“Oh. Sorry. Oh yes! I am so here to save you and stuff.”
“He hasn’t talked to humans in long time,” Kevin said. “He’s forgotten how. I haven’t, and I’ve noticed that no one has given me all of their things. Which means you have disappointed Lord Dragon. I might just have to consume your children.”
The crowd took a step back.
“I’m kidding,” Kevin said, rolling his eyes. “I mean, I will be kidding if you give me something shiny right now.”
“You’re not going to eat their children,” I told him.
“Right? Can you just imagine? I mean, it’d be population control, but still.”
“We’ll consider it if there’s not enough food for—”
“Sam? Sam?”
My breath caught in my chest at the sound of her voice. My eyes burned immediately.
She was pushing her way through the crowd. She didn’t look much different than she had before. Maybe her hair had a few more streaks of gray, and maybe the lines around her eyes were a little more pronounced, but none of that mattered. Because she was here, alive and well from what I could see, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Well, until I saw the large man following behind her, growling at everyone to get the hell out of his way, godsdammit, because that was his son.
People moved quite quickly after that.
My knees felt a little weak as they burst out of the crowd. My heart hurt, but it was a good pain.
My mother, Rosemary Haversford, didn’t slow down. She hurtled toward me, face wet, arms outstretched, and I was helpless at the sight of it. I whimpered, “Mom?” before she collided with me, almost knocking us both over. Her grip was strong as she threw her arms around my neck, my chin at the top of her head as she trembled against me. I felt her tears at my throat, but before I could do anything, my father, Joshua Haversford, picked us up in his great big arms and clutched us to his chest.
Once, when I was young, Morgan of Shadows came to our house in the slums to take us away from that life and offer us another.
That was the first time I’d seen my father cry.
He’d been a man about it, his eyes wet but tears refusing to fall. But his voice had been hoarse, and I remember watching him with such awe to know that my father, my hero, could cry just like everyone else.
And here, now, he did it again. Except he didn’t hold anything back this time. His cheek was pressed against the top of my head and he was sobbing, voice breaking as he said, “My boy, my boy, my boy.”
I could only hold on helplessly, part of me feeling like it was being stitched back together.
I was home.
I was home.
I was home.
THEY WOULDN’T let me go for the longest time.
Wait. Let me walk that back.
I wouldn’t let them go for the longest time.
When my father tried to pull away to get a better look at me, I made a wounded noise in the back of my throat and clutched the both of them tighter, refusing to allow any more distance between us than was absolutely necessary.
Along the edges of my vision and through the blur of tears, I could see the crowd dispersing at the request of Lady Tina and the Foxy Lady Brigade. She glanced back at me, a strange, almost soft look on her face, until she saw me watching her. She stiffened, scowled at me, then stalked away into Camp HaveHeart.
I would deal with her later.
Kevin had curled his tail around us protectively, keeping watch, growling at anyone who tried to get too near. I heard Katya and Brant whispering to each other as they walked into the camp, and I reminded myself to seek them out later and give them my thanks.
Eventually we were reduced to sniffling. I thought maybe I could compose myself enough to attempt conversation, and made to pull away.
I gave them a watery smile as I stepped back. “Hey,” I said.
“Hey,” Mom said flatly, wiping her eyes. “Hey, he says. Joshua. Dear. Would you handle this, please? Because I don’t know that I’m able to say anything constructive at the moment.”
Dad’s eyes narrowed. He crossed his arms over his considerable chest. “With pleasure. Sam. We love you more than anything else in this world. Also, you’re grounded.”
“Aw, I missed you guys too—I’m what?”
“Grounded, mister,” Mom said, sounding furious. “For the rest of your life. Which, since you’re apparently a wizard now, is probably going to go on for centuries.”
“Hey!”
“You’re lucky we’re in public,” Dad said. “Otherwise I’d be tanning your butt with my belt right now.”
“Ooh, kinky.”
“Sam!”
“You wouldn’t spank me,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m a grown man, not some little—okay, the expression on your face is suggesting otherwise. That… is not what I expected in a homecoming.”
“You left a letter,” Dad said. “We woke up one morning, all of us, and you and Kevin were gone. And you think you can waltz back in here and not be in trouble? We didn’t raise you to be an idiot, so don’t start acting like one now.”
“Whoa,” I breathed. “Savage.”
“And we looked for you,” Mom said. “For months. Crawling through the Dark Woods and shouting your name. We only stopped when the Darks attacked Meridian City and it became unsafe. And now you show up here and don’t expect there to be consequences for your actions? Child, please. I brought you into this world. I can certainly take you out of it.”
“These are my parents,” I whispered fervently.
“Grounded,” Dad insisted.
“For life,” Mom added.
“I don’t want to,” I said, scowling at them. “I can do what I want. I am an adult. You don’t know me. You don’t know my life!”
Mom had to stop Dad from taking off his belt right then. It was a close thing, but he turned his gaze toward Kevin, who was watching us with interest. “Are you okay too?”
“I’m pretty much a god now, but other than that, I’m fine.”
Mom rolled her eyes. “Good to know nothing has changed.” She reached out and touched the side of his leg. “We’re happy you’re home too.”
He rumbled happily.
“You look like you’ve been on the road awhile,” Mom said as she stepped back, eyeing me with concern. “Let’s get you cleaned up. There’s much we have to discuss.”
WE HEADED deeper into Camp HaveHeart, people scurrying around us like every single one of them was late for something important. All of them openly stared at me as they passed us by, and it made my skin itch. It’d been a long time since I’d been around this many people, and I’d apparently gotten used to the quiet of the forest.
And if I looked closely enough, I could see their pale skin, the dark circles under their eyes. The way they all seemed skittish and exhausted, averting their gazes as soon as I caught them watching me. Like I was something to be feared. Something unknown. They looked at Kevin the same way as he trudged alongside us, leaving large footprints in the dirt.
In the City of Lockes, it wasn’t uncommon to walk down a main thoroughfare and see people of all economic statuses. Women in frilly dresses, men in cravats and wide-brimmed hats. Children in dirty trousers running and laughing, faces sticky with candy from a shop.
But here, now, the sky above was gray, and the look and mood of Camp HaveHeart matched.
The people were all similarly dressed in drab clothes that looked as if they’d been patched up or cobbled together hastily. They were clean, for the most part, but it was a uniform look I’d never seen before on the people of Verania. For once, everyone looked the same. Even the Foxy Lady Brigade hadn’t looked that much better than anyone else. I hoped it rankled Lady Tina to no end.