Chapter 15: Randall and the Great White

 

 

“SHH.”

“You shhh. I’ll have you know, kitten, that I am quiet as a mouse when I want to be. I didn’t need my horn for that. But now that I have it, they won’t even hear me coming.”

“Everyone hear you coming.”

“Did you just make a sex joke?”

“Tiggy funny.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been more proud of anyone in my life. Bravo, my good giant. Bravo.”

“Shh.”

“Oh please. Like they’re even remotely conscious. It’s not as if—oh my gods, do you smell that? It’s like the aftermath of a gangbang of a group of particularly pungent pygmies. What were they doing in here?”

“Knight Delicious Face eatin’ Sam’s flower?”

“More like his entire garden. I mean, I’m all for the butt sex, as you very well know, but this is just… meaty. Like, it’s one of those smells that you can taste, you know? I can actually taste their coupling.”

Unable to ignore them anymore, I opened my eyes.

Gary and Tiggy stood on my side of the bed, staring down at me.

“Hi!” Tiggy said, hunched over so his head wouldn’t hit the ceiling.

“Oh look,” Gary said. “He awoke all on his own. How fortuitous.” He leaned forward and put his snout against my cheek, squishing it in. “I can taste your sex,” he whispered.

I shoved his face off me. “What the hell is wrong with the both of you?”

“What’s wrong with us? Well, where should I begin? How about that I just had to walk into your stink den of love? How about that, Sam?”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Sam, I’ve done things to people that you couldn’t even begin to imagine. It has never smelled like this after.”

“I was pent-up!”

“Gross,” Tiggy said.

I groaned, turning my back to them and curling into Ryan’s side again. Maybe if I ignored them, they’d go away.

“Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam Sam SamSamSamSamSam—”

“What!”

“That’s better,” Gary said. “Don’t turn your back on me again, or I’ll stab you. In case you can’t remember because you got your brains literally fucked out of your head, I have my horn again, and I can follow up on threats now.”

I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face. “I remember.”

“Good. To make up for your rudeness, I will accept a compliment now about it.”

“It looks nice.”

“That was weak. Try again.”

“It looks very nice.”

“Thank you,” Gary said, smiling widely. “It does, doesn’t it? I only got three hours of sleep last night, and while I could say it’s because unicorns don’t need that much sleep when they have their horns, that would be a lie. I spent most of the night staring at myself in the mirror, gazing upon the magnificence that is myself.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.”

“As it shouldn’t. Do you want to touch it?”

“No. I’m pretty sure I got my fill of it yesterday. Remember yesterday? When it shot its rainbow load all over me?”

“Come on, Sam. Just touch it. Just a little bit. Just the tip.”

“Tiggy touch the tip,” Tiggy said.

“Yes, you did. And with such a firm grip too.”

“Why are you here?” I moaned.

“Randall sent us to fetch you,” Gary said. “Kevin’s back. With guests.”

I opened my eyes again. “Why did you say it like that?”

“I didn’t say it like anything.”

“Yes, you did. You said it in that way you do when you know something I don’t and there’s a sixty-eight percent chance that I’m not going to like it.”

“Gods, Sam, do you hear yourself? What would Ryan think if he knew you were so obsessed over me?”

“I’d be fine with that,” Ryan mumbled. “If it meant all of you would go away and let me sleep.”

“Hi, Knight Delicious Face.”

“Hi, Tiggy.”

“I’m not going to like today, am I.”

“Probably not,” Gary said gleefully. “Now get up so I can bear witness to your reaction when you see who Kevin’s brought with him—I mean, so you can get up and greet this beautiful new day. Love you. Love you, boo. Love you so much. Love you.” He gave me a slobbering kiss on my neck before he pranced out of the room, sparkles trailing after him, smelling strangely of peppermint hot cocoa and good feelings.

“Tiggy, who’s here?”

“Bye, Sam! Bye! Bye, Sam!”

“Traitor,” I muttered as he ran out of the room.

“Kevin’s back?” Ryan asked, voice thick.

“Of course you were awake the whole time and didn’t do a thing to rescue me.”

“I hoped if I ignored you, you’d leave me alone.”

I adored him.

 

 

WE WERE dressed and out into the early morning sunlight ten minutes later. I was shoving bread in my mouth, not caring how unattractive I looked. I was ravenous, and if I was going to be forced from my bed at an ungodly hour, I would stuff my face with stale bread. It was my right as a human being.

The camp was already awake and moving around us, people still openly staring at me as we walked by them, Ryan close at my side, his sword in its scabbard at his hip. He had planned on training with his knights this morning, but I could tell curiosity about who Kevin had returned with had gotten the better of him.

Speaking of the devil, I could see Kevin’s head and wings sticking up over the wall outside of Camp HaveHeart, so we headed in the direction of the front gates.

“How much do you wager I’m not going to like this?” I asked Ryan.

“Yeah, I’m not going to take that bet. Randall said whoever it was is supposed to help us, right? I’m still not convinced he’s forgiven you for the dick-nose thing. For all we know, this is him finally getting revenge. And if that’s the case, you need to think of the worst possible person that Randall would get to come and help you.”

