Chapter Twenty-Seven
Kade
“Florian, no!”
A burst of heat and light sent Kade stumbling back, bringing Rune down with him. For a moment, he was completely disoriented, until finally he managed to scramble back up to his feet, blinking hard. Slowly, his eyes adjusted from the sudden light to the now dim room. In the center of the ballroom, Soleil had disappeared, while Florian remained with his back turned to them.
“Florian,” Kade choked out, for a moment frozen with shock. What had just happened? The Summer Queen had been there, holding Florian as he held the Arrow over his own chest—
Florian’s knees gave out, and he collapsed to the floor, sending panic racing through Kade’s veins all over again. Rune had reached for him again, grabbing his wrist, but this time he broke her hold easily.
“Please,” he gasped, as he sank to his knees beside Florian, clutching the smaller man’s shoulders and turning him over. “Please, Florian, please...”
The Arrow was still stuck fast in his chest. He was warm to the touch, but completely limp, as Kade pulled him into his lap. His amber eyes were open, but unfocused, unseeing—
This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be dead.
“No, no, no,” Kade panted, shaking Florian’s shoulders. “Florian, come on. You have to wake up, you have to—”
His voice broke as he pulled Florian closer to him, curling his body protectively around the smaller man. Tears were rolling down his cheeks, but he hadn’t even realized he started to cry.
“What the fuck?” Rune’s trembling voice came from behind him. “What the fuck is happening? He isn’t—He can’t be—”
“Let me see him,” Koji’s voice came, sounding closer than Rune’s. “Kade, let us see him.”
The dragon shifter knelt beside Kade, Rune standing uncertainly just behind him. Part of Kade wanted to scream, to shove them away, to protect Florian from anyone and anything except him. But Koji and Rune were their friends. They wouldn’t hurt him. This wasn’t their fault. Still unable to stop the heaving sobs coming from his chest, Kade loosened his hold on Florian and rested him on his lap so the others could see him more clearly.
For a long moment, no one spoke. It would have been silent, if not for Kade’s stifled cries. Finally, Koji gingerly reached forward and placed a hand on Florian’s arm. It was his wounded hand that was still marked with a reddish-pink scar—the one Florian had still been healing not more than a day ago.
“I don’t think he’s breathing,” Koji said softly, and Kade choked on his tears again, shaking his head. “He’s warm, but…”
“He’s gone,” Kade forced out, squeezing his eyes shut. “He’s gone.”
“Why the hell did he do that?” Rune exclaimed, her panicked footsteps echoing through the empty ballroom. “What was he thinking?”
“I don’t know,” Koji replied quietly. His voice sounded calm and controlled, but Kade could see his fingers trembling where they rested on Florian’s arm. “But I think it worked. She’s gone, too.”
“Butwhy?!” Rune burst out. “This isn’t what we decided on! So why would he do this?!”
“Why would you do this?” Kade echoed, his voice barely above a whisper.
“He must have known,” Koji said, shaking his head. “This was the Arrow that talked about sacrifice. He must have known that this was what it meant.”
“No way,” Rune said. “He wouldn’t have lied to us this whole time. She must have made him do it. The Summer Queen, she—” Rune’s voice broke, and her words died away with an angry snarl as she paced.
Koji let out a shaky breath and reached for the Arrow sticking out of Florian’s chest. Kade pulled his body away, possessive instincts flaring.
“Don’t touch him,” he snapped, and Koji held up both hands in a placating gesture.
“I just want to look at the Arrow,” he replied. But he kept his hands braced at his sides as he leaned closer to look. His lips moved as he silently mouthed the inscription—I pierce the heart of sacrifice—then leaned back again with a sigh, scrubbing a hand through his black hair.
Had Florian really known all along that this was what he needed to do? Part of Kade was sure Florian would never keep such a thing from him; but he also knew how vehemently he would have protested if Florian had even suggested thatthiswas the way to end the Blight. Or was it really the doing of theSummer Queen, forcing Florian’s hand to free herself from her prison?
Rage and grief swelled in his chest, bursting out of him in another stifled sob as he pulled Florian’s limp body closer to him again. He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe—what was he supposed to do now? For all the danger of their mission and his fear for Florian’s safety, he had never made a plan for what they would do if Florian died, leaving them behind. He didn’t think it could happen. He would have given his life gladly a thousand times over before letting Florian die.
“I can’t do this,” Rune cried, her stomping footsteps echoing further away, out of the ballroom. “I can’t—I can’t deal with this.” Her steps faded away back out into the grand entrance hall, but her angry sobs still echoed through the wide, empty space.
Kade couldn’t focus enough to do anything but keep cradling Florian’s body against him. He looked like he was just sleeping—like he might wake up at any moment—his body still warm in Kade’s arms. Tears dripped in a steady stream from Kade’s face and down onto Florian’s shirt. Koji remained kneeling beside him for a long moment, hands clenched into tight fists on his knees. Finally, the dragon shifter sniffed and rubbed his face, then stood shakily.
