“Strike it, motherfuckers,” Tiggy said.
“Godsdammit,” I said.
“Good,” Gary said. “So we’re in agreement. Rule number one thousand, two hundred, and twenty-seven of the Sam/Gary/Tiggy friendship has been ratified. No talking shit about Kevin because of Sam’s magical super destiny. Except for me, a little, because I’ve been the one spurned.”
“Aye,” Tiggy and I said, while I also added, “You bitch,” because of the principle of the matter.
“Good,” Gary said. “Okay, time in.” Tears burst from his eyes so bright and shiny that they almost looked like diamonds. “I am going to be alone forever,” he wailed into Tiggy’s chest.
“I never leave you,” Tiggy promised.
“Oh, my heart,” Kevin said, putting his clawed hands over his eyes. “What bright pain is this, taking my breath from me? O, tremble, sweet nothing, because that is what I have inside me now that my heart has been shattered: nothing. I have nothing.”
“This is what you want for the future of Verania?” Lady Tina demanded into her megaphone. “This is what you want for your future? These—these bumbling idiots are going to be what represents us as a country? What if the Darks come back? What if some group outside of Verania comes back? You think anyone will take us seriously? You think the Prince, the future King of Verania, will have any control over his own court with these ridiculous cretins getting in the way with their shenanigans? We need to banish them from Verania, then build a wall around the entire country so none of them could ever get back in!”
“A scathing and completely on point representation of the state of the court of Verania,” Vadoma said. “I like this girl.”
“Do you think the King would execute my grandma if I asked?” I said to Gary and Tiggy. “I mean, I get he said no to Lady Tina, but come on. Vadoma is so executable.”
“I could make it look like an accident,” Gary said. “I’ve done it four times before. Accidentally.”
“Tiggy smash her,” Tiggy said, squeezing us tighter.
“No,” I sighed. “I don’t want you guys to murder anyone. Lady Tina will probably just find some way to use it against us.”
“I’m glad you think that murder is bad because of how someone can use it against you,” Ryan said. “But if you three are done, I’d like to point out that the crowd is starting to get a little angry.”
“What?” I said, pulling away from Tiggy.
And holy shit, was he right.
For everyone in the crowd had turned to face us. Lady Tina still stood on the box, the wind blowing through her hair and ruffling her dress, the sunlight falling perfectly on her shoulders. They weren’t looking at her, but I was, and I could see the evil smirk she had on her face. The crowd around her had varying expressions, from disgust to disdain to outright derision. They were a mixture of middle- and upper-class. I didn’t see anyone from the slums, but rarely did they come up near the castle unless they were summoned. It was two differ
ent worlds, no matter what the King tried to do about it. There were rich people and there were poor people, and as much as we wanted to change it, it couldn’t happen overnight.
“Sweet molasses,” I whispered. “She’s billowing.”
And how unfair was that?
“And that is why today,” Lady Tina announced, “I’m announcing the official We-Hate-Sam-A-Lot Castle Lockes Chapter’s new initiative. The petition to have Sam of Wilds removed as the apprentice to the King’s Wizard and banished from Verania. With enough participants, we can present it to the Good King in hopes that he will take our concerns seriously. I hope I can count on your support. And if you sign, you will get an official We-Hate-Sam-A-Lot pin that you can wear to proudly display your contempt for what is obviously a mistake that must be course corrected. I also brought muffins.” She grinned at me. “They’re blueberry. And delicious.”
TWO DAYS later, the City of Lockes Gazette published an editorial with the headline IS SAM OF WILDS TOO WILD FOR LOCKES? They proceeded to eviscerate me over every one of my perceived failures, including the alleged murder of Lartin the Dark Leaf.
At the very end, it was noted that a petition started by one Lady Tina DeSilva had garnered almost five thousand signatures. “We’re very pleased,” she was quoted as saying. “But not surprised. After all, Sam of Wilds can only flirt his way out of so many disasters, can he not? It’s time he’s held responsible for his actions. Long live Rys—I mean, peace be with you.”
Chapter 11: Decisions Made
SO THINGS kind of went to shit a little bit after that. Gary and Kevin weren’t speaking to each other. I wasn’t speaking to Randall and Morgan. No one was speaking to Vadoma. Ryan was speaking to Ruv, but it was usually in grunts and groans as he tried to do something he considered manlier than whatever it was that Ruv was doing. (“Who eats soup with a spoon? I drink it directly from the bowl! Like a man.”) Justin would just glare at me in that best-friend way he did, the King would squeeze my shoulder and tell me everything was going to be fine, but even I could see that he was worried. Mom and Dad were walking on eggshells around me, and I didn’t know how to make them stop.
And on top of all of that, all I could really focus on was what the star dragon had told Vadoma, what the dark man in shadows had told me, and the fact that I had never even considered that one day, Ryan would die and I would remain here, trapped in a body that wouldn’t age as normal given the magic that coursed through my veins.
All in all, not the best week I’d ever had.
And I didn’t know what to do about it.
I lay beside Ryan in the dark, his hand clutched in mine as he whispered in my ear. He said, “We’ll figure it out, okay? I promise you we’ll figure it out. You’re not going to lose me. Not now. Not ever.”
We both knew that no one could make promises like that, but I let him make them anyway.