Myrin’s mouth dropped open as his eyes rolled back in his head, and I could take it. Right here. Right now. His magic, Morgan’s magic, would be mine, and I could—
Ryan slipped, the wind almost too strong for him. He barely held himself upright, his armor reflecting the lightning flashing above.
Myrin’s magic began to leak from him, and I could feel it, that infection spreading down my arms and hands, and I would consume it all—
A hand on my shoulder.
A mouth near my ear.
Ryan Foxheart said, “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.”
The spark burst brightly, and I…
I let it all go.
The dragons roared forward, swirling red and blue and black and white, so much white that I shook with it.
Myrin gasped as he was flung across the clearing, landing on his back with a jarring crash, dirt and grass piling up around him.
The winds died.
You idiot! Kevin snarled from within me. I am going to kick your fucking ass when we get home, and then I’m going to tell Gary. Oh, are you in for a world of hurt when he finds out what you—
Please, Leslie sniffed. As if there will be enough for Gary to hurt by the time I’m done with him. And you’re
welcome for pulling Ryan here, even though you tried to stop us.
You’re in for it now, Pat said. She is scary when she wants to be.
And I thought I was all dark and emo, Zero said, sounding awed. Sam. Sam! You need to paint your fingernails black and dye your hair black and walk around in the shadows, saying things like no one understands me and I could have totally destroyed the world if I wanted to, but it was lame so I changed my mind because of love. Or whatever. This is so romantic! I mean, this is stupid and I hate it and I wish you’d all leave me alone.
Sam, GW said. It’s time to finish this. You must kill Myrin the Bright Star.
“Oh my gods,” I muttered. “Would you guys shut up? You’re ruining a moment here.”
They weren’t too happy about that if their mutterings meant anything.
Ryan was still clutching at me, his forehead resting against my shoulder, his hair tickling my ear. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on as tightly as I could.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
“Yeah. You?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Ryan, I….” But my words died in my throat as the forest began to light up around us.
It wasn’t like the dragon lights. It wasn’t like the fairies. The thousands of small glowing orbs that began to rise from the clearing around us didn’t feel like magic. But they weren’t threatening. Instead, they felt… peaceful. Calm and soothing. I didn’t know if this was another trick. The dragons weren’t talking, so I didn’t think we were in any immediate danger.
“You’re not,” a voice said from behind us.
Ryan and I whirled around.
There, at the opposite end of the clearing, was David’s Dragon.
The constellation was as bright as he’d ever been. His enormous wings stretched out wide, stars twinkling at the tips. His head tipped in my direction as he studied me curiously. He had pinned Myrin below him, his claws digging into the ground around the Dark wizard. Myrin looked dazed, eyes reflecting the dragon starlight above him.
“Great,” I muttered. “Exactly who I wanted to see this very second right after I was about to turn evil. Wonderful.”