Chapter 11: Throwing Knight Delicious Face Off a Cliff

 

 

AND IT was a threat. In the days that followed, Randall came at me with everything he had. He’d been holding back on me before and, for someone who was over six centuries old and admittedly alive by sheer force of will, could move quicker than one would have expected. Almost quicker than I did.

Which, you know.

Was a huge fucking blow to the ol’ ego.

“Ow,” I said as I smashed into the wall. “Like, seriously. Ow.”

He was hopping from one foot to the other, light and quick. “That all you got? I know dead chickens who’ve got better moves than you.”

“What? How does that even make sense? Dead chickens don’t have moves. You really need to work on your insults.”

“Your nose is bleeding,” he pointed out. “I think that’s insulting enough. Why’d the chicken cross the road?”

I gaped at him.

“Because it got scared after it saw me kicking your ass!”

“What the fuck?” I asked, voice high-pitched. “What is with you?”

He cracked his knuckles and then his neck. “I feel alive. Ready to teach a young whippersnapper such as yourself to respect your elders.”

Whippersnapper, I mouthed to no one in particular. Then, “If I tell you I respect you, will you stop? God, even your skin tags are moist with sweat. That’s just terrible. At least put your robes back on so I don’t have to see sagging flesh anymore.”

“This is your future,” he said, motioning down at himself. He wore a pair of extremely tight shorts and a tank top, neither of which left anything to the imagination. “You won’t stay young forever. One day, you’ll look exactly like this.”

“Gross,” I muttered. “If that happened, I’ll at least have the common sense not to share it with the rest of the world. You look like a pile of old blankets left in a corner of a crumbling monastery for sixty years.”

“Fight me,” he demanded.

“Bro, you don’t even want to go there with me right now, I shit you not.”

“Oh, I am going there. In fact, I’ve already been there and back.”

It felt like my eyes were bulging. “Are you shit-talking me?”

He looked pleased with himself. “Is it working?”

“I’m gonna kick your ass, old man.” I wiped the blood from my nose and attacked.

 

 

I SPENT afternoons in the labs, poring over Grimoires and spell books, wincing at my sore muscles and trying not to show just how much they affected me. I thought Randall wasn’t feeling anything (which led me, briefly, to subscribe to the theory that he was actually a zombie and that I probably needed to chop off his head so he didn’t eat my brains) until I found out he iced his knees under the table. He glared at me as I laughed at him, and a heavy book from the shelf behind me flew out and hit me in the back of the head. I stopped laughing at him after that.

It wasn’t a crash course, per se, that he was trying to push me through. He wasn’t my mentor. That would always be Morgan. He was trying to teach me things I’d never thought of before, trying to expand my knowledge of how magic worked. There would have been a time that this would have occurred naturally, me transitioning from Morgan to him, but it would’ve been closer to the Trials where I’d attempt to move from an apprentice to a full-fledged wizard. I gave brief thought about asking him if that’s what we were doing, but I couldn’t get the words out. Maybe I was too scared to even think that I could be going that direction already. I had plans, yes. Plans to become the youngest wizard to ever pass the Trials. But I was twenty-one years old with dragons to collect and a villain who wanted to eat my magic.

I didn’t have time for anything else.

 

 

IT STARTED at the beginning of the fourth week.

Or maybe it’d been there all along. I couldn’t be sure.

When I’d first arrived at Castle Freesias, as we stood outside in the snow, I’d felt… something in the back of my mind. A whisper like a caress. Something tugging lightly. It wasn’t strong. I’d ignored it, because I was in a place of incredible magic. Things like that were expected. For all I knew, it could have been Randall, or the effects of having teleported a long distance.

But then it happened again in the middle of the night. I was tossing and turning, my brain too full of stupid thoughts for me to be able to close my eyes and sleep. It happened every now and then. Usually I had Ryan there to curl up around me. Before him, Tiggy and Gary.

Now I was all alone.

And apparently starting to sound like Zero.

“Ugh,” I said. “This is lame. Everything is lame.”

The firelight flickered across the icy walls and ceiling. I watched the shadows for a little while, trying to force all thoughts from my mind. Which, when one tries to clear one’s mind, inevitably, the mind is fuller than it has ever been before.

Clear your mind, I told myself.

Hey, my brain said. Remember that one time when you were sixteen and you tripped and fell in front of the Prince and all his friends and they laughed at you?

“Oh my gods,” I muttered aloud. “Whyyyyy would you do that?”

Suck my balls, my brain said.

