Chapter 7: Gary’s Requiem: A Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and Being Fabulous

 

 

JUST LIKE we’d practiced, Tiggy put the spotlight directly on Gary, who stood stock-still, posing with his chest puffed out, head thrown back. He looked like one of the horses children rode on carousels when the carnivals came to the City of Lockes during the summer, though telling him as much would probably result in my death. He was magnificent, however, the light catching him just right, and for a moment I allowed myself to take in one of my best friends in his full glory, before resigning myself to the shenanigans that would follow.

“This is ridiculous,” I heard Lady Tina mutter before she was hushed by at least one dragon and three humans.

While I waited in the corner for my cue, I raised my hand to my face, thumb on one cheek, four fingers on the other. I stroked downward, and a beard sprouted underneath my touch, growing long and full until it curled against my chest. We didn’t have time for the costumes Gary had made (if they hadn’t been destroyed in the fall of Castle Lockes), and I wanted to give him as much as I could to make up for everything. I felt a bittersweet pang in my chest, hearing Morgan say that shaping magic was a frivolous thing, nothing more than a parlor trick. He’d probably be irritated that I’d even do such a thing, but I thought he’d be proud at how full my beard looked. He’d been complex like that.

And then Gary’s Requiem began.

“Once upon a time,” Tiggy recited dutifully, “there was pretty Gary. He was pretty, and Tiggy love him. Gary the best unicorn. Everyone thought so. One day Gary went to woods to pick flowers because Gary liked flowers. I also like flowers. And potatoes. And raccoons.” His face scrunched up. “And brooms.”

“Tiggy,” Gary hissed, still posing, barely moving his mouth. “Stick to your lines.”

“Hi, Gary!”

“Hi, Tiggy.”

“Okay,” Tiggy rumbled. “Gary in woods. Picking flowers. It was sunny. Very nice. Tiggy likes it when Gary in the sun. He is warm. Makes me feel good.”

“I am so going to squish your face when this is over,” I muttered under my breath.

“Tra-la-la!” Gary said loudly as he started to prance, paper horn slipping a little. “I am here in the woods, all by myself, looking for flowers. It is a wonderful day, and I am young and hung and very beautiful.”

“I think the realism of this is my favorite part,” Kevin whispered to my dad. “It feels as if I know just how hung he is.”

“I wish I hadn’t heard you say that,” Dad whispered back.

“Ooh,” Gary said. “Look! ’Tis a lilac! My favorite. I shall pick it and take it with me back to my home, where it will eventually be placed into my mane and everyone will tell me how amazing I look and—” He took a stuttering step forward.

Kevin and Tiggy gasped loudly.

Terry rolled his eyes.

I didn’t like Terry very much.

“What is this?” Gary asked, voice trembling. “Why do I feel so weak? What has happened to me? I cannot move my legs or my body. Have you betrayed me, lilac? How dare you!” His eyelashes fluttered as he looked as if he was going to faint. He took another step forward, and right before he was about to fall, he froze again.

“Poor Gary,” Tiggy the narrator continued monotonously. “He didn’t know he been poisoned. Really, really sad. Flower was not a nice flower. It a trap.”

“I knew it,” Kevin whispered fervently. “I knew it was a trap!”

“Yeah,” Tiggy said. “A trap. Oh no. Gary in trouble. What Gary not know is that there was bad guy following him. In the shadows. A villain.”

My cue! How glorious!

“Muahahahaaa,” I said as deeply as I could, still standing out of the light in the corner of the tent. “My evil plan of evil is working.”

Ryan sounded like he was choking. I hoped he was all right.

“This not good for Gary,” Tiggy said. “He couldn’t move. It super sad.”

“I can’t move!” Gary wailed. “I am a unicorn, a being of pure light and sunshine and rainbows who children adore even though I usually don’t like them because they are sticky and stupid and I wouldn’t be sad if they all went away. But oh no! This plight I have found myself in is certainly not good!”

“Not good at all,” Tiggy said.

