There,he thought, gesturing with his snout. Koji made a chuffing noise in response, noticing it as well. Kade remained huddled close to Koji’s back, his head down.Let’s hurry.
Koji chuffed again, surging ahead, his body whipping back and forth like a snake. The movement was graceful when it was Koji speeding on ahead; Florian felt like a literal fish out of water, his long form flapping back and forth as he did his best to keep up with the other dragon.
Soon the dark dot above began to grow larger and take on detail: it looked like a giant rock floating in the sky, mostly smooth on the top, with some jagged edges rising higher than the rest. Some architecture seemed to remain, though Florian couldn’t make out any sign of life, plants or otherwise. Visibility was poor from this far away still, so he stayed alert, his eyes flashing from structure to structure in an effort to glean as much information as possible before they landed. The few standing structures remaining looked worn and crumbled the closer they got, but Florian still inspected each window that he could see carefully, hoping there would be no one watching them from within.
It seemed utterly abandoned, though. No movement stirred at the windows or between the buildings. No flying creatures rose up to meet them. It seemed a total wasteland, but the faint sense of the Arrow’s magic didn’t seem to grow any stronger as they got nearer either.
Strange,he thought, more to himself than to Koji, but he felt a murmur of agreement from the other dragon all the same.
Be cautious,Koji replied. Florian nodded, keeping a close eye on the island as they approached.
Chapter Seven
Whentheylanded,thefloating island was still silent and motionless. Florian dropped his shifted form, shrinking back down to his usual self with a relieved groan. Already, the shroud felt easier to hold around him.
The same hint of magic remained in the air, but otherwise, there was no difference between standing on the gritty soil of the floating island and the earth below.
Kade slid off of Koji’s back and stumbled toward Florian. Stoic as he was, he still was looking a little pallid. He took in a deep, steadying breath before speaking.
“I hated that,” he groaned, and Florian chuckled in sympathy. “Wolves aren’t meant to fly. Not like that.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Koji laughed nervously, dropping his dragon form as well. “I tried to keep it smooth and all, but, well…” He shrugged apologetically, “Only so much can be done, I think.”
“Want to take a breather?” Florian asked, glancing around. “I’m... pretty sure we’re alone up here.”
Kade looked around as well, sharp eyes flashing with the intensity of an apex predator. But he too seemed unable to detect any signs of life; after a beat, his alert expression faded as he nodded gratefully and sat down, pulling his water bottle from his belongings and taking several small sips.
Florian sat down next to him, rubbing his back in sympathy. He wondered if he could use his magic to take away Kade’s nausea; his father had also told him many times that fae magic could do just about anything, if he could phrase it right.
And old magic could do much more. He shook his head at the thought, though, knowing he shouldn’t try anything with old magic that he couldn’t do with fae magic, just to be safe.
“Can I try to help?” Florian asked softly, leaning closer to Kade. “With magic? Do you think it would work?”
Kade gave him a small, grateful smile. “I’ll be alright. I don’t want you to overwork yourself. I’m feeling better already now that we’re on the ground.”
“Okay,” Florian relented. “But if you feel sick, I can still try. I’ll be okay.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Kade said. He squeezed Florian’s hand before taking another drink from his water bottle. Florian watched him carefully; he did already seem to be feeling better, but it was hard not to worry when he was clearly uncomfortable. Even if it was something as minor as motion sickness. If this was how Kade felt abouthimall the time, wanting to keep him safe and healthy, then it had taken a lot to even suggest Florian and Koji go on without him.
And no wonder he had been so upset when Florian had returned from his...adventurewith Elodie, three days for Kade, alone. The thought still made guilt bubble up in his chest.
See all the trouble you’ve caused?he thought irritably, though he was sure that Thaddeus couldn’t sense his thoughts. In truth, he really didn’t know how aware Thaddeus’ spirit was of what was going on around him. The soul was tethered to him, and Florian had learned its identity with Elodie’s help, but anything more than that was still unknown. It didn’t seem like the spirit had any real understanding of the world beyond Florian’s immediate awareness, and even that seemed uncertain.
Still, taking his frustration out on an oblivious third party helped him feel marginally better, so he let his frustrated thoughts simmer for a moment until Kade finally stood up again.
“Alright,” the wolf shifter said, stretching as he stood. “Sorry. I’m ready when you are.”
“Let’s go,” Koji agreed, and Florian got to his feet, nodding.
“Stay close,” he said, as they headed for the remnants of what had once been a city in the distance. “The shroud won’t hold if we go too far. We have to stick together.”
They fell into the same familiar pattern with Kade just a few steps ahead of them, careful and alert. Florian followed behind, and Koji walked alongside him, looking around with much more curiosity than trepidation.
From what Florian could see, it seemed as if the floating city had held a mix of different buildings. Ones made of stone and brick still stood, while empty spaces marked where structures made of wood or other less-resilient materials must have long since deteriorated or burned away in the Blight. The architecture did not look especially like the buildings he had seen in the dragon kingdom, but he also had no frame of reference as to how long ago this settlement may have been built. A few dregs of paint remained on some of the structures, though, and seemed similar to the colors he had seen within the walls of the dragon kingdom.
The strangest thing, though, was that he did not get any increasing sense of magic in the air. Wherever the Arrow was—and it had to be somewhere here, as hedidfeel its magic—they were not getting any closer to it. Or maybe it was still too far away for the short distance they’d traveled to matter. The floating island had looked large, but not impossible to traverse. Why wouldn’t he be feeling the magic growing stronger? Was it deep underground, the way the first Arrow had been? He hadn’t felt it growing until they were in the mine then, too. Or was it maybe just on the far end of the island, far enough away that they hadn’t made any significant progress toward it yet?
They would just have to keep pressing on, but Kade’s pace was slow and methodical. If it was indeed at the opposite end of the island, there was no way they would make it that far before Florian would collapse from exhaustion.
