“Florian!” he heard Kade roar as he fell. He heard more than saw Koji lunging forward to catch him, but he was falling too fast—the dragon’s claws slashed his arm trying to grab him, and he cried out in pain, pulling the Arrow close to his chest, desperate not to drop it.
Shift!he thought desperately, trying to focus despite the fear and adrenaline pounding in his head, and the terrifying sensation ofnothingsurrounding him as he fell.Shift!
The Arrow bloomed with golden light as he shifted—too fast, he realized, as more pain exploded through his body. The Arrow had amplified all the magic that he had used whenever he was holding it, he remembered, and now his shifting was amplified too. His body elongated far too quickly, making his vision go white with agony as his bones and muscles stretched like taffy.
Amidst the pain, there was another snapping sensation, then a burning heat—the shroud, he realized with horror—and a scream from above that pulled him back to his senses.
Koji and Kade were burning—no one else could create a shroud—he had to save them! Snarling now that he was in his draconic form, he surged back up through the air to meet Koji and Kade where they had been falling rapidly to catch him. Koji had coiled around himself quickly, smothering Kade in an attempt to protect them both from the Blight, but his green scales were already beginning to char.
Everything in him was screaming with pain and heat, but he reached his claw out to grab at Koji, then roared as he used his teleportation spell. He wasn’t sure if he had enough magic to even cast the shroud again, let alone teleport; but if he was counting on the Arrow to amplify his magic in a last ditch effort to save them all, then this was the better bet.
A lurching sensation entirely different from falling overtook him, but he dug his claws into Koji’s side, pulling the dragon with him. Then the heat was gone all at once, the light around them suddenly dark as twilight, and they were crashing through trees and brush to fall to mossy earth beneath.
Gasping, Florian released all the magic that had been channeling through him, shrinking back down to his normal size all too fast yet again, making him groan with pain. Koji had crashed to the earth a few feet from him, and for a long moment, the serpentine form was utterly still. But then it started to unravel, as Koji uncoiled himself from around Kade, who crawled out from underneath him and stumbled toward Florian.
Florian tried to push himself to his feet, but all his limbs felt like jelly. He could only watch, his vision blurring, as Koji shifted back and groaned in pain. Florian could see a stain of blood spreading from his side and patches of skin on his arms that were burned red.
“Florian,” Kade panted, kneeling beside him. “Florian, are you okay?”
“Got it,” he croaked, feebly trying to raise his hand that was holding the Arrow. But even that felt like a herculean effort. Everything was growing dark. He was sotired. Distantly, he thought he heard Kade saying something else, but he couldn’t make out what it was. Darkness swallowed up his vision, and his world fell silent.
Chapter Nine
Muddledvoiceskeptrousinghim.
“We can’t just stay out here. I don’t care what your father said. He needs someone to look at him, a doctor, a healer. And so do you.”
“Okay... Okay. I think I can sneak the three of us through the wall.”
Then he fell back asleep. When he could hear again, he felt warmer.
“I don’t know how fae magic works, but... Looks like exhaustion more than anything else to me. I’m more concerned about the burns...”
“Thank you... not really your focus, but... appreciate this, truly.”
It all kept fading in and out, just barely touching the edges of his awareness.
“I still don’t really understand... How did he do that? Was it the Arrow?”
“Probably the Arrow.”
“How much longer, do you think?”
“Don’t know... He’s sleeping.”
“You all need rest.”
“He’s going to want to leave again right away... Don’t let him talk you into it. Rest.”
Finally, though, it was soft conversation and the smell of food that roused Florian enough to open his eyes.
He was lying on the floor, warm blankets covering him atop a low futon. Dim light filtered in through a window; far on his right, three figures sat at a low table, eating and conversing softly. His vision still seemed hazy, but he thought it was Koji turned away from him, a girl kneeling at the side, and Kade on the opposite end, facing Florian.
“Sorry this took so long,” Miyuki was sighing, pulling dishes from a bag and setting them on the table. “The tea house got busy, and then everything was starting to get cold... I came as quick as I could. I bet Chiyo’s going to be pissed.”
“Don’t apologize,” Koji replied, shaking his head. “You’ve already done so much. It all looks great. Thank you.”
Kade moved, peering around Koji to look at Florian—or, at least, it looked like Kade was looking at him. He kept blinking, trying to clear the sleep from his eyes.