“Or is it the best,” I growled. “Because I am a villain, and I plan on showing you my villainous ways.”

“Oooh,” Kevin whispered. “It’s one of those sexy shows.”

“Bum,” Tiggy sang. “Bum, bum bu-bum.”

“I am really saaaaaad,” Gary trilled, picking up the tune.

“And I am really baaaad,” I warbled.

“Hark!” Gary cried. “Who goes there! And what have you done to me!”

I stepped out from the corner, stalking slowly toward Gary. “’Tis I, a villain!”

“Holy realistic beard,” Ryan breathed.

“Oh, godsdammit, Ryan,” Justin said with a scowl. “Control yourself.”

“It’s not that great,” Terry muttered. “My mane is longer and far more luxuriant. Ryan, do you want to touch my mane? You can, if you want.”

“Who are you?” Gary asked dramatically. “What do you want from me? You can’t have your wicked way with me. My virtue is intact. I am pristine and shall remain as such! You shan’t take that away from me, even though you have drugged me to try and make me pliant.”

“I will not have my wicked way with you,” I spat, stroking my beard, because according to Gary in his production notes, villains stroked their beards to the point that it looked like they were trying to jerk their facial hair off. I had tried to schedule a meeting with him to discuss the direction the play was going, but his secretary (Tiggy) had kept saying Gary was unavailable for the foreseeable future. I’d thought he was lying. “Even though dat ass won’t quit.”

“Dis ass?” Gary asked, wiggling his posterior just a little.

“Dat ass,” I agreed, only because it was in the script. I tugged on my beard some more, trying to sell my villainous ways.

“It is nice,” Gary said. “Thank you for noticing. I do lots of squats.”

“Gary did them every morning,” Tiggy narrated. “Everyone liked dat ass.”

“But if you don’t want a piece of all of this, then what are you after?” Gary asked, batting his eyelashes at me.

“Something far more sinister,” I said, scowling at him and stroking my beard furiously. “I have come… for your horn!”

Kevin whimpered. Strangely, so did Ryan.

“Oh no,” Tiggy said. “This terrible. Gary alone in woods and poisoned.”

“Oh no,” Gary said. “This is terrible. I am all alone in the woods, and I’ve been poisoned. Whatever will happen to me? For I, Gary—”

“It was the flower!” I crowed wildly. “That is what poisoned you!”

“Sam,” Gary hissed. “You came in too early! I wasn’t finished with my inner monologue yet.”

I winced. “Sorry. I’m just happy to be here. I get excited easily.”

“No shit. Don’t let it happen again. I will fire you and give your job to your understudy, so help me gods. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Ahem. Tiggy, line please.”

Tiggy frowned.

“Tiggy! Line.”

“Whatever will happen—”

“Yes. Whatever will happen to me? For I, Gary, the queen of the forest, have been captured by a villain who for some reason doesn’t want to tap dat ass, but has other nefarious purposes in mind for me. He knows not who he trifles with, and if I wasn’t so woozy, I would be stabbing the shit out of his eyeballs right now, because motherfucker does not get to walk away from this. Who does he think he is?”

“Bum,” Tiggy sang. “Bum, bum bu-buuuummmm.”

“I… am… Gary! I make the world merry. People think I’m scary, bitches better be warrrrrrryyyyy.”

“Did you know about this?” Justin asked Ryan, sounding extraordinarily accusatory. “Did you know there would be songs?”

“That beard, though,” Ryan said, sounding awed.

“It was the flower!” I said again. “That is what poisoned you.”

“It was the flower,” Tiggy said. “Curses.”

“The flower?” Gary asked, outraged. “How did you know I would be searching for flowers?”

I prowled around him. “I have been following you for days, my sweet. Watching your every move like a creepy asshole who doesn’t know the meaning of personal boundaries. I have been planning this very moment for at least six hours, and now that I have you in my clutches, I will take from you what shall be mine.”

“My horn?” Gary whispered, eyes wide.

“Your horn. Because everyone knows a unicorn’s horn is one of the most powerful magical objects ever to exist. One who has such a thing in his possession will be capable of many villainous things, like mayhem and scandals.”

