“I met with Koji and Bowen,” Kade replied. It looked like he was walking, the background blurry with movement behind him. “They just came back to the wolf kingdom last week after being out exploring for a month or so. They said your teleportation stone came in very helpful, since they didn’t have to worry about return trips, but Koji asked me to ask you if it might be possible to set them up to be two-way, so they can teleport back to where they were after they resupply.”
“I’m not sure. I’ll see what Elodie thinks, though,” Florian replied, then grinned. “So how are they doing? Koji and Bowen?”
Kade grimaced. “They’re fine. Nothing new,” he said simply, which made Florian laugh. He was absolutely certain Koji had a crush on Bowen, and seeing them together made him think it was reciprocated; but so far, it seemed neither had acted on it. But they had been out exploring together several times now, and Florian was sure one of them was going to cave eventually. It was only a matter of time. Kade seemed to have slightly more mixed feelings about Koji and his brother, but Florian found it all very sweet and entertaining.
“And how’s Tatiana?” Florian asked, moving on, and Kade’s smile softened.
“She’s doing well,” he replied. “She says she misses you, and she’ll try to come visit soon. But all the rebuilding and expanding is keeping her busy.”
“I can imagine,” Florian replied, warmth blooming in his chest. He hadn’t seen his aunt in a while, so a visit from her would be very welcome. “Try and take some pictures while you’re there. I wish I could see how it was going.”
“I took some, don’t worry,” Kade replied. He was meticulous in taking pictures everywhere he went, knowing how badly Florian wished he could see the outside world now that the Blight was gone. “Most of what they’re expanding is farmland, to be honest, so it kind of all looks the same. Everyone can get basically as much land as they want, so they’ve been sending people over to get seed and plant starters from Earth.”
“Wow,” Florian replied, wondering what sorts of new things they might be cultivating in the Winter Court. It hadn’t been his home for long, but he still felt a pang of something like homesickness when he thought of how different it must be now.
For a moment, he and Kade were both quiet, aside from the faint sound of Kade’s footsteps as he walked through the gardens. Finally, Florian asked, “When do you think you’ll be here?”
Kade flashed him a small smile. “Soon. Probably an hour.”
Florian grinned, his spirits lifted instantly. “Okay, I guess I’ll let you go then. I should tidy up so you don’t think I’m losing it too much when you’re gone.”
Kade chuckled. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
“I’ll see you soon,” Florian said, his hand hovering just above the screen of the mirror. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” Kade replied, his smile widening. “I’ll be there soon. See you in a bit.”
His image flickered, then vanished, and it was only Florian’s reflection looking back at him. He stared at himself for a moment, then set the mirror down and got to work tidying up the study and his room. It was quick work—while his room got messy when it was just him, it was easy to sort things and put them back into their place with his magic. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cleaned something by hand; Elodie had taught him a lot of what were essentially fine motor skills but with magic, especially when they were working on the reconstruction and renovations together. It made all his uses of magic before he’d come to the Summer Court feel clumsy in comparison.
Sometimes he wondered if he was becoming like her—a witch, a hag. When he’d asked her about it, though, she’d dismissed the notion. There was apparently some ritual he would have to undertake to truly become whatever she was; but in his darker, lonelier moments, he thought the difference between them was semantics at best.
Not today, though—Kade was coming. He hummed cheerfully as he moved his hands like a conductor, guiding all the clutter back into its place until his room was pristine: the bed made, the shelves dusted, and the tile floor spotless.
Since Kade would be here in time for lunch, he made his way to the kitchens to put something together. Usually, the invisible servants would prepare food and drinks, but he liked cooking when he was in the mood for it. Plus, there were some things too complicated for the simple, magically powered servants to create. He had one of the servants squeeze some fresh lemonade as he threw together a salad with produce that had been harvested from the gardens that morning.
Just as he was chopping up the last tomato, he felt a surge of magic from within the castle—Kade was early. He grinned, sending the diced tomatoes into the larger salad bowl and the dirty knife into the washbasin with the same quick swish of hishand, then hurrying out of the kitchen with instructions for the invisible servants to bring the dishes to the courtyard so they could eat lunch outside.
The teleportation stone was attuned to the entry hall, where they had stood years ago and watched the sun set over the Summer Court for the first time. Florian headed there now, winding through the corridors that he’d helped reconstruct. When he pushed through the last door into the hall, he grinned at seeing Kade waiting for him, then froze. Two figures were standing behind Kade, turning to face him. One was his uncle August, dressed as if he’d come right from the beach, and the other was a smaller figure just a bit behind him, hands covering her mouth in shock—
“Nadia?” Florian whispered, not daring to believe it. Her eyes were huge and glassy; for a long moment, they could only stare at each other in disbelief. It was only when he forced himself to blink away the tears brimming in his eyes that Florian managed to speak again. “Oh my god, oh mygod,Nadia? It worked?”
“It worked,” Kade said softly, his voice full of warmth, but Florian barely registered it as Nadia leapt toward him. She threw her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug, and a noise escaped him that he wasn’t sure was a laugh or a cry.
“Florian!” she sobbed. “Oh, Flor, I can’t believe it’s really you.”
He hugged her back, squeezing his eyes closed. He had hoped the ring would work, but he hadn’t let himself truly believe it—yet here she was, a human in the Veil.
“What, no waterworks for your boring old uncle?” August teased as he stepped closer. But he was grinning just as widely as he wrapped Florian up in his arms, embracing them both tightly. “We really missed you, kiddo.”
“I missed you too,” Florian cried, his voice breaking. “I missed you both so much. I can’t believe you’re really here.”
“Kade planned everything,” August murmured, and he felt Nadia nodding in agreement against his shoulder. Florian peered past them to see Kade still watching from the middle of the entryway, still smiling. He looked almost as happy as Florian felt.
“Thank you,” Florian choked out, and Kade’s eyes only softened further.
“Anything for you,” he said softly.
When they eventually broke apart, Florian grabbed Nadia’s hand to look at the ring he had crafted. It was exactly how he remembered—how Thaddeus remembered—a simple gold band, but it overflowed with magic when Florian touched it lightly with one finger, making visible for an instant the magic that enveloped and cloaked its wearer. In some ways, it felt like setting the shroud against the Blight, only this time, instead of containing the person within, it projected fae magic outward.
