“No,” Letnia said. “He needs to hear this. If he’s the chosen one, he needs to know what his actions have brought upon us.” She pushed herself off the wall, dropping her cigar and crushing it under the heel of her boot. Gary looked murderous, but I shook my head at him, knowing that she shouldn’t be the first person he stabbed with his horn now that he had it back. He needed to save that honor for someone truly despicable. “You left, Sam of Wilds. Morgan died for you, and even though you had the power to bring him back, you didn’t. All of those who have died because of Myrin could have been brought back, but instead you disappeared and we suffered. We might not have been as close to Morgan as you, but we still felt his loss. He didn’t belong to you. He belonged to Verania. To everyone. We all grieved. Especially after what came later. But we stayed, and we fought to save our homes. Without any wizards on our side. Because the two wizards that could have helped us were gone.” She spat on the ground at my feet. “Think of those that are suffering now and know that it rests upon you.”
It’d be easy, wouldn’t it?
To get her to shut up.
To silence her. I could do it. I really could.
Something simple, like taking her voice away.
Or fusing her lips together.
Or—
Or nothing.
Because that wasn’t who I was.
Maybe she was right. Maybe she wasn’t.
But she could never be as hard on me as I was on myself.
And she didn’t deserve my wrath.
So instead I focused on Gary. And Tiggy. My parents were safe. The King and Justin were together. Randall was here. And Ryan. Always Ryan. At my side. Anchoring me to him, never letting me float too far away. He was here. He was real. The world around me was colored in startling clarity, unlike the haze of the lost year in the forest.
This was something the Great White could never understand.
These were the people I fought for.
These were the people I’d lay down my life for.
To forsake them would mean going Dark.
And that’s not who I was.
So instead of making her head swell like a balloon, I took a breath. I took a step back until I was shoulder to shoulder with Ryan. He squeezed my elbow gently in recognition. I gave him a weak smile and looked back at Letnia.
Who was grinning at me quite scarily. “Good,” she said.
I blinked at her. “Excuse me?”
“I needed to see how in control you actually were.”
“You were testing me?”
She shrugged. “I still spoke what’s in my heart.”
“Well played,” I said, suitably impressed. “Like, that was some Mama levels of diabolicalness.”
Mama was frowning at Letnia. “Yes. Yes, it was. Thank you, Letnia, for allowing us to see how Sam would react. Also, if you try something like that again without consulting me beforehand, I will gut you. Are we clear?”
Letnia winked at Mama. Which, if you’ve never seen someone wearing an eye patch wink, I highly recommend it.
Mama turned back to me, and I wondered when she had started holding court with the actual King in her audience. The King didn’t seem too put off, so I chose to let it go. “You are a weapon.”
I frowned at that. “I’m not. I’m a person.”
“But the gods have given you the power to end all this foolishness.”