“Sure,” Florian agreed, managing a slight smile. “When we won’t be in as much of a hurry.”
Kade nodded silently next to him, but shifted his weight to wrap his arm around Kallik in a hug.
“We’ll keep you updated,” he murmured, then released him. “Ready, Florian?”
“I’m ready,” Florian said, glancing around at Kade’s family once more. “Thanks again for letting me stay with you.”
To his surprise, it was Meriwa who answered him. “No need to thank us. We’re happy to have you, really. You’ll always be welcome here.”
“Oh,” Florian said, feeling himself flush. While Meriwa had warmed up to him a bit in their time there, he hadn’t expected such friendly words from her. “Um, thank you.”
Eventually, they managed to extricate themselves from the ongoing goodbyes and side chatter; and when they finally found themselves alone in the courtyard of the family home, Florian grabbed Kade’s wrist. He could feel the thrum of his pulse for a moment, until he slid his fingers down to lace their fingers together. It was still early enough that the road was empty.
“Ready?” Florian asked, looking up at Kade. The taller man nodded, looking around one last time. Maybe he was feeling wistful, or maybe he was just looking to see if anyone was watching them. His face was blank and hard to read; although Florian was starting to recognize his small expressions better, Kade could still keep his face perfectly unreadable whenever he wanted.
But when he looked back down at Florian, the corners of his mouth curved just a little into a tiny smile, and Florian smiled back up at him in return. He clasped Kade’s bigger hand in both of his, focused his magic, and murmured, “We’re back in the Winter Court.”
There was that strange popping sensation, becoming more familiar now, then they were back in the Moon Garden. The brightness of the snow and daylight around them was abruptly replaced with the soft, perpetual twilight of the Winter Court. Florian sighed and released Kade’s hand so he could nervously run his fingers through his hair. This would be the first time that he’d been in the Winter Court since his coronation—at least that he could remember—and he had little idea of what to expect.
“Guess we’d better head inside,” he said wryly, glancing up at Kade. The other man reached for his hand again with that same slight smile, and together they walked through the garden and toward the castle.