“Lady Tina is already here.”

Ryan rolled his eyes. “Fine, the one after that.”

“Vadoma. And she’s probably in her room, trying to read tea leaves so she can be all doom and gloom.”

“Okay, the person after that.”

I squinted at him. “Who would be third on my list of people I don’t like that are still mostly on my side and that Randall would want to have come here to help me?”

 

 

“NO,” I said, glaring at Randall. “Absolutely not.”

He didn’t look impressed. “So you’ve said. For the last five minutes.”

“Then maybe I should repeat myself again, because you don’t seem to be doing anything about it. No. Randall. No.”

“No offense,” Ryan said, “but I’m kind of with Sam on this one.”

“Thank you, Ryan.”

“Only because Sam agreed to marry him before I kicked him in the face and we escaped,” Gary whispered.

“This is true,” Ryan agreed.

“Dammit!”

The six-inch naked man with wings fluttering before us stroked his pencil-thin mustache. “I’m not yet convinced that Sam still doesn’t want to get all up on this,” the king of the Dark Woods fairies said, eyeing me up and down. Which, since he had tiny eyes, took a lot longer than one might expect.

“I don’t,” I assured Dimitri. “I don’t want to get all up on that.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, Sam. I didn’t say anything when I was leading you out of the Dark Woods because I knew how exhausted you were, but I’ve got to say, magic looks good on you.”

“Thank you.”

“And so would my face.”

“Fuck you.”

“What do you mean when he led you out of the woods?” Ryan asked.

I waved my hand dismissively. “Dimitri found Kevin and me when we were on our way back from our Dark Woods adventure.”

“You didn’t say anything about that before.”

“It was our little secret,” Dimitri said. “Sam and I have those, you know.”

The rest of his fairy court hummed appreciatively behind him. I saw the fairy Harry who had tried to gay-fairy-marry Dimitri and me, and waved.

He didn’t wave back. Probably still upset about the whole kicking him in the face thing too.

“What other secrets do you have with Dimitri?” Ryan demanded. “Did he touch you? Show me where he touched you!”

“Dude, chill. He didn’t touch me. This time.”

“What are you all doing out here—oh. Oh no.”

We turned to see Justin standing near the gate, staring directly at Dimitri.

“My Prince,” Dimitri all but purred. “How lovely it is to see you again. Come to discuss more… diplomatic relations?”

“Wow,” Kevin said. “That sounded dirty. How does he do that?”

“Kevin, dear,” Gary said as he pranced to the dragon.

“Yes, my love?”

“I noticed that you are paying more attention to a tiny fairy man when I have my horn back and you have yet to compliment me about it. That’s… unfortunate. For you.”

“I did earlier!”

Gary narrowed his eyes. “And I believe we discussed that you would offer me a compliment every hour until I deemed otherwise, and then I would give you the one muffin you’ve never gotten to have.”

“The Buttery Herb Cheese Muffin,” Kevin breathed.

“Do I know that one?” Ryan asked. “Do I want to know that one?”

“Probably not,” I said. “It’s the one where….” And I whispered the rest in his ear, because saying the words any louder would doom my soul to hell.

“Why?” Ryan moaned when I finished. “Why, why, why is that even a thing? How would you even gather it all to put it in there?”

“I have my ways,” Gary said simply, as if he weren’t the most disgusting creature alive.

“Without your horn, you were radiant,” Kevin purred. “With it, your beauty is unparalleled. I want to worship you all over.”

“That’ll do for now,” Gary said as Kevin licked his neck. “I feel the buttery herbs already.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Ryan said as he started to gag.

“I don’t want to know,” Justin said. “King Dimitri. It is an honor to see you again.” He bowed low, one arm folded behind his back. “Though I must admit that you aren’t the guest I would have expected.” He glanced at Randall, looking slightly irritated. “Perhaps an explanation is in order so that I may report back to my father.”

“I would be happy to provide you with one,” Dimitri said, wings flapping furiously. “Should we retire to your extremely private quarters? And have Sam come as well?”

“Not gonna happen, dude,” I said, rubbing Ryan’s back as his head was between his knees.

“Pity, that,” Dimitri said. “The dragon did inform me of the King’s rescue. I was pleased to hear that he was once again safe and relatively healthy.”

“He’s with a doctor now getting a full physical,” Justin said. “Complaining about it, of course, but I won’t take any chances. Myrin had him captive for six months. He said nothing untoward happened during that time, but still. It doesn’t hurt to be smart about it.”

“Indeed,” Dimitri said. “Though I must admit to being confused myself as to why we’ve been summoned.” He turned and flew in front of Randall. He crossed his tiny arms across his tiny chest, and if it hadn’t been for his dick flopping all over the place and the fact that he had just tried to have a threesome with me and Justin, I would have cooed at him for being so little. “Randall. Care to explain? I’ve told you before that we fairies do not get involved in the fights of men.”

Randall snorted. “And yet you meddle incessantly. Little hints here, twisting of an arm there. Curious how you not being involved looks like the exact opposite.”

