He grimaced at the remark. “Well, you know what I mean.”
In truth, the Winter Court was his home now; but when he thought of home, he still imagined his room in his uncle’s apartment on the second floor above their souvenir shop in Coral Shore. That still felt like home to him in a way the Winter Court didn’t, and part of him doubted the Veil would ever truly feel like home. This was his father’s home, but his father was gone. He was just... keeping an eye on it in his absence. And eventhathe was leaving largely to Tatiana.
“Hey,” Kade said, pausing so Florian stopped short behind him. His expression had softened, part affection and part concern. “It’s alright if it doesn’t feel like home yet. Give it time.”
“I know,” Florian sighed, reaching over to grasp his hand. Kade gave it a gentle squeeze, and they continued hand-in-hand. “Do you know what we’re looking for? I’ve only been here that one time.”
“I can find it,” Kade answered, and they walked in silence the rest of the way. Only the wet sounds of their feet on the dark rock that magically rose up to create their path, and the soft white noise of the choppy waves underfoot, broke the quiet between them.
It had been two weeks since his father’s funeral, and one week since his official coronation as the true King of the Winter Court. He had hoped to get back to Coral Shore and Earth sooner, but Tatiana had wanted to go over everything with him, even though she would still be handling most of the day-to-day work. It was all a blank spot in his memory still; vaguely he could remember a few snippets of conversations now, but he would probably need to go over everything with her again when he returned.
She had told him that it was less like being a king and more like being a mayor, which certainly seemed to be the case as far as Florian could tell. With how small the population of the Winter Court was, Tatiana was on a first name basis with pretty much every fae inhabiting the Court; and most of the tasks expected of her were more general upkeep of the castle grounds and the surrounding city, as well as overseeing trade and handling disputes.
It all seemed boring and unpleasant, so Florian was glad to be going back to Earth, at least for a little while. Thankful that Tatiana seemed to enjoy her job, he quickened his pace a bit; and with a hint of a smirk Kade followed suit.
Before long, though, Kade slowed again, his eyes searching the horizon.
“It’s near here,” he said, and Florian looked around as well, searching for the faint shimmer in the air that marked the boundary between worlds. He tried to recall the exact spot where they had crossed, over one month and a lifetime ago, but this far out to sea everything looked basically the same.
“There.” Kade pointed, and Florian could see it: the faintest glimmer in the light, like the shimmer of rising heat in the summer.
“Can I try?” Florian asked, stepping closer to it, and Kade gestured for him to go ahead. He reached his hand out—despite the incorporeal nature of the curtain, there was a faint sensation ofsomethingbrushing against his fingers as he reached for it, and they disappeared into a line of light. Pulling it back, he could barely make out the shadowy shape of the hillside in Catalina where it let out. He glanced back at Kade with a grin.
“Good job,” he said, smiling back, and together they stepped through the curtain onto Earth.
Instantly it was much warmer and brighter, the light of the early California afternoon surrounding them as they emerged. Florian winced, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden sunlight. The perpetual twilight of the Winter Court meant he had not seen the full light of day since they had returned from their excursion into the Blight. They were standing in a small clearing surrounded by bushes and plants, and Florian knew the path was uphill from where they were, but he could not see it.
“It’s hot,” he grumbled as he started to peel off the long-sleeved shirt he was wearing. He had worn a plain tee shirt underneath for this very reason, knowing it would be much warmer when they crossed over. Kade eyed him as he shoved the extra shirt into his backpack, and he grinned up at the taller man. “You’re insatiable.”
A hint of a flush reached Kade’s face, and he glanced away. “That’s not...” he started, then stifled a laugh. “Come on, then.” Kade took his hand, and they headed for the trail.
Once they reached it, the downhill hike was fairly easy, and they made it to the ferry terminal without issue. This time it was Florian who bought the tickets, a slight pang of sadness going through him as he opened the black leather wallet that had been his father’s. The credit card had his own name on it, but it was hard to think of it as his own—it still felt like borrowed money, in a way.
It wasn’t until they were on the ferry, and Florian had a chance to start charging his phone, that he remembered his last conversation with Nadia had been on the ferrytoCatalina, well over a month ago now.
“Ohno,” he gasped, watching in horror as his screen lit up with notifications. She had called him every day, left several voicemails, almost fifty texts—Where are you? Are you okay? Please just let me know you’re okay.
“What?” Kade asked, looking down at him quizzically; but he was already starting to call her, lifting the phone to his ear with shaky hands.
It only rang twice before Nadia’s voice filled his ear. “Florian! Is that you?”
“Hey, Nadia,” he said, trying to sound casual, but failing entirely. “I, um—”
“Oh my god, Florian,” her voice came, and already he could tell she was on the verge of tears. “I’ve been so worried about you! Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer? I’ve been begging your uncle to look for you, but he wouldn’t tell me anything, I was so—I was soworried. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” he said hoarsely. What would he tell her? Whatcouldhe tell her? Would she even believe anything he said? “Listen, I... I’m really sorry. I know I totally fell off the face of the Earth. I don’t really know how to explain.”
“Where were you? Are you alright?” she asked again, still sounding just as frantic as she had before.
“I’m okay,” he repeated. “I, uh... I don’t know what to say, Nadia.”
“Do you need help? Tell me where you are, I’ll come get you right now.”
“No, no, it’s not that—I’m heading home, actually, so it’s okay, I promise. I guess... I, uh, I was with my dad. I’ll explain more when I get home, okay? I’ll call you then.”
“No!” she exclaimed, taking him by surprise. “Florian, I’ve been worried sick about you for a month! Why couldn’t you just call me back? Just one text from you would have—would have—” He winced as she started to cry in earnest now, her voice breaking.
“I’m really sorry,” he said softly, guilt pressing down on him so hard that he could barely breathe. “I didn’t have cell service, and my phone—my phone stopped working.”
