The threat felt heavy in the air. Florian swallowed hard, before replying, “Understood.”
“You too, prince puppy,” Daichi snapped, glaring at Kade. He bristled, anger flashing in his eyes, but Daichi was already halfway out the door. Florian grabbed Kade’s wrist before he could rise to follow him.
“Ignore him,” he said softly, pulling Kade back down to where he’d been crouched beside him. Kade sighed, but the anger had already left his eyes. “He’s just being an asshole. But if he’s not going to tell King Tetsuo where we are, it’s fine.”
“He’s not just being an asshole. Heisan asshole,” Koji muttered, rubbing his temples as he went to sit back down next to Miyuki and Takeshi, who had been huddled around the table watching the exchange with wide eyes. “Sorry he bothered you, Takeshi. But it seems like he won’t come by again.”
“That’s—That’s alright, Prince Koji,” the man stammered. Florian finally got a good look at the newcomer: he was an average-looking man, though the family resemblance between him and Miyuki was noticeable now that they were sitting next to each other. He had dark hair that was cut neat and short, with a clean-shaven face and round spectacles he was now pushing nervously up the bridge of his nose. The coat he wore over his yukata was white and reminded Florian of a lab coat.
Noticing Florian’s attention, Takeshi shot him a flustered smile as he scrambled to his feet. “King Florian—please, forgive my rudeness. I’m Takeshi. I’m so glad to see you’re awake.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Florian chuckled, smiling at him, which seemed to assuage some of his nerves. “Thank you for helping us.”
Once everyone was settled, Takeshi looked over Koji and Kade in turn, confirming they were healing as expected. Then he looked at Florian, inspecting his wounds.
“Yes, much better,” he said approvingly, looking over the burns on his hands. “And how are you feeling? I’m afraid I don’t know much about fae magic, but to my understanding, you were just, ah, running on empty, as you might say.”
Florian laughed. “Yeah, I think that’s accurate. I’m already feeling better, though. Tired, but I think by tomorrow I should be able to help heal my arm and whatever’s left of the burns on myself and the others.”
Takeshi blinked owlishly at him, then smiled in delight. “Amazing! If only I could do the same.”
Florian blushed, looking away. “Ah, well, thanks. I’m, uh, I’m happy to help.”
“Well, rest up for tonight,” Takeshi continued, standing up. “I’d recommend taking it easy for at least another day or two. The longer the better. You’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like—I’m honored to have you as guests, of course.”
“And I can keep coming by to bring food,” Miyuki teased. Takeshi huffed good-naturedly.
“Icancook, you know,” he replied. “Although... Maybe Miyuki is a better cook.”
“We appreciate your hospitality very much,” Koji said. “Both of you, thank you.”
“See? A few more days,” Kade murmured, nudging Florian as the three dragon shifters continued to exchange thanks. Florian laughed.
“I’m not arguing,” he replied, smiling up at Kade. “I’m really tired. The rest will be nice.”
Kade smiled back at him and he settled down amidst his blankets and pillows. Now that Takeshi had given him a once-over, he could sleep uninterrupted again.
Florian woke feeling much better the next day, refreshed enough that he could quickly heal the cut on his arm and what remained of the burns on his, Kade’s, and Koji’s skin. He healed Koji first, as the dragon shifter had suffered the worst of it. Koji hadn’t complained at all; but as Florian whispered healing magic up his arms, the other man shuddered, then visibly relaxed with relief as his red and blistered skin quickly faded away.
“Amazing,” he said softly, stretching his arms experimentally. “Fae magic really is incredible.”
He healed Kade next, though the wolf shifter argued with him that he should heal himself first.
“Koji protected me,” Kade protested. “I don’t need it. You both got hurt worse than me.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Florian insisted stubbornly. “Give me your arm. I’m not healing myself until you’re healed.”
They stared at each other in a tense stand-off. Then Kade finally relented, allowing Florian to heal him with a resigned sigh. That had been quick work, so next Florian looked over his own body and healed the handful of burns he found. The gash on his arm took a little more effort to heal, and left a pale scar where the skin knitted together, but at least it stopped itching under the bandage. After that, he was ready to sleep for another eight hours.
Takeshi made it clear that they could stay as long as they needed, and Miyuki seemed all too happy to bring them food and sit with them, chatting for hours; but by the second day Florian was already feeling restless. While it was true that they didn’t have a strict timeline, exactly, sitting and being idle felt almost painful when he dwelled on it too long. No, they would have to head back out sooner or later, and he would very much rather it be sooner.
“We’re not leaving without a solid plan this time,” Kade said flatly, the moment Florian started hinting that they should start getting ready to leave again. “This was way too close.”
“How could we have made any better of a plan?” Florian protested. “We had literally as much information as we could have possibly gathered. There’s nothing else we can do but just do it.”
Kade had little response to that, but it obviously still bothered him. Koji, to his credit, avoided getting between them about it.
They were at an impasse, though Florian couldn’t bring himself to be more than slightly annoyed about it. Ithadbeen a close call, after all. He understood where Kade was coming from, but really, what more could they do? There were no other resources they could utilize—nothing they could do to find out more about what would await them with the next Arrow. They could only do their best with the information they had; and all things considered, Florian thought they had done a pretty decent job figuring things out and getting the Arrow safely.
