“Still the same,” Vadoma said. “I would have thought going into the woods would have changed you. How disappointing. The gods must surely be regretting you now. And that dragon. Filthy creature. He should never have been part of the prophecy. A waste, he is. Such a shame.”
“Maybe you should keep Kevin out of this,” I told her. “I don’t take kindly to people badmouthing my friends.” Because that was my job. And I was already going to give him so much shit, as he’d told me he was going to go roll around in Gary’s scent in the barn like the aberration that he was. But it was probably a smart thing to do, as it would potentially keep Gary from raining his fury down upon him. I wondered if I should do the same in Ryan’s bed. Was that weird? It seemed a little weird. “And I can assure you I’m not the same person who you saw last in Mashallaha. To think otherwise would be a mistake you would regret.”
“Are you threatening me, chava?”
I shrugged. “Take it as you will. But as a threat would be nice. I’m getting pretty damn good at that, apparently. How’s Ruv, by the way? Haven’t seen your Wolf since he stabbed Ryan in the chest after revealing he worked for Myrin.”
“Sam!” Mom barked.
“No,” I said. “I deserve an answer. She brought him into our home and he tried to kill my cornerstone.”
Silence. From everyone.
I arched an eyebrow at Vadoma, daring her to speak.
She did, and her voice sounded shaky. “I wouldn’t know how he is.”
I chuckled. “It doesn’t matter, I guess. I’ll get to him eventually. And to you, of course, if the need should call for it. I don’t know how you did it, worming your way back into my parents’ lives, but if I suspect you’re doing anything untoward, I will end you. It’s as simple as that.”
Her eyes were wide. “I was wrong,” she said slowly. “You have changed. And I don’t know if it’s for the better.”
She left the kitchen after that, shawl trailing behind her.
And then Mom said, “Mashallaha was destroyed. It was one of the first to fall. Razed to the ground. The gypsies enslaved. Vadoma was powerless to stop it. She escaped, but barely. She came to Castle Lockes near death.”
I closed my eyes. “Shit.”
“I know you have… history,” Dad said. “With her. And it’s tainted, just like ours is. And rightly so. What she said, what she did. It wasn’t fair, to you or to anyone else. But if she’s to be believed, she was influenced. By Ruv and whatever magic he possessed.”
I sighed. “Yeah. He told me. Back when he—hurt Ryan. He told us that he instilled himself into the memories of the gypsies so that they’d think he was something more than he was. That he was the Wolf to the phuro. That he was meant to be my cornerstone. I didn’t believe a word coming out of his mouth, but it’s—is that what happened?”
“So she claims,” Mom said.
“You believe her.”
“Do you believe Ruv?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I’ve had a long time to think about it. You talk about hindsight and seeing the good in people. But neither of you were there that day. In that house. None of you saw what I did. Caleb, who took us there. Lady Tina, who planned it, working with a man I thought was my friend. Ruv stabbing Ryan in the chest. Myrin consuming Morgan’s magic. You speak of forgiveness, but I don’t know if I can do that. Not now. Maybe not ever. And it all comes back to Vadoma. Her vision of my destiny.”
“Does it, though?” Dad asked. “I thought she was just a messenger.”
I glared at him. “Semantics. If she’d never come to Castle Lockes—”
“Then we might have been caught unaware,” Dad said. “Because we wouldn’t have known what was coming. She did us—and you—a favor.”
I sighed. “You know I hate it when you use logic against me. It’s not fair.”
Dad shrugged. “My power as a parent is exploiting your greatest weakness.”
“I’m going to pretend that’s you saying you love me more than anything. Because of my self-esteem.”
“Probably best that way.”
“We couldn’t leave her alone,” Mom said. “Regardless of what she’s done, she’s still my mother. She might have shunned me, but I couldn’t do the same to her, because that’s not who I am. We are stronger together than we ever are apart. That’s something I’ve learned, Sam. Here. In this place. After Lockes fell, we—it was hard. For all of us. We all lost people. Some to the dungeons. Others crossed the veil. And some disappeared into the woods, leaving behind a letter ten sentences long like it was any kind of justification.”
I blinked at the anger in her voice. “I didn’t—”
“I have to do what is right,” she snapped at me. “What has been asked of me. I cannot stop him. Not now. Not as I am. Sometimes you have to face your destiny head-on. And that’s what I am going to do. I love you all. Stay safe. I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
I gaped at her.
“She memorized it on the second day,” Dad whispered to me. “So she could yell it at you when you got back. It’s best to just go with it since she’s been working her way up to this for a long time.”
“But what about all the hugging and the crying and the happiness? I mean, sure, you said I was grounded—which, really, that’s not going to happen—but I thought we were already past all this? C’mon, guys. Let’s hug again, just to deflect some more—I mean, because it feels good and I love you more than anything.” I finished by giving them the ol’ Look-How-Precious-Sam-Is eyes.
“Oh no,” Mom said. “Absolutely not. You put those things away right now.”
I widened my eyes just a bit more. I probably looked like I was trying to pop them out of my head.
“I know you were betrayed,” Mom said, mouth in a thin line. “And I know you have every right to be angry. But so do we. Your father and me. Gary. Tiggy. Justin. And Ryan. You were hurt. Your heart had been broken. We know how much Morgan meant to you. What the weight of all of this must have felt like. But that doesn’t excuse you from sneaking off in the middle of the night. In not trusting us enough to tell us what was going on. What you were going to do. We all lost someone that day, Sam. Not just you. And then you made it worse by leaving with Kevin.”
“He followed me,” I muttered, unable to look her in the eyes. “I didn’t ask—”
“You don’t have to ask,” she retorted. “Because we would follow you anywhere. But we can’t unless you tell us. Do you know how devastated Tiggy and Gary were? Sam, they looked for you. For months. Longer than even we did.”
“I don’t—”
“And Ryan. Don’t even get me started on Ryan. He woke days after you left, and the first thing he said was your name.”
I hung my head, my heart sore, my eyes burning.
“You were betrayed. But so were we. We watched as Mashallaha fell. As Meridian City fell. As the walls of the City of Lockes were breached. As we realized we couldn’t win. As the King was taken prisoner. As Myrin sat upon his throne and laughed. As we were forced from our homes. All the while not knowing where you were or when you’d come home. We had faith in you, Sam, even if we didn’t know where you were.” She paused, staring at me.
I fidgeted.
“This is the part where you tell us where you were,” Dad whispered. “Just in case you didn’t know.”
“I—can’t. Not yet. I know it’s—just. Not yet.”
Mom shook her head, but she didn’t press. “We have done what we could while waiting for you. And during that time, we’ve made choices that you might not agree with. But that’s on you, not us. You were hurt. I get that. I love you, Sam, I really do, but I need you to get over yourself and face this reality. Vadoma is here because she has nowhere else to go. Lady Tina is here because she has sinned and now seeks repentance. I know you don’t trust them. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“That was terrible and manipulative,” I said in awe. “And I can’t believe I’m falling for the entire thing. Who knew you could be so calculating?”
She looked rather pleased with herself. “Where do you think you got it from?”
“It certainly wasn’t me,” Dad said. “I was innocent before I met your mother. The Northern people tend to be as pure as the snow upon which we lived.”