“Maybe,” Florian agreed.
The music picked up again, and the moment Florian and Kade stepped apart, Rune appeared beside them and grabbed Florian’s wrist.
“I’m stealing you away,” she chirped, grinning at Kade. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring him back.”
“Fine by me,” Kade said, immediately going to sit back down. Florian and Rune laughed, and Rune tugged his arm to follow her. They started to dance, but he could tell Rune wanted to say something to him. After a moment, she leaned in closer, her voice raised to be heard over the music.
“Thank you for coming to this,” she said. “And being nicer about it than Torsten deserves. He can be a real asshole sometimes, but you’ve been very nice to him, all things considered.”
“Well, yeah,” Florian laughed, shrugging. “I didn’t want to get him any angrier at me than he already was.”
“You know what I mean,” Rune protested, her gaze softening. After a moment, Florian nodded.
“I understand,” he agreed. “You’re welcome. I did it for you more than anything else. But I’m glad he’s had a change of heart. It makes me hope that maybe Koji’s dad might be the same someday.”
Rune pulled a face at that, rolling her eyes. “Doubt it. I’ve never met him, but even I’ve heard stories about how closed off Tetsuo is to anyone who isn’t a dragon shifter. I’ll count it as a best-case scenario if we never hear from him again after all this.”
“Are you talking about me?” Koji interjected, making Florian jump as he appeared beside them. “Didn’t mean to intrude, but...”
“We’re talking about how all the kings are assholes,” Rune replied, then smirked at Florian. “Present company excluded, of course.”
“Kade’s great,” he protested, and they burst into laughter again. When Florian glanced back over at their table, he could see Kade watching him, a small smile on his face. He waved, and the other man waved back, affection obvious on his face.
Everything was perfect.
“King Florian.”
Florian jumped. He’d stopped dancing at least half an hour ago and was now sitting at the long table—sipping on water and mead in turn, and feeling flushed and sweaty. But the music was still going, and he hadn’t even noticed Torsten coming up behind him. Next to him, Kade was instantly alert, looking up at Torsten with a guarded expression.
“K-King Torsten,” Florian stammered, struggling to gather his wits—maybe he’d drank a little too much mead. “Um, thank you again for doing all this. It’s been awesome.”
Torsten smirked. “Come walk with me for a moment.”
Florian glanced at Kade, but the other man’s face was carefully blank. Torsten sighed, folding his arms across his chest.
“This again?” he muttered. “Kraken-god, it’s a feast. What could I possibly do to either of you?”
“It’s fine,” Florian blurted out, quickly standing. “It’s fine, Kade. I’ll be right back.”
Kade only nodded, and Florian could feel the wolf shifter’s eyes lingering on him as they started to walk away. He didn’t really think Kade needed to be so vigilant now, but it was a small comfort to know the other man was always looking out for him.
“Thank you for coming,” Torsten said as he and Florian walked, following a sandy path away from the beach and the village that ran up the hill near the secluded beach where he and Rune had spent so much time training. A few people were gathered here and there along the pathway—groups that had stepped away from the festivities to talk or refresh themselves in the cool night air—and while a few looked curiously at them as they passed, everyone gave them a respectful distance. “I know I maybe... gave you reason to feel unwelcome. So I appreciate you being here anyway.”
“No problem,” Florian replied, still feeling a bit drunk and wondering where this was going. After a few more steps, Torsten sighed and spoke again.
“To be honest,” he grated out, sounding as if every word pained him. “When you first showed up, I thought you were just on a suicide mission that you’d drag Rune into. Like her parents.”
The night air felt suddenly colder than ever on Florian’s skin.
“Yeah, she... she told me about that,” he croaked, looking down at his feet. Torsten was silent for a long moment.
“I hated Jerah for getting them involved,” Torsten finally said abruptly. “If he hadn’t come through here looking for the Arrows, my sister and her husband would still be alive. Rune would still have her parents. The more time that’s passed, the more I understand they did it out of the hope of creating a better world for their daughter, but I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to stop holding it against him for getting them involved in the first place.”
He took in a sharp, shuddering breath. As much as Florian wanted to protest, he knew it would be pointless, so he remained silent and tense, waiting.
“But you’re not your father,” Torsten finally concluded, taking Florian by surprise. “I shouldn’t have treated you like you were. And when you came here, I didn’t realize you already had so many of the Arrows. I didn’t even think you would have one, much less four. And you got the other two. I thought it would have been impossible, but...”
He trailed off again, and Florian raised his eyes to risk a glance over at the other man. He was still turned slightly away from Florian, his gaze on the path ahead—in the dim evening moonlight, he didn’t look frightening or regal the way Florian had always seen him, but like a tired old man.