“Careful, wizard,” Dimitri warned as his eyes narrowed.

“Sam has the dragons.”

Dimitri glanced at me for a long moment before looking back at Randall. “I am aware.”

“And that includes the Great White.”

“I am aware of that too.”

“Our parting was… unfortunate.”

Dimitri laughed derisively. “Is that how you wish to put it? Certainly a revisionist take on things.”

And for perhaps the first time since I’d known him, Randall looked flustered. It was astonishing to see him fumble for his words. “Yes, well, it’s—you see, there were extenuating circumstances that—I required a different—”

“You forsook your mentor for love,” Dimitri said, not unkindly. “You loved another, he wouldn’t have it, and you made your choice. And even though you couldn’t speak directly—not with words—you both knew the consequences. I played mediator for you then. I won’t do it now.”

“You were with them when he mentored Randall?” I demanded. “Why the hell am I only finding this out now?”

Randall was grinding his teeth, a vein throbbing in his forehead. “It didn’t matter before.”

Dimitri eyed me curiously. “You know we’re the Keepers of the Forest.”

“He capitalized that,” Tiggy whispered to Gary. “It true now.”

“And the Great White is of the Dark Woods,” Randall said begrudgingly. “The fairies have always had a… symbiotic relationship with him. He created. And the fairies made it blossom.”

“Not unlike your Zero,” Dimitri said. “But on a much larger scale.” He sounded far too smug for my liking.

“Dude, how old are you? And you wanted to marry me? That is an age gap I’m not comfortable with.”

“I’m still virile,” he said as his minions tittered angrily behind him. “I can give you a demonstration if you’d like.”

“I will punch you in your tiny face,” Ryan growled.

“He is a king,” Justin hissed at him. “Maybe don’t try and piss him off?”

“Sam is going to summon the dragons,” Randall said above all the noise, and everyone fell silent.

I turned slowly to him. “I’m sorry. I’m going to what now?”

Randall didn’t look pleased. It didn’t make me feel any better. “You’re going to summon the dragons. It’s time we meet with them face-to-face.” The skin under his left eye twitched. “All of them together.”

“That’s why you’ve called for me,” Dimitri said, sounding accusatory. “You wish to parley with the Great White, and you want me to be the go-between.”

“Ooooh, girl,” Gary breathed. “Draaaama.”

“Now that we have Sam here,” Randall said, “the Great White and I will be able to have… words. And I expect there to be many of them. It is better if the fairies mediate any meeting, given our history.”

“I don’t see why I have to be here for this,” I told him. “I don’t want to see the oldest things I know fighting with each other.”

Randall’s eyebrows did a complicated dance. “You will be here,” he said through gritted teeth, “because the dragons belong to you as much as you belong to them.”

“You hear that?” Kevin whispered. “I own you.”

I ignored him in favor of staring at Randall. “Why now?”

“Because we’re running out of time. Myrin won’t allow the rescue of the King to go unpunished. I fear that the fall of Old Clearing is just the beginning.” He glanced at Dimitri before looking back at me. “And as you’ve said yourself, Zero will shortly need to sleep the next century away. We can no longer dally. The end is coming, Sam. One way or another.”

“Drama queen,” I muttered. “So, you want me to bring four other dragons here, one of whom is basically the size of a small mountain who also happens to hold a grudge because you chose your supervillain boo over him, so you can have a tiny naked man with wings play mediator and we can try to figure out how to save Verania from the clutches of evil?”

I could tell it cost him greatly to agree with me. But he said, “Yes, Sam.”

I shrugged. “Okay.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I said okay.”

“I really expected more pushback.”

“Nah. I want to see how awkward it’s going to be when you two meet again after all this time.”

“You’re such a bitch,” Gary said proudly. “I taught him that.”

“We need to warn the camp,” Justin said. “So the people don’t freak out when dragons suddenly descend upon us.”

“I do it,” Tiggy said.

“Don’t scare people,” Justin warned him. “We don’t need to cause panic.”

Tiggy looked offended. “I won’t.” Then he turned and began running toward the gates, hands flailing above his head as he bellowed, “DRAGONS COMING! DON’T BE SCARED! DRAGONS ARE COMING, BUT THEY NO EAT YOU!”

“He tries so hard,” I told Justin, who just sighed.

Ryan had pulled his sword out and was staring at his reflection in the blade, running a hand through his hair.

“What are you doing?”

“I didn’t expect to be meeting dragons,” he said. “I need to look presentable.”

“Oh my gods.”

“I have sex hair. Sex hair, Sam. I am literally about to meet the Great White for the first time, and he’s going to be able to tell that you seduced me.”

“Seduced you? Hey, in case you forgot, you were the one that jumped me because you get a boner every time I do magic!”

“How uncouth,” Dimitri said as the fairies buzzed behind him.

I snorted. “You legit have no room to talk about kinks, dude. Your whole existence is essentially a kink.”

“One of these days, you’re going to start a war just by talking,” Justin told me.

“Your hair looks fine,” I told Ryan, knocking his hand away before he made it worse. “I mean, no offense, but GW isn’t going to care what your hair looks like.”

