“I don’t know! I didn’t touch it!” Koji protested, sounding just as bewildered.

Florian’s body felt weightless in his arms. Kade realized he was floating, the light carrying him out of Kade’s grip.

“No!” he cried, trying to hold him back, but the light had completely consumed Florian and was lifting him with a strength that he couldn’t overcome. He watched, face twisted with anguish, as Florian’s light-filled form rose higher and glowed brighter—too high for him to reach, until he was nearly at the high ceiling of the grand entryway.

He didn’t understand what was happening. Would he not even be able to bring Florian’s body back to the Winter Court? He couldn’t rest in his own home, his own kingdom?

With a familiar wave of light and heat, the glow dissipated in a tiny shockwave, leaving Florian’s form upright in the air. But now the Arrow was no longer in his chest, Kade realized, only making him more confused.

“Catch him!” Rune exclaimed as Florian began to fall—but it was a slow, controlled fall, like the magic that had raised him up in the first place. Kade held out his arms, and Florian floated right into them, still upright, as if he might somehow stand on his own feet.

His feet touched the ground, eyes still closed, but he felt warm and firm in Kade’s arms. His heart was pounding, not daring to believe what might be happening.

“Florian?” he whispered.

Florian’s eyelids flickered, then opened. His right eye was the same sweet, familiar amber; the left was a cold, pale blue. But when his eyes focused on Kade, recognition sparked; he smiled, and nothing else mattered.