Florian hadn’t even had the chance to look around. He turned his head in the direction Koji was pointing—an island similar to Mosken rose up out of the water far in the distance, but it was the only landmass in sight. He rotated in a slow circle—equally far behind them, he could just make out the light of the Blight on the horizon. Other than that and the island, there was nothing but the dark water of the cold sea below.
Must be it,he agreed, pointing toward the Blight in the opposite direction. He didn’t see anywhere else that could possibly be inhabited.Let’s go.
Chapter Nineteen
Flyingwasamuchfaster affair than swimming, so they were soon approaching the shores of the rugged island jutting out of the cold sea. This close, Florian could make out the shape of a path winding from the rocky beach up along the summit, a few buildings along the path, and even smoke rising lazily in the air on the other side of the peaks.
We should land,Florian thought as they approached the shore, and Koji nodded. They began to descend, but they hadn’t gone far when a voice rang out in the cold air.
“Stop!” a woman’s voice shouted—somehow, it was coming from behind them. Bewildered, Florian turned around to see a woman standing on the water, dark stone rising under her feet—the same way they could walk on the sea near the Winter Court to access the curtain. Water dripped off her clothes, as if she had just risen from below the surface; movement swelled around her as four massive tentacles rose up from the dark waves in a semicircle behind her.
It was an obvious threat, but the tentacles remained unmoving, just poised in their direction. The sea was dark—Florian wondered how many krakens might be lurking in the water beneath. The woman looked steadily between the two of them, considering.
“Come down,” she called. “And tell me who you are.”
Don’t resist,Florian thought at Koji, who nodded. Carefully, he descended until he was just hovering over the water, then released his hold on his dragon form. He shrank down quickly; but as he fell, dark stone rose up from the water and he landed heavily on his feet. Koji landed much more gracefully near him.
“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Florian said, holding his hands up. He could see the woman looking over both him and Koji in turn, her eyes calculating. “I’m King Florian of the Winter Court. I’ve come to talk to King Torsten.”
The woman seemed unphased. “I was wondering why the hell you didn’t look anything like a dragon shifter. Are you that Changeling prince they’ve been talking about? Or king now, I guess.”
Florian gritted his teeth, wondering what other sorts of rumors about him had spread. “That’s me.”
“Who’s your friend?”
“I’m Ryuuga Koji, second prince of the dragon kingdom,” Koji replied evenly. “I’m here helping King Florian.”
“Kraken-god, are we hosting a damn royal ball here or what?” the woman exclaimed. Florian snorted, stifling a laugh. “How did you make it through the curtain?”
“Carl helped us,” Florian said. The woman sighed, folding her arms across her chest at that.
“I guess if Carl helped you out, you can’t be that much trouble,” she said, stepping toward them. Then she called out in a louder voice, “We’re good. You can get back to your posts.”
The tentacles in the water sank down, and a few slight ripples were the only sign that the creatures beneath the water were swimming away from them, making Florian’s stomach squeeze with nerves.
“Sorry to show up unannounced like this,” Florian offered, remaining motionless as the woman stepped toward him. As she got closer, he could make out her features more distinctly: she had ruddy skin with her nose and lips chapped from the cold; and long, dirty blonde hair tied back in a messy braid that still dripped water behind her. But the chill didn’t seem to bother her as she walked across the water, even though her heavy clothes looked soaked.
“Don’t apologize,” she said, shaking her head. “Torsten’s the one who’s made it hard to contact anyone here. Not like you could have given us a call. What did you want to talk to him about?”
Florian hesitated, glancing between her and Koji. She walked past them, gesturing for him to follow, then stopped and turned to face them once again.
“Sorry, I should introduce myself,” she said. But she paused before continuing, worrying her lower lip between her teeth as she looked at each of them in turn, as if deciding on what to say. Finally, she offered simply, “I’m Rune.”
“Glad to meet you, Rune,” Koji said smoothly, and Florian nodded.
“Thanks for not attacking us,” he said, and for the first time, she grinned. This close, he could see her eyes were very dark, almost black, but they gleamed an otherworldly sort of indigo purple when she looked at him.
“You’re welcome,” she laughed, turning around once again. “Come on. I bet you’re both freezing. I’ve got a fire you can warm up at, and I’ll see about getting you an audience with Torsten.”
“Thank you,” Florian said, relieved. “Here, Koji. I can at least dry us off.” He took a step away, then touched his hands to his damp clothes. “Dry,” he said, and all the water shunted off of him all at once, splattering at his feet. Koji laughed, then stepped closer to Florian. He placed a hand on Koji’s shoulder and repeated the process, though some water splashed back onto him when it burst away from Koji. When he turned back to Rune, she was looking at him with obvious curiosity.
“Neat trick,” she said, then gestured for them to follow.
They followed Rune as she led them up the shore, sand crunching underneath their feet, and onto the path that led around the rocky summit. Koji often slowed as he looked around in wonder, falling a few steps behind, before catching himself and hurrying to rejoin them. Rune didn’t seem to notice, walking ahead of them and only occasionally turning her head to speak some remark over her shoulder.
“I’m surprised you don’t have the wolf prince with you,” she said, as they were passing over a simple wooden bridge that crossed a narrow, rocky stream. “Last we heard from Kallik, it sounded like relations between the Winter Court and the wolf kingdom were better than ever.”
Florian flushed, looking down at his feet. “He stayed behind in the wolf kingdom. Kallik’s... not doing well.”
