“So I’m told.”
“I did not know.”
“Great. Glad we’ve had this talk. I really have to go check on—”
“You said you would end him. And me, if called for.”
“And I meant it.”
“Yet you’ve also said you’re not a killer. Which is it?”
“I don’t—”
“You won’t have a choice, I think. It will either be them or you. Him. The Darks. Ruv. Myrin. You have had others do your work for you. Your giant. Your dragon. Your… horse.”
“Hey! You watch your tongue. He’s a motherfucking unicorn made of sunshine and rainbows and good feelings—”
“Bah,” she said, waving her hand at me. “Filthy creatures. All of them. I have no need for horses. But the point remains. This is your destiny, Sam. You have shown mercy. It is a weakness and will one day be your undoing. He will not sho
w you the same.”
She was right, but like hell would I ever admit it. “I’ll do what I need to.”
“I was wrong. About you.”
“Wow. A third time. Stop. Please. I don’t know if my ego can—”
“Stop.”
I did.
“I underestimated you. Your whole life. You were my grandson, but your father… diluted your blood.”
“Not the best thing to say right now, if I’m being honest.”
She ignored me. “I didn’t think you’d be as you were. Even when I came to Castle Lockes, I thought you weak and immature. You came to my home, and you somehow got the desert dragon on your side, and I still didn’t think you could do what the gods asked of you. You faced Myrin, and his marks were on your skin, and I told myself you were a child, incapable of doing anything seriously. Maybe it was the enchantment placed upon me, but I think not. I think that’s how I truly felt.”
“Wow, Grandma. Thanks for this. It’s so pleasant.”
“But then you left. And the others are angry at you for it. I do not envy you facing their wrath.”
“Yeah, it’s going to be a shit show, that’s for damn sure.”
“But I thought it brave.”
I blinked at her. “That sounded suspiciously like a compliment.”
She rolled her eyes. “You made a choice few could have made. And while I believe part of it was running from those you’d left behind, I choose to believe you did what you did because you knew it was necessary. For you. For the people of Verania. And while they may not understand, you left to become more than you were.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “You love me.”
“I didn’t say that—”
“I mean, the feeling isn’t mutual or anything, because hey, I don’t even really know you aside from all the bad-touching, but damn. You think I’m stupendous.”
“I think you’re stupid,” she retorted.
“Word play. Nice. I approve.”