by T. J. Klune
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have the time or the patience for your shit right now, Dimitri. I really don’t.”
He glanced up at Kevin, then back at me, eyes narrowed. “Did you offend him?”
“Me? I don’t offend anyone.”
“You offend me!” one of the fairies screeched.
“Except for Harry,” I said, rolling my eyes. “But he doesn’t count because he’s still pissed at me that he wasn’t able to go through with the officiating of when you tried to force me to marry you. Which was forever ago, and he should get over it!” I added, raising my voice and glaring at Harry.
“You will tell me what you did,” Dimitri said, fluttering in front of my face.
I waved my hand as if trying to get rid of an annoying insect. “I declined a ridiculous invitation. Also, you should know that the Great White is a bit of an asshole. In case you were wondering.”
“You declined. An invitation. By the Great White.”
“Wow,” I said. “I didn’t know your face could turn that purple. That’s impressive.”
“Do you wish to die?” Dimitri snarled at me.
I cocked my head at him. “Was that a threat? Because that sounded like a threat.”
“You need him. You know what the prophecy says! You require—”
“You know what?” I took a step toward him. “I am getting sick and tired of people telling me what I need. What I must do. What’s required of me. And I’m really fucking sick and tired of this godsdamn prophecy. I never asked for this. I never wanted this. This was thrust upon me, and I am paying for the sins of those that came before me. The Great White chose to walk away without helping me. Without helping Verania. He has turned his back on me and all of you. I could do the same. I could turn my back on the people that need me the most, because I am tired of it all. But I’m not going to do that, because I am better than that. I’ve stopped Myrin before on my own. And now I have four dragons to back me up. It will be enough.”
I spun on my heels, pushing past Kevin and leaving the fairies behind.
I heard Dimitri speak quietly after me.
He said, “For all our sakes, I hope you’re right, Sam of Wilds.”
I didn’t look back.
GARY AND Tiggy and Ryan all yelled at me when they found us a couple of hours later.
Justin did that thing where he looked like he didn’t care, but obviously it was just an act because best friends 5eva.
“Is it done?” the Prince asked when the others had finally quieted down. Tiggy had gathered Gary and me in his arms, holding us close. Ryan stood next to him, hand wrapped around my ankle, anchoring me to him. I felt a little bit better. I loved my idiots. “Did he agree to help you?”
I smiled at him. It felt stretched too wide. My hands trembled the barest amount. “It doesn’t matter. It’s time to go home.”
And with that, we began the journey toward the City of Lockes.
THERE WAS a moment before we left the Dark Woods that I felt a little pulse at the back of my mind, a white light that echoed dully.
He whispered, Remember, apprentice: a year is what I will require when you return to me. And make no mistake, you will return.
And then it was gone.
IV: City of Lockes
Chapter 20: Home Again
ANYTIME WE came home to Castle Lockes, there was always a raucous welcome, the King, Morgan, and my parents all happy and excited to see us return.
This time was no different.
We’d been gone for a long time, far longer than we ever had before.
I didn’t think I could be blamed for the way my eyes burned at the sight of my parents standing next to Pete and the King at the gates to Castle Lockes, the word of our homecoming having spread as soon as we entered the City gates.
“Sam?” Rosemary Haversford said. “Sam?”
And then she was running toward me, dark hair trailing behind her, dress billowing, shoes smacking against the cobblestone. My breath hitched in my chest at her bright smile, the way her wet eyes shone.
She was upon me before I could take another step, her arms wrapped around my shoulders, her head tucked just underneath my chin. I sagged against her as she laughed. “My boy,” she whispered. “My son. Sam. Oh, Sam. You’ve come home.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
I felt a big hand on the back of my neck as Joshua Haversford, my father, leaned forward, pressing his forehead near my ear. “Hello, Sam,” he said in that big voice of his.
“Hi, Dad,” I managed to say.
And it was good.
I COULDN’T sleep.
It was strange. We’d been on the road for ages, staying in taverns when we could but mostly camping out on the side of the road upon thin blankets as we dozed around a fire, our stomachs grumbling with hunger.
But here I was in my bed, full from a feast in our honor, not having to worry about waking up in a few hours to take my turn on watch, and I was wide-awake, staring at the ceiling.
Ryan was curled next to me, snoring lightly on my shoulder, his legs tangled with mine, arm thrown over my chest. His hair was longer than it’d been for some time, and I knew it’d most likely be shorn off the very next day, bright and early, along with his epic adventure beard, before he met with his knights. They’d line up for his inspection, and he’d have a hardened expression on his face. He’d bark orders at them, growl at them for smudges on their armor or the dullness of their blades. They’d stare straight ahead while he berated them, but they would all know it was an act. He would be happy to be standing in front of his knights again, and they’d be thrilled to have their commander back.
He deserved it.
And he obviously had no problem sleeping, if the drool on my shoulder meant anything.
I closed my eyes again, trying to clear my mind, focusing on the sounds of the castle.
