by T. J. Klune
“Yeah,” I said to Ryan. “Go easy on me. I had a scare.”
“I was talking to you,” Gary said as he walked out the door.
“You bitch!”
“Love you, kitten!” And the door closed behind them.
I was doomed.
“So,” I said nervously. “What are the chances we can just forget all about this and—”
Ryan kissed me, gripping the sides of my face tightly. His teeth clacked against mine, and he swallowed my gasp down. His tongue was warm and slick, and I groaned, forgetting about the pain for at least a moment.
We were both panting as he broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against mine. My hands were on his waist. He still cupped my face, brushing his thumbs over my cheeks, arms folded between us.
“You can’t do that to me,” he said, sounding angry and broken. “You just can’t.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I don’t care. Sam. Promise me. You can’t do that. You can’t die.”
I gave him a trembling smile. “I can’t promise that. None of us can. You know that, Ryan.”
His eyes were wide and a little manic. “Promise me.”
I meant to say You don’t have to worry about that. I meant to say I love you so, so much. I meant to say We’re gonna do this together. I meant to say so many things.
But I was young and foolish. I’d just met Myrin face-to-face and I’d survived. I’d tamed the desert dragon. So much was up in the air, but I knew I could do this. I could end this. I could beat back the dark.
I said, “I promise. Ryan, I promise. Nothing’s going to happen. To either of us. Any of us.”
He kissed me again, desperately so.
All of you will not survive until the end. There will be loss, Sam. And it will burn like nothing has ever burned before.
Fuck the star dragon. Fuck the gods.
I wouldn’t let anything take him away from me.
And just when I was about to lead him back to the bed, to take what he was offering to me so freely, I remembered what it was I’d forgotten.
Indeed I do. And I think a lesson in humility is in order. Even now, the Darks march toward Meridian City where the people sleep unaware of the fate that awaits them. At my word, the city will be razed. It is truly a sinful place, so I doubt it would be missed too much. And they will have my word, Sam. As an example to you.
“No,” I breathed against Ryan’s lips.
I felt Ryan frown. “What?”
I pushed him away. “We have to get to Meridian City. We have to—”
In the corner, where our packs lay on the ground, something rattled sharply.
Ryan took a step back. “Is that the—”
“Summoning crystal,” I said, brushing past him. “It’s gotta be Morgan.” I groaned as I crouched, my back screaming at me, the lightning-struck scars on my chest on fire. I dug through my pack until my hand closed around the crystal. I pulled it out and saw the little burst of light shoot off deep inside it.
There was that little tug in my head, that old familiar pull, and the crystal lit up in my hand.
“Morgan?”
“Sam,” he said. “Thank the gods. Where are you?”
“We’re in Mashallaha still. The dragon is ours. He’s—”
“Sam.”
“No,” I said. “No. No.”
But I knew. I already knew.
He said, “You must listen to me.”
He said, “For we don’t have much time.”
He said, “The Darks are heading toward Meridian City.”
He said, “The defenses will hold, but we don’t have much time.”
He said, “Randall is coming for me.”
He said, “We’ll do everything that we can.”
He said, “Sam. It’s begun.”
“I understand,” I said, swallowing thickly. “We can—”
“No,” Morgan said firmly. “I want you to go north.”
“What?”
“Listen to me. There’s nothing you can do. You can’t make it on foot. Your magic cannot transport you there.”
“But Randall can take you? I’m getting real sick of your godsdamned rules, Morgan. I can help—”
“Don’t you think that’s what he wants?” Morgan demanded. “Don’t you think you’ll play right into his hands?”
“He was already here. Myrin was already here.”
Silence. Then, in a whisper, “What?”
“He came for me. I held him off.”
“You what? How in the name of the gods—”
“And he almost died doing it,” Ryan growled down at the crystal. He stared at me defiantly, as if daring me to speak against him. “Myrin almost killed him.”
“North, Sam,” Morgan said. “Don’t make me tell you again. You have a job to do.”
“Morgan—”
“Sam.”
“What about the King? The Prince? My parents?”
“They’ll be safe here. The Castle Guard is on it. There is no stronger hold than Castle Lockes. We’ll—”
“Blast it, Morgan, are you still blathering on to that thing? We have to go.”
“It’s Sam,” Morgan said to Randall. “Myrin’s already found him. They escaped.”
“Hey!” I barked. “We didn’t escape. I kicked his motherfucking ass.”