“Mayhem and scandals,” Tiggy said. “Two things that are bad.”

“Mayhem and scandals,” Gary cried. “Oh, heart! Beat slowly in my chest. Is there no one over yonder who could save me?”

“No one over yonder,” Tiggy said sadly. “Gary all alone.”

“There is no one who could save you,” I said, a terrible smile on my face. “Soon, you won’t be able to move, and I will cut the horn from your head.”

Mom and Dad looked disturbed. Even Terry seemed affected.

“Why?” Gary asked, eyes sparkling with tears as he lowered himself to the ground. “Why would you do such a thing to one as magnificent as I?”

“It’s really rather simple,” I said, standing above him. “It’s because I can.”

And I reached for his horn.

The paper one.

That had fallen and was resting on his cheek.

Community theater was hard.

“Do the ribbon thing,” Gary whispered as I grabbed the paper horn.

“Don’t you think that’s a little graphic?”

“Wow, way to question the star. Just fucking do it.”

I rolled my eyes but complied. A soon as I began to slowly pull the horn from his head, I gathered a small bit of magic and shot silky red ribbons from my sleeves, simulating blood for reasons I didn’t understand. A unicorn’s horn was made of bone, and it shouldn’t have bled profusely, but I didn’t want my understudy to get my job, even though I didn’t actually have an understudy.

“Ungh,” Ryan said, eyes glazing over.

“Oh my gods,” Justin groaned.

“Bleh,” Gary said, like he was dying. “Ack. Argh. Blech. Urgh. Bleh.”

“No,” Kevin whispered. “No, no, no. I can’t watch this. It’s far too terrible.” He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

“Muahahaha,” I said as I snapped the hair holding the folded paper in place. I held the horn above my head, ribbons still shooting from my sleeves. I was probably overselling it, but it looked really cool, and Ryan seemed as if he wanted me to fuck his face right then and there, so it was a win/win. “I have taken this unicorn’s horn. His power shall be mine.”

And then I faded back into the corner of the tent.

Tiggy trained the spotlight back on Gary’s fallen figure. He lay on the ground, tongue lolling out of his mouth, eyes closed.

“My love!” Kevin said. “You must rise. Get up! Get up so far into the future, we can meet and I can go to your bakery and eat the royal hell out of your croissants!”

Gary opened a single eye and glared at Kevin. “Would you shush? I’m acting.”

“Oh. Right. Sorry.”

He closed his eye again, tongue falling out of his mouth.

“This was sad,” Tiggy said. “The forest cried. The earth wept.”

And even though this was all bullshit, even though we were mired in the ridiculousness of it all, I couldn’t help but feel my eyes burn a little. Because regardless of how overly dramatic we were being, this wasn’t too far from the truth. One day Gary had been poisoned and unable to move, a man standing above him, sawing through bone on his head, taking from him part of his identity. And he’d been alone. This was before me. Before Tiggy. He’d been in the forest with no one to help him, and he’d been attacked. He didn’t deserve such a thing. No magical creature did. Even though he tried to laugh it off, tried to put on this play as a way of coping, I knew how it had affected him. He’d been stripped of his autonomy and then assaulted. It’d taken him a long time to tell me what had happened, and when he did, he hadn’t been able to look me in the eye. Tiggy and I had held him for a long time after that, until he’d told us to fuck off, that he was an independent unicorn who didn’t need to be coddled.

My mom was crying, Dad’s arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Terry’s eyes were wide and suspiciously shiny.

In fact, the only people in the room who didn’t seem affected at all were Lady Tina and Vadoma. The former looked bored and the latter annoyed. If this hadn’t been Gary’s performance, I would have gladly bitch-slapped the both of them.

“Everything was sad,” Tiggy continued. “Because poor Gary don’t have no horn.”

Gary’s eyes fluttered open. “Oh no,” he whisper-sang. “What has happened to me? Someone has stolen my iden-ti-ty.”

