Koji looked apprehensively out at the sea. His sun-goggles were too dark for Florian to see his eyes, but he imagined the other man must have been squinting.
“I know this might set us back a bit, but can we camp here and head out after?” he finally asked. “I can still do it. But I think starting well-rested will help a lot.”
Florian and Kade exchanged looks. He could tell Kade wasn’t happy about it, and neither was he; but considering how poorly things had gone when Florian had tried shifting and holding the shroud at the same time, whatever Koji needed was what they would do.
“Alright, early night it is,” Florian answered, and they backtracked to where the ground was less sandy before setting up their shelter again.
It never felt like he got enough rest in the Blight, so all too soon Florian woke to find Kade already packing their things, food set out for him and Koji. They ate, set the shroud, packed away the shelter, then finally trudged back through the dark sand until they reached the ominous shore once again.
“Alright,” Koji sighed, looking out at the open water with a dismayed expression. “I’ll go as fast as I can and hopefully we won’t be over this for too long.”
“Fingers crossed,” Florian agreed, but Koji was already stepping away and starting to glow with a familiar greenish light. Florian focused on the shroud, holding it and letting it stretch along with Koji’s form as he grew taller and longer.
The dragon knelt down, gesturing with his head for Kade and Florian to get atop him. Kade helped Florian up silently, secured him with the rope, then did the same for himself once he settled behind Florian.
“Ready,” he said, wrapping his arms around Florian’s waist. He pressed his face against Florian’s shoulder, taking in a deep breath—he could feel where Kade’s nose was near the nape of his neck. Florian laughed, feeling heat rise to his cheeks, but he only patted Kade’s hands and called out to Koji.
“We’re ready.”
The dragon made a soft chuffing sound of acknowledgement, then lifted into the air. First, he angled more upwards, creating more space between them and the glistening, slow-moving water; then they headed out across the sea, continuing northeast. It would be nearly impossible to navigate over the open water, but as long as they kept going in the same direction, they had calculated that it would only take three or maybe four hours before they saw the land again. It might even be less if the water had receded during its time in the Blight, though Florian was unsure how much of the sea might have evaporated considering there was no rain in the Blight despite all the light and heat. The Blight was magic, not bound by the laws of Earth’s physics, so while the water might have easily been hot enough to rise as billowing clouds of steam, it would never fall back down as rain.
Florian was grateful Koji had risen well up into the air, as the light glinting off the ocean only grew more annoying the longer they flew; but once they were high enough, it was hard to distinguish from the same pale light of the sky above them.
Everything about the Blight was utterly miserable. He knew this already, but every time they went back into it, it reminded him all over again. How could anyone not want to try to end this—not want to do everything they could to make it go away? Was Tetsuo really so heartless? Would the ruler of the krakens be the same?
Florian pushed the thoughts away. They would deal with the krakens when they were done with this; no point in worrying about it now.
“What do you think would happen if we fell in?” Florian asked, turning his head slightly so Kade could hear him better. He felt more than heard Kade scoff at the question.
“No idea,” he replied, raising his voice to be heard over the wind streaming past them as Koji flew. “And I hope we never find out.”
“I wonder if it’s like... boiling water,” Florian continued, morbid curiosity overtaking him. He looked down at the shimmering surface of the water, but it hurt to look at for long, even with their sun goggles. “I wonder if it would get cold if you go down deep enough.”
“Doesn’t seem like it would be pleasant either way,” Kade grunted, squeezing Florian tighter. “I won’t let you fall.”
“I know,” Florian laughed, placing a hand on Kade’s arm. Koji made a low rumbling noise, as if to say he wouldn’t let them fall, either, making Florian chuckle again. “I know, both of you. Just wondering out loud. It really just seems to defy the laws of physics, huh?”
“Old magic is like that,” Kade replied, sounding more grim, to which Florian had no reply. He knew Kade was still unsettled about his use of old magic, but it wasn’t like he had done it on purpose before meeting Elodie. And besides, he was pretty sure he was just using fae magic most of the time now that he knew better.
Hopefully, at least. It didn’t feel any different, so he wasn’t sure. And some things had to be old magic, like teleportation—but that had saved all three of them just a few days ago, so it couldn’t be that bad.
Still, he held his tongue, knowing Kade knew all of that too, but would probably always feel some discomfort at the thought of it. The uncertainty of old magic was still too ingrained in Veilian cultures, too frightening for anyone born in the Veil to seriously consider unless they were already a witch like Elodie—or an outsider, like Florian.
His thoughts kept going back to Thaddeus, whose soul was bound to him, who was the root of all his problems with old magic in the first place. Florian had thought of him often since Elodie had helped him discover the spirit’s identity, but it was all questions and no answers.
How had Soleil, the Summer Queen, been able to keep Thaddeus with her in the Veil when humans weren’t supposed to be able to cross over at all? Hadn’t all the other summer fae known a human was in their midst? Jerah had told him it was something of an open secret, but surely someone must have confronted Soleil to ask how she had brought a human with her from Earth in the first place—to know how he had gotten there at all? Although, she was a queen, so maybe not.
But the memories he had seen of Thaddeus had been vague and hard to follow when Elodie had guided him through it. When he thought about it, Florian vaguely remembered feeling a ring on his finger, like a wedding ring, and the sensation that it was important somehow. He wondered if maybe an enchanted ring had somehow made Thaddeus able to live in the Veil. He wasn’t sure if that was it, though; and even if it was, he had no ideahowsuch magic might work.
He had not tried to see Thaddeus’ memories again, but he doubted he could even if he wanted to, now. It had taken the silence of Elodie’s liminal space and her guidance for him to discover the tether between him and Thaddeus in the first place. Out in the real world, he had no more awareness of Thaddeus’ spirit with him outside the occasional flashes of emotion or hazy memory that he had experienced a few times before. If he wanted to learn more, he would probably have to go back to Elodie, and he knew Kade wouldn’t be keen on a return trip any time soon, if ever.
“You alright?” Kade asked softly behind him, shaking him from his thoughts. Florian nodded quickly.
“Just thinking,” he replied, smiling, though he was sure Kade couldn’t see his face very well from how they were positioned. “We’re gonna be up here for a while, so...”
“Yeah,” Kade agreed, squeezing him again. “Seems like you’re holding the shroud up fine, too.”
“Yep, no problems there,” Florian said. “It’s much easier to hold when I’m not shifted. We’re really lucky Koji’s helping us. I don’t know how we would do any of this without him.”
