“Shut up!” he snapped, whirling around. The magic that surged through him shot toward Kade at the words, slamming his mouth closed. He stood abruptly, eyes wide in equal parts shock and rage, but Florian was already untying the opening.
“Darkness hides me. Darkness protects me,” he whispered, his hands shaking. He felt the shroud settle over his shoulders; and before Kade could grab him, he darted through the opening out into the Blight, quickly pulling it closed behind him.
Florian could hear muffled, wordless shouting from within the tent, but the flap didn't open again. He took a few cautious steps back—still watching it—then turned and stumbled away. He could barely see without the goggles, so he kept one hand on the rock that they had built the shelter against, following it for several steps until it curved around to another direction. Pressed against the corner, he sank down and sat down in the dirt, pressing his head between his knees and taking heaving gulps of the hot, dry air.
What the hell was he doing? Why had he said that? He was so angry—even now it simmered in his chest, bringing frustrated tears to his eyes that were already starting to evaporate in the heat. Telling Kade they should break up, then being mad he agreed? It felt like all the petty, immature shit that Cameron had pulled when they were dating, and he hated himself for it. And was it even a break up? Were they even dating?
“Stupid,” he growled under his breath, shaking his head. “Stupid, stupid...!”
Silencing him with his magic wasn't going to help his case, either. Whatever they had been doing, Florian was sure he had well and truly fucked it up now. He had been trying to apologize to Kade in the first place—how had he messed it up this badly?
Every shitty thing Cameron said to him when they broke up rattled around in his head. Trying to get close to Kade had been a mistake. He shouldn't have even tried.
That hurt too much to think about. It was easier to be angry, he thought bitterly as he pressed his eyes into his hands, willing the tears to stop. He would be better off on his own, anyway. He didn't need Kade's help.
It took a long time before he could finally push all his hurt and anger down to the pit of his stomach where he could ignore it. Florian took in a steadying breath and stumbled to his feet, hoping that he was ready to face Kade without feeling the need to run away again. The shroud had held, but his eyes were aching in the bright light. He shut his eyes, feeling along the rock wall to get his bearings, and carefully made his way back toward the tent—only opening them again when he felt the smooth rock become thick fabric.
The tent flap was pulled closed but not tied, so he slipped inside easily.
“Florian!”
He had started to turn and tie the flap closed behind him, but his father's voice full of cold fury made him stop dead. Blinking hard in the dim light, he could just make out Jerah getting to his feet.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Jerah exclaimed, reaching past him to tie the flap shut before Florian could react. “You could have gotten hurt out there, Florian—you could have died.”
A surge of anger coursed through him at that, and he scowled.
“I can take care of myself,” he muttered and started to step away, but Jerah grabbed him by the wrist to stop him.
“This is unacceptable,” he growled. “And silencing Kade? Why would you do such a thing?” He gestured toward the opposite corner of the tent, and Florian felt the familiar, cold shock grip him again. Kade sat against the far wall, clearly awake, watching silently with an expressionless face, but his eyes glowering in the faint darkness. Now that he was looking, the anger on him was almost palpable, despite his neutral expression.
“I don't... I don't know,” Florian lied, his face twisting with guilt, and he looked away.
“Why did you leave?” Jerah demanded, and Florian could feel the magic take hold of him at the words. The realization that he was trying to force Florian to speak only made another spike of anger stick in his throat; but Jerah's magic was strong, and his frustration couldn’t shield him.
“I was—I was scared,” he blurted. It wasn't exactly a lie, but the confession still burned as he said it. For a moment Jerah was silent, then his shoulders sagged with a long sigh, all the fight leaving him; and for a moment, that same deep weariness was visible on his face again. He still looked conflicted, and Florian was sure that Jerah knew it wasn’t the whole truth.
“I know,” Jerah murmured, his voice almost weak in comparison to how forceful he had been just a moment ago. “But Florian, you can't just leave. You cannot,cannotdo that again. Come here.” He pulled Florian closer to him, hugging him tightly. As upset as he was, the sudden embrace was nearly enough to make Florian tear up again.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack, Florian. I didn't have enough magic for the shroud, neither of us could go after you... God. I'm sleeping in, no matter how much it delays us.”
Florian managed a single, bitter chuckle at that. “Sorry,” he muttered, his voice muffled against Jerah's chest.
“It's Kade you should be apologizing to,” Jerah replied, and guilt seized him anew. Before he could respond, Jerah had let go and given him a gentle push toward Kade. “Go on.”
Florian could feel his face burning red, and he looked down at his feet rather than at Kade. He wanted to apologize, but couldn't get the words out of his mouth.
“No need,” Kade's voice came from the far end of the tent, far colder than Florian had ever heard him before. “I don't want to hear it.”
He couldn't bear to look up at Kade, but he heard the shuffle of his footsteps as he left his post and crawled into his own sleeping bag. Even Jerah seemed taken aback at his apparent anger, remaining silent for a long moment, before touching Florian's shoulder and murmuring softly,
“We're all a little on edge still. Try and get some sleep, for real this time, alright?”
“Okay,” Florian agreed, as he stumbled toward his sleeping bag. He laid down, but sleep never came.
Both Florian and Kade were silent all through the next morning as they packed and got ready to leave.
“We're looking for the ruins of a city,” Jerah was saying, seemingly oblivious to the uncomfortable silence, or perhaps ignoring it. “Once we see that, we'll know we're getting close. It's supposed to be in a cave system, probably on the outskirts of it, but that's the most I've been able to narrow it down.”