“GW?” Dimitri asked. “Do you dare insult him by not referring to him as you should? He is a dragon.”

“Sam is a disrespectful little shit,” Kevin said. “Lord Dragon, they call me. The Beast from the East. But does Sam ever refer to me like that? Noooo. Of course not. It’s always Kevin this or Kevin that or Kevin, please put your tongue up my butt so far that you can taste what I had for dinner.”

“Kevin, what the hell!”

“See?” Kevin told Dimitri. “No respect.”

“Like I would sleep with Kevin,” I said to Ryan. “It was only a year. Besides, you saw how tight I was last night. If Kevin had really stuck his tongue up my ass, you would have been able to stick your whole face in there when you did it to me last night.”

“Sam,” Ryan hissed. “Everyone can hear you!”

“Wow,” Gary said. “I need to go masturbate—I mean, I need to go jerk off right now. Oops. That was the same thing. Shit.”

“I’ve been thinking about you,” Dimitri said, flying up in front of Justin’s face. “About… unifying our two kingdoms. What do you say, my Prince? Do you want to be… unified with me?”

“What an offer,” Justin said. “I need to take time to think about it.”

“Of course.”

“I’ve taken enough time. I must respectfully decline your offer.”

Suddenly the sky blackened with clouds and lightning flashed. Randall thundered, “Enough.”

We all stopped talking.

The sun came out again as the clouds dissipated.

“Huh,” I said. “That storm front came out of nowhere perfectly timed with you being angry and—oh. Yeah. Okay, I get it. Related.”

Randall’s eyes were blazing. “You need to take this seriously.”

“Yeah, you guys,” I said, glaring at the others. “Be serious.”

“Sam,” Ryan whispered. “He’s looking at you.”

“That’s because he’s silently asking for me to be his backup while he chews the rest of you out for acting ridiculous.”

“How are you still alive?” Dimitri asked me.

“Sheer force of will,” I said cheerfully. “Anyway, Randall thinks you all suck and you guys should shut up because we’re trying to be for real right now, okay?” I smiled at Randall. “Go ahead. I’ve got you, dude. You don’t need to—are you okay? Like, your face is really red. Are you feeling ill? Are you dying? Man, talk about terrible timing. You can’t die yet. We have some villain ass to kick before your body can collapse in on itself since you are so old.”

“—DRAGONS COMING! DON’T BE SCARED! THEY NO EAT—” Tiggy skidded to a halt next to Gary. “Done and done. I fast.” Gary hoof/fist-bumped him.

Randall looked up toward the heavens.

We all turned our heads skyward too.

“What are we looking at?” Gary whispered.

“I have no idea,” I whispered back. “That cloud over there looks like a dick.”

“Ha! The sky has a dick.”

We looked down when Randall did. He seemed like he was feeling a little better. His face wasn’t as red. I winked at him, just to let him know I totally got what he was doing.

“Sam,” he said, voice oddly flat. “Summon them.”

I sighed. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that. Do I really have to?”

“Yes.”

“Fine. You all might want to take a step back. This could get a little sticky.”

“Why the hell would it get sticky—” I heard Justin say before I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

They were always there, these low pulses of light, these threads that had attached themselves to the electrical impulses of my brain, curling down my spine until they circled my lightning-struck heart. Kevin’s was the strongest. Yes, we’d all just spent a year practically in each other’s minds, but Kevin was… different. He fit with us here.

After him was Zero Ravyn Moonfire, the teenage emo snake dragon monster thing who acted like he had crows in his soul but only ever wanted someone to love as he grew his trees and his flowers. Zero’s pulse and thread were as red as his scales, burning under a desert sun.

Then came the blue pulses, the fluttering of feathers. Pat and Leslie, the mated snow dragons who had once chased Randall and me off the edge of a cliff as their way of seeing if I was worthy of their time.

The last thread was the brightest. Not because of our connection, but because he was the oldest living thing in the known world, and he was made of magic. The Great White was a dragon, but he was different. Kevin was a conduit, helping direct my magic. Pat and Leslie were dreamwalkers. Zero could grow his forests. That was their magic. Their gifts.

The Great White held us all together.

The Great White was who had imbued me with magic that should have taken decades for me to learn.

The Great White was the unifier, the reason I felt them all in my head and heart to begin with.

I’d learned in the woods that my link to the Great White was the reason my eyes had gone black for Kevin, red for Zero, and blue for Pat and Leslie. He was the reason I’d heard them in my head in the desert and the Northern Mountains. He’d been aware of our connection. Of me. Of everything. The whole time. From the first vision when Vadoma had appeared in Castle Lockes and pressed me up against a wall to the second time when he’d told me I wasn’t ready, he’d known. How much he knew was still a mystery. I didn’t know if he could see the future. I didn’t know if he was actually a god. The world had supposedly been built on his back. I didn’t know if that was true, but not for lack of trying.

I’d asked all these questions.

I’d usually been ignored.

Now, though.

Now he wasn’t ignoring me. I wondered if he’d been waiting for this moment.

