And on one such day, when his heart ruled over his mind, he found himself in the Dark Woods.
And in these woods, he found a dead bird, a gash to its back.
It’s not fair.
Magic spilled forth.
The bird lived.
The earth beneath his feet did not.
And he never spoke a word of it to anyone.
But fate was a funny thing. Its threads might have seemed flimsy and weak, but there were already so many of them stretching around him, growing stronger and tighter. The boy from the slums didn’t know it then, but he was the center of the tapestry woven by the gods, the threads binding themselves to him, wrapping around his arms and legs and throat, trapping him in a web he could not shake himself from.
It was in the way that, while on a date with a man named Todd who had adorable ears, he stood against a group of Dark wizards, a knight at his side, his magic singing out finally, finally, finally.
It was in the way a great dragon stood above him, lips pulled back, teeth bared, and complained about his whizbangs and pretty sparkles before knocking him through a shed and kidnapping the Prince.
It was in the way the boy and his companions took to the road in the name of adventure to save the Prince of Verania from the clutches of the evil dragon.
It was in the way they slept under the stars, the fire flickering between them, Sam’s gaze lingering on Ryan Foxheart.
It was in the way the lightning coursed through his heart on a dusty road next to a field filled with corn.
It was in the way the dragon announced to the world his name was Kevin, and that he had come from the jungles in the east, looking for a place to call home.
It was in the way a boy and his knight stood atop a dragon’s keep, the words echoing into the dark as voices broke with a bittersweet ache: Because it’s always been you, Sam. I promise. I promise. I promise, because when I look upon these stars, there is nothing I wish for more than you.
These were the moments bound by fate.
And that was just the beginning.
Even then, deep in the Dark Woods, a seal was cracking, shadows leaking out. All it needed was a key.
THE BOY from the slums got his happy ending, didn’t he? Sure, Ryan had waited until he was literally about to marry someone else like a douchebag, but still. Ryan Foxheart loved Sam of Wilds and announced it for all the kingdom to hear.
That should have been it.
That should have been the end.
But the threads were pulling tighter.
The phuro came from the desert with a story of a destiny written in the stars, bringing with her a man named Ruv, who she claimed was Sam’s true cornerstone.
And sure, she bad-touched her grandson to get her point across, but who hasn’t had that happen to them? It wasn’t as if it meant anything. Neither did Ruv, no matter how bendy he could be or how Sam’s magic seemed to pull in his direction.
What did mean something, however, were the secrets that had been kept from him. Stories of visions of star dragons, of Vadoma instructing Morgan of a boy who would be born in the slums. Of a knight who would fall and rest upon a stone slab no matter what Sam did. Of a brother and a cornerstone who chose a path into the Dark against the pleadings of those who loved him most.
Morgan’s brother.
Randall’s cornerstone.
It didn’t help that the will of the people seemed to turn against him. And yes, Lady Tina DeSilva was the worst human being on the planet, and one day Sam was going to curse her so she turned inside out, but it wasn’t all her. She had merely tapped into an undercurrent of rage that had been long simmering against a mixed-blood boy from the slums who had had everything handed to him.
Or so they all thought.
The wizard’s apprentice and his merry band of misfits fled the City of Lockes to the Luri Desert in the west. They went to the forgotten castle in the sands, and Sam unleashed his powers against villains who tried to take what was his.