She looked tired, her face drawn, but she had busied herself by organizing his belongings. She must have been planning his funeral, too, though Florian couldn't bring himself to ask about it. “I don't know how much he had told you, but... I'm sure he would want you to have everything, to make sure nothing gets missed. And these, too.”
She handed him a wallet: plain black leather, but clearly finely crafted. When Florian opened it, it was thick with cash and had cards in each pocket.
“Where did he get all this?” he blurted, looking up at Tatiana in bewilderment. She managed a slight smile and a bitter laugh.
“He did travel on Earth fairly often,” she replied. “I think most of this was from sales of gems, ones that are quite rare on Earth but easier to find in the Veil. It dates back quite far, actually. I think some of the cards should have your name on them as well. It's a family account, so you'll be taken care of.”
“I don't—I don't know what to say,” Florian stammered, shaking his head. “I mean, thank you.”
“It's yours now,” Tatiana said, grasping his hands. “All of this is yours now. You're his son. The King of the Winter Court.”
Part of Florian knew thatthatwas objectively true now, but the realization still hit him like a thunderbolt.
“No, no,” he protested on instinct, shaking his head. A laugh escaped him, more nervous than anything. “No, I'm not—I'm not a king.”
“Well, we do still have to arrange your coronation,” she said wryly. “But you are, now.” He physically recoiled, shrinking away from her as she said it. Glancing back at Kade, he searched the other man's face for some indication of… something. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. Kade's expression barely changed, though, just a slight pursing of his lips and an almost imperceptible nod.
“I don't know the first thing about any of that,” Florian said, looking back at Tatiana. “I didn't even know I was a prince a month ago, and now I have to be king?”
“That's alright. Jerah winged a lot of it, too,” she laughed. “I won't stop helping you, Florian. I'm already taking care of most of the day to day. That won't change. And, frankly, the Winter Court is small—the title of king is more a formality than anything else. And the duties of it are much more akin to being a mayor than a king. Don't stress too much about it for now. Alright?”
“Okay,” he agreed faintly. Next to him, Kade squeezed his shoulder, silent but reassuring.
They spent the rest of the afternoon reading through Jerah's notes, though Florian wasn't sure how much of it he really absorbed. He spent a long time going over the same paragraph again and again, memorizing his father's handwriting more than really reading it. Every so often the numbness that had settled around him would break, and he couldn't bear to read any longer, pacing around the study until the nervous energy died away. Kade sat across from him, reading quietly as well, and occasionally he would reach over to squeeze his hand.
At the end of the night, they walked back toward their room, but Florian paused at the junction of the hallway, between where his room was and where the corridor curved around to Kade's.
“I don't want to be alone,” he murmured. And without him needing to ask, Kade nodded, and followed him to his room.
They settled into Florian's bed with just enough room for them to lay next to each other—Kade's arm draped over Florian's side. He hadn’t asked beforehand, but somehow Florian thought Kade would want to be the big spoon.
He couldn’t sleep. He wasn’t sure how long it had been when Florian rolled over to face Kade, only to find his tangerine eyes gleaming in the darkness, open and watching him as he turned. They looked at each other silently for a little while, then slowly Kade reached over and gently ran his fingers down Florian’s cheek.
It was nice—comforting, a small and innocent pleasure that left his skin tingling. He sighed and leaned into the contact. A tiny smile twitched at the edge of Kade’s lips, and he continued to trace slow, careful lines along Florian’s face. His thumb brushed over his lips, the tip of his forefinger tracing lightly along his brows and his eyelashes, as if he could draw a portrait on his skin.
It wasintimate, Florian thought, and his heart beat a little faster. He had never quite felt this way before, not exactly. It felt more vulnerable than anything they had shared. Just this morning they still hadn’t been talking, and now… Everything had changed so quickly, and he had no idea how to make any of it stick.
He mulled it over as Kade continued to lightly touch his face, his fingers eventually trailing through his hair and brushing through his curls. How could he make things stay just the way they were right now? Was it even possible? In the moment, it felt as though everything he loved and cared about would eventually go away, as it always had, and he didn’t know how to make this any different.
Despite his nervous thoughts, his own exhaustion eventually won out, and he fell asleep to the soft sensation of Kade’s fingers on his skin.
