He blinked, feeling suddenly nervous. “Yeah, of course.”
“Let’s walk,” Kade said, standing and gesturing for Florian to follow.
“I’ll wait here,” Koji said to him, giving him an encouraging nod when he glanced back at everyone gathered at the dinner table. So Florian stood and followed Kade out of the house. They headed down the residential road, going further toward the forest with snow crunching beneath their feet. Florian wasn’t sure where Kade was going, if anywhere, so he simply followed silently. They trudged up the hill until they were truly in the forest—the air around them was still and silent. Eventually, Kade stopped, but didn’t look at him for a long moment.
“I think you should go on without me,” Kade finally blurted out, still not looking at Florian. It took a moment for Florian to process what he was saying, then the words hit him like a shock of cold water.
“Without you?” he repeated, certain he must have misunderstood. Why would he ever leave Kade behind here, especially now? “What do you mean without you?”
“I don’t know how long this is going to take,” Kade said, his voice pained. “And I don’t want to slow you guys down.”
“You won’t be slowing us down,” Florian protested, grabbing Kade’s arm. “Kade, I’m serious, you wouldn’t. I don’t want to leave you, not now.”
“I think you should,” Kade replied, and Florian’s heart squeezed so hard with pain that he released his grip on Kade’s forearm and let his hand fall to his side. What was Kade saying? Why would hewantFlorian to leave?
“I don’t understand,” he whispered, his voice sounding tremulous to his own ears. Despite his faint tone, Kade flinched and looked away.
“It’s... complicated,” he said. “When the king dies, and the next one takes over, there’s a... process. A ceremony. It’s not like the Winter Court. Having outsiders here during the ceremony is... it’s frowned upon.”
“Did your mom tell you I had to leave?” Florian asked sharply, the thought hitting him suddenly. That was almost more painful, though—that Meriwa had seemed so glad to see him yesterday, yet it very well may have all been an act.
Luckily, Kade shook his head quickly. “No. She didn’t tell me you had to. We talked about it. But she does think it would be best if you weren’t here when it happens, and I...”
He agreed with her. Even though Kade trailed off, Florian could hear the end of his sentence without him needing to say it. His throat constricted, and he blinked away tears threatening to spill onto his cold cheeks. How was this happening? Hadn’t things been going well between them? But Kade was pushing him away, maybe forever, and he couldn’t understandwhy.
“Florian,” Kade said softly. When Florian glanced back at him, his eyes stinging, he realized Kade had taken a step toward him, as if the other man could sense how he was spiraling. “I’m sorry, Florian. This has nothing to do with you, I promise. It’s more about the... the clan. And what they would think.” He hesitated, then added in a small voice, “I’m not supposed to tell you what the ceremony is like, but I will. So you understand. Okay?”
Florian wanted to push him away and run—to go back to the Winter Court and cry in his bed. He didn’t think anything Kade said now could make him feel any better. But he squeezed his eyes shut, swallowed down the tears rising in his chest, and nodded. “Okay.”
“When my father... When he passes. There’s a ceremony to burn his body. Then the next day, I’ll be shifted for a day and a night to carry his ashes around the entire perimeter of the kingdom, so that his spirit can continue protecting us. No one can help me while I’m doing that. It has to be me alone, to prove I’m capable of taking his place.”
“Then I’ll stay where people can see me the whole time,” Florian blurted out. “If that’s what they’re worried about, I’ll prove that I wouldn’t be helping you cheat.”
Kade shook his head. “It’s not just that. Outsiders being in the village while I’m doing this could be seen as a... I don’t know. A threat. Interlopers getting the blessing of his spirit.”
“That’s stupid,” Florian muttered.
“Don’t,” Kade said, shaking his head. “I mean... I know. I get it. But it’s not just about me anymore, Florian. I have to think of the clan. Everyone. I need them to trust me—to believe I can be a king.”
“If you’re the king, you can do whatever you want,” Florian protested, but he knew he was grabbing at straws, like a petulant child.
“You know that isn’t true,” Kade replied quickly. “Youknowthat, Florian.”
A small, begrudging part of him did understand what Kade meant—his own responsibilities as king had weighed on him, and he wasn’t even doing a very good job of keeping up with them. He had Tatiana. Was there anyone like that here for Kade? His mother seemed to have handled things in Kallik’s stead while he was sick, but would she do the same for Kade?
Another thought hit him with a cold, painful awareness—if there was no one like that here for Kade, would he even leave the wolf kingdom again to keep helping Florian? It wasn’t just about him anymore, that was true, but would his commitment to the clan overpower the mission Jerah had given them, even if it was to save the world?
Now he couldn’t think of anything else. Kade wanted him to leave, and maybe that would be forever. Florian couldn’t stop the tears, and they spilled over his eyes and down his face in a sudden burst. Angrily, he wiped them away, but ended up crying into his hands.
“Florian. I’m sorry,” Kade murmured, and Florian felt him envelop his smaller form in a tight hug again. Despite everything, Kade’s arms still felt the same—warm and strong and comforting. “It won’t be long. I promise. I’m sorry. But I really... I really think it’s for the best. You’ll be okay. I know you will. You don’t need me to protect you, and you have Koji to help you. You’ll be okay for a little while. I promise.”
“But I—” Florian cried.
He couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“I—I don’t want you to leave me,” he finally wailed, not at all what he wanted to say, but something much more pathetic. Kade squeezed him harder.
“I’m not leaving you,” he said fiercely, his voice a passionate growl. “I’mnot, Florian, I promise. It’s only for a little while. When everything’s done, and the ceremony is over, I’ll go to the kraken kingdom and find you. Or you can come back for me after you get the Arrows if you’re faster. I promise.”
