“No,” Ryan said, lying through his teeth. “He rubs me the wrong way.”
“I could teach him how to rub if he’s doing it wrong,” Kevin said.
I ignored him and focused on Ryan. “You know it’s nothing, right? There’s nothing there.”
“Tell your magic that.”
I rolled my eyes. “You knew there was more than one. That there could be multiple cornerstones.”
“Yeah, but I never expected to meet one,” he said. “And am I the only one thinking about how Vadoma knew that? She didn’t know you. She knew of you. How could she know who your magic would react to?”
That… was a fair point. “Huh. I never thought about that.”
“Knight Delicious Face has brains and brawns,” Tiggy said.
Ryan preened a little at that. Like a show dog.
“Maybe it was her visions,” I said, though I was loath to give any credence to that. I still thought her more of a fortune-teller than an actual seer. Maybe the star dragon had been a fluke, and everything else she’d done was smoke and mirrors. The Great White had said I wasn’t ready, but how did I know that had even happened? And the warnings about Ryan’s death. For all I knew she’d been manipulating me from the beginning, showing me only what she wanted me to see.
Stone crumbles, Zero had said.
And it did. But not if it was an illusion. Not if it was sleight-of-hand street magic.
“We shouldn’t trust her, kitten,” Gary said, pulling me from my thoughts. “Nor him, though he seems… enthusiastic. I think he’s harmless, but you can’t be too careful. We don’t know what Vadoma’s been feeding him all these years.”
Gary was right. Throwing caution to the wind would only end up getting us in trouble.
The problem?
That’s pretty much how we operated.
WHEN WE walked into Mashallaha a few hours later, we were greeted quite differently than we’d been the first time. Where we’d initially been met with distrust and derision, the gypsies now welcomed us as if we were the long-lost brothers of the clan. It was rather alarming, this change, because I couldn’t prove its veracity. These were the same people who had looked upon me with disdain because my skin wasn’t as dark as theirs. These were the people who had shunned my mother because she chose to love outside the clan. These were the people who didn’t seem to want to lift a finger to help us in any way.
I didn’t know if it had to do with Vadoma announcing that Ruv was my cornerstone before we left, but I thought it was a possibility. My suspicions seemed confirmed when Kevin and Gary and Tiggy had brightly colored scarves draped around their necks, similar to the one around mine, but Ryan was all but ignored. We’d been gone for just over a week. Which meant Vadoma had had eight days to fill her peoples’ heads with more of her rhetoric.
Oh man, were we gonna have some words.
To make sure he wasn’t separated from us or left behind somehow, I grabbed Ryan’s hand tightly, making sure he was at my side. There were grimaces on the faces of the people around us at the sight of him, but they continued to ignore him.
Welcome home, they said.
We knew you’d succeed, they said.
You have tamed the desert dragon, they said.
We’ve never known such joy, they said.
An illusion.
It all felt like an illusion.
We were herded toward Vadoma’s home. I would have preferred to shower and change out of my dusty clothes, to curl up in a bed with Ryan and sleep the rest of the day away, but we weren’t even given the option. I went with it, knowing the sooner we saw her, the sooner all of this would be finished. I wanted to leave Mashallaha as soon as possible. Tomorrow, if we could. We had a long road ahead of us to the mountains in the north and Castle Freeze Your Ass Off. Randall would be expecting us before too long.
I also needed to speak to Morgan, to let him know what had happened. And I wanted to hear my parents’ voices. To let them know we were alive. That we’d done what we’d come to Mashallaha to do.
So, yes. The very last thing I wanted to do was see Vadoma.
But it didn’t matter.
She was waiting for us in front of her carriages, Ruv at her side. He’d cleaned up, face scrubbed, wearing soft-looking trousers. He was shirtless and had a red-and-green band wrapped around his right bicep. He was smiling quietly as we approached.
Even Vadoma looked happy, which was weird. In the time that I’d known her, she’d never looked happy. Not like she did now. It was disconcerting, like she knew something we didn’t. It reminded me of a predator.
We were ushered to the front of the crowd, the gypsies gathering behind us. I kept my hand in Ryan’s, silently daring her to say anything about it. And I wasn’t going to be the first one to speak here. If this was a game to her, then I was going to try and maintain the upper hand.
I didn’t have to wait long.
“Welcome back,” she said, her voice carrying out into the crowd. “I have been informed of your success.”
I remembered my training. I bowed my head in deference. Morgan would have been proud. “We did indeed achieve what we set out to do.”
“And the desert dragon has committed itself to your cause?”
“He has, yes,” I said.
She didn’t even flinch at the warning in my voice. “Then you have begun the journey that has been placed before you. I have seen this path. I have seen the future and the possible outcomes. This is but one step in your ascension.”
“My ascension?” I said, confused. “Into what?”
Her smile widened. “Into the wizard that you are supposed to become.” Her eyes flickered over my companions, resting on Ryan briefly before she looked at me. “Though I’m sure the components of your journey can still be… negotiated.”
“Oh, is she trying to be undercover salty?” Gary muttered behind me. “Because Gary is starting to feel the need to bring the pain.”
