He said, “Morgan’s sacrifice will not be in vain. The memory of him will never fade. He will be remembered for the man that he was. A wizard. A brother. A mentor. A friend.”
He squeezed my hand.
“Sometimes villains rise. Heroes fall. But we won’t allow those who gave their lives for us to be forgotten. And those that have taken from us, those that have dared to stand before us and strike at our hearts, know this: you have made a grave mistake. Your actions have led to a declaration of war. You have awoken a slumbering beast, and I, as the King of Verania, will harness it to its full potential. This marks the beginning of your end.”
He raised our joined hands, and the people of Verania roared.
I felt like a fraud.
I WILL do what I can, but he will be stronger than me. You must do what is right, Sam of Wilds. You must do what is necessary, even if your heart is breaking.
“ANY CHANGE?” a voice asked from behind me.
I didn’t bother turning around, just shook my head. I didn’t want to take my eyes off the unconscious man in front of me. His skin was sallow and his eyes a little sunken. His lips were cracked, but his heart was steady and his breaths even.
“What did the healers say?” Gary asked, rubbing his snout on the top of my head.
I halfheartedly tried to push him away. “That they don’t know when he’ll wake up.” Or if had been implied, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud.
“He be okay,” Tiggy said, going to his knees on the other side of Ryan’s bed in the healing ward in the lower level of the castle. He reached out and brushed a large finger over Ryan’s forehead and the tip of his nose. “HaveHeart for life, motherfuckers.”
“HaveHeart for life,” I echoed hoarsely.
Tiggy hummed a little under his breath.
“Any news from Randall?” I asked.
Gary shook his head. I wasn’t surprised. “It’s only been five days,” Gary said. “He’s going to be fine. He’ll come back when he can.”
“Unless Myrin consumed him too.”
Gary winced, and I almost felt bad about it. “Maybe a little optimism, huh?”
I snorted. “That’s almost funny, coming from you.”
“Yes, well, I try.”
I squeezed Ryan’s hand, willing him to open his eyes, to look up at me and tell me what to do.
He didn’t. The healers said it was possible he could hear us and that talking to or around him helped.
I didn’t really know what to say.
“You eating?” Tiggy asked.
I shrugged.
“You eat,” Tiggy insisted. “Or you die.”
“I’m not going to die because I missed a few meals, dude.”
“I bring you food?”
“You don’t have to—”
“I bring you food.”
“No, really, you don’t have to—and you’re already gone.”