The Great White had told Sam this, even before he’d stepped outside the City of Lockes. He had rumbled deep in the Dark Woods, warning Sam of Wilds: you are not ready.
And as Sam finally stood before him, the Great White said the wizard knew nothing of sacrifice, that a cornerstone was not the be-all end-all. But even then, he made an offer.
Come away with me, O human child.
In this forest deep, in the dark of the wild.
Where in these woods, you’ll face your fear, as time doth stretch toward a year.
The boy from the slums said no.
Later, after everything that followed, he wondered what would have changed had he agreed. If he’d gone with the Great White then. With a heart that had been shattered like glass, he would think it was his fault. That it all could have been avoided had he left with the Great White, had he done what had been asked of him.
Fate can be a terrible thing.
Caleb, the son of the truth-corn leader.
Lady Tina, the wicked bitch of Lockes.
Ruv. Yes, Sam should have seen that one coming.
And when Ruv had taken Ryan’s own sword and thrust it into the knight’s chest?
Sam knew pain unlike anything else he’d ever experienced.
And it only got worse from there.
Myrin.
And Morgan.
Do you remember the day I came to your house for the first time? You stood in your room with such wide eyes. I loved you, Sam of Wilds. Even then. Remember that when the world seems dark. Remember that you have always been loved. You need to run.
Sam had known sacrifice then, hadn’t he?
He’d known when he stood above the love of his life, the healers flitting around him like little birds, telling him in hushed voices that they’d done all they could and that it was up to the Knight Commander now.
He’d known when he stood above a slab of stone, another love of his life looking pale and peaceful, even though death had taken him across the veil.
He’d known then.
What was required of him.
What was expected.
And so the boy from the slums, the wizard’s apprentice known as Sam of Wilds, made the only choice he could.
He accepted his destiny.
RYAN—
You will wake up. I know you will. There’s no other choice. And when you do, I’m not going to be there. I’m sorry for that. You’re going to be mad. I don’t blame you. I’d be pissed at you if you were doing this to me.
But I think, maybe, after the anger has faded just a little, I’d understand.
I’m hoping you can do that for me.
I don’t want to leave you.
But I think this is bigger than just you or me.
It’s my destiny.
And I still hate that word so, so much.
Because it’s not fair.
I never wanted this.
I never asked for this.
But it was given to me, regardless.
Morgan’s gone.
Randall is missing.
And if I’m going to have the strength I need to stop Myrin, then I need the Great White.
And in order to get him on our side, I need to do what he’s asking of me.
A year, Ryan. At the most.
Hold on, okay?
Just hold on.
Because one day, and one day soon, I am going to come back for you.
And I will never let you go.
I love you.
The world’s biggest Foxy Lady—
Sam
THE BOY from the slums, who had one day wished upon the stars to do something that mattered, went to the Dark Woods.
Eventually he was joined by the Dark Woods fairies, their lights bright and warm in such an unforgiving forest.
Are you sure about this, Sam?
Yes.
Then we shall guide you and stay with you until the end.
And that was a promise kept.
Sam of Wilds was a great many things. He was careless. Reckless. Inexperienced. Clever and smart, though probably too much by half.
But he loved those he cared about, and fiercely so. He would do anything for them. Regardless of whatever else could be said about him, he loved deeply.
Which is why he stood in front of the Great White for the third time, this creature who had mentored Randall, who was said to have built the entire world off his back.
And agreed to the year.
Because he loved with his whole heart.
The others were there.
Kevin.
Pat.
Leslie.
Zero.
The dragons of Verania, together at last.
And as the Great White’s eyes began to glow with a powerful light, the dragons roared around Sam of Wilds, and he felt his magic explode.
Eventually the light faded.
The dragons and Sam were gone.
The fairies disappeared into the trees, their lights flickering out.
ONCE UPON a time, there lived a boy from the slums who had a destiny.
One day he disappeared.
And in a billowing white room, a Knight Commander named Ryan Foxheart opened his eyes and said, “Sam.”
Verania held her breath.
And then—
The Darks descended, pouring out from the trees.
Meridian City fell first.
Then the villages.
Then the Port.
The City of Lockes was the last stronghold.
But eventually it fell too.
Six months after the disappearance of Sam of Wilds, the King was locked away in the dungeons and the Prince had gone underground with a knight, a hornless unicorn, and a half-giant at his side. They kept to the shadows, looking for ways to rise up. To fight back.
And Myrin?
Well.
Myrin sat on the King’s throne in Castle Lockes.
And as Verania fell before him, he smiled.
I: The Dark Woods
Chapter 1: Badass Mothercracker
BUT.
There was hope, wasn’t there?
Because even when the world seems at its darkest, there is always a light in the distance, a beacon in the night, a quiet strength that would be called upon to— “Okay, Sam. You know I love you, right?”
I blinked up at Kevin, who towered above me as we made our way through the Dark Woods. “Yeah. Sure. I know that. It’s very nice, and I appreciate it quite a bit.”
“So don’t take this the wrong way.”
“Wow. Nothing good ever follows someone saying something like that. ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but here are reasons you suck and nobody likes you and you should die a horrible death.’”
“If you want to talk about something to suck, might I suggest my penis?”
“No. No, you may not. In fact, that might be the worst suggestion I’ve ever heard.”
“Well, then. I don’t feel bad about what I’m going to say next.”
“Remember, I’m fragile, even though I don’t look like it.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way.”
“Shoring myself up emotionally.”
“But you’ve been narrating yourself in the third person for the last hour, and you have yet to come up with an excuse to not get our asses handed to us when we get back home after ditching everyone for a year. I thought that was the entire point of this. That’s what you told me. So don’t take this the wrong way—”
“Here it comes,” I whispered fervently.
“—but you are not a beacon in the dark. And you are going to get so much shit once we get back to the others, given that Verania probably wouldn’t have fallen had we stayed. And I’m going to blame you. For everything.”
I winced. “Yep, there it is. The pain. It hurts.”
“Do you know what Gary’s going to do to us?” Kevin asked with a huff.
“He’s never going to stop murdering us, that’s for damn sure. Did you know that unicorns can hold grudges for their entire lives? It’s a species trait. If you slight a unicorn, it can sit on it for decades before one day, fifty-seven years into the future, you suddenly find yourself trampled to death in what will officially be described as a workplace accident but will be outright murder. It would be marvelous if it wasn’t so terrifying. If I die under mysterious circumstances, you should look at him first.”
“Yeah,” Kevin sighed. “Isn’t he wonderful? It’s a good thing I’m planning on telling them that you forced me to come with you.”
“Hey! I did not! You came after me!”
His eyes went wide as his bottom lip trembled. “I don’t even know what happened, Gary. One moment I was asleep by your side where I belong, and then the next I’d been bewitched by the terrible wizard who made me do things to him that were not entirely consented to but I rather enjoyed anyway.”