The pulses were bright, and the lightning scars on my chest burned.

Come, I said to those lights.

I’m already here, the black one said, because he was an asshole.

I wasn’t talking about you.

Oh. Right. You can still ask me to come, if you want.

Gross. Stop it.

Heh. I’m funny.

Finally, the red one said. This has taken forever and I’m bored and starting to get sleepy, and Pat and Leslie won’t let me go make friends with skunks even though they are the only ones who understand me.

That’s because they smell bad, dear, one of the blue lights said. Why, Pat ate one once, and I wouldn’t let her kiss me for a year afterward.

That’s not something they need to know, the other blue light said rather gruffly.

So lame, the red light muttered.

Hey, baby bro, the black light said. Try sheep. They scream when you chase them. It’s hysterical. Also, Gary got his horn back!

Oh, a blue light said. How lovely for him. I bet you’re both thrilled.

It’s about damn time, the other blue light said.

See? I told you she was a softie. A bull dyke exterior, but nothing but fluff on the inside.

We are coming, the white pulse said, and the others fell silent.

I sighed and opened my eyes. The haze of green and gold felt thick around me. I glanced back up at Kevin, whose eyes were completely black as he watched me. He was rumbling happily deep in his chest, tendrils of smoke curling from his nostrils. It hadn’t been so long since we’d seen the others, but there was a sense of relief at the idea of all of us being together again, regardless of how GW frayed my nerves. Though to be fair, I did the same to him.

“They’re coming,” I said.

“I felt that,” Ryan said, sounding awed.

“You did? Like, each of them individually? Could you hear what they were saying?”

He shook his head slowly. “No. I didn’t hear anything. It was more like… a feeling. In here.” He tapped the side of his head. “I think it was more from you than anything.”

Dimitri fluttered about in front of him, eyeing Ryan curiously. “Cornerstones.” He looked at Randall. “Their bond is strong. Especially for ones so young.”

“Their history goes back further than even I knew,” Randall said. “And I’ve learned to never set expectations for them. Usually they end up defying them, one way or another.”

“Was that a compliment?” Ryan whispered to me.

“Yes. No. Maybe?”

“Thanks for clearing that up.”

From the woods came a great roar.

“Here we go,” I muttered. “Whatever you do, don’t run.”

Zero appeared first, bursting from the tree line into the sunlight, muscular body twisting and kicking up dust as he slithered toward us. I had to remind myself to take my own advice and not run screaming at the sight of a gigantic snake dragon monster thing hurtling at me, because Zero was sensitive to how he looked. The bony hood around his face was flat against his head, and I knew he was showing off when he snapped at the air, fangs large and quite frightening.

“Holy shit,” Justin breathed, and I realized that he’d never seen Zero before. He hadn’t been in the desert. “That’s…. I think I just shit myself.”

“How princely of you,” Gary said dryly.

Zero slowed as he got closer, and I could feel a low pulse of uncertainty, like he was shy, of all things, so I stepped forward and grinned at him. “Hey, dude.”

“Sam,” Zero said, body coiling underneath him as he came to a stop a few feet away. “Hi.” His serpentine eyes darted to the people behind me, and he swallowed thickly before he looked down at me again. “That took you forever.”

I rolled my eyes. “Only been a few days.”

“Yeah, but you left me with old people.” He scowled. “That was so dumb. And the forest smelled weird. And I hated it. And then Pat and Leslie wouldn’t let me go very far, even though I’m fourteen years old and that’s practically an adult. I can make my own decisions!”

“Oh boy.”

“Hey, little bro!” Kevin said, coming to stand next to me. “How goes it?”

“My life is so hard,” Zero moaned. “Everything is dark and dank, like the fetid recesses of my mind.”

“Yeah,” Kevin said. “That’s so… you. Come look at Gary’s horn.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice, even though everyone could clearly still hear him. “Make sure you tell him how nice it looks, because if you don’t, he might not let me have the Buttery Herb Cheese Muffin later.”

“What’s a Buttery Herb Cheese—”

“You keep your depravity to yourself,” I warned Kevin. “Zero doesn’t need to be corrupted.”

“Hey! I can take it!”

“So can Gary,” Kevin said. “That’s why we have a bakery to begin with.”

Two feathered dragons walked regally from the trees, their heads held high, their hardened feathers sparkling like ice in the sunlight. Pat’s eyes were narrowed, taking in every little thing around them, assessing for conceivable threats against her mate. Leslie was smiling at me, and I couldn’t help but grin back at her. She’d been kind to me in the Dark Woods and had spoken up more than once against GW when she thought I’d had enough for the day.

“Sam,” Pat said as I bowed low to them. I didn’t have to do it, but I could see she was pleased at the action.

“Oh, look at all of you,” Leslie tittered. “Like a band of merry heroes gathered together. So brave with your little faces. Kevin, come here and bring your young man so that I may gaze upon him. I hear that his horn is rather long, and if I weren’t a lesbian, I would surely be a size queen. Dimitri, you are looking fit.”

“Pat,” Dimitri said, nodding. “Leslie.”

