“While potentially killing others. This could break you.”
I looked at him, really looked at him, this man. This wizard. The oldest living human in the world. This man who had antagonized me, irritated me, made me want to pull my hair out while he listed off my faults on a regular basis.
And now, maybe for the first time, I could see how much he cared about me.
So I said, “I love you too, you know.”
He looked surprised. Then he scowled and shook his head.
And then, wonder of all wonders, the scowl melted away, and Randall smiled.
It was a gnarly thing, his teeth yellowed, his liver lips stretched thin. His beard was scraggly, and I was pretty sure his eyebrows had recently purchased the rest of his face and were gradually moving in, but still. He smiled.
“You’re an idiot,” he said.
“I know.”
He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “I need you to take care, Sam. If I could take this burden from you, I would. You must remember no matter how much the darkness calls, you cannot answer it. You’re stronger than it is. Than any prophecy. You’re braver than I could have ever hoped for. Don’t let it take you away.”
“I won’t.”
He pulled his hand back. And then he said, “Morgan would be proud of the wizard you’ve become.”
We didn’t speak much after that.
WE BURST into the slums, both of us starting to flag. Ryan was sweating profusely. I had a stitch in my side and was struggling to catch my breath.
“Why would he want us here?” Ryan gasped, pulling me down a darkened road just as the first drops of rain fell from the black sky above.
“I don’t know. He’s—”
We rounded a familiar corner, and Ryan almost caused me to fall over as I skidded to a stop, my feet sliding on the slick cobblestone.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, gaze darting around. “We have to keep moving, Sam. It’s—”
“Look.”
“What? I don’t know what you’re—oh.”
There was an alley off to our right. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t much. It was wide enough to fit, say, a group of teenage douchebags chasing a boy who’d taken back a bag of cloth stolen from an elderly woman. It led to a dead end, a large wall connected to some run-down apartments on the next street over.
Overhead, thunder rippled through the sky. Moments later, lightning flashed.
“This is where….”
“Yeah,” Ryan said. “It is.”
“Look at us now,” I said, grinning wildly at him. “Who’d have thought we’d be running for our lives from a crazed supervillain while you held my hand because you love me so much.”
He kissed me. There, in the rain.
I gave it my all because he deserved nothing less.
“Hey,” he said as he pulled away. “Remember when you asked me to marry you?”
I shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Maybe we should do that. When this is all done.”
“You gonna stand up in front of everyone with me?”
“Yeah.”
“Gonna tell me you want to be with me forever?”
“Forever, Sam.”
“At the last minute, are you gonna tell someone else you love them?”
He scowled at me. “Why would you even say that, oh my gods—”
“You’ve already done it once, Foxheart, don’t even with me right now—”
“I told you I loved you. You were the one—”
“If you’re going to break my heart, just make sure it’s not with Lady Tina. Or Terry. Because Terry wants to ride you just as much as you’ve already ridden him—”
“I hate you so much right now. You know what? Wedding off.”
I touched his cheek. “Yeah. Yes. Ryan. I’ll marry you.”
The smile he gave was blinding. “We’re going to be so happy, just you wait and—”
“How lovely.”
Ryan whirled around, shoving me behind him, gripping his sword tightly.
I peered over his shoulder.
Myrin stood a little farther down the road. The rain fell around him, but it didn’t fall on him. It was as if he was surrounded by a dome of sorts, the raindrops splashing onto a hardened invisible surface, trails dripping down around him. He was smiling at us, a soft thing that I’d seen time and time again on his brother’s face.
It hit me then.
Just how angry I was.
How the rage was threatening to pull me down.
I was mired in it, and I didn’t want to fight it anymore.
I snarled at him over Ryan’s shoulder, trying to get by. But Ryan had a hand wrapped around my wrist, holding me in place while he faced Myrin. Rain slid down the blade of his sword, and I wanted nothing more than to take us away to a place where Myrin would never get to lay eyes on my cornerstone ever again.
“You’ve fought valiantly, Sam,” Myrin said. “I think, in the end, you should be proud of what you’ve achieved. It wasn’t enough, but you’ve done things that I did not expect.”
“Not another step,” Ryan snapped at him.
“Or what?” Myrin said, staying right where he was. “What exactly will you do? You’re a knight and nothing more. You don’t stand a chance against someone like me.”
“Maybe,” Ryan agreed. “But I’m not just a knight.”
“No?”
Ryan shook his head. “No. I’m Ryan Foxheart, Knight Commander of the King’s Guard. And I’m the cornerstone of Sam of Dragons.”
And my brave and foolish knight charged the Dark wizard Myrin.
I didn’t have time to stop him. One moment he was holding me behind him, and the next he was running full tilt at Myrin, sword at his side, the tip of the blade sparking as it dragged along the ground. Water splashed up with the four steps he took before he leapt at Myrin, both hands on his sword as he raised it high over his head to bring it down and— Myrin raised his arm, crossing it over his chest.
Then he swung it out in a flat arc.
Ryan grunted as he was hurled back down the alley, crashing into the far wall. I heard his armor smashing into stone. His sword fell out of reach. He slid down the wall in the alleyway where everything had begun.
It was quiet after that.
He didn’t move.
“No,” I whispered to the rain.
I ignored Myrin.
I ran down the alley.
I slid to my knees, skin tearing further. I barely felt the pain.
“Ryan?” I said, running my hands along his chest plate. “Ryan? I need you to get up. Ryan, you need to get up, you need to get up.”
He didn’t move. I couldn’t even tell if he was breathing.
I—
“Sam.”
I glanced over my shoulder.
Myrin stood at the entrance to the alley.
“You,” I said.
He cocked his head.
“You did this.”
“Oh, Sam. If you really think about it, this—and everything that has happened—is on you. I gave you a chance. Back in Mashallaha. I told you then that if you didn’t join me, I would take everything from you. You can’t possibly be surprised that I’d do exactly as I’ve said. Morgan. Ryan. And when I’m done with you, I will go for the others. Your friends. Your family. That insufferable unicorn. They will fall, just as you will.”
“No.”
He laughed. “No? You don’t get to tell me no. Because here, now, is where your story ends. Not with a happily ever after. But with the destruction of all you’ve held dear.”
I stood slowly, turning toward him.
He smiled. “Good. This is good. You’ve done well, Sam. I’m sure they’ll sing songs about you. The young wizard who fought boldly until the end when his magic was consumed.”
“It won’t happen,” I told him quietly. “You won’t win.”
“This was never about heroes and villains. It never has been. You are the final step needed to realize the new world order. My world order. Because once I have you, I will have the dragons, and my reach will extend far beyond the borders of Verania. It will—”
“You’re monologuing.”
He looked startled. “Excuse me?”
“You’re… monologuing. Just like always. You fucking villains. You never change. You never change.”
He didn’t like that very much. “I am nothing like the others you’ve—”
I laughed harshly. “You’re exactly the same. Oh sure, you’re stronger than anyone I’ve faced. You’ve gotten a little further. But in the end, you are exactly like the others. And you know what happened to all of them? I kicked their fucking asses.”