I opened them again minutes later.
I sighed and slid out from underneath Ryan, careful not to wake him.
He rolled over onto my pillow, smacking his lips and sighing. I leaned down and pressed a kiss against his cheek.
He slept on.
The halls of Castle Lockes were mostly empty. I nodded at the knights who stood guard in various entryways, but didn’t stop to talk to them. I was too busy sorting through the tangled web in my head, trying to find a thread to start with, to tug on to see where it would lead me.
I found myself in the gardens, the stars shining down upon me. They didn’t mean to me what they had when I was a child, or even a year ago. Not with everything I knew now. I couldn’t see myself wishing upon them, or at least not in the way I used to. Knowing that the gods were actually listening to me but doing nothing but shuffling me as a pawn upon their cosmic board took a bit of the magic away.
I walked through the plants and flowers until I came upon the hidden entrance toward the rear that led to my mother’s secret garden. I hadn’t been back here in a long time, not since that night before Ryan’s wedding to Justin when I told him that he was my lightning-struck heart, that I thought I loved him. Everything that had followed had been a whirlwind, and I’d been caught up in it.
I pushed my way into the secret garden and—
“My King?”
Good King Anthony of Verania sat on a bench my father had made for my mother, a lantern lit next to him, a book sitting unread on his lap.
“Sam,” he said, mustache twitching as he gave me a small smile. “It is rather late. After all the excitement, I would have thought you’d have dropped off to sleep immediately.”
I shrugged, playing with the hem of my tunic. “Me too. But you know how it goes.”
He nodded sagely. “I do. But mine comes with the curse of age, something you should not be experiencing for quite a long time to come.”
“I suppose.”
He patted the bench beside him. “Come, Sam. I would have you sit with me. It’s been a long while since I’ve had some alone time with you.”
“At least buy me dinner first, Your Majesty,” I teased him as I stepped toward the bench.
He rolled his eyes fondly. “Sit your ass down, Sam.”
I did. He put his arm around me, and I laid my head upon his shoulder. We sat quietly for a while, watching the fireflies dancing in my mother’s garden. Instead of trying to think of everything, I thought of nothing at all, allowing myself to just breathe.
The King spoke first. “Justin told me of your adventures.”
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“We’re best friends.”
“Are you.”
“5eva. And before you ask, yes, he knows this, because I tell him all the time.”
“Is that right.”
“And as such, I assume he told you how awesome I was and that everything that happened went exactly as I planned and I looked amazing while doing said plans.”
“That… isn’t quite how it came out.”
I sighed. “He gushed and used more superlatives? Gosh, that’s so like him when he talks about me. I’m not a god, King. I’m just a man, no matter what Justin says.”
The King chuckled. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you for watching out for him.”
“It’s what we do.”
“He’s worried about you.”
I stiffened slightly. “How so?”
“He thinks all of this might be too much for you.”
I tried to pull away from the King, but his arm tightened around me. “No offense, Your Highness, but your son should keep his mouth shut.”
“Unless he’s singing your praises?”
“Precisely. In fact, that’s how it should be for everyone. If you could make that a law, I’d greatly appreciate it. And maybe do something about those We-Hate-Sam-A-Lot posters I saw on the sides of buildings when we came back into the City.”
“Saw those, did you?”
“Yeah. And they wouldn’t have bothered me as much if they hadn’t drawn me as a demon with the bodies of children and puppies littered around me. I mean, I haven’t used children and/or puppies in a spell in at least a month.”
“I have noticed an increase in both children and puppies in the City since your departure.”
“Oh, no worries. I’ll make sure to take care of that now that I’m back.”
“Dissenters often are the loudest because they feel the need to shout,” the King said, squeezing my shoulder. “I hope you know that.”
“Have there been many articles written about me in the paper since I’ve been gone?”
“Oh, yes. Daily.”
“And how many signatures on that petition that demanded my removal as the apprentice to the King’s Wizard?”
“Just under fifty thousand. And I gave it great consideration when it was presented to me before I ultimately vetoed it. Granted, the papers the next day accused you of having bewitched me for your devious plots. There was also the implication that you and I were rather voracious lovers because you had a thing for my mustache.”
“I do have a thing for your mustache,” I said. “I mean, my gods, have you seen it? I demand that you declare it to be a national treasure.”
“I’ll get right on that.”
“See that you do.”
“Have you spelled me to do your bidding?”
“Eh, that seems like a lot of work.”
“I thought as much.”
“Thanks. You know. For the veto thing.”
He snorted. “You’re welcome.”
“Did you even consider it?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
“I suppose not. But fifty thousand is a lot of people.”
“It is.”
“I don’t know what I did to make them so angry,” I admitted as I looked down at my hands.