“Whyyyyyy,” Kevin wailed. “Oh gods, whyyyyyyy.”

“I… have lost my horn. Now I wish I’d never been… born.” He took in a great sucking breath.

“Tiggy sad now,” Tiggy said, great globular tears streaking down his face. “Tiggy so sad.”

Gary began to push himself up, still singing. “I am seething with a momentous rage.” He propped himself up on his front legs, rear to the ground. “My heart has been locked into an unbreakable cage.”

I wanted to run and hug him, but I couldn’t, because I had already exited the stage, and he would kill me if I interrupted his final moments.

Gary stood on wobbly legs. “Who am I supposed to be? When I can no longer be the me I see?”

“Okay,” Kevin said, tears streaming down his snout. “I think we can agree that line was awkwardly worded. Still effective.”

“My horn,” Gary sang, “oh why have I been forsook? My world, how it has been shook. And now! How will I go on? When everything I knew is now gone?”

And then he went for the kill with the last verse. “I am filled with such terrible remorse. Am I now no better than a common… horse?”

Tiggy covered the lantern completely.

The tent fell into darkness.

Then Tiggy pulled the parchment completely off the lantern, illuminating the tent, and Gary bowed.

“Brava!” Kevin cried. “Brava! A star is born! We are witnessing the beginning of a legend.”

Mom and Dad clapped. After a moment, Justin joined in, and I’d never seen such begrudging applause. It was quite the sight to behold.

I went to Tiggy and tapped him on the arm. He looked down at me and smiled, a fragile thing.

I reached up and squished his face. “I love you, dude. Like, so much. You don’t even know.”

He reached down and gave me a one-armed hug. “Tiggy knows.” He put his face in my hair and took a deep breath. “You don’t leave us again. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He held me tighter.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned, expecting it to be Ryan wanting to do sexy things to my entire body, but it turned out to be Justin.

“I know what you’re going to say,” I told him before he could speak. “We were a little rusty, but it was still amazing. Thank you for that. It’s truly wonderful of you to say.”

“I wasn’t going to say that, Sam.”

“Rude.”

He reached out and tugged on my beard. “This is real? How?”

I shoved his hand off me, because it actually hurt. “Shaping magic. I can modify the way I look.”

“Like a disguise?”

“Yeah.”

“Is this new? Because you’re a wizard?”

“Nah. I could do it before.”

He scowled at me. “Then why the hell haven’t you done it? You always wore fake beards!”

I shrugged and averted my gaze. “Uh. Morgan, he—well. He called it frivolous magic. He didn’t like it when I did stuff like that. Said it was a waste of time.”

Justin sighed. “I don’t—okay. Look. Maybe that was the case then. And maybe he might have been right. The gods only know what kind of trouble you would have gotten into had he allowed you to do whatever you wanted when you were younger.”

“So many noses would have been turned into dicks,” I agreed.

“Right. Because you were a perpetually horny teenager lusting after my boyfriend.”

“In secret. And look how it all turned out! It pays to be creepy sometimes, I guess. Who would have thunk?”

He rolled his eyes. “How far can this go?”

“What? The modifications?”

He nodded, eyeing me curiously.

“Pretty far,” I said slowly, not sure where he was going with this. “Eye color. Facial hair. Beer guts. But reconfiguring someone can hurt. It’s not just the magic. You’re shifting the way they look.”

“But it’ll be enough,” he muttered, reaching up to pull on the beard again. “We can—”

“Sam,” Gary said, pushing a squawking Justin out of the way. “I have notes on your performance.”

“Oh boy.”

“Yes. Oh boy. Your delivery was wooden. Your voice was pitchy in the musical numbers. You interrupted my soliloquy. I mean, do you even understand the fine art of acting? I know you’re a forest person now, but my word. What is wrong with you?”

“I did the best I could!”

“An elderly man missing his arms and legs and voice box would have been more believable than you!”

“Well maybe if you’d given me advance notice, I would have been able to prepare better!”

“We literally just got back to Camp HaveHeart,” he snapped at me.