“Aren’t you just a special snowflake,” Randall said, and I could picture the constipated look on his stupid face. I was going to turn so many things of his into dicks the next time I saw him. “You have your orders. North, Sam. Don’t tarry. Mind me now. We’ll meet you at Castle Freesias.”
And then the crystal went dark.
“That motherfucker hung up on me,” I snapped. “That… that… I can’t even think of an awesome insult because I’m so pissed off!”
“You heard them,” Ryan said. “We should head north.”
“Damn right we should. But we’re not going to.”
Ryan sighed. “I was afraid you were going to say that.”
“Dude. You know me. There’s trouble. And I need to be smack dab in the middle of it. Mama’s there. I have to help her.”
Ryan was already throwing our clothes into the packs. “I’m sure she’s probably already leading an army of whores as we speak.”
“Dude,” I breathed. “That is the best army ever.”
Ryan grinned wildly at me. It really was a breathtaking thing.
“We’re gonna kick so much ass,” I said.
“Damn right.”
“Kiss my face,” I demanded.
He did just that.
Then, “Wait.”
I frowned, because I was feeling badass and was having a great mack sesh with my man. “For what?”
“Meridian City is on the other side of Verania.”
“I know. Do you think we have time for blow jobs?”
“Sam.”
“Right. Let’s just jack each other—aw, crap, Meridian City is on the other side of the country. How in the fuck are we going to get there in time?”
And then I had the most awesome idea in the history of ideas.
Epilogue: Taking Flight
I BURST out into the sunshine. A crowd had gathered outside. They took a step back, a look of fear on their faces when they saw me. There were probably a million different rumors being whispered about me, but I didn’t have time for that. Or them.
“Kevin!” I bellowed.
“Damn right,” the dragon said. “Screaming my name and shit. Lord Dragon is allll about that.”
I glared up at him.
He didn’t look intimidated at all, the bastard.
“Do you trust me?”
He cocked his head at me. “What’s this, then?”
“Do you trust me.”
His nostrils flared. “Yes.”
“And you know I would never hurt you.”
“Yes.”
“Sam?” Gary asked, Tiggy at his side. “What’s going on?”
I ignored him, staring up at the dragon. “I need to ride you.”
Kevin grinned. “Yeah you do, baby boy. What are your thoughts on role-play? Since I’m your stepfather, we can always go with you coming home with a bad report card and I’ll be there to help you get your grades back up. With my penis.”
“We did that once,” Gary said to Tiggy. “I went from failing to graduating with honors.”
“Ick,” Tiggy said.
“The Darks are heading toward Meridian City.”
That shut everyone up right quick.
Kevin didn’t look away.
“And I need you,” I told him. “I know you’ve been hurt in the past. I know you don’t trust most humans. I know you don’t trust most wizards. But you’re my friend. And I would never do anything to hurt you.”
The air around us began to feel electric, as if we were both leaking magic all over the place. He lowered his head until we were eye level, and I wondered if my eyes were darkening, like they’d changed colors with Zero. They’d been red, for Zero’s scales. Kevin was black as the night. There was a bond between us. I didn’t know why I’d never felt it so strongly before.
His tail twitched dangerously. He looked more animal than I’d ever seen him before.
He said, “Will you use your magic against me? If I say no? To force me to do your bidding?” His voice was deeper than it’d ever been before.
And I said, “No.”
“Then yes, wizard. I will help you.”
I reached out and touched his face. He pressed back into my hand. “We have to be quick,” I said quietly. “People are getting hurt. We have to help them.”
“Leave it to me,” the dragon said, breath hot against me. “I’ll show you just how fast I can fly.”
“HOLY FUCKING BALLS OF FUCKING SHIT!” Gary screamed as we rocketed up into the sky, the wind snapping around us. “THIS IS NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND FOR—OH I’M GOING TO BE SI—” I looked down from my spot on Kevin’s back just in time to see Gary vomit rainbows from where he sat in the clutches of Kevin’s hands against his chest. I could sympathize with the vomiting. At least he hadn’t been eating corn.
Ryan sat behind me with Tiggy behind him, arms wrapped around us both, holding us in place as we left the desert behind and rose toward the infinite blue. It was frightening. It was exhilarating.
But I had no time to enjoy it.
Because the Darks were coming.
And I was going to make them pay.
You are not ready, the Great White had said.
There will be loss, the star dragon had said.
Fuck them.
Fuck them all.
I was Sam of Wilds.
And I was going to face my godsdamned destiny.
See what happens next in The Consumption of Magic
By TJ Klune
Sequel to A Destiny of Dragons
Sam of Wilds faced the Dark wizard Myrin and lived to tell the tale.
