Florian didn’t answer for a long moment, looking pensively down at the dusty stone floor. Itwouldbe easier to hold the shroud if he wasn’t shifted, but it made him nervous to have Koji carry both of them. Would he be able to fly with two people on his back, without getting injured or too tired himself? It didn’t seem like it would be a long flight to get up to the mountain, although it might still take them a while to actually find the Arrow.
“Maybe at first,” he finally relented, all too conscious that both of them were watching him and waiting for his response. “Just to get up there. I think once we’re actually looking for it, it would be easier if I was shifted. If that makes sense.”
Neither answered for a long moment, making him more uncomfortable. Kade’s expression seemed the same, though when Florian looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in worry.
Finally, Koji gave him a small smile and nodded. “Sure. Whatever makes things easier for you.”
Kade kept looking at him with the same inscrutable expression for a moment longer. “Don’t push yourself too hard, Florian,” he finally said softly. “Let us help you.”
Florian felt his face burn. Why did that make him feel embarrassed?
“I know,” he said quickly, looking back down at his now-empty plate. “Youarehelping. Both of you.”
Kade’s tone softened. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I know,” he repeated, still feeling flustered; but this seemed to satisfy both Kade and Koji, and neither pressed him on the matter any further.
Which was good, as the moment he set his plate down, his eyelids felt so heavy that he immediately crawled into his sleeping bag.
“Drink some water,” he heard Kade’s voice distantly, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond. Sleep was already dragging him under, too fast for him to fight off.
Chapter Eight
“Comeon,Florian.Timeto get up.”
Florian groaned, rolling over. It felt like he had just laid down moments ago—why was Kade already shaking him awake? His eyes were gritty with dust, and his muscles still ached as he moved.
“Gimme a little longer,” he mumbled, tucking his face further into the sleeping bag. “Thirty minutes.”
“We’ve both been up for an hour already,” Kade said softly, squeezing his shoulder. “Come on. We can’t leave without you.”
“Thirty minutes,” he begged again, still not opening his eyes. Distantly, he heard Koji say something quiet and indistinct, then Kade sighed, patted his shoulder, and stepped away.
“Alright. Thirty minutes,” he relented. Florian sighed with relief and curled up in his sleeping bag.
Maybe their vacation had made him soft—they had slept late and gotten up leisurely almost every day that they had been on Earth. Not that he wanted to be in the Blight any longer than he had to be, but he was still sotired. Keeping the shroud over two dragons had been even more taxing than he’d anticipated, and it hadn’t even been for very long. They’d only been shifted for, what, half an hour? Certainly not much more than that—but just that short time had drained his magic so quickly, even now he didn’t feel quite recovered.
There was nothing to be done about it, though, except to keep pressing forward. The sooner they were done, the sooner he could rest again. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but that thought spurred him to wakefulness. Florian groaned, stretching out as much as he could, before slowly sitting up and blinking blearily in the dim light.
“Alright, I’m up,” he sighed, dragging himself to his feet. “Let’s get out of here.”
Kade and Koji had already packed their things up, and Kade rolled up his sleeping bag for him as he dressed. He managed a few bites of food and several long drinks from his water bottle, then he was ready.
“Darkness hides us. Darkness protects us,” he murmured, feeling his magic stretch as he summoned the shroud. It felt like exercising a sore, overly-worked muscle, but he grit his teeth and pushed through. “The Blight cannot touch us. The Blight cannot harm us.”
It took a few seconds longer than usual to get the shroud settled in place; but finally the three of them were covered, and Florian’s shoulders tensed with ragged determination.
“Ready,” he said, and Koji and Kade quickly pulled down the tarps covering the windows and the panel blocking the door. Light flooded the house, the Blight reaching in greedily where there had been darkness a moment before. Florian moved to help, but Kade waved him away.
“Rest while you can,” he said. Florian sighed, but didn’t argue, as he watched the other two carefully fold and pack the panels and thick cloth.
“Shall we head straight for the mountain?” Koji asked. Kade looked at Florian, who considered it for a moment.
“I want to head closer to the city center first, I think,” he said slowly. “Just to rule out it being on the ground somewhere. It would suck to fly up there only to realize it’s actually down here after all.”
It seemed unlikely, but secretly he hoped they would not need to shift and fly up the mountain at all, preserving his energy as much as possible.
Kade nodded, shouldering his backpack. Koji gave him a long look, but didn’t protest; and soon they were filing out of the shelter in the same order as before: Kade in the lead, Florian next, and Koji just after him.
