He rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”
“My turn to talk, okay?”
“Isn’t it always?”
“Ryan.”
He nodded.
I pressed my forehead against his. “If you say you’re good, I believe you. If you say you want this, I believe you. I don’t know what’s going to happen with this whole destiny thing. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the dragons. Or Myrin. Or Vadoma and Ruv.” His eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of the Wolf of Bari Lavuta, who my grandmother had tried to push as my cornerstone. And who my magic had recognized as having potential. But it didn’t matter. He could never be what Ryan was to me. No one ever would. “And even if I get… stupid every now and then and think stupid thoughts, I know it’s gonna be you and me.”
He tightened his grip on my waist. “I’m going to hold you to that. Even when you’re stupid and think stupid thoughts. Might even have to tell you that you and your thoughts are stupid.”
“You better.”
He kissed me sweetly. My magic sang in green and gold as I tasted his familiarity, his warmth. I would never let him lie upon a cold slab in the throne room. Not if I could help it. Not because of Myrin. Not because of me. He would live until an old age. And I would age right along with him. Somehow. I’d figure it out. I had time. Not much, but it was there. We would get our happy ending. I had made a wish to the star dragon under the desert night sky, and I aimed to see it happen.
Make me mortal. When all is said and done. I will protect my King, this one and the next. I will protect my kingdom. I will do all that you ask, but I want a mortal life for my happy ending. This is my wish.
We flew on toward Meridian City.
I: Meridian City
Chapter 2: That Time I Got It in the Face in Meridian City
EVEN NOW the Darks march toward Meridian City where the people sleep, unaware of the fate that awaits them. At my word, the city will be razed. And they will have my word, Sam. As an example to you. This will be to show you that you are on the wrong side. That you cannot win. Morgan and Randall were weak. They still are. There will be a new order, one that will begin with you and end with me. You can either join me or watch as I tear your whole world apart.
You wouldn’t.
Oh, I would, Sam. You’re playing with the big boys now. The stakes are a little higher than what you’re normally used to. Their deaths will be on your head, every man, woman, and child in Meridian City. I told you once that I would rip the lighting-struck heart from your chest.
Trust me when I say I will do just that.
IF THE City of Lockes was the brains of Verania, then Meridian City was its diseased heart that beat strong and proud, always on the verge of exploding. It was debauchery and sin, dirt and grime. The underbelly of Verania sought refuge here, the liars and the cheats, the thieves and the murderers. People could disappear here never to be seen again. Or their bodies would be found the next morning facedown in the gutters, the working boys and girls stepping over them on their way home from a night of turning tricks. You didn’t fuck with Meridian City or it would make sure it was the last thing you ever did.
I loved it. Maybe it was because it was everything I wasn’t. Maybe it was because I knew it could chew me up and spit me out. Maybe it was because the people here tended to be more honest about their sins instead of putting on false faces like most in the King’s Court did.
Or maybe I just loved it because it was wrong. I could never live in Meridian City. I could never even spend any length of time in Meridian City. When I left, it always took me a day or two to clear my head, to get back to being the Sam Haversford I knew I was. Mama always said that even with all I’d done, even with all I’d seen, I was still too innocent and pure to last in a place like this. I’d thought for the longest time that she’d been insulting me in that razor-sharp way she did so well. It took me a while to figure out she meant it as a compliment, that I could still be the way I was, regardless of what I’d seen. “You’re not jaded, precious. You’re not corrupted. You’re the sweet sunshine on a stormy day, and I will always want you to be that way. Now get the fuck out of my sight. I have a business to run, so unless you’re a paying customer, I don’t have any more time for you.”
And I’d always done as she’d asked, given that both she and I knew I would never become one of her paying customers (or better yet, one of her working boys, much to her chagrin).
Mama ran the Tilted Cross, the only gay brothel and tavern in Meridian City. Some unfortunate soul had attempted to open another one before my time, but the story goes that Mama accidentally burned the place to the ground after she headhunted all the working boys and girls. No one ever attempted to open another gay brothel in Meridian City again. Mama was terrifying like that.
The fact that the Darks were descending upon Meridian City told me that they—and Myrin—had no idea who they were fucking with.
But I still remembered the vision I’d had when Vadoma had blown her mindfuck powder directly in my face. I’d been at the gates and Meridian City had been on fire, the screams of the working boys and girls rolling over me as they burned. Something had exploded, and a guard tower had fallen, the Darks surrounding the main gates, and there’d been magic, so much magic rolling from them, tearing through everyone and everything.
So I expected the worst as the day wore on, as the Dark Woods below gave way to roads I’d traveled upon many times before. Morgan wasn’t answering the summoning crystal on his end, and I thought we’d arrive to see Meridian City razed just as Myrin had threatened.
So imagine my surprise as the city came into view… and nothing appeared amiss.
There was no plume of smoke.
The city walls and gate stood as they always had.
“What the hell?” I asked as Kevin began to descend toward the ground. “Did I miss something?”
“Maybe we got it wrong,” Ryan said, gripping the hilt of his sword. “Maybe Myrin was just trying to scare you.”