Chapter One
Florianwoke,havingsleptwell for the first time in weeks. Morning light streamed in through the half-drawn curtains of their hotel room, and as he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he could see the Tokyo skyline come into view through the window. He breathed in deeply, then smiled as he looked back down, feeling Kade shift in the bed next to him. The other man’s tangerine eyes slid open, and when he met Florian’s gaze, a sleepy smile played at his lips.
“Good morning,” Florian murmured, leaning down to kiss him.
“Morning,” Kade answered as their noses brushed, his voice low and rough from sleep.
When they had last returned from the Veil, Kade had also slept terribly. Neither had ever confessed that to the other, but they would often find each other awake sometime during the middle of the night, the sounds of the ocean drifting softly into Florian’s room. The bed was small, and his room was stuffy; on top of everything else that had happened, Florian wondered how he had ever managed a wink of sleep in the few weeks they spent in Coral Shores before coming to Japan.
They had not planned on taking a vacation, but the only curtain to the dragon kingdom was in Japan, and since that was their next stop anyway, he figured this was his only chance. In truth, taking a break and seeing the sights had been August’s idea.
“You doing alright, kiddo?” his uncle August asked him on their third day back from the Blight. Florian had been sitting listlessly at the kitchen table, making some shells into a necklace, but mostly just pushing them around.
“Yeah,” Florian replied automatically, forcing himself to smile up at August. “Just tired.”
“Not sleeping well?” he asked. This time Florian hesitated before answering.
“Yeah,” he sighed, setting down the shells. “I haven’t been sleeping well.”
He had told August a bit about what he’d learned, but his uncle had been aghast that he’d traveled into the Blight just to deal with the hag and her old magic, so he had left out a lot of details. Still, it must have been enough for August to know that he was struggling with the implications of it all.
August remained silent, looking at him with a familiar expression, half-encouragement and half-expectation, waiting for Florian to elaborate.
“I…” he started, unsure of what to even say. “I guess it’s just a lot to… to deal with. And I’m worried about Kade. He hasn’t been sleeping well either, I think.”
“Kade?” August repeated, eyebrows raising in surprise. “What’s going on with him?”
“I think he’s worried about me. Mad at me. A little of both. Maybe. I don’t know,” Florian stammered, looking away uncomfortably. Their relationship, not exactly new anymore, still felt strange to discuss with his uncle.
But Florian knew that, for all his uncle had been initially uncertain about his and Kade’s relationship, the man was one of the most relaxed, live-and-let-live types he had ever known. August had wanted a peaceful life, and he had left everything behind to make that a reality for himself on Earth. So, just as Florian had hoped, after their initial tension, August was just as friendly and respectful toward Kade as he had been before, and he had said nothing about their argument since.
Florian watched August’s face as he seemed to think over what he was going to say.
“I don’t think he’s mad at you,” he finally said. “Maybe just mad at himself.”
“Maybe,” Florian agreed, still uncertain.
“His entire job was to keep you and Jerah safe. With Jerah gone, you’re his sole focus. And everything that happened just proved that there are some things he really can’t protect you from. I’m not happy about it either, and I wasn’t there, so I can’t imagine how strongly Kade feels about it.”
Florian was silent, thinking. August’s words echoed his own thoughts on the matter—it was nothing new, but it still frustrated him to hear. Neither of them could have known that, when he agreed to go with Elodie, what had been a few hours for him would be days spent alone for Kade. Of course he felt terrible for having put Kade through it, but what else could he have done?
There was no good answer, so he was left to dwell on it, on top of everything else he was worried about. They would have to go back to the Veil soon, then back into the Blight to find the next arrow. Everything made him stressed, but all he could do was keep putting one foot in front of the other and hope.
“You guys should take a longer break,” August said, interrupting Florian’s thoughts. “Not just whatever you had planned here in Coral Shores. There’s no time limit to what you’re doing, you know. The Arrows have been fine where they’ve been for a hundred years. Taking a few weeks to yourselves isn’t going to make or break it.”
Florian frowned. “But...”
“No buts,” August said, shushing him. “I’m serious. Nothing in the Veil has changed from when I left it. It’s all going to be there waiting. You need to be at your best to save the world and all that, don’t you think?”
For a long moment, Florian could only stare, his mind racing. Then, weakly, he chuckled and shrugged.
“Sure, I guess,” he said. “We could take an extra week or two.”
“You have to go to Japan anyway for the curtain into the dragon kingdom,” August said. “Might as well make a vacation of it.”
Florian had worried that Kade—single-minded as he was—might balk at the idea of taking a vacation, instead of going straight to the dragon kingdom. When he nervously brought it up though, Kade surprised him—the wolf shifter had shrugged, then smiled.
“Sure,” he’d said, making Florian’s heart flutter. “A trip sounds fun. Whatever you want to do.”