“Tiny speck of dust,” Pat said, and I adored her.

And then the sun was blocked out.

I sighed as I looked at Randall. “Don’t make this weird.”

Everyone turned their faces skyward, excluding Randall. He had that grumpy look that he sometimes got when, say, for example, his old mentor happened to be flying around overhead. “I have no idea what you mean.”

“Yes, you do. You’re going to be all stiff and snarly, and he’s going to be all growly and reticent, and then the walls will come crumbling down and you’ll both cry and hug each other. And then you’ll tell him you love him, and he’ll say the same, and then you guys can go do old people stuff like going for dinner at three in the afternoon or play chess in the park—and yes, I realize we don’t have a park right now, but you get what I mean—and then you’ll sit around and complain about the youth of today not knowing how good they have it and how back in your day, you had to work to get anything you wanted, not like the kids who get everything handed to them.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Tell that to Eduardo and Morely.”

“I’m going to regret asking this, but who are Eduardo and Morely?”

“Two elderly side characters in the seminal novel The Butler and the Manticore, which I never want to read again.”

Randall looked like he didn’t know whether to strangle me or walk away. I was used to that from him.

“Why is he just circling overhead?” Justin asked, sounding reverential.

“He’s showing off,” I explained. “He’s a dragon. It’s what they do.”

“Hey!” four dragons snapped at me.

I waited.

“Okay,” Kevin allowed. “That might be true.”

“I like it when people look at me,” Leslie said, preening her feathers.

“I have big teefs,” Zero slurred as his fangs dropped.

“We are dragons,” Pat said. “Everyone should be in awe of us.”

“I hate dragons,” I muttered.

The Great White landed in the empty field next to Camp HaveHeart. If he wanted to, it would take only a couple of swipes and the camp would be reduced to rubble, its inhabitants buried. I wondered if the Darks all the way in the City of Lockes could see him towering over the camp. I hoped they could and were starting to panic.

He lowered his great head toward us, and I could hear people in Camp HaveHeart oohing and aahing over him. The other dragons were deferential, Ryan looked like he was fighting the urge to draw his sword again, Justin’s eyes were wide and unblinking, Gary had little rainbows shooting from the tip of his horn (for reasons I didn’t want to think of), Dimitri and his fairies were buzzing brightly, and Tiggy was waving frantically up at the biggest dragon in the world.

I said, “GW. Glad you could join us. Thanks for the flyover. At least three people were impressed. I wasn’t one of them.”

Everyone turned slowly to look at me, agape.

Randall said, “You’ve aged rather poorly. I’m not surprised.”

Everyone turned slowly to look at him, mouths opening still wider. Even me.

The Great White rumbled, eyes shifting to Randall. “You can understand me, yes?”

“Yes,” Randall said.

“Good. You were a terrible apprentice.”

“You were a terrible mentor,” Randall retorted.

“Draaaammmmmmaaaaaaaa,” Gary whispered. “Yaaaassss.”

“Is that so?” GW asked.

“Quite.”

“Your human emotions became your undoing.”

“Not all of us are born without a soul.” Randall sniffed delicately. “Or rather, one as black as the inside of a troll cave.”

“Oh my gods,” I whispered fervently. “They’re being growly and reticent. They’re Eduardo and Morely. I knew it. Break down and cry so you can be old in the park!”

GW glanced in my direction. “What’s he mumbling about now?”

Randall waved a hand dismissively at me. “If you ignore him, eventually he either gets distracted by something shiny or starts having relations with the knight.”

“Rude,” I said. “But also pretty much true.”

“I wish I’d known that before I accepted him as my apprentice,” GW said, gigantic head shifting. “I am ancient. A century is but a drop in the ocean for me. That being said, the last year was the longest of my life.”

“Aww,” I said.

GW blinked slowly. “What.”

Randall rolled his eyes. “He chose to take that as a compliment.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“It is in Sam’s mind.”

“I’m a handful,” I said. “Right, Ryan?” I jabbed him in the stomach with my elbow. “Right? I’m a handful? Get it? Yeah. You get it.”

He was sweating profusely.

“Ryan?” the Great White growled. “The Knight Commander? Is this who stands before me?”

“Eep,” Ryan said. “I mean, yes, sir. Lord Dragon. Sir. Great White. Master. Your Excellency.”

“He gets weird sometimes,” I said, frowning at Ryan.

“I don’t get weird,” Ryan snapped out the side of his mouth, gaze still trained on GW.

“A cornerstone,” GW scoffed derisively. “A waste.”

“Oh man,” I breathed. “You shouldn’t have said that. You’re so dead, and you don’t even know it yet. Ryan! Stab him in the eye and show him no one talks about my cornerstone that way!”

“I can’t stab him,” Ryan said frantically. “He’s the Great White!”

“You most certainly can stab him.”

“You did such a wonderful job with your apprentice,” Randall said to GW. “Really. You must be so proud.”

“He came to me like this,” GW snapped. “So any fault rests firmly on those who held his stewardship before me. Like you, for one.”

“You’re lucky my hip aches today. Otherwise I’d have half a mind to give you the business end of my business.”