“You exist,” the King said. “You exist and are something that they don’t understand. That is the way of things, Sam. People live their ordered lives. They go day by day. They go to work. They come home. They feed their families. They live in their homes. It is measured. It’s routine. And then you come along, a boy from the slums, plucked seemingly from obscurity toward greatness. You can do things that most others cannot. It is wondrous, but they do not understand. And there is fear in the unknown. For the longest time, they could ignore it because you were just a child. But now you’ve become a man and have found happiness in the love you feel for Ryan Foxheart. Call it what you will, be it jealousy or fear or anger. It means the same thing. You were given gifts that they were not. They are loud, Sam. But they are not the majority. I often find that the will of the people is a quiet thing but one that is capable of amassing into something quite extraordinary. You’ll see. There may be those that are against you, but they will never be everyone.”
“A lot has happened.”
“Has it?”
I nodded slowly. “It didn’t go the way I thought it would. Vadoma. Ruv. The dragons. Myrin. It’s…. I just didn’t expect it to be like this.”
“What did you expect?”
“I don’t know exactly. Just—I thought, maybe, it’d be. You know. Easy. I know you probably don’t realize this, but I get myself into a lot of scrapes.”
“You don’t say.”
“Shocking, right? People like to capture me.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
“Exactly! I mean—wait. You’re insulting me, aren’t you.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“I’m worried too,” I said, the words out before I could stop them.
“About?”
“Just… how do I know if I’m doing the right thing?”
“What does your heart tell you?”
“The Great White said I shouldn’t let my heart rule over me.”
“The Great White isn’t the be-all end-all.”
“Isn’t he? The gods said—”
“The gods,” the King huffed. “They sit in judgment and do little else. They have underestimated you, Sam, as I think most everyone else has. They don’t see the scope of your heart. Not like I can. Not like your family can. They don’t know you like we do. We know what you’re capable of. You may have a destiny, Sam, but what you do with it is up to you. And whatever you think is right, you will have my support.”
“I still hate that word.”
“And yet there it is.”
I pressed my face against his chest and breathed him in. “I missed you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “And I you, Sam.”
Sleep was easier after that.
IT WASN’T until days later that we heard from Randall. Morgan had attempted to reach him via the summoning crystal numerous times since our return to Castle Lockes, but it’d gone straight to a message that said, “You’ve reached Randall’s crystal. I am unable to answer at the moment, either because I am ignoring you or I have fallen and I can’t get up. If this is Morgan, please send help. If this is Sam, I am ignoring you. Have a blessed day.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s… oddly specific. And rude. Also, why is it the people who tell you to have a blessed day turn out to be the biggest assholes? Have you noticed that?”
Morgan just stared at me from across the labs.
“It’s a thing,” I insisted.
I felt somewhat vindicated when Morgan didn’t send help to see if Randall had fallen.
Granted, any goodwill I’d built up toward Randall went immediately out the window when I opened my eyes in the middle of the night only to find him crouched beside me next to the bed, his face inches from my own, his bulbous nose almost scraping against my cheek.
“Boo,” he said.
I screamed.
Ryan shot up, wearing nothing but the skin he was born with, jumping out of the bed, bits and bobs swinging to and fro as he scrambled for his sword, which was propped against the desk. Once he’d pulled it from the scabbard, he immediately posed and said, “Back away from my belov
ed, you foul creature of the night, lest you find your head removed from your shoulders!”
Foul creature, Randall mouthed to no one in particular.
“Dude,” I breathed. “You are such a douchebag. I want to ruin you so bad right now.”
Ryan looked slightly bewildered, like he wasn’t sure how he’d ended up where he was. “Sam? What’s happening?”
“You’re making me want to ignore biology and try to get you so fucking pregnant,” I said aggressively.
“Oh my gods,” Randall muttered.
“You brought this upon yourself,” I told him. “For the rest of your life, know that you facilitated in giving me a boner that I am going to stick inside that dashing and immaculate man right—ow, why are you pulling me by my ear! Dude, you’re killing my pregnancy boner!”
Randall pulled me from the room.
“You better be ass up by the time I get back!” I hollered over my shoulder at Ryan. “The things I’m going to do to you when I get back are illegal in Verania and punishable by a fine and at least six months in the dungeons, I shit you not!”
“You will stay in here,” Randall said to Ryan. “Wizards only.”
Ryan gripped the hilt of his sword and took a step forward, but Randall slammed the door and we were already moving down the hall.
“Hi, Randall, nice to see you, Randall. Glad you could make it, Randall.”
Randall ground his teeth together. I thought about telling him how unhealthy that was but figured that it was better to have my ear still attached to my head.
He pulled me down flights of stairs, ignoring my yelps, before he shoved me through the door to the labs. I wasn’t surprised to see Morgan waiting for us, fully dressed, as if he hadn’t yet gone to bed.
“Great,” I said, rubbing my ear after Randall had let me go. “This is just swell. How nice. All of us together again.”
“This is your fault,” Randall told Morgan as he began to pace back and forth. “I warned you against coddling the boy. I told you what would happen if you tried to be his friend. And now look!”