“I think he’s waking up,” Kade said, already getting to his feet, as the other two turned quickly to look at Florian. “Hey, you’re okay. Don’t get up yet. Are you in pain?”
Florian groaned, trying to speak, but his throat felt raspy. He shook his head instead. He didn’t feel like he was in pain, but he felt sore all over. If he didn’t move, though, it didn’t hurt.
“He’s thirsty,” Kade said, turning to look back at Koji and Miyuki as he knelt down beside Florian. “Can you bring some of that broth over? I have water here.”
He turned back to Florian, grasping his hand and squeezing it gently. “You scared us.”
Florian frowned, confused, but his throat still felt too dry to speak.
“Here,” Miyuki said, sitting down next to Kade with a small bowl in her hands. “Hi, Florian. I’m so glad you’re awake.”
Koji joined them too, kneeling at Kade’s other side. “Let’s get you sitting up. I bet you’re hungry, huh?”
When he said it, Florian’s stomach growled, and he realized hewashungry. Koji and Miyuki chuckled, and he managed a small smile in return. Kade pulled him up, and Koji helped reposition him; it hurt, making him groan in pain again, but once he was sitting, he felt alright. He gestured for Miyuki to hand him the bowl, and she offered it to him: a clear broth dotted with green onion and thinly sliced mushrooms.
“Slow,” Kade said softly, so he took a small sip. The warm broth on his throat felt amazing, though, and he took several larger drinks from the bowl before finally pulling away and clearing his throat.
“What happened?” he rasped. His throat felt better, but it still stung as he spoke. Kade sighed, glancing between Koji and Miyuki as he seemed to consider the question before answering. Florian kept taking sips of broth as he waited.
“We have the Arrow,” he finally said, knowing that would be what Florian wanted to know first. Florian smiled behind the bowl as he drank. “You teleported us back to the woods outside the dragon kingdom—that clearing where you both shifted. We hid, thinking guards probably spotted us and would come looking, but...” He glanced at Koji again, who sighed.
“Only my brother came,” Koji said, sounding irritated. “He was mad at me for leaving. He just wanted to bring me back, but I said I wasn’t going to leave the both of you when you were hurt, and, well… He insisted that since my father had told you not to return, you couldn’t come with me. So I stayed, and he left. We waited to see if you would wake up, but after it had been a few hours, Kade was—I mean, we were both really worried. So I snuck us back into the city, which, honestly, I still can’t really believe we managed to do.”
“And we went to Miyuki to ask for help,” Kade interjected. “She has a cousin who is a... not really a doctor, I guess, but an assistant to a doctor? A nurse.”
“He’s an apprentice to a doctor,” Miyuki offered.
“He checked over the three of us, and we’re staying at his house now,” Kade sighed. “We were all a bit burned, but Koji got the worst of it.”
Florian looked more closely at Koji—now that he was aware of it, he did notice bandages wrapped around both of his arms.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, guilt fluttering in his chest, but Koji shook his head quickly.
“Don’t be sorry,” he answered, smiling. “You got the Arrow, and you saved us. It’ll heal.”
“How long?” Florian asked, looking back at Kade.
“You’ve been asleep for about a full day,” Kade sighed, and Florian winced. “About twenty-two hours now. Takeshi—Miyuki’s cousin—he said you were exhausted, and he doesn’t know fae magic very well, but he guessed your magic was... Depleted, was the word he used. So you had to sleep to get it back. But he patched up your arm and recommended resting for at least a few more days.”
“Maybe,” Florian sighed, his bowl now empty. The warm broth sated him for now, but already he could tell he would be ravenous sooner or later.
“Definitely,” Kade replied flatly. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Florian. We’re resting here until you’re completely better—when Takeshi says you can go.”
Florian started to frown, but then he laughed, smiling weakly back up at Kade. He really did just keep trampling over his promises to Kade that he’d be fine.
“Okay,” he relented. “We’ll rest.”
Kade looked at him for a long moment, then sighed, his shoulders sagging as if he’d been expecting to argue about it. “Good. We’ll rest.”
“Told you,” Koji chuckled, getting up. “He’d be too tired to argue.”
“Are you still hungry, Florian?” Miyuki asked, interjecting with a lighter tone. “I brought plenty of food.”
Florian shook his head. “I’m okay for now. Thank you.”
“Stretch for a bit, and then you can lie back down,” Kade said softly, moving to reposition himself at Florian’s feet.
“You should eat,” Florian protested, but Kade shook his head.