“Your hip?” GW snorted. “I’m surprised you’re even still standing with how brittle your bones must be.”

“I noticed your left hand is curling in, and you favored it while landing. Arthritis is such an awful thing. I’m glad you have it.”

“Defend my honor!” I demanded.

“You defend your honor,” Ryan said. “You’re the one who can do magic. I just have a sword.”

“Yeah, but you always brag how big it is!”

“Do you have any understanding just how large that dragon is?”

“Say something. He hates cornerstones. You’re a cornerstone. Ergo, he hates you. You need to show him how wrong he is and how cool you are.”

“Yes, please,” Gary said gleefully. “Ryan, do show the biggest dragon in the world just how cool you are.”

“But I thought Knight Delicious Face not cool?” Tiggy whispered.

“Oh, he’s not,” Gary whispered back. “I just want to see what happens.”

“I’ll defend your honor,” Dimitri said, fluttering up around my face. His little penis was eye level, and I couldn’t not stare at it.

“I think you mean something entirely different than what I’m asking for,” I told him.

“Probably. Still. Shall I?”

“You shall not.”

“Old people are the worst,” Zero moaned. “Gods, why can’t there be someone normal here?”

“I pretty normal,” Tiggy told him. “I have brooms.”

“I feel like I need to be doing something with my horn,” Gary said to no one in particular. “Does anyone require any assistance involving my horn?”

“I could use a good buggering,” Kevin said.

“They grow up so fast,” Leslie said fondly.

“Good,” Pat said. “Then maybe we can leave and go home and never have to deal with any of them ever again.”

“I regret everything about you,” GW growled at Randall.

“My heart breaks at such a thought,” Randall snapped back.

“Enough!”

We all turned to the source of the angry voice.

Grand Prince Justin of Verania stood tall, glaring at all of us, arms across his chest. A breeze blew over him at that moment, making his clothes billow slightly, his dreamy curls bouncing on his head. He looked kingly as hell, and I was at once jealous of how amazing it was and proud that he was my best friend 5eva.

“You look really good,” I told him, in case he didn’t know. “Like, dude. I’m thinking about breaking up with Ryan and wooing—oh my gods, I’m kidding. Ryan, put your sword away. Justin, stop gagging.”

“I’m watching you,” Ryan warned Justin.

Justin rolled his eyes. “I should hope so. That’s your job.”

“Oh. Right. Well. Carry on, then.”

Justin looked as if he wanted to punch something “As delightful as all of this is—”

“I don’t think he means that at all,” Gary whispered to Tiggy.

“—we didn’t gather here for more of your shenanigans. Whatever grievances you may have, it is time to put them aside. Or at the very least, hold them until after we’ve saved Verania.”

“Grievances,” GW rumbled, cocking his exceptionally large head. “You reduce the betrayal by an apprentice to a grievance. Who do you think you are, human?”

Any normal person would have been shitting themselves. Justin was not a normal person. He squared his shoulders and narrowed his eyes. “I’m the King-In-Waiting. I am the Prince of Verania. I shall have your respect if you hope to ever have mine.”

“Holy shit,” Gary breathed. “Did anyone else just get a power boner?”

Kevin raised his hand. So did Dimitri. I was going to, but Ryan was glaring at me. Inexplicably, Leslie also raised a hand. I felt it better not to ask.

Justin ignored them, eyes only on GW. “This is bigger than you. Than myself. Than any of us. Our very way of life is threatened. Myrin will not stop until he controls all he sees. This is my country. These are my people. He has taken from me—from all of us—and I will see to it that he has paid for his crimes against Verania. I don’t care about apprentices or cornerstones or whatever has brought us to this moment. The time for blame has passed. We’re made up of our histories, but we control our futures. Sam is my wizard. He’s been chosen by the gods to bring about the end of the man in shadows. And I will stand by him. I expect you to do the same. Sam, get that look off your face. Now is not the time for hugging.”

“But—”

“No.”

“I just—”

“No.”

I sighed.

The Great White stared down at Justin for a moment that stretched a beat too long. There was a second or two where I was sure GW was just going to eat Justin, but he snorted instead. “You must have a heart of steel to speak to me in such a way.”

“I’ve found that there’s a time and place for diplomacy. This is not it. I will be blunt, as is required of someone in my position.”

“You cannot wipe away the sins of the past.”

“True,” Justin agreed. “But when all the world depends upon you, I would hope you could at least overlook them for now.”

GW’s lip curled. “And you say you will be king?”

“Yes.”

“I can see that. You are impressive.”

“Wow,” I said. “I’m so glad you’ve known him for all of five minutes and come to that conclusion when I’ve known you for a year and the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me was that at least I was more adept at magic than a rotting corpse.”

“You’re my apprentice,” GW said. “I’m not supposed to be nice to you.”

“He’s been coddled far too much,” Randall said.

“I noticed. Rather soft, isn’t he.”

“Like dough.”

