I believed him. “We traveled into the woods. For weeks. I didn’t… I didn’t think they were so large. I was sure that the farther we walked, the greater the chance we’d come out on the other side and that I’d see the Northern Mountains in the distance. But it didn’t happen. The forest went on and on and on, and eventually we weren’t in Verania anymore. We were… beyond it. In between this world and the next. The trees were ancient. The sun was bigger. The stars were different. I asked the Great White where we were, and he told me that it didn’t matter. That I had to clear my mind. That I had to forget. My friends. My family. My cornerstone.” I laughed bitterly. “I was a weapon of the gods, after all. And here I was, far from home, being crammed full of magic, so much so that I thought my soul would break, preparing to face down a man who has taken so much from all of us. And what choice did I have? If the gods wanted Myrin vanquished, then he would be. If they wanted me to stop him, then I would. Instead I was a pawn on a board, a piece being moved from square to square, and it was a game.”
“You were angry.”
“Very,” I admitted. “I raged against the stars and against the dragons. Against you and Morgan and Vadoma for putting me in this position. Against my magic for even existing at all. It was a burden, one that I never asked for.” I sighed. “But then I realized I had asked for it. When I was a kid, I’d made a wish upon the stars. I wished to be someone important. Someone who mattered. And my wish had been granted. Because I was important, though not in the way I expected. I mattered. And not because of what the gods had placed upon me. I mattered because I was loved. My parents. The King. Morgan. Justin. Gary and Tiggy and Kevin. Pete. Ryan, always my cornerstone. You.”
He took in a sharp breath.
“My wish came true,” I continued, brushing my fingers over the pack, feeling the enclosed Grimoires. “I was important, and not because of what I could do. But because of the people who would lay down their life for me. I mattered, and not because of the magic I wield, but because there were people counting on me. And I was going to do everything I could to get back to them. Maybe it’s selfish, but I didn’t stay in the woods for the sake of Verania. I stayed because I’m loved, and I love in return. A
nd that was something the gods could never understand. That the Great White could never understand, for all his anger toward cornerstones. That magic doesn’t matter—none of this matters—if you have to go it alone.”
“What did you do?” Randall whispered.
All that was left was the truth. “I agreed to go with the Great White. I agreed to let him change me. To make me into a wizard. To turn me into someone capable of mastering the dragons of Verania. To accept my destiny and become what the gods were forcing me to be, if and only if, after all was said and done, after Myrin had been vanquished and the Darks banished from Verania, he would take my magic from me and make me mortal.”
The only sounds came from the fire.
“He fought me on it,” I said. “For a long time. In that hazy place. For weeks, I think, we fought.”
“And he agreed?”
I rolled my eyes. “What? Of course not. He’s an asshole. Like hell he would do that. He was offended I even asked him, and eventually he told me either I would shut up, or he would banish me to a realm filled with tiny fish who would gnaw on me for decades.”
“That… sounds like him.”
“And then he pointed out that there would always be villains even beyond Myrin, and that me not having my magic was a really stupid idea. Which, you know, fair point.”
“But then how—”
I grinned rakishly at him. “I’m Sam of Dragons. Do you really think I’d let something like that stop me? You said it yourself. My magic seems limitless. And it’s what would extend my life. What the Great White didn’t realize was that by teaching me control, to harness everything that was bursting from my lightning-struck heart, he gave me the tools to do it myself. You and Morgan always told me that I was the most powerful wizard in an age. I don’t know if that’s true. But I do have enough power in me to stop it from extending my life. I am a wizard, Randall. But I will age, just like my parents. Like the King. And Justin. And Ryan. We’ll grow old together. And should one of us cross the veil before the other, it can be done with the knowledge that we’ll soon be together again.”
He looked stunned. “You made yourself mortal.”
I shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll have a few years tacked on at the end, but my magic doesn’t control me. I control it. I’m a puppet to no one. It wasn’t easy, and gods, did it hurt, but… it’ll be worth it. I think. In the end.”
Randall shook his head slowly. “You stupid, wonderful boy.”
I laughed. “The Great White wasn’t too happy with me when he found out. But, eh. What can you do.”
“And what of Kevin? And Tiggy? Gary?”
My smile faded a little at that. “They will have each other. And a lifetime of memories. Because a life lived is a life worth remembering, no matter how long or short it may be. Myrin has forgotten that. The Great White has too. But I haven’t. I will live my life as best I can. I’m going to kick some villain ass, I’m going to fuck some shit up, and then I’m going to live, Randall. And no one, not you, not the Great White, not the gods, can say otherwise. I’m in control of my own destiny. My path may have been set in stone, but stone crumbles, and sometimes we have to forge our own way through.”
He watched me for a long time, stock-still, gaze searching. Eventually he sighed and shook his head. “You’re a pain in my ass.”
“Oh, please. Like that’s ever going to change. Dude, you’re stuck with me now. We’re wizard bros.”
“We are not wizard bros.”
“Such wizard bros. Face it, Randall. I’m a wizard, you’re a wizard, and we’re bros. Therefore, wizard bros.”
“I despise everything about you.”
“We both know that’s not true.”
He glared at me. “What you’ve done shouldn’t even be possible.”
I shrugged. “Pretty much describes everything about me, though, right?”