I frowned. “Really? It’s still the same day? Huh. Wow. So many things have happened, it feels like it’s been a week.” I gasped. “That means my eyebrows still haven’t been plucked! How dare you let me perform like—oh. Wait. Right. Shaping magic.” I waved my hand in front of my face and plucked a few. “Ow. Ow! Fuck, women who do this regularly are the true heroes, what the hell. Okay. Better?”

“Hmmm,” Gary said, leaning close and inspecting each eyebrow individually. “If you like looking perpetually surprised, then yes. That’s better. You look like you just walked into a party you didn’t know was being thrown for you.”

I shoved his face away.

Justin was still staring at me.

“What?” I snapped at him.

“Plotting,” he said mysteriously.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“For you? Probably not.”

“Great,” I sighed.

“I need to talk to Sam,” Ryan said gruffly, coming to stand next to me. He gripped my elbow like he was getting ready to pull me away. I knew that look on his face, and I grinned because I was about to get licked.

“Absolutely not,” Justin said, pulling me back toward the table. “I know what you’re going to do. You put your godsdamn dick away. I need him.”

“Ooh,” I said, waggling my surprise-brows back at Ryan. “Sounds like the Prince wants to fight you for me.”

Ryan began to pull out his sword.

Justin looked back at him and rolled his eyes. “Knock it off, Knight Commander. You can trust me when I say I can do far, far better than Sam.”

“That was mean,” I told him. “But I can’t wait for you to find love so I can see who is better than me. That guy must be so damn cool.” I frowned when I thought of something. “But just because you find him doesn’t mean you can’t be my best friend 5eva anymore. That’s for life. You promised.”

“I promised you nothing. You forced that upon me.”

“Same thing.”

The others followed us and stood around the table again. Justin pulled out the map of Castle Lockes, and then another, which showed the City of Lockes. Tina stood at his side, peering down at them, eyes darting from one to the other.

“First things first,” Justin said. “Gary, I’m sorry.”

We all looked up, surprised. Well. Everyone else looked surprised. If Gary was to be believed, I was still there.

“Um,” Gary said, flustered. “Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.”

“And what are we apologizing for?”

Justin sighed. “I can’t—for as long as I’ve known you, you haven’t had your horn. And to be honest, before this whole… thing with Myrin, I never gave it much thought. You were always just Sam’s sidekick who—”

“That was the wrong thing to say,” I mumbled.

“Sidekick,” Gary said, eyes narrowing. The air around him began to sparkle. “Who you callin’ sidekick, you little piece of—”

“The fact remains,” Justin said smoothly, “that I didn’t take what you’d gone through into consideration. I can’t imagine the pain you must have felt. And that was wrong of me. I’m sorry for that and ask that you one day consider forgiving me.”

The glitter disappeared as Gary blushed, looking down at the table and giggling. “Oh, you. As if I could ever stay mad at you.”

I glanced between the two of them. “What is even happening right now?”

“Don’t look so surprised,” Gary said like an asshole. “Just because the Prince of Verania wants to get up all in my bidness doesn’t mean you need to be jealous. You already have Justin’s castoff. What more could you possibly need?”

“Castoff?” Ryan exclaimed.

“Whoa,” Justin said, looking alarmed. “That’s not—”

“You trying to get yourself some ’corn?” Kevin asked, tongue flicking out dangerously. “You must got some big ol’ hairy balls trying to do that in front of his husband.”

“Ex-husband on a trial reconciliation,” Gary reminded him. “As far as I’m concerned, if a better deal came along, I wouldn’t say no.” He batted his eyes at Justin. “And it looks like one just did. Tell me, Justin. Just how rich are you? Not that it matters, of course. Except for how much it matters to me.”

“I have nothing,” Justin reminded him. “Because it’s all at the castle. Remember the escaping and the running and the hiding?”

“Riiiight,” Gary said. “Well, then. Justin, I’m sorry to say that we won’t work out. I ask that you respect my decision. Kevin! Good news, I’m considering you again!”

“Oh, happy day! Suck it, Justin!”

