“I don’t wish we were alone, you ridiculous cretin. In fact, this hug is over. Ryan, take this thing off me before I skewer it where it stands.”
“I’m feeling so many things right now,” I announced as Ryan somehow managed to pry me from the Prince, who gave a haughty sniff before moving toward the stage.
“You’re an idiot,” Ryan told me, but he sounded rather fond.
I shrugged. “Sometimes. But you notice how Justin didn’t shove me off right away? And he hugged me when you guys got back to the camp. My plan is working.”
“And what plan is that?” Ryan asked as he pulled my chair out for me. I couldn’t even be bothered to give him shit for it because I was ridiculously charmed.
“To wear him down until he can no longer say no to me. It’s a good plan.”
“It sounds like you’re committing a serious crime.”
“Fine line, Foxheart. You gotta learn how to walk it.”
“Hi, Sam!”
I turned to see Tiggy waving furiously at me from farther down the table.
I waved back just as hard, because when a half-giant expends that much energy in a greeting, it means you are loved. I wished we had been seated next to them, but I understood that wasn’t always going to be the case. I was, as Justin pointed out with rapturous joy, his wizard now, which meant my position was by his side. I had a job to do, and I was going to make sure Justin didn’t regret me too much.
Ryan took his seat next to me, his armor bulky and uncomfortable-looking, though he’d had years of experience with it. Terry batted his eyelashes and whispered a greeting to Ryan that was meant to be innocent but made me want to punch him in the eye, because honestly.
Justin took the stage as we turned our chairs toward him, and the music came to an end with a grating flourish. The people of Camp HaveHeart began to cheer at the sight of their Prince. It roared over us like a crashing wave, and I was surprised at the sheer ferocity of it. Even Justin looked taken aback, mouth dropping open as his subjects cheered for him, as the knights guarding the stage turned as one, curling their right hands into fists and pressing them against the left sides of their chests as they bowed.
It went on and on and on, until Justin finally raised his hands to quiet the crowd. They complied, and the knights guarding the stage turned back around, snapping to attention.
“Thank you,” Justin said, voice carrying over the feast. “I didn’t expect… that from you. I don’t know why I didn’t. I should have. You are my subjects. You’re—no. Not just my subjects. You’re my people and I’m your Prince, and I should have expected that you would care for me as much as I care for all of you.”
“We love you, Justin!” a woman screamed. “Wooo!”
Justin looked startled at that, and his face broke into a rare smile. In that moment he looked so much like his father. “Thank you,” he said, chuckling. “That’s… very nice of you to say. I, uh… I’m not very good at this. As I’m sure you can tell. My father, he—um. He’s great at this sort of thing. More than anyone I’ve ever known. He taught me everything, and if I am any sort of success, if I become even half the king he is, then know it’s because of him.”
“To the King!” another voice cried out, followed by hundreds of voices repeating it over and over again. Mugs were raised, and men and women alike wiped tears from their faces.
“To the King,” Justin echoed as the cheers died down. “To the King, because we are Verania, and King Anthony belongs to all of us. He’s… a prisoner of war now. Taken from us by a man who wants to separate us, to make us weak. That’s what this man thinks he’s done. And maybe it started out that way. We lost many things. Our homes. Our friends. Our family. Meridian City. The City of Lockes.” He glanced at Vadoma. “Mashallaha, the home of our gypsy brethren, many of whom have been enslaved by the Dark wizards who came for us in a moment of great mourning.”
The crowd was completely silent, and even though I stared straight ahead, it felt like all eyes were on me.
Justin looked down at his hands and shook his head. “I wish… I wish I had stood here on this stage long before now. I should have been the prince you needed and, instead of trying to greet you in passing, spoken to you as one. We lost much to this… man. This Dark wizard. He took Morgan of Shadows from us all.” He looked back up at the crowd, jaw tense, gaze steely. “I’m afraid of many things. I’m afraid for you. For my father. For our future. But I am not afraid of him. And I am not afraid to say his name. There is only one person to blame. One person who has brought his fury down upon us. One person who attempts to take all that you hold dear. And his name is Myrin.”
The crowd sighed as one, and gooseflesh prickled along my arms and the back of my neck.
“His name is Myrin, and he is the enemy of Verania. And the gods knew of him, knew what he was capable of. They knew what was coming, and in the end, chose one of us to rise against the dark.”
“Oh no,” I whispered. “That bastard.”
“He knows what he’s doing,” Ryan said, breath hot against my ear. “You need to trust him in this.”
“As you know, Sam of Wilds has returned to us, after… communing in the Dark Woods with the dragons of Verania.”
Communing, I mouthed furiously, and I swore I saw Justin’s lips twitch.
“Except he is no longer Sam of Wilds, apprentice to the King’s Wizard. He is now Sam of Dragons, wizard. And if I have my say, if what I hope will come to fruition, then he will serve my father as the King’s Wizard for a long time to come. And once I am called upon to take the crown, I hope he will serve me just the same.”
The crowd erupted again, and Justin stared down at me defiantly, as if daring me to speak against him.
Instead I chose to sputter. I was going to give him so much shit later.
“But we cannot be dependent upon one person,” Justin continued, “even if he has been chosen by the gods. Each of us must contribute if we’re to have any hope of returning Verania to the way it once was. And I believe we can, because I believe in all of you. So while we now have the advantage of our wizard, we must all rise against the Dark before the country we know and love becomes mired in shadow. We will take back what is ours, I promise you. I am your Prince, yes, but I am also one of you. They have taken just as much from me as they have from you. And I will not stand for it any longer.”
The crowd cheered their approval.
“He’s going to make a noble king,” I muttered.
“I think so too,” Ryan said. “And you’re not going to do so bad yourself.”
“Gee, thanks. That was heartwarming.”
“Still pissed at you. Take what you can get.”
“Oh, I’ll take it all right. And then you’re gonna get it, mark my words.”
He shivered a little.
I grinned.
“Now,” Justin said, sounding more annoyed, “before we continue, I’m told there is an… entertainer here who would like to perform a song he says he created just today.”
I frowned. Why did that sound familiar? Ryan just shrugged at my questioning look, so I turned my gaze farther down the table to see Tiggy and Gary whispering to each other. They must have felt me staring at them, because they immediately quieted and grinned at me like they knew something I didn’t.
Justin looked like he had just sucked on a rather juicy lemon when he said, “Ladies and gentleman, I give you… Zal the Magnificent.”
Those. Fucking. Assholes.
The people of Camp HaveHeart lost their damn minds.
I started to rise from my seat, but Ryan tightened his grip on my hand. “Sit down.”
“Did you know about this?” I growled at him, trying to jerk my arm away so I could go and beat down a hornless unicorn and a half-giant.
“Absolutely,” he said, not even having the decency to look contrite. “Why do you think I kept you away all afternoon? Gary and Tiggy didn’t want to take the chance of you running into him and ruining the surprise.”
“The surprise? Do you know how long it’s taken me to get that godsdamned song out of my head? Years, Ryan. It has taken years.”