Chapter Eighteen
By the time they were done packing and ready to go two days later, Florian’s bravado had mostly worn off, and he was a frayed bundle of nerves all over again. They had prepared enough supplies to last two weeks out in the Blight. Part of him hoped it wouldn’t take that long, but another part balked at the idea that this would all be over and done with so soon.
A quiver that held each of the Golden Arrows was clipped to his backpack hanging near his hip. When he had packed them away the night before, he’d carefully examined each of them, confirming that only one—the very first they’d found—had the different inscription than the others. That one readI pierce the heart of sacrifice,while the rest had the sameI pierce the heart of summercarved into them. That had to mean something, but he wasn’t sure what. They would find out soon enough, he supposed.
He suspected the first Arrow had that inscription because Jerah had died when they retrieved it, which was certainly asacrifice, but no one else had died to get any of the other Arrows. This was only a guess, of course; and if he’d learned anything by now, it was that things never ended up the way he expected them to. It was just as likely it was completely unrelated, and the Arrow would have had that inscription no matter how they retrieved it.
Of all the things Florian had to ruminate on, though, that was pretty low on the list. He hadn’t slept well the night before they left; instead he remained awake with worry that he wouldn’t be able to teleport them there, what they would do if they had to walk all that way, or the myriad ways it could go wrong if some unknown rule of old magic prevented him from even attempting it. He kept trying to bring himself back to Elodie’s words, that she felt confident it would work, but even that failed to assuage him after several sleepless hours.
Kade could tell he was awake, and that kept him up too; but the wolf shifter only rubbed his back, soothing Florian until he settled back down. He knew there was nothing that either of them could say—it was just a waiting game, and they could only deal with everything as it happened.
They woke early, dressed, and sat at the dining table for breakfast. Florian forced himself to eat despite feeling so nervous that he thought he might be sick. A few bites were better than nothing, and he needed to stay hydrated. Kade ate as placidly as if it were any other morning, but Florian could sense a similar tension beneath his stoic veneer, knowing he was just as worried. Somehow the other man made everything seem so effortless despite sharing Florian’s worries.
Koji was the first to join them, looking a little more tired than usual and with an equally small appetite, though the dragon prince greeted them with the same gentle smile as always. Rune was last, a grumpy expression on her face as she sat down heavily beside Koji, not speaking to any of them. She almostseemed angry, but Florian knew she was just nervous, too. None of them really knew how any of this was going to work out, after all.
Tatiana made a brief appearance when they were done eating. She had fixed herself a plate from the kitchen and walked through the dining room without sitting, but stopped to say goodbye.
“Be safe,” she urged Florian. “If things seem bad, or you’re not sure what to do, come home. You can always go back. You don’t need to do it all at once, okay?”
He smiled, then stood to hug her. She seemed to hesitate, then hugged him back tightly.
“I will,” he said, his voice muffled against her shoulder. “I’ll be careful.” He could feel her breath hitch, as if she were trying not to cry. The hug was comforting, but knowing that she was so worried made him worried, too. When they stepped away from each other, though, there was no sign of tears on her face. She smiled, squeezing his arm, then looked at Kade.
“That goes for you, too, Kade,” she said. “For all of you. Be careful. There’s no shame in coming back here if you need to regroup.”
“I know,” Kade replied softly. “We’ll be careful. I’ll keep him safe.”
Her expression faltered just for a moment. “Thank you, Kade.”
Then she was gone, and it was only the four of them again in the dining hall. It felt strangely final. Florian pushed the thought from his head. He would be back. Everything would be fine.
Once they were done with breakfast, they gathered in the courtyard in front of the castle: packed, sun goggles on, shroud pendants around their necks. Florian couldn’t think of any excuse to delay their going any longer, so he looked at each of them in turn, then sighed, forcing a grimace.
“Well,” he said, holding his hands out. “I guess this is it.”
“You can do it,” Kade said softly, squeezing his hand. On his other side, Koji nodded, smiling encouragingly at him. Across from him, Rune nodded with enthusiasm, then added,
“Elodie said you could, so I’m sure it’ll work.” Florian smiled weakly.
“Yeah,” he said, trying to believe it. They all grasped hands, forming a small circle. Then Florian took in a long, shaking breath, closed his eyes, and focused on the memory of the garden and the swimming pond. The water was cool, the grass lush, the air humid and floral in his nostrils. He gathered all the magic that he could muster, then teleported.
They certainlymoved,but the lurching sensation went on far longer than normal and was far more forceful. Florian’s head tipped back, and he gritted his teeth. It felt like he was on a roller coaster, but with nothing behind him to brace him against the speed and force of movement. His eyes were still squeezed closed—he could feel Kade’s hand gripping his so hard it hurt, and Koji’s hand was in the other, smaller and clammy, almost slipping out of his fingers—
He was going to lose his grip on Koji’s hand, he realized in terror. He didn’t know what would happen if Koji lost contact with him. Desperately, he gripped the dragon shifter’s hand harder, trying to lace their fingers and lock them together. Koji’s hand moved against him, struggling to hold on. It still felt like they were falling, and he had no idea how much longer this might last.
He could barely breathe, too; but as soon as he realized it, their movement stopped suddenly, and his feet slammed painfully into the ground.
For only a split second, heat prickled against Florian’s skin—then the pendant activated, the shroud enveloping him in an instant, and the pain was gone before he could even open his eyes.
There was a distressed cry beside him, and his eyes snapped open, searching. He couldn’t take in the environment, his panicked gaze searching for Koji. The dragon shifter was still next to him, but had stumbled down to his feet, clutching his arm—the one Florian had been holding. His sleeve was stained red with blood.
“Oh, shit,” Florian panted, dropping to his knees beside the boy. “I’m sorry, Koji, I—I don’t know what happened. Let me see. Let me heal you.”
Koji’s breathing was fast and frightened, his hands shaking, as he nodded and gingerly moved his arm toward Florian. He pulled back the sleeve, making Koji yelp and flinch. Deep lacerations crawled up his arm almost to his elbow—centered near his palm and in between his fingers, as if the space had gotten between Florian’s grip on Koji’s hand and somehow ripped through his skin.
The gashes in his hand were so deep that Florian thought he could see bone. The sight made his stomach churn, and he had to look away.
“Heal,” he stammered, placing his hands along Koji’s arm. His healing magic surged through—Koji groaned, half in pain and half in relief. The wounds started to heal, but not as quickly as Florian expected. Something about them felt different as he tried to knit them together, not at all like the other cuts and bruises he had healed before.