“You know what?” Justin said. “Doesn’t even matter. The point I was trying to make is that no one should ever have to suffer like you did.”

“That’s very kind of you, Prince,” Terry said. Such a kissass. “If only others felt the same way. There are people out there who don’t care. They try and take what isn’t theirs because they get all crazed with power.”

“I didn’t trust humans,” Kevin said quietly. “Not after what they’d done to me. Trying to take my hearts or my blood because of my magic.”

“People like Ruv,” I said bitterly.

Everyone turned to look at me. Vadoma’s expression was troubled.

“What about him?” Mom asked.

I looked down at the table at the map of the home that had been taken from us. “That day…. Shit.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “That day. In the house in Lockes. With Caleb. And Ruv. And Myrin.” I glanced at Lady Tina, whose eyes were wide and fearful. “I never said anything because there were other things more important going on.” Like the death of my mentor, but I didn’t say that aloud. “But that’s how I was trapped. Why I couldn’t fight back. Ruv had stolen dragon’s blood from Zero. There were… symbols. In a circle, written in Zero’s blood. The moment I stepped inside, I was stuck. Ruv had taken something from Zero and used it as a weapon against me. I couldn’t stop Ruv from… when he—and Myrin—”

Ryan’s hand was on my shoulder, squeezing tightly, grounding me in a way that I’d missed. It felt different than it had before, but that made sense. I wasn’t the same person.

“And I know you’re asking me to trust you all, and I do, but what happened that day, what was taken from me, that’s…. I won’t trust her. She might stand at your side, but I’ll never let her have my back in case that’s where she decides to stick the knife.”

Lady Tina’s face hardened. “I don’t know how else I can—”

Justin held up his hand, and she fell silent. She looked frustrated and a little scared, but she appeared to listen to the Prince. “I get what you’re saying, Sam,” he said. “I really do. And I promise you that I’ll listen to your concerns. Always. But I need everyone here for what’s ahead. Okay? I asked you to trust me, and I meant that. I would never do anything to put those you love in harm’s way.”

I almost believed him. It must have shown on my face, because he sighed and shook his head. “We’ll come back to that. But first, Gary. Who was it that stole your horn?”

Gary looked a little startled. “Oh. Keith.”

“Keith,” Justin repeated.

“Keith.”

“And this… Keith. Where is he now?”

“Dead.”

Justin squinted at him. “Accidental?”

Gary smiled. “Yes. He was accidentally trampled to death. Quite tragic.”

“Trampled.”

“Oh yes. That… team… of horses just came out of nowhere.”

“And you just happened to know that how?”

Gary shrugged. “You know? I can’t quite remember.”

“So bloodthirsty,” I whispered.

“Right,” Justin said slowly. “And your horn?”

“Gone. Either stolen or he sold it, or—”

“So then what was the point of that entire production you just put on?” Vadoma asked.

“Bitch, I did it because I wanted to,” Gary snapped at her. “Gods.”

“Yeah, bitch,” Tiggy said. “You be trippin’.”

Vadoma wasn’t pleased at that.

“And that’s the only lead you had?” Justin asked, sounding aggrieved.

“We’ve been looking for years,” I told him. “Every bit of information we had was checked and double-checked, but every time we thought we were close, it turned out to be just another dead end. And unless anything happened while I was gone, that’s still the case.”

Gary shook his head. “Nothing. There hasn’t been time to look anywhere else.” He sniffled. “And we asked my parents, but they were too busy getting laid with strangers to give a damn about me—”

“That’s not true,” Terry said. “Gary, they—” He sighed. “Why do you think they joined the swingers tour right after you told them?”

“Because they didn’t want to think about my pain and instead wanted to focus on object insertion?”

“No, you idiot. They joined because they figured it was the best way to travel and search for your horn.”

Gary gaped at him. “Mom and Dad went searching for my horn under the guise of having partner-swapping sex?”

Terry nodded. “They used the tour to track down leads. Especially since they would be dealing with… less reputable creatures.”

