They must have made it just in time, Florian thought with a sinking feeling settling into his belly. Everyone was so grim. He hadn’t expected to go with Kade to see his parents—what was he going to say to a dying man, one he barely knew? His heart started to race, memories of his own father’s death making his throat tighten, but he hurried up the stairs before Kade could get too far from him.
At the top of the stairs, though, Kade only took a few steps toward his parents’ bedroom before hesitating. Florian could see his hands clenching into fists at his side.
“Kade,” he said softly, his chest squeezing anew. How could he help? He hadn’t known what he’d wanted from Kade when Jerah had died—how could he know what to do for Kade now that their roles were reversed?
“I—” Kade started, then turned to face Florian. His brows were drawn tightly together, his pained expression made all the more unsettling compared to how stoic he’d been all morning. “I don’t think I can—go in there.”
Florian blinked, taken aback, as Kade took a step closer to him, eyes downcast.
“And I feel so stupid,” Kade muttered, only making Florian more confused. “I knew this was going to happen. So why does it feel so...?” He trailed off. For a long moment, both were silent.
Florian closed the distance between them and embraced Kade tightly, squeezing him around his waist with both arms. He’d been acting on instinct, unsure if that was the right thing to do; but Kade immediately hugged him back, his arms firm and strong around Florian’s back.
“I understand,” Florian said softly, his voice muffled against Kade’s chest. “You can’t be prepared for it. Not really. You’re not stupid.”
Kade squeezed him tighter, almost to the point that it hurt, but he refused to pull away. Kade’s arms were warm and steady, but Florian could feel his heart beating fast.
“Thank you,” Kade said, barely audible against him. “For being here with me.”
Florian squeezed him again, hiding the way his face crumpled with emotion. More than anything, he wanted to protect Kade—to keep him from being hurt, to take away the pain he was in.
But the path they were on was inherently dangerous. Just as he couldn’t promise Kade that he would always be safe, he knew he couldn’t protect Kade entirely. And especially not from something like this. There was nothing that could be done but to get through it.
So he kept squeezing Kade for a moment longer, then gingerly released him. Kade let him go and took a step away, a hard cast to his eyes once again; but he looked toward the closed door at the end of the hall with grim determination. Florian slipped his hand into Kade’s, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
“Okay,” Kade sighed. “Let’s go.”
Together they walked up to the door, and Kade knocked twice before opening it and stepping through with Florian.
Kade’s mother, Meriwa, was standing from a chair near the door as they entered, looking relieved to see Kade. She didn’t seem surprised—someone must have told her they were coming. Her eyes were sunken with lack of sleep, and her shoulders sagged as she hugged Kade for a long moment, both of them silent. Finally, she turned to Florian and gave him a quicker, smaller hug, but a hug all the same that he returned readily.
“I’m so glad you could both come so quickly,” she said, moving to sit back down and gesturing to the bed. “It’s... He probably only has a few more days.”
Kade moved to the side of the bed, giving Florian a better view as he fully entered the room. Kallik lay there, sleeping; his face was pale, and his breathing came in short, labored bursts. He looked decades older now than he had when Florian had seen him just a few months ago. The thought that the man had deteriorated so quickly—or had so easily hidden how sick he was from Florian—made him feel queasy.
One of Kallik’s arms was resting outside of the thick blanket that covered the rest of his torso, and Meriwa’s hand slipped into his as she settled back down in her seat.
“He’s not in pain,” she continued, looking at Kade. Florian couldn’t see his face from where he stood. “We’ve been giving him medicine, so he’s been in and out of consciousness—mostly out—but he’s not in any pain.”
Kade was silent for a long moment. “That’s good,” he finally said, his voice rough. His hand settled over his mother’s, much larger than hers, and squeezed both her hand and Kallik’s together.
“Kallik would appreciate you being here, King Florian,” Meriwa said, looking back at him. For all the tension that had permeated their interactions the last time Florian had been in the wolf kingdom, she now looked at him with a fond expression. Whatever reservations she had about him and Kade before were evidently gone now, or at least put to the side for the moment. “Jerah’s passing hit him very hard. He was so glad to have been able to meet you at least once. Knowing you came to see him now would mean a lot to him. And it means much to the rest of the clan, too.”
Florian smiled back uncertainly. “I’m... I’m glad to be here.”
And, really, it was the truth. He didn’t want Kade to have to face this alone. If this was where Kade was, then it was exactly where he wanted to be.
One of Kade’s cousins served them dinner in their home that night, but they slept back in Kade’s family home, the two of them in the same room that they’d stayed in before, and Koji in a guest room down the hall. In the morning, Kade’s siblings brought them to another family’s home for breakfast, after which Kade went alone to talk to his parents.
Much as he didn’t want to be apart, Florian agreed to stay behind this time. If that was what Kade wanted, he wouldn’t argue. So he and Koji wandered around the village, chatting with some of the wolf shifters who were curious enough to stop and approach them. They must have heard about Koji because many of them came and asked the prince what the dragon kingdom was like, and a few of the younger kids even asked to see what Koji looked like as a dragon.
“Maybe we can show you some other time,” Koji deflected with that amiable smile he always had. That was for the best, Florian thought—somehow the idea of a dragon prince from another kingdom floating around the village, while its own king was dying, seemed... tacky at best, and some kind of veiled threat at worst. Better to keep their heads down while they were here.
He did love to tell stories about the dragon kingdom, though, and luckily, the wolf shifters were all eager to listen. They wouldn’t get very far around the village before someone else was sidling up to them or joining their circle of conversation to hear about its towering palace, the tall narrow mountains, the cramped city built around it, and all the bustle within.
They didn’t see Kade again until dinner. Kade arrived partway through the meal and was silent as he ate, making Florian tense. Something was troubling him, and Florian wasn’t sure if it was the obvious or something else.
After dinner, Kade finally met his eye and said softly, “Florian, we should talk.”
