“Bested?” Ryan growled. “Set me down, you mothercracker, and I’ll show you bested.”
“Since I would know Sam’s inane prattling anywhere,” the stranger continued, “that leaves the rather portly fellow as the Prince. I expect him to have you beheaded for such a thing when this is all said and done.”
“I’m considering it,” Justin agreed. “But since you know us, it’s only fair that we would know you. Reveal yourself before I have my wizard end your life.”
“Best friends 5eva!” I whispered fervently.
“Your wizard,” the man said slowly. “Truly?”
“Damn right,” I said, standing next to Justin where I belonged. “I’m his wizard, and you’ve got my boyfriend by the throat. I’m going to straight-up murder your sorry ass if you don’t let him go right this second.”
“Ah,” he said. “Is that right? I’d like to see you try.”
I frowned. “Really? Because I wasn’t being serious. I mean, I will if I have to, but killing people is bad, you know? I would rather you just let him go, and then he can hit you upside the head or something.”
“Or something,” the man echoed.
“Who are you?” Justin asked.
“A master of disguise, apparently,” he said dryly. “Either that or you’re all still a bunch of idiots. Which, both are most likely true.”
And I knew.
Because no one insulted me like he did.
I remembered the last thing he’d ever said to me, and I—
I will do what I can, but he will be stronger than me. You must do what is right, Sam of Wilds. You must do what is necessary, even if your heart is breaking.
“Is it you?” I croaked out, taking a step forward. “Are you real?”
He chuckled as he took a step back from Ryan, dropping his hand. He turned toward me, reaching up to pull the hood back and—
Randall stood before me. His eyebrows were as wild as ever, looking like furry monstrosities hell-bent on consuming his forehead. His bulbous nose held memories of once being turned into a dick by a horny teenager with penis on the brain. The wrinkles on his face were more pronounced, and he looked like he was on the verge of complete exhaustion, but I didn’t think I’d ever been so happy to see him as I was right then.
Which explained why I took three steps forward and wrapped my arms around him without thinking much about it. He grunted in surprise as I held him as tightly as I could, my hands clasped behind his back, my forehead on his shoulder. I was breathing heavily, trying to keep myself together, but I was shaking and couldn’t stop.
For a moment he didn’t move, remaining stiff and unyielding. But then he sighed and did the most remarkable thing.
He hugged me back.
Out of all the hugs I’d received in my life, it was probably one of the worst. He was thin and bony, and he smelled like mothballs and cherry-flavored hard candies. I could tell he was uncomfortable and was probably humoring me, at least as much as someone like Randall could.
But it didn’t matter.
Because while it was one of the worst, it was also one of the best.
He was here.
He was alive.
Maybe a little worse for wear, but that didn’t matter. We were together again, and maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.
“You’re embarrassing yourself,” Randall said gruffly near my ear.
“Maybe,” I said with a sniffle. “But I notice you’re still not letting me go.”
“Someone once told me that everyone knows hugs should last at least a minute. It’s only been thirty seconds.”
“Smart, that.”
“I always thought it was ridiculous.”
“Uh-huh. And now?”
“Now? It’s not so bad.”
I hugged him just a little bit harder.
Eventually I pulled away but kept my hands clasped on his elbows.
His eyes were bright as he looked me up and down, then over my shoulder at Justin standing behind me. “Shaping magic?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Ain’t no thing.”
He scowled at me. “Frivolous. You know how I feel about it. It’s nothing more than street magic, a trick to appease the masses.”
Moment over. “It’s our disguise,” I retorted as I dropped his arms. “It was part of our rescue mission.”
“Really? Your rescue mission. To rescue whom, might I ask?”
“The King.”
Randall rolled his eyes. “So you bring the Prince into the castle that’s crawling with Darks? You truly are an idiot.”
“Hey! I tried to leave him behind, but he was all like, ‘Sam, it’s my father we’re rescuing, and I’m going, and if you say no, I’m going to make you poop in a bucket for the rest of your life, even though we’re best friends 5eva.’”
“I didn’t say it like that,” Justin retorted.
“Kind of,” Ryan said.
“Thanks, babe. You’re my favorite person here, because everyone else sucks balls.” Then I frowned at Randall. “What are you doing here?”