I tried flipping over onto my other side, away from the fire. The shadows were thicker on the other side of the room. I closed my eyes, counting each breath I took. I relaxed, relaxed, relaxed, and two hundred sixty-seven, and two hundred sixty-eight—

I opened my eyes.

I was wide-awake.

“I am so going to get my ass kicked tomorrow,” I said with a sigh. “It’s going to—”

Wizard

“—fucking…? What the hell?”

I sat up in the bed.

The room was empty. The shadows flickered.

“Randall?”

Silence.

Then—

We see you, wizard

A chill went down my spine.

Soon, the whisper said, and then it was gone.

“Oh no,” I said.

I didn’t sleep that night.

 

 

“SO, FULL disclosure,” I said to Randall the next afternoon after he’d spent the morning kicking my ass. “Sometimes I hear dragons in my head.”

Randall had been scribbling in his own Grimoire, and the pen froze. For a moment he was statue-still, and then he laid the pen down, looked up at me with a furrowed brow, and said as flatly as possible, “What.”

“Inflection is a thing,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Sam.”

“Yes?”

“Say that again.”

“Inflection is a thing.”

He looked like he was going to reach out and pimp-slap me. “Sam of Wilds.”

I sighed. “Look, it’s no big deal. I hear dragons in my head. Big whoop. Who cares. Let’s talk about something else. Have you seen the way Ryan’s thighs look when he wears that—”

“I have no interest in Ryan’s thighs—”

“You don’t?” I asked incredulously. “How can you not? I petitioned the King to make them a national treasure!” I frowned. “He said no because he thought that maybe I didn’t quite understand what a national treasure was, which, okay, that was sort of true. But then I told him that he’d understand what I was talking about the moment he felt them hooked up over his shoulders. Have you ever seen the King run away from a conversation before? Because I have.”

Randall pinched the bridge of his nose. “You are a disgrace to the Kingdom of Verania.”

“Eh,” I said. “Some people still think I’m awesome, so it all evens out. But if you really feel that way, I’m sure Lady Tina DeSilva will be your new best friend. Or you can stay here and be my new best friend and we’ll do cool stuff together like baking holiday cookies and getting into pillow fights.”

“Everything about that sounds terrible.”

“That’s because you’re old and grumpy.”

“Sam.”

“Randall.”

He was grinding his teeth. I thought I should point out that probably wasn’t healthy but decided to keep my mouth shut. “You said you hear dragons. In your head.”

“I did,” I said. “Though I don’t know why you look so shocked. I’m the only one they can speak around, so why shouldn’t I hear them in my head?”

“That… unfortunately makes sense.”

“I hear that a lot.”

He frowned. “Did the same thing happen with Kevin?”

I thought back to that first day in the training fields where Justin had been acting like a douchebag and had challenged me with a sword. Hadn’t I felt something then? I thought I had. A ripple along my magic, something that I hadn’t ever felt before.

“Not… not like Zero,” I admitted. “But it was there. Kevin didn’t speak to me, but then he’s far younger than any of the other dragons in Verania. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it. It’s become very apparent that I don’t know anything about dragons. Like, did you know they’re born from rocks?” I scrunched up my face. “Or something. I don’t remember what Kevin said because I was super tired.”

“But you heard Zero.”

“Yeah. The closer we got, the louder he became.”

“Can you hear him now?”

“No. I don’t… think so? But it’s like I can feel him, you know? He’s like this… little pulse of light. It’s warm. I know he’s safe.”

“And can you feel Kevin that way?”

“Ye-es?”

“And why do you bring this up now?”

“What? Oh! That. Right. So, I couldn’t sleep last night, and I was tossing and turning and I was just so tired—”

“You have ten more words to use.”

I stared at him in horror. “For the rest of my life?”

“That’s six. Four left.”

A challenge! “Heard dragons last night. Ha! I did it! Suck on that, Randall! Wait. Shit.”

“You heard them… last night?”

“I assume I can have more words now? Good. Yeah. I think so? They kind of… whispered to me. No big deal.”

“It’s no big deal?” he exclaimed.

“Are you just repeating everything I’m saying right now? Because that’s really annoying.”

“Sam, I need you to listen to me.”

“Sure, dude.”

“Don’t call me dude.”

“Uh. Sure, man.”

“Gods, I am going to strangle—no. No, Randall. Just control yourself. Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Now. Sam. What did the dragons tell you last night?”

“You believe me?”

“I believe pretty much everything these days,” he said with a sigh. “Answer the question.”

“Oh. Um. They said they saw me, and that it would be soon.”

He gaped at me.

