I squinted at him. “How’s that now?”
He looked up to the heavens as if asking for strength. “Sam, for all intents and purposes, you’re an idiot.”
“Hey!”
“You are reckless and careless, brash and callous. You act without thinking and hope for the best. And most of the time, for reasons only the gods can understand, it has worked. But now, when you should be as surefooted as you’ve ever been, you’re stumbling. Because you’ve decided to overthink things. Stop thinking, Sam. It doesn’t suit you.”
“I can’t tell if you’re complimenting me or destroying me.”
“Both,” Justin said promptly. “But maybe more the former than the latter. I am envious of you. Because of your abilities. Not the magic. I couldn’t care less about magic. But how you are, how you live your life. That, Sam, is enviable. And when I see you as you are now, suspicious and hiding things… it’s concerning.”
Well, if I hadn’t felt like an asshole before, I sure did now. “Wow,” I said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more emotionally manipulated in my life. Good on you.”
“You’re being deliberately difficult.”
“A little bit. But I’m trying to save Verania, and it sounds like you’re telling me to jump without looking.”
“You’ve somehow tricked your way into gathering four dragons at your side,” Justin said wryly. “Taking a leap is essentially all you do. Nothing is happening between Ryan and me. Somehow he has become my friend… as you have, as distasteful as that is to admit out loud.”
I grinned at him.
He groaned. “Stop looking at me like that.”
I laid my head on his shoulder. “I love you too,” I whispered.
He muttered death threats against my person but didn’t push me away.
The fire snapped in front of us, and for a time, neither of us spoke.
“You can do this, Sam,” he said finally. “You just need to trust in those around you. I know you think you have to protect everyone, but we all need to protect you too. And that is something you must allow us to do. You’re angry. I don’t blame you for that. But I choose to believe Morgan and Randall did what they did out of love for you. They tried to shield you for as long as they could, much like you did to us. To Ryan. It’s the same, in the end.”
We stayed by the fire late into the night, listening as Gary and Kevin began round three. It sounded as if they were role-playing spies again.
It was terrible.
RYAN WAS awake when I went back to the bedroll.
He held up an arm so that I could curl up against him.
“How much of that did you hear?” I asked.
His voice was rough with sleep when he spoke. “Enough to know that Justin was right. You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“When we get back to Castle Lockes, you and I are going to have a long talk about being hypocritical.”
“Any chance we can skip that and go straight to the butt sex?”
“Not even the smallest of chances.”
“Dammit.”
He kissed my forehead. “I love you, Sam.”
“I know.”
“We’re going to get through this.”
“Are we?”
He held me tighter. “You’ll see. We’ll get through this, and everyone and everything will be fine. When villains rise, heroes do too. It’s how it goes. It’s always been the way of things. And there is always a happy ending to these stories. Nothing will happen to you. Nothing will happen to me. Or Gary or Tiggy or Kevin, or any of the others. There will be a happy ending, Sam. Even if things seem dark, you can’t forget to look for the light of the stars. They will always show you home.”
And as I drifted off to sleep, safe in the arms of my cornerstone, I wanted nothing more than to believe him.
“HOW ARE we supposed to find him?” Justin asked a few days later as we trudged through the Dark Woods. It had rained the day before and everything was extraordinarily soggy, including ourselves. It wasn’t exactly making for a memorable experience.
It didn’t help that we were deep in the Dark Woods on a small path that was almost overgrown with vegetation. Kevin broke leafy limbs and knocked down smaller trees as he led the way, leaving a trail of debris behind him.
“Usually he appears out of nowhere,” I said. “Or he traps me in a circle of magic mushrooms.”
“Or he tries to marry you,” Ryan muttered behind me.
“You know you’re my one and only, babe.”
“I’m not threatened by a six-inch-tall naked man with wings.”
“He’s so threatened,” Gary whispered quite loudly to Tiggy. “I’m embarrassed for him.”
“Knight Delicious Face has issues,” Tiggy whispered back.
“The issue stems from the fact Dimitri asked me to marry him before Ryan did,” I said without thinking, then promptly tripped over my own feet as I choked on my tongue. “Not that you are going to ask me to marry you or anything! That’s… that’s not what I meant to say. I don’t even care about stuff like that!”
“This is my favorite adventure ever,” Gary said. “I am having such a wonderful time.”
“HaveHeart for life, motherfuckers,” Tiggy said gleefully. “Gonna get married.”
“What?” I hissed at them. “Dudes. Shut up. He’ll hear you.”
Gary was unimpressed. “I should hope so. He’s standing right there.”
I looked back at Ryan, who was gaping at me.
I groaned.
Ryan sputtered.
I begged for the gods to strike me down.
Ryan said, “That’s not why I have issues! And for the record, when we get married, it’s going to be better than anything a mothercracking fairy king could do for you.”
“Oh my gods,” Justin muttered. “This is like watching a carriage wreck in slow motion.”
It was my turn to sputter at Ryan. “What do you mean when?”
“Royal weddings!” Gary said. “I shan’t have a thing to wear. Tiggy. Tiggy. Do you realize what this means?”
“Shopping-trip montage?”
“Shopping-trip montage. There will be scarves and frilly hats, and we’ll laugh or shake our heads in obvious disdain when the other wears something outrageous. It’s going to be glorious.”
“I love frilly hats,” Tiggy said. “And chickens.”
“What the devil is going on back here?” Kevin asked as he looked back over his shoulder, craning his neck. “Did we stop for a sexy-time break?”
“Sam and Ryan are getting married,” Gary cried.
Kevin’s eyes widened. “My boy?” he whispered. “My boy is getting married?”
“Why did I want to come on this trip?” Justin asked no one in particular. “I could be back at the castle doing anything that is not being with these people.”
There was a thunderous crash as Kevin turned himself around, his tail and wings knocking down even more trees. “My son,” he said, looking down at me. “I am so happy for you. Why, I remember when you were a little boy—”
“No, you don’t,” I retorted. “I didn’t even know you when I was a little boy.”
“—and I promised myself that when you found your one true love, that I wasn’t going to cry when you asked me to walk you down the aisle. Guess what? I’m about to break that promise.”