And because I didn’t think Unicorn Rage was something we wanted to deal with right at the moment, I said, “Perhaps you and I can speak in private. To discuss these… components.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Ryan whispered.
“Trust me on this,” I said quietly. “I know what I’m doing.”
He snorted. “You never know what you’re doing.”
“Rude,” I said. “But mostly true.”
“But of course,” Vadoma said. “There is nothing more I want than to speak to my grandson about the future. Come, chava. As for the rest of you, we have much to celebrate! Let us show our guests how much we appreciate the lengths they go to for the people of Verania.”
The gypsies cheered around us.
They sounded bright and happy.
It still felt like an illusion.
WE WERE alone when she said, “You must be tired after your travels. I won’t take much of your time.” She sat behind her desk and folded her hands in front of her.
I sat in the chair across from her desk. My legs were sore. I had sand in places I didn’t want to think of. And so I don’t know that I could be blamed when I said, “You can drop the act now. We’re alone, and we both know I’m not buying what you’re selling.”
She chuckled. “Is it so hard to believe I am happy for your return?”
“Anybody else, I would say no. Of course not. But you’re not anybody else. You’re the phuro. The seer. The manipulator.”
The smile faded into a more calculating look. It was chilling how quickly it happened. One moment she was the loving grandmother, and the next she was a hardened leader capable of squashing anyone who got in her way. I wasn’t concerned. I’d faced worse than her and come off the better. She wasn’t a villain, but she wasn’t someone I would trust. Not now. Probably not ever.
“I keep having to remind myself you’re smarter than they say,” she said. “It’s… surprising.”
I shrugged. “You can’t always believe what you hear.”
“Oh, I
am aware,” she said. “But I don’t think you realize just how much is said about you, Sam of Wilds.”
“I am the future King’s Wizard. People know my name.”
She shook her head. “You mistake my meaning. Yes, they know your name. They whisper it amongst each other. But do you know what is truly said about you?”
“I don’t know that I care.”
She scoffed. “That’s certainly not true. Everyone does, no matter if they speak to the contrary. Especially you, who will be a leader amongst men. How can you say you don’t care about the will of the people?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You implied it.” She sat back in her chair. It creaked beneath her. “Most are in awe of you. Whether it be because of your magic or because of your rise from such… humble beginnings, there is a fascination with you. It doesn’t hurt that you carry with you a tongue of silver. There is an irony in calling me a manipulator when you are well-versed in the same, no?”
And as much as I wanted to disagree with her, to shoot her down, we both knew it would have been a lie. Because I did manipulate, even if I wasn’t thinking of it in that way at the time. I’d talked my way out of many a dangerous situation, turned the tables until I had the advantage. It wasn’t as nefarious as she was implying, but I wasn’t an innocent party in this.
I said, “I have my reasons.”
“I’m sure,” she said. “Better alive than dead.”
I didn’t reply.
“Most are in awe of you,” she said again. “But not all. There are… detractors. Those who think you have been given too much power too soon. That you are capable of destruction. Of bending the will of the King.” She smiled, but it was a cool thing. “Of murder.”
“I haven’t murdered anyone.”
“I am sure the Darks would disagree with you on that.”
“Lartin?” I said, outraged. “He had captured us. He was planning on attempting to ransom me because of who I was.”
“In exchange for?”
“Gold.”
“So he deserved to die?”
“I don’t—it was him or us.”
She frowned. “That’s a disturbing mentality to have for someone who will one day be an advisor to a king.”
“He was a Dark.”
“And some think Darks are only those who have lost their way.”
I laughed. “Is that what you think? They’ve made their choices. They’ve set themselves on a path where they know what will happen. There is no one to blame but themselves.”
“I wasn’t speaking of Lartin, though he does add to my point.”
I blinked. “Who the hell were you speaking of? I haven’t murdered anyone—”
“Wan. The Dark Hunter.”
“Wan,” I said. My skin felt cold. “I had nothing to do with Wan.”
“But you were there.”
“How did you—”
She pulled open a drawer of her desk and pulled out a bundled-up newspaper. She slid it across the surface of the desk until it was in front of me. I looked down at it. It was a copy of the City of Lockes Gazette, dated a week ago, just after we’d left for the desert dragon.
“How did you get this?” I asked. “They don’t distribute the Gazette all the way out here.”
“I have my ways. And I thought the story on the front page would interest you.”
I didn’t want to look, because this felt like another of her games. Like this too was an illusion. But curiosity had always been a weakness of mine, and I unfolded the newspaper.
The headline was sensational and accusatory:
DARK DIES IN CAPTIVITY WHILE BEING QUESTIONED BY SAM OF WILDS!
The article was pure speculation, and aside from saying that I was present and that Wan had died, was completely false. It said sources had revealed that Wan was under duress given the Wizard’s apprentice’s interrogation techniques and that Sam of Wilds refused to render aid when it became apparent that there was a medical emergency. It went on, making sure to skirt that fine line of fact and fiction, saying, although this has yet to be corroborated, what has been confirmed by the official spokesperson to the Good King is that Wan the Dark Hunter did indeed pass away while incarcerated. “Details will be provided once the investigation has been completed,” the spokesperson said. “Given the serious nature of the matter, the King cautions his subjects against conjecture, that the truth will come in due time.”
