Chapter Twenty-Three
The area surrounding the Summer Court was just as desolate as the city itself. The hot air was still and stagnant as they left the craggy hillside and made a wide perimeter around the city; other than the occasional golden beetle flitting around, there were no signs of any kind of life. Their visibility was limited, and the world was all but silent, as if they and the beetles were the only creatures in the Veil.
Neither Kade nor Koji had seen any sign of the centaur as they stood watch; and although the group occasionally spotted hoofprints in the dry ground, they didn’t see any other sign of the creature as they explored the area. The prints didn’t look fresh, so Florian guessed he had gone further out into the Blight.
After several hours, they headed back up the hill into the Summer Court. Luckily, whatever barrier kept the beetles out didn’t affect them, and they could re-enter the city without issue. When they were huddled back in the dim room where theBlight couldn’t reach them, they sat and ate silently, everyone obviously pensive and unsettled.
“So what the hell are we going to do?” Florian finally blurted out, breaking the silence. He knew everyone was expecting him to come up with a solution, but he was just as lost as they were. “We need that Arrow, but...”
From the pained expression that crossed Koji’s face, and the uncomfortable way Rune and Kade glanced away, everyone knew what they needed to do to get the Arrow and found it just as distasteful.
“Killing him should be a last resort,” Koji finally said, though he kept his gaze down as he spoke. “I mean... I don’t know what other option we have, but if there is anything else we can try first, we should try that.”
“The Arrow is through his fucking eyeball,” Rune protested. “It sucks, but I don’t see how we can move forward without taking it out and probably killing him. It’s probably the only reason that he’s still alive.”
Florian’s stomach churned. For what felt like the millionth time that day, he was brought right back to that moment where he’d stabbed the Blighted panther shifter with the Arrow, seeing her transform and knowing that taking the Arrow would sentence them all to death. But those, at least, hadn’t spoken to him—had shown no signs of being as sentient and aware as the centaur was. They had killed plenty of monsters and creatures like the Blighted panthers and the lion-dogs, but they hadn’t killed a conscious, sentient being.
He still didn’t know the centaur’s name. Maybe it would be better not to know.
“We still don’t know enough,” Kade said quietly, sounding just as even as ever. “We need to keep trying to talk to him, to see if there’s any way we can avoid... coming to that. We just need more information.”
“Guys, we can’t be out here forever,” Rune said. “Look, I’m really not trying to argue with you. But this place is the fucking worst. We can’t just stay here indefinitely, trying to reason with this thing.”
“We have to at least try,” Florian said.
“I’m not saying that we shouldn’t,” Rune said, shaking her head. “Yeah, we should try. But how long can we try? Realistically? When do we reach the point of saying fuck it, we just gotta pull the Arrow out? We need to be on the same page about that, if nothing else.”
She waited, but no one responded for a long moment. How long was reasonable to be out here in the Blight? They had a safe room, and the pendants meant Florian wasn’t straining himself every day just to keep them alive. Miserable as it was, they had toughed it out through worse before.
“A week?” Florian offered. Rune’s face twisted, and even Koji’s shoulders seemed to sag. “I don’t know, guys. I don’t know what’s realistic here. What were you thinking?”
“Three days,” Rune countered. It felt so soon, making Florian’s stomach churn with nerves again. “Another day to get more out of him, a day to convince him. And if on the third day he still isn’t responding, then we gotta do what we gotta do.” Her expression darkened. “It sucks, but if it takes one life to save the rest of the world, then so be it.”
“Is it? Is that how it has to be?” Koji protested, sounding uncharacteristically flustered. Normally it seemed like nothing phased him, but now he was clearly trying to keep his cool and failing. “You’re only saying that because he’s not one ofus. But he’s a survivor frombefore the Blight. He saw what happened. He’s survived this long, and we think we’re the ones to make the call on whether he gets to live or die?”
“Stop,” Kade interrupted, holding a hand out to each of them. “We’re arguing in circles. We still don’t know enough. And Florian gets the final say.”
He looked at Florian expectantly. Rune’s eyes flashed with anger, while Koji shot him a pleading look. His heart was pounding, but he couldn’t seem to formulate a sentence.
“I...” he started, then cleared his throat. “Yeah. We need more information. We’ll try again to convince him tomorrow. But... I guess three days would be reasonable. Wedohave to do this somehow.”
He glanced away at the betrayed expression crossing Koji’s face. But as much as he sympathized and agreed with Koji’s worry, Rune was pragmatic; he was loath to admit it, but she was right. If it came down to it, it was one life compared to thousands. It felt like an impossible choice, but wouldn’t anyone else make the same decision?
“Then that’s what we’re doing,” Kade said firmly. His expression softened as Florian glanced up at him. “I... think that’s probably the best way to go about it, too. I don’t like it either, but we don’t have much choice. We can save a lot more people with the last Arrow, so...”
Florian nodded. He still had a few pieces of bread and cheese on his plate, but his appetite was already gone.
“Then we’ll head back out tomorrow,” he said, picking at the remainder of his food. “And hopefully this time, we can get him to talk.”
The beetles were swarming along the perimeter of the city again, leading them right back to the cave once Florian repelled them away with his magic. This time, though, he could see the goldenglow of the Arrow just within, giving shape to the outline of the huge creature that watched them with suspicion as they approached.
Florian paused, and the others came to a stop beside him, all looking toward the hillside. He hadn’t expected the centaur to be there waiting for them, unsure if this was a good or bad sign.
“Maybe I should go alone,” he murmured.
“No,” Kade answered quickly. Florian wasn’t surprised. “We stick together.”
“I just don’t want him to get mad again,” he whispered. “Maybe he’ll feel less threatened if it’s just one of us.”
