“I—” Florian started, then stopped himself as his face burned red. “I—really missed you. This. This was good.”
Kade chuckled, a soft huff of breath that ghosted against Florian’s cheek. “Yeah. Me too.”
When they were cleaned off and laying curled next to each other—resting, but not really sleeping—Florian stared up at the ceiling with his heart pounding. That flutter in his stomach, his heart, it was different. It was new. But somehow he recognized it, knew what it was, and the realization made him hot and cold all at once.
Chapter Fourteen
Justashe’dfeared,Florian couldn’t manage more than a few hours of light napping, but by the time they were trudging down the staircase to have a late breakfast with Koji, he was starting to feel ready to go back to bed. Why did jet lag still have to be a thing?
Koji was already in the dining hall when he and Kade arrived, looking sleepy but grinning over at them as soon as they stepped inside. His plate was piled high with pastries, making Florian stifle a laugh.
“There isn’t anything like these in the dragon kingdom,” Koji said quickly, a faint flush rising in his face, despite his smile. “I had to make sure to sample everything!”
“I’m glad you’re finding things you like,” Florian laughed, sitting down across from him, and Kade settling into a seat on his left.
“Did you sleep at all?” Kade asked, and Koji shook his head with a chuckle.
“Not a bit,” he replied. “I had a nice bath—the bathrooms here are... quite different compared to the dragon kingdom, so it took some time to figure it out. I looked over a few of the books that were in my room, then—well, I hope you don’t mind, but I walked around the castle for a while just to check everything out.”
Florian grinned. “I don’t mind at all. You’re our guest, so feel free to look around as much as you want.”
“It’s all so... different,” Koji continued, shaking his head as if in disbelief. “I had never imagined things could be so different from home. I had heard about these other places and read a little about them, but seeing it is something else entirely.”
Florian’s smile softened wistfully. Just a few months ago, he hadn’t known any of this existed at all. It wasn’t the exact same sentiment, but he could certainly relate to Koji’s fascination with some place so completely different from everything he’d ever experienced.
“Just wait until you see the wolf kingdom,” Kade replied, as he assembled a plate of food. “Not at all like the Winter Court. Except for the cold, I guess.”
They laughed, and Florian’s heart warmed at Kade so readily including Koji in their plans for the future. He had been so suspicious of the dragon shifter at first, and part of Florian hadn’t believed that Koji would stay at all, sensing Kade’s hesitance and mistaking it for distrust. But whether Koji was adorably oblivious or just tenacious, he was glad that they were all a team now.
They ate their late breakfast, though it felt like it should be supper. Florian even had a second cup of coffee, hoping to keep himself awake and alert long enough to meet with Tatiana to go over whatever she wanted to talk about.
“Koji,” Kade said when their meal was done. “Florian’s busy, so I can show you around if you want. And maybe we could spar.”
Koji grinned. “I’d like that.”
“Have fun,” Florian said, laughing, though he felt a tiny pang of jealousy that Kade would be sparring with Koji and not with him—there were downsides to being king after all, he supposed. But dutifully, he parted ways with them in the foyer, the two shifters heading outside while he made his way up the stairs to meet Tatiana in the library.
“Florian,” his aunt said warmly as he stepped into the library, now familiar with its rows and rows of books and the comfortable chairs in the center, where she was sitting and peering toward him with a smile. “Come sit down.”
“How has everything been?” he asked as he sat down across from her, once again feeling acutely aware of how she was doing the job that he should have been keeping up with. But she only smiled at him, no hint of frustration or resentment on her face—just an obvious gladness to see him.
“Everything’s been going well, all things considered,” she replied. “I mostly wanted to hear from you. How did everything go in the dragon kingdom?”
Florian grimaced. “King Tetsuo was just as, uh...difficultas Dad said he would be.”
Tatiana’s smile flickered, but she let out a soft chuckle. “That sounds about right. They never got along. I only met Tetsuo briefly, and he seemed... stern.”
“Yeah, I’d say,” Florian laughed, shaking his head. “But Koji agreed to help us, even though he had to sneak out of the palace to do it. So I’m glad about that.”
Tatiana’s expression became concerned. “We don’t have to worry about anyone coming looking for him, right?”
“No, no, nothing like that. His dad was mad, but nothing that extreme,” Florian said quickly, though he supposed it wasn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility that Tetsuo might send someone to the Winter Kingdom, asking after Koji’s whereabouts and well-being—unlikely, but not impossible. It had only been Daichi who had promised not to pursue him or tell Tetsuo where Koji was. The king might have other ways of tracking his son down, if he was truly against Koji being anywhere but the dragon kingdom.
“Well, good,” Tatiana replied. “How are you doing?”
He considered for a moment before answering. “I’m okay. Just tired. And everything is kind of stressful. But I think I’m doing alright, all things considered. I feel... better than I was, at least.”
Tatiana looked at him for a long moment. “I’m glad. I’ve been... doing better lately, as well.” She glanced away, looking uncomfortable for the first time. Theywerefamily, but evidently she felt just as uncertain about being vulnerable around him as Florian did. “But keeping everything running is an excellent distraction, I suppose. The world keeps going on. We have to. And...” Her gaze softened. “And I know you’re the one doing the really hard job, so I shouldn’t complain.”