“Rescuing the King, obviously.”
I gaped at him. “What do you mean obviously? And you can’t rescue the King. We’re rescuing the King.”
“Maybe we could all rescue the King,” Ryan said.
“Godsdammit, Ryan.”
He shrugged.
I clapped my hands. “I’ve just had a really great idea. I think we should work together, seeing as how we’re all here.”
“Isn’t that what I just—”
“Ryan, now is not the time for whatever you were about to say. We need to save the King.”
He sighed.
I ignored him. “The plan is that we need to take out whatever Darks are guarding the King. I was thinking that I should be the one to do it since I’m super cool and technically the hero of the story—”
“Already done.”
I gaped at Randall. “What.”
“The Darks,” Randall said slowly. “I’ve already taken care of them.”
“You did? But… I was going to do it.”
“Is he here?” Justin asked.
Randall glanced over my shoulder. “He is. I was in the process of trying to get the door open when I heard you bumbling fools moving like a pack of fire geckos in the passageway. You do understand the meaning of stealth, do you not?”
“I’m the stealthiest person in the world,” I said.
Ryan patted me on the arm. “That’s literally not true.”
Then, from farther down into the dungeons, came a tremulous voice. “Dad?”
“Who are—Justin? Is it really you?”
I turned to see Justin standing in front of a cell farther down the hallway. At his feet, two Darks lay crumpled on the floor. Justin took a step toward the cell in front of him, and a sturdy hand reached out and cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer.
“Hello,” a voice said, strong and kind. “Hello, my son. Hello.”
“I’m probably going to cry,” I told Ryan. “Reunions and stuff.”
“That’s because you’re a sap.”
“Your eyes are wet.”
“Allergies. All the dust.”
“Uh-huh.”
Justin was whispering something, but it wasn’t meant for me, so I didn’t focus on his words. The hand around the back of his head squeezed, and I was filled with this great, warm relief that I could be here to see this.
But then the King said, “He’s here?”
Justin nodded and turned to look at me. He waved, beckoning me over.
I swallowed thickly but did what he’d asked. He was my Prince, after all.
Good King Anthony of Verania stood tall and proud inside his jail cell in the dungeons of Castle Lockes. He wore tattered trousers and a coarse, stained shirt that hung loosely on his thin frame. He’d always been a bear of a man, thick and strong. He was now a shadow of his former self, shoulders bony and knees knobby, but his eyes sparkled with that fire he’d
always had burning inside him, and his mustache was still a thing of beauty, massive and luxuriant.
I loved my King very much.
He grinned at me. “Well, now. Look who’s returned. Welcome, Sam. You’ve been greatly missed.”
I burst into tears.
“Oh boy,” Justin muttered.
“It’s been a very long day,” Ryan said, coming to stand beside me. “And an even longer year.” He brought his hand up in a fist across his chest and bowed low. “My King.”
“And that would be the Knight Commander,” the King said, smile widening. “Formal even in the middle of a rescue. I respect that.”
“You can recognize us?” Ryan asked, sounding astonished.
“Of course I can. I’m your King. I would know you anywhere.”
“Either that or he heard me saying your names when you arrived,” Randall said. “Sam of Wilds, you stop your sniveling right this second. We don’t have time for tears now. Be a man.”
“I’m n-not Sam of W-W-Wilds,” I sobbed. “I’m a w-w-wizard now.”
Randall and the King stared at me.
I wiped snot from my nose as my breath hitched in my chest. It was not my proudest moment.
“What was that?” Randall asked faintly.
“He’s a full-fledged wizard,” Ryan said proudly. “Sam of Dragons.”
Randall couldn’t have looked more shocked.
“Fascinating,” the King said. “This is a cause for celebration. But perhaps it can wait until we’ve escaped? Randall struck both Darks upside the head. I don’t know how much longer they’ll be out.”
I was still crying when I kicked both of the unconscious Darks in the face.
Justin stared at me. “That was… I don’t know what that was. Ryan, the key?”
“You have the master key?” Randall asked. “That’ll certainly make things easier. Neither of these two had it on them, and I couldn’t risk Myrin being alerted to my presence.”
Ryan nodded, stepped forward, and unlocked the door to the cell. Because I was magnanimous, I let Justin hug his father first. I wiped my face and waited my turn.
