“Of course, my lord. Bitches, we’ll arrive when we arrive.”
“Ooh,” Tiggy said. “Tiny man’s got words. Tiggy smash?”
I sighed. “No, Tiggy. No smash.”
“You lucky,” Tiggy told Dimitri. “I smash. I smash gooood.”
Dimitri didn’t look impressed. Which made me impressed, because Tiggy was scary as all fuck. It was about then that I realized I was an extraordinarily complex person, because my logic typically made no sense.
It was a rather disconcerting revelation to be had in the middle of a forest.
“I need to go talk to Dimitri,” I said to Ryan, pitching my voice low so no one could overhear.
Ryan glanced at me, reaching up and wiping water from his beard, which was just unfair, as I wanted to rub my face against it. His lips quirked at my obvious interest. “You sure about that? We could probably just sneak off for a little bit. Try to put this thing to some use.”
“Whoa,” I breathed. Then I shook my head. “Stop trying to distract me with your evil sorcery! You know my one true weakness is to ride your face. And now you have the beard? My gods, the power you wield could destroy the world!”
I realized then that everyone had gone quiet around us.
I looked at the others.
They had stopped and were staring at me with varying looks of lust and disgust.
“I said that loudly, didn’t I?”
Ryan was bright red. “You practically shouted it.”
“Oh. Wow. My bad, dude. Sometimes I don’t know my own volume, especially when it comes to your face.”
“Or when you come on his face,” Gary said.
“Boom,” Tiggy said, fist/hoof-bumping Gary.
“This is your fault,” I hissed at Ryan.
“My fault? How is this my—”
“You grew that beard, knowing full well that it would make you hotter and that I would find you irresistible to the point where I am starting not to care if we have an audience. You did it on purpose.”
“I had no idea that you would be like this,” Ryan said.
“You liar.”
“And you’ll never prove it.”
I gaped at him. “Sass. My gods, the sass.” I turned and glared at everyone else. “Why are you all still staring? The fate of Verania is in our hands! Do none of you take that seriously?”
The fairies turned away, fluttering off into the trees. Dimitri moved to follow them but stopped when I called his name. He turned, a disturbing smirk on his face, as if he expected it to be an invitation to actually watch me try out Ryan’s beard by riding his face. I felt just terrible at having to disappoint him. Instead I shooed the others ahead of us, telling them we’d bring up the rear, and promptly cut Kevin off before he could make a disgusting remark about that.
Ryan eyed me warily. “What’s this about? What do you need from him?”
And it stung more than I cared to admit that I couldn’t just come out and tell him to trust me, because I didn’t know if he did anymore.
So I smiled weakly at him and said, “I just had some questions about the Great White.”
He nodded stiffly. I thought he was going to lean in and kiss me, but then he seemed to think better of it, and any remnants of the good humor we’d had moments before was gone. I sighed as I watched him trail the others. He didn’t look back, not even once.
“Trouble in paradise?” Dimitri asked me.
“Shut up,” I mumbled.
“It happens. The fire that once burned bright is now in danger of snuffing out completely, no matter how much you feed it. It’s a tragic truth. How sad. I will mourn for the both of you. On a completely unrelated topic, how long is it considered proper before throwing one’s hat into the ring to court another after the demise of their previous relationship? I’m asking for a friend.”
“Oh. I don’t know. I guess it depends on the situation. Is your friend—wait a godsdamn minute.”
“It was worth a shot.”
“I resent everything about you.”
“Spoken like a true ex-boyfriend.”
“We’re not exes—you know what? I’m not even going to get into this with you right now. I’m on a quest, and I am going to save Verania, and I have questions.” I began stomping after the others, sure that Dimitri would follow.
I wasn’t disappointed. He flew at my side, wings flapping furiously. “I’ve told you all I can.”
“Bullshit. You’ve told me nothing.”
“Fairies are an enigmatic bunch.”
“No, fairies are assholes. There’s a major difference.”
“Insulting my entire species probably isn’t the best way to get me to do what you want.”
I bit my tongue at the retort before it spilled forth. He was right, of course. If Morgan and the King could see my diplomacy, they’d be shaking their heads in disappointment in that way that only parental figures could.
I considered trying to flirt with him again, but I couldn’t muster up the strength for such an impossible task, so I said, “Did you know? About Randall.”
“What about Randall?” Dimitri asked, because he was a fucknut.
But I’d played these types of games before, with him and others. If this was how he wanted to go about it, then I would. For now. “That the Great White was his mentor.”
Dimitri was good at many, many things. Even I could admit that. But he wasn’t capable of getting the surprise off his face before I caught it. “He told you?”
“He did.”
“That… was unexpected.”
“Why?”
“Randall forsook his name. Which meant he forsook the one who’d taught him.”
“Randall of Dragons.”
“Yes.”
“Can you blame him?”
Dimitri flew under a low-hanging branch, the leaves on the trees stretching toward him as he passed. “It’s not my job to blame him.”
“He gave up his name because he felt as if he didn’t deserve it anymore.”
“He told you this?”
“No,” I admitted. “But it’s pretty obvious, if you think about it. He felt… guilt. Over Myrin. That he didn’t see what was happening before it was too late. Or if he did see it, he ignored it. I don’t know which it was. I don’t know that it matters. It was too late, regardless. And when all was said and done, after everything he’d sacrificed, what was a name?”
“A name is an identity,” Dimitri said. “It defines you. Mine is the name of my father, and his father before him. I carry the line of my people. You are Sam of Wilds. Without it, you would not be as you are.”
“I haven’t always been Sam of Wilds.”
“And you were not as you are now.”
He was starting to talk in circles, and if I let it continue on much longer, I’d get lost. I didn’t have time for that. Not if we were getting close. “Randall wasn’t insulting his mentor. If anything, he was honoring him by giving back what he felt he hadn’t earned. Even if they weren’t on speaking terms, he must have thought he’d failed him.”
Dimitri snorted. “You speak of honor as if you know what it means. Your cornerstone acts as one who knows the taste of betrayal.”
I refused to rise to the bait. “We’re not talking about him.”
“We’re not?” Dimitri asked. “I thought we were discussing many things.”
“The Great White.”
“That too.”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“Why?”