l work.”
He shrugged, looking almost bored. “If you say so.”
“Well I do say so.”
“Good. You sound confident.”
“So confident. You don’t even know how confident I am. Like, I’m the most confident I’ve ever been.”
“Uh-huh. So. Lead the way.”
I blanched at that. “Uh. Right. Okay. So. Here’s the thing. Maybe you should go first.”
“And why would I do that?”
Because if they were hungry, they could eat him while I ran. He’d already lived a long life. I was just starting mine. He was pale like the snow. I didn’t think dragons would like dark meat. Take your pick. “Because I respect you more than anything in the world,” I said, eyes wide and innocent.
He shoved my shoulder, forcing me ahead of him.
“Dammit. Fine. Since I can’t count on you to do it, I will.”
“I’ll be right behind you,” he said.
“That doesn’t reassure me like you think it does.”
We started across the plateau. The snow was only flurries, but there was a strong wind that seemed to make it worse. It stung against my cheeks. I pulled the fur-lined collar of my coat tighter around my neck, trying to stay as warm as I could.
The whispers in my head were louder. They said things like wizard and hear us and we have been waiting for you, which wasn’t exactly helping my nerves. I had to remind myself that I needed to be brave rather than give in to the urge to run back down the mountain and find Ryan and the others and decide to take a beach vacation because godsdammit, I’d earned it more than anyone else in the world.
“Stupid fucking dragons,” I muttered. “Godsdamned prophecies. I just want one of those fruity drinks with the little umbrellas in it. Is that too much to ask?”
As we got closer to the cave, the whispers grew louder, clearer. They spoke as one, but I could feel two distinct pulses. One fluttered, almost like a bird. The other felt heavy and weighted. It was the more dominant of the two, and while it wasn’t angry, per se, it most definitely wasn’t happy that I was here.
“You can feel them, can’t you?” Randall asked quietly.
I nodded. “Both of them. They’re… bright. And strong.”
“Still think the plan of yours is going to work?”
No. No, I didn’t. In fact, I thought there was a very good chance that I’d be dragon shit by this time tomorrow, but I didn’t want to say that out loud. So I said, “Totally. You’ll see. You’re going to be so impressed, you’ll probably say something like, ‘Oh wow, Sam. I should never have doubted you. Your plans are the best, and so are you. You are my favorite thing ever.’”
“That doesn’t sound like something I’d say.”
“Just you wait.”
“I can barely stand the anticipation.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, we are approaching a very large cave where there are probably two dragons inside that want to see what Sam of Wilds tastes like, and not in the good way. I would appreciate if I could have some godsdamn support here!”
“You sound stressed.”
“Would you just—”
WIZARD
I put my hands to my head and hunched over, trying to breathe through the building pressure.
“You don’t have to be so fucking loud,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’m standing right here.”