When reached for a comment on the matter, the president of the We-Hate-Sam-A-Lot Castle Lockes Chapter, Lady Tina DeSilva, said, “It is unfortunate that yet another person has met their end by the hands of Sam of Wilds. Allegedly. It is also unfortunate that people are just now learning what I’ve known for years, that Sam of Wilds is a danger to the populace and will stop at nothing until his machinations are fully realized and he has usurped the throne. Allegedly. Since I have my ear to the ground, I’ve heard that Wan the Dark Hunter met an end similar to that of Lartin the Dark Leaf, violent and bloody, which is no surprise, given Sam’s unending rage. Allegedly. And where is Ryan Foxheart in all of this? One might say he is complicit, but one would be wrong. In fact, if one says that at all, one should be dragged out into the street and tarred and feathered for having the audacity to say something so atrocious—ahem. Excuse me. What I meant to say is that an operation to rescue Ryan Foxheart from the clutches of Sam of Wilds should be mounted immediately and performed without regard to Sam’s life. Ryan is undoubtedly under some sort of mind-control spell because that is the only reason he would have left Prince Justin at the altar. Ryan must be returned where he belongs, at the side of the Prince, so they can be in love and have babies and hold hands and whisper how much they love each other and give each other forehead kisses, because everyone knows that forehead kisses are the sweetest and most adorable thing that has ever existed. Long live Rystin!”
It should be noted that a petition to have Sam of Wilds removed from his position as the apprentice to the King’s Wizard has garnered over ten thousand signatures….
I set the paper down.
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
It didn’t matter. None of it mattered.
It didn’t matter that I was out here, so far from home, working off a prophecy from the gods in order to save the world. It didn’t matter that the very people I was trying to protect were apparently turning against me. None of that mattered. It didn’t change anything. I would still do what was being asked of me. When this was all said and done, the people of Verania would see that everything I’d done had been to protect them. They’d see. They’d all see.
I ignored the little voice that whispered I was lying to myself. That I’d done this for selfish reasons. That I was here because I couldn’t let Ryan die. That I hadn’t even thought of the fate of the world.
“I can’t control what they think,” I said, voice even. “And there’s nothing in here based in fact.”
“True,” she said with a nod of her head. “But since when is the news concerned about truth?”
“Was there a point you were trying to make?”
“My point, Sam, is that I am trying to help you become the leader I know you’ll be. You may not believe this, but I want nothing but the best for you, chava. I want you to succeed.”
“But you want me to do it the way you say.”
She shrugged. “Can’t the same be said for Morgan? For Randall? Are you or are you not following the path they set for you?”
“I trust them. I don’t trust you.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Sam. Can they say the same?”
And if that wasn’t just a kick in the nuts. “How do I know that’s true?”
“I’ve never had any reason to. Sam, I have a vested interest in seeing the world remain as it is. These people are my people. I am the phuro because they placed their faith in me. And it is my duty to protect them at all costs. Why would I lie, especially if it meant harm could come to them? I would sacrifice myself if
it meant the darkness would not fall upon them. They are not meant to live in shadow. The gypsies are meant to bask in the sun.”
“You told them that Ruv was my cornerstone,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to hold on to any semblance of truth that I could. “You knew full well that I would never accept him. That I had Ryan. That I would always have Ryan.”
“I am the phuro,” she said again. “I would protect them. But it also means I am a politician. I curried their favor toward you. They allowed their prejudices to cloud their eyes. I gave you the chance to be seen in a different light. I did what I did for you.”
“You really believe that.”
“Yes.”
“And what will you do when they realize I will never be with Ruv?”
“You seem sure about that, chava.”
I banged my fist on her desk. She didn’t even flinch. “I am sure about it.”
“Well, then,” she said. “I will have lied. And I will deal with the fallout. But tell me, Sam. How can you know what the future holds? You cannot see as I have.”
I stood. The chair scraped along the wooden floor. “We leave,” I said, “in the morning. Me. Ryan. Gary. Tiggy. Kevin. That is it.”
“And the desert dragon?”
“Will remain where he is until I’m ready for him.”
“And how will you know when you’re ready?”
“When I have them all.”
“So you have accepted your destiny because of what I’ve shown you.”
I leaned forward, my hands on the desk. “No. Not because of what you’ve shown me. Because it’s the godsdamned right thing to do. I don’t know what you’re after, Vadoma. But you would do well to stay out of my way.”
She laughed. It grated against my ears. “Oh, Sam. You truly are beyond what I had hoped for. But I must remind you again: I have never lied to you. Can you name someone else in your life that can say the same?”
“I don’t have to answer to you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Do you know who I am? Who you’re talking to?”
I grinned sharply at her. “Do you? Because I’m Sam of Wilds. I’m the apprentice to the King’s Wizard. And I will do whatever it takes to keep those I love safe.”