I shrugged. “I’m used to it by now. It’s kind of my thing. It goes with the whole destiny-of-dragons deal. And man, I really still hate that word.”

“Sam, I need you to promise me something.”

“Tell me what it is first before I agree.”

I thought he was going to smack me across the face. “You mustn’t do what the voices in your head tell you to do.”

“Wow. Because that didn’t make me sound like I’m crazy or anything—”

“I’m serious, Sam. You need the others here. You have never faced anything like them before. You cannot go alone.”

“Have you seen them?”

He hesitated.

“Holy shit! You have. Dude! You’ve been holding out on me.”

“I told you not to call me dude!” he said shrilly. “You will refer to me as Randall and nothing more!”

That reminded me of something I’d always wanted to ask him. “Sidebar.”

“We don’t have time for a side—”

“Why don’t you have a wizarding name?”

His eyes widened. His face paled.

And then he turned and left the labs, robes trailing behind him.

I didn’t see him for the rest of the day.

 

 

I DREAMED that night of a blizzard.

I was in the Dark Woods, but I wasn’t alone.

Ryan said, “Hey. There you are. I missed you.”

I said, “I’m so glad you’re here with me.”

He smiled and took my hand.

We continued walking through the forest.

It was night, but the moon and stars were hidden beneath low, thick clouds. The Dark Woods were quiet; the only sounds were the crunching of the leaves under our feet.

“Where are we?” Ryan asked.

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I don’t think I’ve been here before.” That didn’t feel quite right, but everything was unfamiliar. For a brief, terrible moment, I was sure we were on the same path I’d taken to see the Great White for the first time, but there was no moving mountain ahead of us. Just the trees.

“This is a dream,” Ryan said, sounding amused. “I’m dreaming of you. Gods, you would make so much fun of me if you knew that.”

I stopped. He looked back at me.

“What?”

“You’re dreaming of me,” I said slowly.

He rolled his eyes. “Dream you catches on about as quick as real you does.”

“Ryan. Where are you right now?”

He looked around. “Standing in the middle of trees.”

I almost smacked him. “No, you dork. In your travels. With the others. Where are you guys?”

“Oh! Tarker Mills.”

My eyes bulged. “The home of the truth corn? Are you out of your damn mind! What if they try and capture you again!”

“Kevin ate the cult leader, remember? Everything is… mostly back to normal here. They weren’t very happy to see us again, but then Kevin growled at them, and they were nicer.” He shrugged. “You know how he gets.”

“Shit,” I breathed. “I think this is real.”

“What? This is a dream.”

“Ryan, I need you to listen to me. Right now, I’m in Castle Freesias. Asleep.”

He squinted at me. “But you’re standing right in front of me.”

“Oh my gods, has hanging out with the others decreased your IQ? We’re dream-walking.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“You’re dreaming. I’m dreaming. We’re in the same dream. For all intents and purposes, this is real.”

His eyes widened. He took a step toward me, raising a hand to my face. He stopped right before his fingers brushed against my cheek. “You’re here?” he whispered. “Sam, this is really you?”

I nodded, unable to speak.

He didn’t hesitate. He kissed me, long and deep, his arms coming around me, holding me tight. I didn’t think I’d ever felt anything so sweet.

He broke the kiss, resting his forehead against mine, breathing me in. “Hi,” he whispered.

“Hi.” I sounded giddy.

“I miss you. Are you okay? How’s Randall? Is he treating you right? Do I need to kick his—”

“I’m fine,” I said, laughing. “Everything’s fine. I’ve…” Told him things I haven’t told you. Important things. “I miss you too.”

“You know I’m coming, right?”

I waggled my eyebrows at him. “So it’s going to be that kind of dream, is it?”

“Gods,” he said, sounding awed. “You’re so stupid. I love you.”

“Thanks! Kind of.”

He kissed me again. He tasted as he always had.

He finally stepped away, trailing his hands down my arms. “How are we both here?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it the I don’t know when you truly don’t know? Or is it the one where you have an idea that I’m probably not going to like very much.”

“Yikes. You know me too well. I might need to change it up a little bit. Keep the mystery alive.”

“You’re a wizard,” he said wryly. “There’s always going to be some kind of mystery because of the secrets you have.”

I took a step back.

He frowned. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

I looked away. “I don’t… I don’t mean to keep secrets.”

“I know. It’s just part of the job description, I guess.”

I shook my head. “No. Not anymore. Ryan, there’s things I have to tell you. Things I’ve kept from you. You need to know. Everything. It’s—”

Wizard, the trees whispered.

