“Well, if you figure it out, let me know,” she said. “I’d love to see it.”
“I will,” Florian promised, nodding far too enthusiastically. Maybe, somehow, he could use Thaddeus’ tether to him to his advantage. If he could someday bring Nadia to the Veil, he thought, then everything about their connection would have been worth it in the end.
The longer they stayed in Coral Shores, the more Koji loved it. Florian had to admit it was endearing to see his hometown in such a fresh light, and it was fun to take Kade and Koji to all his favorite places, plus the more touristy parts of town he otherwise avoided. To make sure they would have time to do everything, Florian scheduled their flight to Norway—where they would go back into the Veil to visit the kraken clan—over a week out. Plus, it gave them some extra time to relax and decompress, which Florian had learned the hard way was a necessity when trying to save the world.
For all the time they spent together, though, Florian also made a point of having some alone time with Kade at least once a day for an hour or so. Usually they would go walk on the beach, but sometimes they would just hang out in his room.
They were laying in Florian’s bed together, reading a graphic novel, when Florian realized Kade was looking up at him from where he’d propped his head up on his elbows, rather than down at the book opened in front of them. Florian flushed, smiling as he met Kade’s eyes; and after a beat, the wolf shifter returned the smile, his eyes soft.
“What?” Florian teased, laying down on his belly so they were eye-to-eye.
“You know,” Kade replied softly, “You’ve really... become the glue that holds us all together.”
“What?” Florian repeated, his face now burning as he laughed, embarrassed. “Glue? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah. You were the one who wanted Koji to come with us. You’re the one willing to try to put together a team. I think if it had been up to me, it would have stayed just the two of us. In a bad way,” Kade replied. He paused, his eyes flickering up and down Florian’s face, color rising in his own cheeks as if he too were embarrassed. “I really... I really admire that about you.”
“I don’t—I mean, I’m just doing what needs to get done,” Florian laughed, still grinning. “But, um, thank you. That’s sweet. I appreciate it.”
For a long moment they just looked at each other, Florian willing himself desperately to keep meeting Kade’s eyes, no matter how much he wanted to look away. Maybe he should say it to Kade. Now? Here? It wasn’t the most romantic, but...
“You really don’t need me at all any more,” Kade said before Florian could blurt out his feelings. The wolf shifter’s smile had become more teasing, the vulnerable moment gone as fleetingly as it came. “You don’t need my protection or my help, do you?”
Florian couldn’t stop the nervous bark of a laugh that burst out from him. The words unsettled a small part of him, but Kade’s expression and tone weren’t serious.
“What are you talking about? I’ve been crazy about you from the day we met,” he chuckled, nudging Kade with his elbow and relishing in the pleased flush that rose in the other man’s face. “Of course I stillneedyou. But even if I didn’t, I want you around more than anyone else.”
Kade leaned over and kissed him, his voice rough when he responded. “Don’t say things like that to me when I can’t fuck you afterward.”
Florian fought back a laugh. “No promises.”
Their time in Coral Shores was a welcome reprieve, but couldn’t last forever. A few days before they were set to leave on an early-morning flight to Norway, Florian was just starting to think about packing again, wondering out loud to Kade and Koji about how long they’d need to live out of a suitcase this time, when an unfamiliar ring echoed in the room.
He frowned, looking around the living room—Kade pulled his phone from his pocket, and Florian realized that the phone ringing was his. He had never heard it go off before. Kade frowned, looking at the screen with a concerned look.
“It’s Tatiana,” he said, glancing at Florian for a brief moment before holding the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
Kade was just far enough away from him that he couldn’t make out the words, only Tatiana’s voice on the other end, faint and tinny. Kade was silent, listening—his expressions were subtle, but his brows twitched slightly with restrained tension, and his lips pressed into a hard line. Florian watched with uncertainty. Why would she call Kade, but not him?
“I... Okay,” Kade finally said, his tone as stoic as ever. “Thank you for telling me. I’ll... I don’t know what we’ll do. We’ll keep you posted, though. Yeah. Okay. I will. Bye.”
Despite his stoic expression, the moment he set his phone down, Kade sighed and rubbed his face with both hands.
“What’s wrong?” Florian asked, immediately concerned—he hadn’t seen Kade so outwardly upset before in a long time. He heard Kade breathe in deeply before lowering his hands and answering.
“It’s my dad,” Kade replied, and Florian’s heart fell. “He’s... Well, my mom contacted Tatiana to tell her he’s worse and doesn’t have much time left, and to ask her to tell me to go home if I can before he... before he passes.”
For a long while, all three of them were silent, Koji looking apprehensively between the two of them. It took a moment for Florian to control his racing thoughts and come up with a halfway decent plan.
“Okay,” he said, starting to pace around the room. “Okay. Um, I’ll cancel the flights or postpone them or something. Then we can head back to the curtain in the morning, and once we’re in the Winter Court, I can teleport us to the wolf kingdom. So we could be there tomorrow morning. Or should we leave right now?”
“In the morning,” Kade replied, sighing. “We don’t need to go right now. But tomorrow would be good.”
“I’ll cancel the flight,” Florian said, pulling up the information on his phone. He hesitated, though, glancing at Koji. “You don’t have to come with us, Koji. If you just wanted to wait here, I’d understand, and we’d come back for you soon. Or if you want to go back home while...” He trailed off, unsure. While they waited? Until after Kade’s father was gone?
“I’ll go with you, if you’re okay with it,” Koji replied, though he still looked uncertain. “We’re a team now. We should stick together.
“I’ll go tell August we’re leaving sooner than we planned,” Kade said abruptly, standing and heading for the door. “And... think about how we should do this. I don’t want to slow us down.”