Granted, the battle left him scarred, but things could be a hell of a lot worse.
It’s not until he reunites with Morgan of Shadows and Randall that he realizes just how much worse things could be.
Because the scars have meaning and hint at Myrin’s true plans for Sam and the Kingdom of Verania.
With time running out, Sam and his band of merry misfits—the unicorn Gary, the half-giant Tiggy, Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart, and the dragon known as Kevin—must travel to the snowy mountains in the North and the heart of the Dark Woods to convince the remaining dragons to stand against Myrin. Along the way, Sam learns secrets of the past that will forever change the course of the future.
A reckoning is coming for Sam of Wilds, and there is nothing he can do to stop it.
Coming in Fall 2017
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
More from TJ Klune
Gustavo Tiberius is not normal. He knows this. Everyone in his small town of Abby, Oregon, knows this. He reads encyclopedias every night before bed. He has a pet ferret called Harry S. Truman. He owns a video rental store that no one goes to. His closest friends are a lady named Lottie with drag queen hair and a trio of elderly Vespa riders known as the We Three Queens.
Gus is not normal. And he’s fine with that. All he wants is to be left alone.
Until Casey, an asexual stoner hipster and the newest employee at Lottie’s Lattes, enters his life. For some reason, Casey thinks Gus is the greatest thing ever. And maybe Gus is starting to think the same thing about Casey, even if Casey is obsessive about Instagramming his food.
But Gus isn’t normal and Casey deserves someone who can be. Suddenly wanting to be that someone, Gus steps out of his comfort zone and plans to become the most normal person ever.
After all, what could possibly go wrong?
Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City Of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.
Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam’s pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King’s Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.
When Sam’s fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.
At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle—Knight Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.
Naturally, it all goes to hell when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can’t control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan’s boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.
Or so he thinks.
In the small mountain town of Amorea, it’s stretching toward autumn of 1954. The memories of a world at war are fading in the face of a prosperous future. Doors are left unlocked at night, and neighbors are always there to give each other a helping hand.
The people here know certain things as fact:
Amorea is the best little town there is.
The only good Commie is a dead Commie.
The Women’s Club of Amorea runs the town with an immaculately gloved fist.
And bookstore owner Mike Frazier loves that boy down at the diner, Sean Mellgard. Why they haven’t gotten their acts together is anybody’s guess. It may be the world’s longest courtship, but no one can deny the way they look at each other.
Slow and steady wins the race, or so they say.
But something’s wrong with Mike. He hears voices in his house late at night. There are shadows crawling along the walls and great clouds of birds overhead that only he can see.
Something’s happening in Amorea. And Mike will do whatever he can to keep the man he loves.
It begins with a message that David cannot ignore:
I want to see you.
He agrees, and on a cold winter’s night, David and Phillip will come together to sift through the wreckage of the memory of a life no longer lived.
David is burdened, carrying with him the heavy guilt of the past six years upon his shoulders.
Phillip offers redemption.
Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.
Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.
Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy’s secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.
Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.
It’s been th
ree years since that fateful day—and the boy is back. Except now he’s a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.
Readers love The Lightning-Struck Heart by TJ Klune
“The Lightning-Struck Heart is a stunning fantasy novel that I am certain will go down as one of the top m/m literary picks of the year 2015.”
—Joyfully Jay
“…this book was just the confirmation of the great talent TJ has, a terrific gift he absolutely needs to continue to share with us.”
—Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
“This is the first story that has had me laughing almost nonstop throughout it… Truly a wonderful and magical read for anyone.”
—MM Good Book Reviews
“I literally loved every single minute of this.”
—Reviews by Jessewave
When TJ KLUNE was eight, he picked up a pen and paper and began to write his first story (which turned out to be his own sweeping epic version of the video game Super Metroid—he didn’t think the game ended very well and wanted to offer his own take on it. He never heard back from the video-game company, much to his chagrin). Now, over two decades later, the cast of characters in his head have only gotten louder. But that’s okay, because he’s recently become a full-time writer and can give them the time they deserve.
Since being published, TJ has won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance, fought off three lions that threatened to attack him and his village, and was chosen by Amazon as having written one of the best GLBT books of 2011.
And one of those things isn’t true.
(It’s the lion thing. The lion thing isn’t true.)
Facebook: TJ Klune
Blog: tjklunebooks.com
Email: [email protected]
By TJ Klune
Burn
How to Be a Normal Person
Into This River I Drown