Chapter Eleven
Kalliktookthenewsthattheywouldbeleavingintwodays’timeaboutaswellasKadehadpredicted.Hewasvisiblygrumpyatfirst,theninsistedonhostingabigfamilydinnerthenightbeforetoseethemoff.
“You’re trying to save the world, after all,” he said gruffly, his eyes flickering between Kade and Florian. “It’s the least we can do for you both.”
So the next day, what felt like half the wolf kingdom crowded into their dining room and spilled out into the rest of the family home. A few cousins, aunts, and uncles had shown up early to help cook, and still more turned up with their own dishes to offer; so by the time dinner was set to actually start, the long main table was overflowing with food, and a few smaller tables had been set up along the sides of the dining room to hold more of it. Extra seating was set up in the living room, even into the hallway that led to the kitchen, to make room for all the shifters that came to see them off.
Florian recognized a few of the visitors by sight now, though he didn’t know all of their names; he knew many of Kade’s cousins and other immediate family members, but there were clearly many more families that he hadn’t met. Yet most of them seemed to recognize him easily—he supposed that was unavoidable, being the one outsider in such an insular community. But Kade was a steady presence next to him throughout the evening, soothing his nerves and stepping in easily every time the conversation moved toward them. It only served as another reminder of how different he seemed here. While he still wasn’t one to initiate conversation, Kade responded readily to every greeting and question, and he was a welcome voice in any conversation.
“You’ve graced us with your presence, King Florian,” Kallik said, loud enough everyone could hear, as the meal was drawing to a close. “We can only hope to host you again.”
Florian bowed his head slightly and kept his eyes on Kallik, though he could feel everyone’s gaze swinging to him. Beneath the table, Kade squeezed his thigh.
“I’m happy to be here,” Florian said, a smile creeping across his face. “It’s been great. I’d love to come back again.”
Kallik nodded, serious and stern, and next to him Meriwa nodded as well, though a sly smile had crossed her features.
“I raise my glass to you, King of the Winter Court,” Kallik said, lifting his glass. He had only water, but around him the other wolf shifters lifted their drinks in turn, some wine, some ale, some water, and some warm cider—a popular drink here, Florian had found, considering the cold climate. Politely, Florian raised his glass as well, lowering it to his lips as the shifters did the same.
All things considered, it had been a good reprieve from the Winter Court. Getting to know Kade’s family had been its own kind of stress, but was nothing compared to the trip into the Blight. Aside from their grim purpose, it had felt almost like a vacation.
By the time the last few families were getting ready to leave, Florian was exhausted, so he and Kade snuck away before they would be missed. Neither had started packing just yet, but they hadn’t brought much with them in the first place. It made the room that they shared still feel comfortable and lived-in, even on their last night. When they returned to the Winter Court, Florian knew that all his belongings there, miniscule as they were, would have been moved into what once had been his father’s quarters, the biggest in the castle. It would feel far less like home than their little guest room in the wolf kingdom did now.
The thought of what they would need to do in the Winter Court—and after that—had been weighing on him for much of the evening. There was no easy, obvious way to bring up the two main reasons that Florian even wanted to speak with the hag, but to leave Kade in the dark seemed thoughtless at best, cruel at worst.
“Kade,” he said quickly, before he could think better of it, or they got fully settled for bed. “There’s, um, some things we should talk about before we go back to the Winter Court.”
Kade glanced over at him from where he stood in front of their wardrobe with one hand in a drawer, his expression turning quizzical. “Sure,” he said, gesturing for Florian to continue.
“It’s about the stuff with the witch. The hag,” he stammered. “There was some, uh, stuff that my dad and I had wanted to talk to her about, too, that I haven’t really gotten the chance to explain to you yet.”
“Oh,” Kade said, the confusion still lingering on his face. “What is it?”
“There’s two things,” Florian continued, reaching for the Arrow that still sat on their table within the quiver. “Well, this one I guess I noticed on my own. My dad said that the Arrows are all supposed to say the same thing on them, but they have different inscriptions, and I don’t know what that means.”
“They’re different? What do they say?”
“Well, this one says what Jerah said they would say,” Florian said, pulling it out. “See? It saysI pierce the heart of summer. But the first one we got sayssacrificeinstead ofsummer.”
For a moment Kade was silent, looking down at the Arrow in Florian’s hand, a blank expression on his face; whatever he was thinking, Florian could only guess. “And the others might say different things, too?” he finally asked, brows knitting together. Florian could only shrug.
“I don’t know. Maybe,” he said. “I think if anyone would know, or have at least a good guess, it would be this... hag.”
“Okay,” Kade said, nodding slowly. “That makes sense. It would be good to know for sure.” He paused, watching as Florian carefully set the Arrow back into its case. “What’s the second thing?”
Florian took his time putting the Arrow back into the quiver and gingerly setting it back on the table—still uncertain of how to say it, if he even wanted to say it at all.
“When we were still in the Winter Court,” he finally started, doing his best to ignore the sense of nervous dread that radiated from his stomach as he spoke. “With the lessons with my dad. There was this one time he was telling me about the Summer Queen, Soleil, and I... I don’t really know how to explain it. It was like I saw her, and like I—I knew something about her that I couldn’t have possibly known. So after some guessing and testing, Jerah and I thought that maybe there’s some... old Summer fae spirit that’s, like, connected to me somehow. And maybe the hag can help figure out who, or why, or if that’s even it at all.”
For a long moment Kade was silent, his face once again going blank as he seemed to process and consider the information.
“That’s the only time I felt anything,” Florian rambled nervously, looking away from Kade. “And I don’t really know what it means—Jerah said it’s not that uncommon for a fae spirit to get, like, attached to something, and maybe it has something to do with this prophecy thing from the witch anyway, so...”
“And you’re sure that’s what it was?” Kade interrupted, finally speaking.
“Well, no,” Florian said. “But that’s what my dad thought, and it made sense, so...”
“Okay,” Kade said. He gave a sigh and leaned against the bed, as he seemed to mull it over once more. “That’s a lot, Florian. I mean, that seems...”
