“I didn't do anything,” Florian said, shrugging.
“You did exactly what I told you to do,” Jerah answered, gesturing toward him with a wry grin. “And you did a good job of it.” Florian chuckled, shaking his head.
“Well, thanks,” he said, and looked toward the tree once more. “Do you think the tree is petrified or something?”
“Maybe,” his father answered, following his gaze. “It probably had some kind of magical property or protection on it when the Blight hit that kept it from fully burning up.” He seemed to notice Florian's curious look, and added, “Maybe we can check it out on the way back. For now, we should keep going.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Florian agreed, becoming acutely aware of the uncomfortable heat. “Let's go.”
They moved on, Kade taking the lead once more. The tree was the last thing of interest that day, and by the time the exhaustion of keeping the quickening spell up hit Florian, Jerah’s steps had slowed, and weariness was clear on his face, too.
“Let's look for a place to camp,” he said, and Kade nodded without turning to look back at them. Jerah glanced back at Florian and managed a slight, encouraging smile.
“Told you not to push yourself too hard,” he said, his tone only partly chiding. “You can drop the spell if you want.”
“I can keep it up if we're stopping soon,” Florian said, the words renewing his determination. If Jerah could hold the shroud over them all day, then surely he could do this. Jerah's expression softened.
“You're doing very well,” he said, reaching over to gently pat his shoulder. “I'm proud of you.”
Florian flushed, nodding but unsure of what to say. He just wanted to prove that he could do it—whether to himself or to Jerah he was unsure—but still the words of affirmation filled him with warmth. It was different, knowing it was his father telling him that he was proud. It seemed silly, but it didn't have the same feeling as if August had spoken those words to him. Most of his life he had told himself that he didn't need a father, but having one was strangely... comforting, in a way, even with all his mixed feelings.
He couldn't focus enough to think very hard on that, though. When Jerah turned away, and they resumed walking, all he could think of was feeding the tenuous cord of magic connecting him to Jerah and Kade, increasing their stride so they could move quickly. It wasn't quite painful now, but it made him feel tired and sore at his temples and behind his eyes.
This time they couldn't seem to find anything quite as suitable as the rocky outcropping that they'd camped against the night before. It took longer to set up the shelter, and it was even smaller without the rock to act as one of the walls. When Jerah dropped the shroud, it took longer to cool down, too, as if the Blight were pressing down harder on them without the thick rock wall to block its rays.
“I'm exhausted,” Jerah groaned after they had eaten, collapsing in a heap onto his bedroll. “Goodnight, boys.”
“Goodnight,” Florian murmured. Kade was silent, watching from where he sat barely five feet from Florian. After a few minutes, when it looked like Jerah was truly asleep, he scooted a little closer until they sat right next to each other.
“Hey,” he said softly, leaning against Kade's shoulder. The taller man glanced down at him from the corner of his eye, before responding just as quietly,
“Hey.”
Florian let his hand slide down Kade's forearm, reaching for his hand—then Kade pulled away suddenly, shifting his weight, so he was turned away from Florian.
“Stop,” he muttered, looking away.
Florian froze, his hand still hovering in the air for a moment where Kade's forearm had been. For an instant it felt like his heart had stopped, then it was pounding in his chest. Had he done something wrong? His mind raced, thinking of what he could have done that might have made Kade upset with him, but they had barely interacted at all in the past two days.
Kade finally looked over at him, his brows furrowing at the stunned expression that must have been obvious on Florian's face.
“I told you we shouldn't do this,” he said quietly, and Florian shook his head, still just as confused.
“Do what?” he asked. “I don't—I don't understand.”
“I have to focus,” Kade muttered, looking away again. There was a flush rising in his face, as if he were embarrassed to be having the conversation at all. “I can't... let you distract me.”
“From what?” Florian exclaimed, only to wince and glance nervously over to where Jerah lay not even ten feet away; but he seemed to still be asleep. In a more hushed tone, he repeated, “From what? We're about to go to sleep anyway. I'm not distracting you from anything.”
“We already talked about this,” Kade stammered, though he looked well and truly embarrassed now, frowning down at his feet. “I thought you... I thought you understood.”
Florian blinked, motionless as he processed the words. As far as he was concerned, they had discussed nothing of the sort. When they had talked about being out in the Blight, he had figured Kade meant keeping their distance—since Jerah would be around constantly, an awkward third wheel—whateverthiswas, he hadn't agreed to it.
“I didn't know you meant I couldn't even hold your stupid hand,” he scowled, and stood up. “Whatever. Goodnight.”
Kade's expression became pained at that, and he turned toward Florian as he started to walk away, but didn't try to stop him. He could feel Kade's eyes lingering on him, as he took the few steps over to his own sleeping bag and laid down, turning so he was facing away from Kade. After a long moment he heard Kade shift, as if he were laying down too. Then there was silence.
All the hurt from his last breakup swelled anew in his chest. Was he really being broken up with again, already? Had it really been so unbearable to be with him, even for the few short weeks that he and Kade had... been in whatever weird limbo their relationship was? Some small part of him protested that this was nothing like that, but it was drowned out by how utterly rejected he felt. If he had known that this was what Kade meant when he said they couldn't keep “doing this” out in the Blight, he might have protested a little more.
