“Pretty well, all things considered,” he said. “I’ll tell everyone about it when we’re all up and awake.”
“I’ll get some breakfast started.” And quick as that, Koji moved to set up the cooking fire.
Rune was next, though she didn’t get up until breakfast was almost ready and the smell of rice porridge was thick in the air. She stumbled out of her tent mid-yawn, freezing when she caught sight of Florian.
“The hell?” she burst out, grinning and hurrying over to him. “When did you get back?”
“The middle of the night,” Florian chuckled, then froze with surprise as she squeezed him into a tight hug.
“Ugh, you’re the most sane one here. I missed you,” she said, and he chuckled before gingerly returning the hug.
“I, uh,” he stammered, unsure of how to respond. “I’m sorry?”
She laughed and released him, smacking his shoulder. “Just glad you’re back. Maybe now we can get out of this tiny little swamp. I hate it here.”
He offered a chagrined smile. “Hopefully soon. I’ll explain once Kade is up.”
She frowned, glancing at his tent. “He’s usually up earlier than me. Weird.”
Her eyes flickered between the tent and Florian; and despite all his effort trying to keep his face expressionless, he could feel warmth rising in his cheeks. After a moment, she snorted with laughter, then turned away to serve herself breakfast without saying anything.
Florian glanced back at the tent uncertainly once Rune’s attention was off him. Kade was usually an early riser, so he must have been tired.
“I, uh, I’m going to go wake Kade up,” he mumbled to no one in particular, as both Rune and Koji were fixing their breakfast a few steps away. He walked back to their tent, poking his head inside.
Kade was still asleep, his breathing deep and even. His eyelashes cast long shadows down the rest of his face when Florian let the light in, making his heart flutter. He looked so peaceful and sweet—maybe he would just let him sleep a little longer...
But the light seemed to be enough to rouse Kade, whose eyelids flickered as his eyebrows twitched. He let out a long, slow breath as he turned his head away, but a moment later his eyes fluttered open. His gaze shifted around the tent, then up toFlorian, tangerine orbs growing soft with affection when Kade noticed him.
“Sorry,” Florian stammered, smiling. “We’re eating breakfast, so... I don’t know. I guess I thought I would just check on you. Sorry I woke you.”
Kade stretched, then sat up, shaking his head.
“Don’t apologize,” he replied, his voice husky with sleep. “I didn’t mean to sleep in. Usually I’m the first one up.”
“Must’ve been my fault,” Florian replied, flushing. Kade gave him a small, knowing smile.
“Guess so,” he sighed. Florian stepped back as Kade moved to step out of the tent, blinking in the light.
“Florian’s back,” Rune chirped, grinning over at him. Kade didn’t reply, only sighing with a long-suffering expression as Koji handed him a bowl. She laughed anyway. “Just in case you didn’t notice.”
“So tell us what happened,” Koji prompted Florian, handing him a bowl as well. Rune’s mirthful expression became serious, and she nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, okay,” Florian sighed. “Do we have somewhere to sit down?”
They settled near the tents, sitting on thick folded-up blankets that served as makeshift cushions against the damp earth. Between spoonfuls of porridge, Florian explained how he had tried to see part of the Summer Court in order to teleport them there, and how Thaddeus had shared his memories of the castle and the swimming pond.
“So is he, like... here, now?” Rune asked dubiously, eyes flickering around Florian as if she could somehow see the shadow of the spirit if she just looked hard enough. “If he knew what you wanted, can he hear what we’re saying?”
“I don’t think so,” Florian said, then shrugged. “I think he’s sort of... aware of what I’m doing or thinking, but not activelyhere, if that makes sense.”
“And you think that seeing his memory is enough to let you teleport?” Koji asked, also sounding unsure. Florian noticed how Kade’s face twitched at the question, certainly echoing Koji’s concern, but not quite saying so.
“I don’t know,” Florian confessed. “But Elodie thought it was likely to work. So I’d like to at least try. If it can spare us weeks and weeks of travel through the Blight, I think it’s worth it to try. Traveling that long would really suck. If we can avoid it...”
“Makes sense,” Koji said, nodding. Kade looked less convinced but still said nothing.
“And Elodie is making us each some of the shroud pendants she made before,” Florian continued. “So any traveling we end up needing to do in the Blight will be a lot easier. Once she’s done with those, we’ll be ready to head to the Winter Court for our last preparations, then I guess we’ll go to the Summer Court. Does that work for everyone?”
