“Get off me!” he shrieked, and force exploded from the Arrow, sending the lion-dog flying away from him as if it were as light as a stuffed toy.
“Florian!” he heard Kade roaring distantly. “Florian!”
“I’m okay,” he croaked, struggling to get up. Every movement made his chest burn white-hot with pain—he could barely keep his grip on his sword for the blood pouring down his limbs. He managed to sit up—Kade was fighting off more lion-dogs, and Koji still had the alpha pinned, but more were closing in.
“I have it!” he shouted. “Come to me!”
He hadn’t meant to force them, but the Arrow surged with magic again, and immediately both Kade and Koji turned to him as if he were the only thing that mattered in the world. Kade sprinted for him, and Koji uncoiled himself rapidly from the alpha, ignoring the slash wounds its claws left in his side as he surged through the air.
“I got you,” Kade gasped, leaping and sliding the last few feet through the sand to him. He pressed his hands to Florian’s side, trying to find the wound.
“Koji!” Florian shouted, raising his hand as high above his head as he could reach. As soon as Koji reached him, he immediately coiled his body around them, shielding them as the alpha charged.
The instant Florian’s outstretched fingers felt Koji’s scales, he channeled everything he could through the Arrow, focusing hard on the memory of the clearing in the forest of the dragon kingdom where they’d practiced flying. A lurching sensation overtook him, even as the magic of the Arrow swelled in his fist—but instantly, the roaring and braying around them vanished into silence.
Dizzy with exertion, Florian let himself fall onto his back once again, groaning.
“Florian!” Kade exclaimed, eyes wild with concern.
Koji glowed green and shrank down until he was on his knees beside them, panting and streaked with blood.
“He’s hurt,” he said, crawling closer to them. “Florian, try to stay awake.”
Florian nodded, but it made everything spin even worse around him. Someone was whimpering—it was his own voice, he realized when the sound faded away as he took in a sharp breath.
“Florian, you have to heal yourself,” Kade said, squeezing the hand that was still clenched tight around the Arrow and lifting it to touch his slashed-open chest. “You’re the only one who can. Okay? Use the Arrow and heal yourself.”
“Okay,” he croaked, forcing himself to peer down at his chest. He couldn’t see the wound for all the blood and ripped clothing, but he could feel multiple punctures pulling and opening as he moved—the lion-dog had dug its claws in as deep as it could. He splayed his hand across his chest, the Arrow pinned between his palm and the center of his ribcage, and squeezed his eyes shut.
Heal,he thought, and even behind his closed lids, he could see the glow of the Arrow brightening. Heat pooled across his chest and sank deep into the wounds, making him groan with pain—but then the sensation passed, and the pain was gone. He groaned again, this time with relief, as all the muscles that he hadn’t even realized he’d been tensing relaxed all at once. For a moment he lay boneless on the ground, panting for breath, then he slowly opened his eyes.
The Arrow was still glowing—no,hewas glowing, he realized. Like the alpha lion-dog, his skin was emitting a soft golden glow, just like the Arrow. Both Kade and Koji were looking at him with wide, uncertain eyes, as he slowly pushed himself back up into a sitting position—he looked between them, then down at the Arrow in his hand.
“Has, uh,” Koji started, “Has this happened before?”
“No,” Kade replied softly as Florian shook his head. “This is new.”
Strange as it was, it was the least of his worries right then. Florian reached out with his free hand and grabbed Koji’s wrist. The dragon shifter pulled back in surprise, but Florian held tight as he said firmly, “Heal.”
Koji hissed as the magic coursed through him, but the same look of sudden relief came over his face as his wounds were healed. He smiled in thanks, then Florian released his wrist to grab Kade next, who didn’t pull away, but squeezed his hand back gratefully.
“Heal,” he said again, and Kade’s eyes closed for a moment before he sighed, leaning back.
“Thank you,” he said softly, tangerine eyes sliding open to look back at Florian with a small smile. “You’re okay?”
“Yeah,” Florian said, before looking down at his glowing hands again and laughing. “This is weird, though.”
The three of them looked at each other uncertainly, then Koji chuckled and moved so he could sit cross-legged beside Florian.
“Guess we can’t go back into the city with you looking like this, huh?” he said.
“Hopefully it’s not permanent,” Florian agreed, collapsing back down onto the ground with a groan. “Well, if we’re waiting, I’m taking a nap right here.”
Chapter Thirteen
Luckily,theglowdidgradually fade from Florian’s skin, and he was back to looking like his usual self within an hour. With the Arrow stowed in their belongings, the three of them snuck through the forest and into the city once again, slipping into the back door of Takeshi’s home without incident.
“Made it,” Kade sighed with relief after they were all safely inside, the door closed and shut behind them. Florian was sure no real harm would come to them if they were found in the dragon kingdom—Koji’s presence would deter anything too heinous, hopefully—but it was still a reprieve knowing that they wouldn’t be kicked out of the city and forced to sleep in the forest. Even with the magic from the Arrow, it had been a long day, and he was exhausted.