“But—but they never told me.”

“They didn’t want to get your hopes up in case nothing came of it.”

“That’s true love,” Dad said. “I don’t know that we’d do the same for Sam if he lost his horn.”

I glared at him. “I’m your son—oh. Right. I don’t have a horn. Still. Rude.”

Gary sighed. “For all we know, it’s not even in Verania anymore—”

“It is,” Terry said quietly.

We all turned slowly to look at him.

“What was that?” Kevin asked.

Terry shuffled his front legs nervously. “It’s still in Verania. Or at least it was.”

“And you know that how?” Gary asked, taking a step toward his brother. His tail was twitching in that way it did when skanks were about to get shanked.

“Because six months ago, it was given to me.”

“Twist,” Tiggy said. “Oooh.”

“What?” Gary shrieked. “And you didn’t think to tell me? Terry, I swear to the gods, if you don’t fucking give me my horn right this godsdamn second, I am going to end you here and now.”

Terry took a step back, snorting anxiously, nostrils flaring. The sparks that came out were goldenrod and olive. “I don’t have it anymore. And I couldn’t just give it to you. I was told not to. I kept it safe until he returned for it a month ago to take it back. I told him it wasn’t fair that you didn’t have it, because regardless of what you think of me, I’m not that big of a jerk. I mean, jeez, Gary. You’re my brother. We might not always get along, but I don’t ever want to see you hurt. I can’t even imagine what it’s like to not have your horn.”

“I’m going to hurt you, you fucking pile of dicks!” Gary bellowed. “Tiggy, hold me back!”

Tiggy grabbed his shoulders. Gary immediately started struggling, snapping and snarling at his brother, glitter sloughing off him as thick as I’d ever seen it. I hoped Tiggy wouldn’t actually let him go, because Gary had his murder-eyes going on, and that never ended well.

And while I thought he had a fair point and deserved to kick his brother’s ass, I was stuck on the one little detail that didn’t make sense. “Who?” I asked Terry, and the room immediately fell silent.

“What?” Terry asked, watching Gary warily.

“You said he gave it to you. He told you to keep it safe. He told you that you couldn’t give it back to Gary. He took it back from you. Who is he?”

“Oh, right. Well. I’d never met him before, mind you, but I’d heard of him. I mean, who hadn’t? You live in Verania, you know who he is. His name is just one of those things that all people know. I’ll admit I expected him to be… I don’t know. Taller? Certainly less eyebrows. I offered him a place to spend the night because he looked like he was ready to drop, but he declined. He looked even worse when he came back last month, but he was gone before I could even ask anything about him.” Terry frowned. “Not that I would question him. I’m not an idiot, after all.”

“Godsdammit,” I snapped at him. “Stop being vague and just tell us who it—eyebrows. You said eyebrows.” I clenched my hands into fists at my sides as I took in a shuddering breath. “Terry, was it Randall?”

That got everyone’s attention.

“Yes,” Terry said, looking a little put out. “The Head Wizard Randall came to me with my brother’s horn and asked me to keep it safe. And then he came and took it away again. He’s the one that told me to keep quiet about it. If you’re going to be mad at someone, be mad at him.”

“Thank the gods,” Justin breathed. He placed his hands on the table, palms down, and hung his head.

“Randall has my horn?” Gary demanded, starting to get worked up again. “What the hell is he doing with it? Why would he not just bring it back? He better not be planning on using it in some kind of spell. I don’t care who he is. If he refuses to give it back, I will rip out his stomach and then shove it down his damn throat.”

I couldn’t even take the time to be awed by his unnecessary savagery. Too many thoughts were swirling through my head, most of all that Randall was alive, that he’d been seen. I cared, yes, that he had my friend’s horn, and was irritated that he was being so fucking secretive about it, but he was alive. He hadn’t been imprisoned or, worse, consumed by Myrin. After he’d shown up in that house after Morgan had died, it was only seconds before he’d disappeared with Myrin. That had been the last time I’d seen him. Apparently he’d been busy.