“Uh,” Ryan said. “What the fuck was that?”

“Just because we’re dreaming and I haven’t seen you in weeks and now there are ghost voices coming from the trees does not mean you can curse, Foxheart. You are a knight. Think of the children. Also, I don’t know what the fuck that was, but I might have an idea.”

“There are no children in our dream—”

“Don’t let my parents hear you say that. They always wanted to be grandparents.” My eyes widened as I looked over at him. “Uh. I totally didn’t mean to say anything like—”

“Children,” he said faintly. “You just said we should have children.”

“I said nothing of the sort. My gods, we’re not even married. I will not have little bastard children out of wedlock. Why are you making me talk about this!”

“Sam,” he said, taking my hand again. “Do you want to get married?”

I gaped at him. “Are you out of your damn mind? You’re proposing to me now?”

“What! No! I’m not proposing. Oh my gods, I was asking.”

“Yeah! Asking me to marry you! You couldn’t even do that in real life? We’re in the middle of a shared dream, you gigantic dickbag!”

“Why are we yelling at each other in the middle of a forest!”

“I don’t—”

It started snowing.

“That can’t possibly be good,” I said, squeezing Ryan’s hand.

“What?” he asked. “It’s just—”

We see you, wizard

“Uh-oh.”

Ryan turned to look at me slowly. “What? What’s uh-oh? Sam, who the hell is saying that?”

The snow fell heavier. The wind started to pick up.

“I think we should probably run.”

“What? Why do we have to—”

A harsh roar echoed out into the woods around us.

Followed quickly by a second.

“Oh,” Ryan said weakly. “That’s a good reason.”

We ran. Hand in hand, we ran. The wind whipped around us, the snow falling now a full-fledged storm. There was the crash of trees coming from behind us as if something large was barreling through the forest, uprooting them and knocking them aside. The ground shook beneath our feet, and for a moment, I thought it would split in half. Even though I knew we were dreaming, it still felt real. Like we could die just as easily here as we could in the real world.

I wondered if this had to do with the mountain dragons. If this was their doing.

Wizard, they sang out behind me. We see you

We’re coming for you

And we see him too

“That doesn’t sound good!” Ryan shouted at me over the storm.

“No fucking shit it doesn’t sound good!”

“What are we going to do?”

“Not die!”

“Gods, I hate it when that’s your plan.”

I grinned rakishly at him. “I’m Sam of Wilds. That’s always my plan.”

Our luck, though, was bound to run out sometime.

And it did, when the trees began to thin out around us. We should have paid more attention to where we were headed, but we were too concerned with outrunning whatever was coming after us.

Which explained why we didn’t see the edge of the cliff until we almost went over it. We skidded through the snow toward the cliff, screaming louder than either of us probably cared to admit.

And came to a stop right at the edge.

“That… was close,” Ryan breathed.

We couldn’t see how far down the drop was. It was lost in the storm, the blizzard swirling around us.

Twin roars came from the forest.

We whirled around.

Ryan, ever dashing and immaculate, stepped out in front of me and reached for his sword, only to come up empty. “Oh,” he said. “Right. Dream. I don’t actually have my sword.”

Trees broke apart in the woods.

I leaned forward, putting my forehead on the back of his neck. “Hey,” I said, kissing the base of his spine just once. “You know how when you’re falling in a dream and you gasp right before you wake up?”

“Yeah,” he said, digging in, preparing himself for whatever was coming for us.

“I love you. Please don’t hate me. But I really need you to remember to gasp.”

He turned to look back at me, eyes wide. “Sam, what are you—”

I circled my arms around his waist and pivoted on my heel, spinning us around. I let go the moment our positions were reversed, and the momentum carried him over the edge of the cliff. He fell without a sound, disappearing into the swirling snow.

“He’s going to be so mad at me for that,” I said with a sigh.

I turned back around.

The crashing came to a stop along the edge of the tree line.

At first nothing happened.

Then four bright blue lights began to glow.

Eyes.

Two sets.

Something surged within me and I felt blue and it—

 

 

“I THREW my boyfriend off the edge of a cliff last night,” I told Randall. “After we talked about having babies and getting married. We got chased by bright blue eyes in the snow, and then I threw him off a cliff after telling him not to hate me.”

Randall stared at me for a moment.

Then he got up.

And walked away.

Again.

I was going to start being offended if that kept happening.

“What do you think it means!” I yelled after him.

 

 

MIDWAY THROUGH the fourth week, the calling became too loud.

I knew what they were. What they wanted.

And I had no choice but to give it to them.