“Well,” I said, clapping my hands. “As fun as this is—and really, I just love how the two of you have seemingly already forgotten a centuries-long feud so that you could pile on me, so wonderful, thank you—I think we should move on and do what Justin said. Focus on the big picture and kick some ass and—okay, I really don’t remember what Justin said because I was distracted by how kingly he was being.”

“O, ancient one,” Dimitri said, flying up in front of GW’s face. “Forgive us for this mockery. These humans know not who they speak to. You are the light of the world, the reason for which we all draw breath. Why, your very heartbeats are the pulse of the earth beneath our feet, your breath the wind through the trees, the—”

“Dimitri.”

“Yes, ancient one.”

“Stop it.”

“Yes, ancient one.”

GW turned back to Randall. “Why now?”

Randall arched a tremendous eyebrow at him. “Because we’re running out of time. We have rescued our King. Myrin has seen Sam with his own eyes. It will not be long before he descends.”

“Can he be saved?”

Randall appeared startled at the question. “What?”

“Myrin. Can he be brought back from the shadows?”

Randall stared up at him. “Even if there was a way, why would you care?”

“You think me coldhearted.”

“I think you obstinate. And unsympathetic. Incapable of seeing anything outside of the ways you view the world.”

“But?”

Randall’s shoulders sagged. “I never thought you cold. You cared about me. In your own way.”

“You loved him.”

“I did.”

“He was your cornerstone.”

“He was.”

“And he turned from you.”

“Yes.”

“And yet you survived. Even after the King of Sorrows. Even after your… experience in Castle Freesias. Somehow, you survived. Tell me, Randall. How is it possible?”

“You knew? About—”

“You were my apprentice. Of course I knew. How did you do it? How did you find your way into the light?”

“Morgan.”

“Is that all?”

Randall sighed. “I remembered what I’d been taught.”

GW looked taken aback. “Truly?”

“Yes.”

“Can the same be done for Myrin?”

Randall hesitated. Then, “No.”

The Great White nodded slowly. “And why is that?”

“Because of the corruption in his heart, the darkness that lurks beneath his skin. I became what I did because of the extent of my grief. Myrin did the same, but of his own volition. It was power he sought, and nothing more.” Randall glanced at me, and a chill ran down my spine. “And to do what he did to—to Morgan, it…. To consume another’s magic is the darkest of all the arts. He took something that did not belong to him. How it must have fractured his soul. So, no. I believe there’s no coming back from that. He has made his choice.”

“And you have made yours.”

“Yes.”

“They gonna hug?” Tiggy whispered to Gary.

“They better,” Gary whispered back. “You can’t just be old and decrepit and talk about bad things in your past and forgive each other without hugging afterward.”

I’d taught him well.

GW looked around at each of us in turn. Kevin and Zero and Pat and Leslie. Gary and Tiggy. Dimitri and his fairies. Ryan. Justin.

Me.

“He reminds me of you,” he told Randall. “Stubborn. Indignant. Mouthy. He speaks before he thinks and is more likely to ignore my orders than to actually follow them.”

I would have objected, but that was pretty much all true.

“He once turned my nose into a phallus,” Randall said, sounding resigned.

“That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest. But still, even with all his faults, his heart is resilient. It has been lightning-struck, and made stronger because of it. I’ve never met someone quite like him before.”

“Confounding, isn’t he?”

“Extraordinarily so. Do you think he’s capable?”

“Yes.”

“You believe in him.”

There was no hesitation. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because for all his bravado, for all the sass and the sarcasm, he is still the greatest wizard I’ve ever known. He’s the better part of all of us. And I am humbled to be in his presence.”

I couldn’t find my voice.

The Great White chuckled. “Maybe the gods chose wisely after all.”

“Surprising, isn’t it?”

“You’ve called us here.”

“I did.”

“Do you have a plan?”

Randall began to smile.

 

 

I OVERHEARD something not meant for me. I should have kept walking. But I was rooted in place.

“I’m proud of you,” the King said to his son just inside the gates of Camp HaveHeart.

“What?” Justin asked. “I didn’t—”

“What you said. About Verania. And its people.”

Justin sighed. “I was just trying to get them to focus.”

“Were you?”

“Yes.”

The King laughed. “Even when you were a child, you got that same grumpy look on your face when you were caught showing your heart. I always found it to be the most endearing thing.”

“Dad, I’m not—”

“A king puts all others before himself. He does all he can for the weak and the weary, the poor and the hungry. He is kind to those who deserve it. He is firm with those who do not. He defends the Crown with all his might.”

“I know. You’ve told me many times.”

“I suppose I have. A king also inspires. Have I told you that?”

“I—no. I don’t know that you have.”

“Hmm. Well. He inspires, because without hope, all is lost. Hope is a light in the dark, something that can help lead us home. You are a light, my son. And I know that one day you will make a wonderful king. I’m proud of the man you’ve become.”

“Dad.”

“Let an old man have his words.”

“You’re not that old.”

“Very kind of you.”

“You’re going to be around for a long time.”

“I hope so.”

Silence. Then, “How do you know?”

“What?”

“That I’ll be a good king.”

“Because a good king inspires. And you inspire me.”

I left them alone after that.