It was as glorious as I expected it to be.
Ryan seemed surprised when the King pulled him in too, but eagerly wrapped his arms around him.
Even Randall got in on that action, though he grumbled about it.
“All these cells are empty?” Justin asked, sounding confused. “I expected there to be more down here.”
“There were,” the King said, stepping away from Randall. “But they were taken and put to work in the City. They thought if my people were down here with me, they’d try to work in collusion with me to plan a coup.”
“And did you?” I asked, wiping my face.
The King nodded. “Almost got away with it too. But someone overheard us, and that was that. So I bided my time, kept my wits about me, and waited.”
“For?”
The King blinked at me. “You, of course.”
“But how could you—”
“I always knew you’d come back,” the King said, clasping a hand on my shoulder. “And even if it wasn’t with you, I knew Justin would come for me. Because if the roles were reversed, there would be nothing to stop me from getting to him. So I waited.”
Justin looked surprised at his father’s declaration. “Dad,” he said.
The King smiled quietly at his son. “So imagine my surprise when Randall of all people showed up. Not who I was expecting, but still. And then all of you came, and I figured the gods must be smiling down upon me this night.”
“Yes, yes,” Randall said crossly. “As touching as this is, it would be prudent if you all shut your mouths and moved your keisters.”
Keisters, I mouthed through my tears.
“Now, Sam, dry your eyes. If you’re a wizard now as you claim to be, you don’t have time for feelings.”
“I’m so happy we’re all together again,” the King said. “Once I vanquish all of our enemies and restore Verania to its shining glory, I think I shall throw a gala to honor you all. Besides, I do love parties so.”
“So kingly,” I breathed.
Randall picked up a pack I hadn’t noticed before resting near the cell door. He opened the top and started rooting through it, muttering under his breath about the incompetence of those around him, but there was a rough fondness to it, so I let it go.
I was about to turn back toward the King to gaze upon his glory when I saw something rising from the pack out of the corner of my eye.
The others were distracted, so they didn’t see what I did.
A little rainbow crackling with brightly colored sparks.
It disappeared as Randall covered it with a thin metal mesh.
No. Fucking. Way. “That’s—”
Randall’s gaze snapped up to me. His voice was low when he spoke. “Not another word, Sam.”
“But—”
“Sam.”
I nodded, as much as it hurt to do so. He was right. We had to get the hell out of the castle. Even if he appeared to have a most wondrous treasure hidden away in his pack.
He pulled another hooded cloak from his pack and handed it to the King. “Put this on. It’ll do until we can escape.”
“Can’t you just suck us through your magic hole?” I asked. Then, “Gods, you would think my phrasing would get better as I get older. How disappointing.”
He shouldered his pack as the King wrapped the cloak around his shoulders. “I often find myself disappointed with you, so it’s nothing new. You had to have noticed the dampening wards placed throughout the castle. Myrin appears to have absolute control of the Darks. I don’t have the time to break his wards, and I don’t have the strength to burst through them. Not without needing time to recover. And time is something we don’t have.”
I frowned. “I didn’t feel anything like that.”
Randall stared at me before he sighed. “Of course you didn’t. Yet another thing Sam of Wilds inexplicably can do.”
“Sam of Dragons.”
He grunted, looking slightly pained. “Right. That’s something we’re going to discuss, mark my words. But now we need to move. Once outside the castle, I’ll be able to suck us through my magic—godsdammit.”
I grinned at him. “You missed me. Admit it.”
“I shall admit no such thing.”
“We can’t forget Lady Tina,” Justin said. “She’s waiting for us near the entrance to the secret garden.”
“We absolutely can forget her,” I said. “Like, it’s actually really easy to do.”
“Lady Tina?” Randall asked, sounding confused. “What in the name of the gods is she doing here?”
I rolled my eyes. “She’s apparently Ryan and Justin’s new BFF and does assassin stuff or whatever. Apparently when you and I disappeared, they decided to fill the void with evil.”
“She’s not that bad,” Ryan said.
“She assisted in the plot that led to the death of Morgan of Shadows,” Randall growled. “And you stand there and tell me she’s not that bad?”
“Eep,” Ryan squea