“Haruko!” Daichi hissed. “That’s enough.”
“Stop,” Tetsuo said sharply, looking at each of his sons in turn. “I will hear no more of this from any of you. The matter is settled.”
The girl glanced sidelong at Florian. She could not say as much, but her apologetic expression was clear enough to read. He gave her a small, grateful smile, then silently ate the food presented to him.
Across from him, Kade remained silent. His expression barely changed; but Florian could see how his gaze grew softer when their eyes met, and colder when he looked back toward the dragon king. The wolf shifter was angry, just as frustrated as Florian was, but was more practiced at keeping it off his face.
The rest of the dinner passed mostly in silence. His appetite was gone, but the last thing he wanted now was to appear an ungrateful guest, so Florian ate everything that was put in front of him. It would have all been delicious if he could focus on anything but the anger simmering low in his belly. Occasionally, Tetsuo would speak to one of his children, and once to his wife, who had not spoken the entire time. The woman kept her eyes carefully away from Florian, but he noticed that Haruko and Koji sometimes looked over at him with unreadable expressions.
None of it mattered. He would eat the food they gave him, rest up in the guest room, and they would figure out what they would do tomorrow.
At the end of the meal, the same attendant appeared, standing silently next to Florian and waiting for them to be dismissed.
“King Florian,” Tetsuo said, finally acknowledging him again. “Thank you for dining with us. Please enjoy our guest rooms. Breakfast will be served to you in your room tomorrow. I likely will not see you again before you leave, so I wish you safe travels.”
The words felt like a slap in the face. Florian clenched his fists under the table and answered as steadily as he could manage,
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
He stood, and Kade followed suit. The attendant gestured for them to follow her, then she led them back through the palace, leaving behind the noisy bustling parts to return to the still, silent guest rooms.
“If you need anything, you can find me in the far room down the hall,” she said when they arrived back at their room. “We will bring you a meal in the morning. Goodnight for now.”
“Thank you,” Florian sighed, closing the door behind her. He turned and looked at Kade; they were both silent for a long moment, until Florian couldn’t hear her footsteps anymore, then he let out a groan of frustration.
“What the fuck was that?” he exclaimed, reaching for Kade. “What was his problem? He wanted to be mad at me from the start.”
“There was no winning with him,” Kade agreed, hugging him tightly. “It’s alright. We don’t need his help.”
It was true that they didn’tneedit, but any help at all would have been nice. He knew Kade knew it; saying so wouldn’t change anything. There was nothing to be done but to move forward.
He squeezed Kade tightly, so hard that if it was anyone else, Florian would have worried he was hurting them. But Kade was strong and steady, and Florian felt marginally better when he finally released the other man and stepped back, looking up at him with a tired smile.
“I guess we should figure out what we’re going to do next,” he sighed.
“Tomorrow,” Kade said, shaking his head. “Let’s try not to worry about it tonight.”
Florian opened his mouth to respond, but a soft knock at their door interrupted him. He paused, looking back at the door with a frown. It didn’t sound like the woman who had brought them to and from the banquet hall, but who else could it be?
“I got it,” he said, before Kade could move around him. Florian opened the door, revealing the slightly hunched-over form of Koji, the younger of Tetsuo’s two sons. Before he could say anything, though, Koji hurried past him into the room, glancing nervously behind his shoulder.
“Close it,” he hissed. Dumbfounded, Florian closed the door behind him. Koji sighed with relief, then smiled at them apologetically. “Sorry to intrude. I wanted to make sure no one saw me here.”
“What do you want?” Kade asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. Koji hesitated, glancing between the two, before finally turning once again to Florian.
“My father would never allow it,” he said, “but we want to help you.Iwant to help you.”
Chapter Four
Floriangrinned.Maybetheywould have an ally in the dragon kingdom after all.
“Great!” he exclaimed. “Koji, right? We would really appreciate your help.”
“I agree with you that my father is... short-sighted, although I think he comes from a place of concern and duty,” Koji replied, still smiling at Florian. “He would not be happy to find out I’m here talking to you, but, well. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“So, what did you have in mind?” Florian asked. Koji’s smile faltered then, and he nervously glanced between Florian and Kade.
“There are maps in the library,” he suggested. “I could try to sneak you some of the older ones, from before the Blight took over. Is that the sort of thing you’re looking for?”
