“Dammit.”
He kissed my forehead. “I love you, Sam.”
“I know.”
“We’re going to get through this.”
“Are we?”
He held me tighter. “You’ll see. We’ll get through this, and everyone and everything will be fine. When villains rise, heroes do too. It’s how it goes. It’s always been the way of things. And there is always a happy ending to these stories. Nothing will happen to you. Nothing will happen to me. Or Gary or Tiggy or Kevin, or any of the others. There will be a happy ending, Sam. Even if things seem dark, you can’t forget to look for the light of the stars. They will always show you home.”
And as I drifted off to sleep, safe in the arms of my cornerstone, I wanted nothing more than to believe him.
“HOW ARE we supposed to find him?” Justin asked a few days later as we trudged through the Dark Woods. It had rained the day before and everything was extraordinarily soggy, including ourselves. It wasn’t exactly making for a memorable experience.
It didn’t help that we were deep in the Dark Woods on a small path that was almost overgrown with vegetation. Kevin broke leafy limbs and knocked down smaller trees as he led the way, leaving a trail of debris behind him.
“Usually he appears out of nowhere,” I said. “Or he traps me in a circle of magic mushrooms.”
“Or he tries to marry you,” Ryan muttered behind me.
“You know you’re my one and only, babe.”
“I’m not threatened by a six-inch-tall naked man with wings.”
“He’s so threatened,” Gary whispered quite loudly to Tiggy. “I’m embarrassed for him.”
“Knight Delicious Face has issues,” Tiggy whispered back.
“The issue stems from the fact Dimitri asked me to marry him before Ryan did,” I said without thinking, then promptly tripped over my own feet as I choked on my tongue. “Not that you are going to ask me to marry you or anything! That’s… that’s not what I meant to say. I don’t even care about stuff like that!”
“This is my favorite adventure ever,” Gary said. “I am having such a wonderful time.”
“HaveHeart for life, motherfuckers,” Tiggy said gleefully. “Gonna get married.”
“What?” I hissed at them. “Dudes. Shut up. He’ll hear you.”
Gary was unimpressed. “I should hope so. He’s standing right there.”
I looked back at Ryan, who was gaping at me.
I groaned.
Ryan sputtered.
I begged for the gods to strike me down.
Ryan said, “That’s not why I have issues! And for the record, when we get married, it’s going to be better than anything a mothercracking fairy king could do for you.”
“Oh my gods,” Justin muttered. “This is like watching a carriage wreck in slow motion.”
It was my turn to sputter at Ryan. “What do you mean when?”
“Royal weddings!” Gary said. “I shan’t have a thing to wear. Tiggy. Tiggy. Do you realize what this means?”
“Shopping-trip montage?”
“Shopping-trip montage. There will be scarves and frilly hats, and we’ll laugh or shake our heads in obvious disdain when the other wears something outrageous. It’s going to be glorious.”