“Sam?” Ryan asked, and everyone turned their attention to me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said hoarsely. I coughed, shaking my head. “Yeah. I just—it’s good. You know? I mean, it’s—it’s good. That’s all.”

“What do you think he could be doing?” Justin asked me. “You knew him better than any of us.”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But Randall doesn’t do something without having a reason. Ever.” I looked at Gary. “And even though he’s an asshole, he would never do something to intentionally hurt you. That’s not who he is. If he has your horn, it’s part of a plan that we don’t yet know about. He wouldn’t be using it for a spell. It’s not his. It’s yours. He knows that.”

“Still gonna stomp over his old ass,” Gary muttered. “Hiding my horn and shit. Gary’s gonna bring the pain, you mark my words.” He leaned up against Kevin as the dragon whispered something in his ear. Gary nodded tightly before sighing, his shoulders slumping.

“So, what,” Ryan said. “We just… wait? Until Randall decides to let us in on whatever he’s planning?”

“Looks like,” I said. “I tried summoning him on his crystal the last night before I left, but I got nothing. I can try again later, but I think he’s gone underground.”

“What about the dragons?” Justin asked. “The Great White. Could he find Randall?”

I shook my head. “Not if he doesn’t want to be found. And I really doubt that Randall wants to be found by anyone, much less the Great White. We just have to hope he’ll reveal himself soon. We don’t have much time left, whatever he’s planning.”

Justin looked resigned at that, but I thought he’d expected the answer. “Okay. We’ll table that for now. Gary, I’m sorry, but we have to have faith that Randall knows what he’s doing.” He swallowed thickly as he looked down at the map of Castle Lockes. “Now we need to talk about my father.”

I wondered at the toll the past year had taken on Justin. He’d grown up knowing one day he would be king. He’d trained for it, done everything asked of him—the lessons, the training, the diplomacy. And where he’d once been cold and rigid, he’d now become less so, and I knew that one day he’d make a great king I’d be honored to serve, and not just because he was my best friend 5eva.

But none of us had expected for him to have to act in his father’s stead so soon. The King was still in his early sixties, and even though he’d been in mourning like the rest of us the last time I’d seen him, he’d been healthy and strong. He was meant to rule for years still to come, and Justin was going to spend that time learning all that he could. And while I would be advising Justin when he took the throne, all decisions came from him. The weight of Verania would be upon his shoulders.

Like it was now.

Like it had been since his father had been taken prisoner.

And I hadn’t been here to help.

“Why is the King still alive?” Kevin asked.

I winced at that. It was a fair question, but it was still a little graceless.

Lady Tina surprised me when she was the one to answer. “It’s a way to keep Veranians in line. As long as the King remains alive and reasonably well, Myrin can threaten the people with harming their King.”

“Killing him would have sparked a revolution,” Justin said quietly. “There would have been an all-out war. Many people would have died. By keeping him alive, Myrin can play upon their fears. For all they know, their King is being tortured daily.”

“And he’s not?” I asked, as much as I didn’t want to.

Justin shook his head. “From what our spies tell us, he’s kept reasonably well in the dungeons. Myrin hasn’t been to see him in months.”

“You have people on the inside? How?”

Justin looked at me. “Did you expect us just to sit around waiting for you?”

Ouch. I deserved that. “No,” I said evenly. “I didn’t.”

He looked chagrined. “I didn’t mean it like—”

“You did. And that’s okay. I don’t blame you. If anything, you should blame me. I should have—I don’t know. Done something different.”

Ryan stiffened a little at my side but didn’t speak.

“You did what you had to,” Justin said. “And while I don’t like how you went about it, you had your reasons, which I’m sure I’ll hear all about later. But we don’t have time for it now.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Because we’re going to infiltrate Castle Lockes and rescue my father.”

I took a step forward, magic beginning to hum in my blood. “You have a plan?”

He nodded toward Lady Tina. “She does. And you’re going to be working with her on it. We need you now, Sam, more than ever. Now that you’ve returned, it’s time we take Verania back.”

Godsdammit.