“Pat and Leslie,” I said slowly. “The mated dragons. They said they were glad to see you healthy and whole.”
“I thought you’d forgotten that,” Randall said. “But yes. They saw me at my worst. And given my bond with the Great White—or at least what remained of the bond—they took it upon themselves to assist my healing. I dreamed for years, Sam. When you have lived as long as I have, a decade can be an hour, and I walked amongst my ghosts. My demons. The anger in all my failings. Morgan did not follow me into the darkness after the passing of his cornerstone, because he was prepared for her to pass beyond the veil. I was not prepared for Myrin’s betrayal. The Great White is a solitary creature who does not understand the necessity that is a cornerstone.”
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” I asked. “The both of you. Because of what Vadoma showed me. With Ryan.”
“We’re always worried about you,” Morgan said. “It’s because we love you.”
“Let’s not go that far,” Randall mumbled.
“I’m not going to let that happen to him,” I said fiercely. “I won’t let Ryan be taken away from me.”
Randall shook his head. “I will go to him. To the Great White. I will find him. I will convince him.”
“Are you sure?” Morgan asked. “He said he never wanted to see your face in this life again. How will you find him?”
“I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves yet,” the old wizard said. “Sam, you promise me you’ll stay inside the castle until I return.”
“But—”
“Sam.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
“Morgan, you make sure he keeps that promise.”
“Hey!”
“Go,” Morgan said. “Return when you can. I’ll handle things here.”
There was a sharp crack and Randall was gone.
“Well,” I said in the silence that followed. “That was certainly enlightening. Can I go back to bed now? Or is there any other secret I should probably know about?”
Morgan eyed me warily for a moment. Then, “That’s it.”
I snorted as I turned toward the door. “Why do I have a hard time believing that?”
RYAN WAS sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for me when I returned to our room. He looked up as I shut the door behind me and leaned against it.
“You ever get the feeling that people know more than they’re telling you?” I muttered.
“With wizards? All the time.”
I winced at that. “Yeah. I deserved that.”
He shrugged. “Probably.”
“Would it make things better if I apologized again?”
“Have you apologized at all?”
I blinked. “Haven’t I?”
“Don’t think you have.”
“Oh. Um. Sorry?”
“Heartfelt.”
“Dude, you know I am.”
He sighed. “I know. But it’s still nice to hear it every now and then.”
“I didn’t mean it. I just—I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“You always think you’re doing the right thing.”
“Yeah, but I’m awesome like that, so.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
I frowned. “With who?”
“The Great White.”
I… didn’t expect that. “Should I have?”
“I don’t know, Sam. I’m asking you. Why didn’t you go? If you knew that you could have gotten him on your side, why didn’t you go?”
“I thought it was obvious.”
“Why don’t you explain it anyway.”
“You did hear the part where he said I had to cut everyone off, right? Leave you all behind? You caught the righteous indignation I tried so hard to portray? If not, I can certainly reenact it for you right now.”
“I did, but you never said why.”
I scowled at him. “Because I can’t do that! I can’t just leave. Gary and Tiggy would fall apart without me. Kevin would probably end up burning down the City. Justin wouldn’t have anyone to braid his hair or talk about boys with. My parents wouldn’t have their son. The King wouldn’t have his favorite apprentice to the King’s Wizard. And then—and then there’s you.”
“What about me?”
I pushed myself off the door and stalked toward him. “You. You’d be the worst of all! You would be a mess without me. Who would tell you that you were posing like a douchebag everywhere you want? Who would make sure that you didn’t fucking curse in front of ten orphans who were looking at you with wide eyes like you had just crushed all their dreams because you were their fucking hero and you couldn’t watch your godsdamn fucking language—”
“I feel like you don’t understand what irony means,” he said, spreading his legs a little so I could step between them. His hands went to my hips.
“I literally know what it means. Like, literally.”
He snorted as he looked up at me. “You’re an idiot.”
I shrugged. “It’s been said by men far greater than you and me. And by lesser men. And now that I think about it, men who are also equal to us. Wow. That’s a stunning revelation to have this late in the game. Am I offended? I think I might be offended.”
“You could have gone with—”
“No. I couldn’t have. I won’t leave you all. And I will never leave you.”
He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against my stomach. “Are you sure it’s going to be enough? What we have?”
“One knight, two zany sidekicks, three wizards, and four dragons? Nah, we’re totally screwed.”
He shoved me away.
I laughed at him. “I’m kidding. Gods, it was just a joke.”
“It wasn’t funny.”
“We’ll be fine,” I said, cupping his face in my hands. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. “I promise.”
“Are you sure you don’t want what he offered? Sam, he was going to make you a wizard. It’s what you’ve spent the last decade working toward.”
“Eh. I can do it without him. But I don’t think I can do it without you.”
He sighed. “Mothercracker. That was good.”
“You still mad at me?”
“Not as much as I feel like I should be. How do you do that?”
“I could totally suck on your cock right now if it would make you feel any better about it. Let you fuck my face.”
His eyes were dilated when he opened them. “I could go for that.”
“And notice how I’m not even mentioning how you got rid of the beard.”
“So we’re not including the nonstop complaining over the past four days?”
“I didn’t even get to jizz all over it! It’s a fucking travesty.”
Ryan Foxheart smiled at me, and it was such a radiant thing. “Gods, I love you.”
I grinned back at him, just as bright. “I know. I love you too.”
And later, when he rose above me, back arched, hips rolling as he rode me, I promised myself that I would never let anything tear us apart. Not Myrin. Not the Great White. Not any of the villains of the world.
He was my cornerstone.
Nothing would come between us.
Chapter 21: Superfans