tails of anything that he remembered her saying or doing, anyway. So if he could get away with not bringing them home and back again, he would.
The hallway was empty when they left, and no one bothered or stopped them as they headed down to the lower floors of the palace. Finally, when they reached the ground floor, a different attendant met them at the stairs, guiding them to the main doors—leading them to the exit, as politely as possible. Then they were back outside, standing at the top of the long stone stairs they had climbed just yesterday.
The view from here was beautiful, encompassing almost all of the city. Florian could more clearly see the parts that were disconnected from the rest: two peaks off to the side had no bridge connecting them to anywhere else and no visible path leading up the narrow, steep hills. Then his heart leapt up into his chest when he saw it: a dragon was circling the building perched atop the tallest peak, its long serpentine body unmistakable even from this distance. He couldn’t make out any details like its coloration, but he watched the creature fly around to the far side of the pillar and disappear, as if it was entering the structure from an entrance Florian couldn’t see.
“Wow,” he murmured softly. Next to him, Kade squeezed his shoulder, then started heading down the stairs.
“Soon that’ll be you,” he said, glancing back up at Florian with a warm gaze. Florian laughed, then hurried to follow.
Florian was terrible with directions, but Kade seemed to remember the way well enough, so it didn’t take too long for them to find Miyuki’s tea house again. When they entered, she was clearing off a table near the back, looking up as the door swung open. Her eyes grew wide upon seeing them, then she grinned widely and hurried over.
“Hello, hello!” she chirped, before stopping suddenly and bowing deeply. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I forgot. King Florian, Prince Kade—”
“You don’t have to do that,” Florian laughed nervously, shaking his head. “Really. I’m flattered, though. Thank you.”
“You’re back so soon! What happened?” she asked. Florian almost laughed again—she had been far too willing to drop the formal pretense, but he was glad for it.
“The palace didn’t really have what we were looking for,” he replied carefully. She had sounded fond of the king before, and as much as Tetsuo had frustrated him, he didn’t want to have any cause for the man to accuse him of turning his own citizens against him. “But we have a few other leads. Would you mind if we waited here until the afternoon? We’re supposed to be meeting someone.”
“Of course, of course!” she answered cheerfully, though Florian caught the slight look of concern and confusion that had passed over her face when he spoke. “Let me bring you to one of our back tables. It’s a little more private, I think. I felt so bad for how everyone was staring yesterday...”
“It’s understandable,” Kade said, speaking for the first time. Miyuki blinked, surprised, then smiled at him as well.
“Still,” she said, and gestured for them to follow. “Come with me.”
She led them through a narrow hallway on the left that Florian hadn’t noticed when they visited yesterday. The walls on either side were bare, a strange contrast to the main room that was decorated with paper scrolls and paintings. The hallway was short, though, and the opposite end opened to a private sitting room with a long table and a large window that brightened the space. They could see out to the street, but semi-transparent paper shades were drawn over the window, giving them privacy without sacrificing the natural light.
“No one’s booked this room at all today, so stay as long as you’d like. I’ll bring tea and snacks,” Miyuki said, gesturing for them to sit.
“Thank you,” Florian said, then added in a softer voice, “If, um... If any of the royal family comes, send them here. Prince Koji may come for us.”
Her eyes bulged again, but she managed to keep the same bright smile on her face, even though her chipper tone sounded more forced. “I will!”
Florian held it together until she left, then he laughed as he turned to Kade, who was watching him with a small, amused smile.
“Don’t think she expected any royalty in her tea house today, much less three out of the four royal families left in the world,” he chuckled. “Hopefully we won’t be in her hair too long.”
“More like she’ll have an excuse to charge more for the private room,” Kade replied, smirking. “How much do you think she’ll get for an hour in the chair where the Changeling King sat?”
Florian laughed again. Everything felt so much easier when it was just them.
Miyuki brought them tea and a tray of snacks, and popped in every so often to bring them fresh tea and to chat. They waited for a few hours, until the sun had reached its peak and begun its descent back down toward the west. Finally, Florian heard Miyuki coming down the hallway again, and a softer pair of footsteps following.
Kade glanced toward the hallway. “They’re here,” he said softly, alert as ever, before Miyuki appeared in the door with a frazzled smile.
