Chapter Nineteen
The Summer Court was entirely silent as they made their way through the remains of the garden and toward the courtyard. It was always relatively quiet in the Blight, but there was often the sound of wind blowing through the desolate landscape, or even Blight creatures making noise from a distance. Here, though, the air felt perfectly still, as if everything in the castle was frozen in time. If it hadn’t been for the dried-up pond and the lack of vegetation, Florian might have thought that maybe the castle was trapped in the exact moment the Blight was unleashed.
But soon they came across more evidence of decay: the metal handrails of the stone steps had warped and sagged with the heat of the Blight. They avoided touching the blistering-hot metal by walking single-file up the stairs. Some steps made ominous crumbling sounds under the weight of their feet, though, so they moved slowly and cautiously through the various courtyards and observation decks that the staircases ledthem through, traveling steadily upward toward the castle at the top of the hill.
It was a relief not to have to focus on holding the shroud over the four of them, but Florian still remained silent as they walked, alert and nervous. Everyone else seemed grim, too. Koji being injured had really set the tone for the day, which only made Florian feel worse. To his credit, Koji was keeping up with them and didn’t complain—the only sign of his injury was the way he held his arm close to his body as he walked.
Kade walked right behind him on the stairs and beside him when there was enough room. The wolf shifter could certainly sense his guilt; occasionally Kade would place a gentle hand on Florian’s shoulder or the small of his back as they climbed up more stairs. The gestures were comforting, but short-lived in the heat.
After making their way through three smaller courtyards, they reached the top of the staircases to the largest courtyard; the castle looming ahead of them. Now that they had ascended the hill, Florian could feel a bit of wind occasionally brush through his hair, but mostly the air was still and stagnant. The courtyard was wide, but empty—save for a few stone benches and what might have once been a fountain near the center. If he remembered correctly, this was not the main entrance of the castle, but the back gardens. The main entrance was on the other side of the building, but hopefully they could find some kind of entrance on this end.
“What is that?” Rune asked, pointing toward the castle as they trudged through the courtyard. Florian squinted, looking in the direction she pointed. It was hard to see in the intense light of the Blight, but there was a glimmer of something bright around the castle, just visible now that they drew near. But he couldn’t make out anything beyond a faint shimmer, so he shook his head.
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I see it, though. We’ll have to get closer. Just be careful.”
“It reminds me of the ward around the hag’s swamp,” Kade said, his voice low. “If it is, we might not be able to get in, but there would have to be a seal somewhere.”
Florian nodded, eyes still straining to make out any other details. Elodie’s protection from the Blight had been dense magical vines creating a huge, airtight canopy—not at all like the shimmering light that enclosed the castle—but Kade had spent much more time out in the swamp compared to Florian, so he trusted the comparison. The bubble-like shields that protected the Winter Court and the other remaining kingdoms had their own seals that held the protective magic together; and it had been a seal in front of Elodie’s home that had blocked them from going any further until they’d provided an offering. Maybe this would be the same.
The light surrounding the castle became more pronounced as they approached; sure enough, Florian could see that the door into the castle was blocked by a wall of light that stood several feet ahead of it. He gingerly reached out to touch it.
“Wait,” Kade protested, but it was too late. Florian’s fingertips burned where they touched the wall; but it felt solid, too, like he’d set his fingers against a glass dish right out of the oven. He pulled away with a hiss, shaking his hand and healing himself quickly before blisters could form.
“Definitely some sort of ward,” he said, turning away from it. Kade frowned at him, but the others were already peering around, as if they might find some secret entrance. “I think you’re right, Kade. Let’s see if we can find the seal for it, then.”
“Be more careful,” Kade chided, but a resigned smile played at his lips, despite the admonishment. Florian grinned. This felt like the most normal exchange they’d had all day.
They turned away from the protective wall and started heading toward the southern corridor. Florian planned to make a loop around the entire castle to find the seal, but he suspected they would find it in front of the main entrance, which faced east and was only halfway around the perimeter from where they were. His memory of the layout was foggy at best, but he had the impression that the castle was not especially large. The city that surrounded it along the hill and part of the valley below, on the other hand, was sprawling and had once bustled with activity. The Winter Court was built similarly; Florian wondered if the Winter Court had ever been as full of life and activity as the Summer Court had seemed in Thaddeus’ memories. It was impossible to imagine.
The balconies and walkways they walked across were all the same: marble and stone standing pristinely, but occasional patches of ash and dust where wood had burned away, any metal items warped and softened in the heat. There were flashes of things that Florian could almost recognize, bringing up images of a very different environment—bright blue cloudless skies pierced by the gleaming stone castle surrounded by flowers and greenery. Two pillars had once been an archway covered in blooming pale purple roses. A statue of a fae woman looking up at the sky with a smile had once been a fountain, water pouring from a vase that she held in her arms. The details he remembered from Thaddeus’ memory seemed random and unrelated, more disorienting than helpful.
As they turned the next corner around the castle, Florian could sense magic in the air, like static against his skin. It didn’t feel quite like the Arrow, but similar. It had to be the seal. They were getting close.
“We’re almost there,” Florian called, glancing behind him. “I think it’s nearby.”
“Do you feel that?” Rune asked, looking around with a frown. “It feels like static.”
Florian paused, surprised. So far, he had been the only one able to sense the magic of the Arrows in the air, but it seemed the magic of the Seal was so strong that even the others could sense it. He wasn’t sure if that meant anything.
“It’s magic, right?” Kade replied, glancing at Florian for confirmation. “I feel it. Is this usually what it feels like, Florian?”
He nodded slowly. “Well, sort of. Not exactly, but it is similar. I feel it, too. That’s why I think the seal is nearby. I’m... surprised you guys can feel it, too.”
“I’ve felt powerful magic like this occasionally. Not with the Arrows,” Kade said, brows furrowing in a pensive expression. “But near the seal in the wolf kingdom. If we’re feeling it from this far away, it must be much stronger.”
Koji, usually talkative, was quiet where he stood a bit behind Rune, nodding along with a tired expression on his face. Florian’s chest squeezed again with guilt; he would have to try healing the wounds on his arm later, when they were settled down for the night. And they should be looking for shelter, too, he chided himself.
It didn’t take much longer before they found it. The seal was directly in front of the main castle gates: a huge, ominously shining arcane circle hovered before the metal bars, warped and drooping from the heat. Florian stopped in his tracks when he saw it. The circle was far larger than the sigil that had protected Elodie’s lair. A burning yellow that seared his eyes, it felt like staring into the sun if he looked too long. He could make out the shapes of arcane runes along the edges, filled with magic he didn’t understand; but at six even points around the seal were even sharper pinpricks of light, small diamond shapes just large enough for an arrowhead to pass through.
Something in him knew, then and there, what the Arrows were for.
The other three remained silent alongside him, maybe in awe of the seal, or with the same creeping dread that was building in the pit of Florian’s stomach. They stood there for a long moment, no one saying anything, until finally Florian cleared his throat and offered,
“That’s, uh, that’s definitely it.”
Behind him, Rune snorted. Kade stayed silent, but when Florian glanced back at him, there was tension in his eyes—before he could ask, though, Koji interjected, “Why only six? Aren’t there seven Arrows?”
Florian sighed. “I was thinking the same thing. Look.”
