by TJ Klune
Tiggy looked conflicted. Then he turned to Morgan and said, “Tiggy wanted no part of this. Just minding my business. Getting dressed. Counting brooms. Then Sam and Gary say, Tiggy, you need to do bad things. Tiggy didn’t want to do bad things. But I love them, so I did them.”
“Oh my gods,” I moaned. “Morgan! Free us right this second. I need to squish his face so godsdamn hard!”
Morgan sighed but waved his hand.
The vermilion roots crumbled to dust, and Tiggy was already waiting with open arms as Gary and I charged at him.
Seventeen minutes later (after coming up with three new rules for the Sam/Gary/Tiggy Friendship), we finally stopped hugging and turned back to the others.
Jeffrey was chatting amiably with Morgan, completely unaware of the world of hurt coming his way.
“Morgan,” I said lightly, “you might want to take a step back and to the right.”
He did just that.
“Ooh,” Jeffrey said. “Should I move as well? Are we playing a game?”
“Yes. A game. And no, you can stay right where you are.”
“Okay. Gosh, this is so much fun. Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but Morgan said I could come to the wedding, so—”
“Tiggy!” I bellowed.
“TIGGY SMASH!”
Tiggy ran at Jeffrey, a large fist pulled back, ready to fly.
“Oh my goodness,” Jeffrey whispered.
Have you ever seen an angry half-giant who doesn’t appreciate when his best friends get captured punch a centaur at full speed?
No?
I hadn’t either. But suffice to say, I was not disappointed. I truly did not expect Jeffrey to go flying out of the cave, spinning end over end, legs all akimbo. It was a sight to behold. He went so far, I couldn’t even be sure where he landed. Or if he was alive.
“Well, then,” I said, clapping my hands. “That was exciting. Shall we?”
GARY AND Tiggy were walking ahead of us, Gary purring how big Tiggy’s fists were and how proud he was of the half-giant’s bravery. Tiggy, of course, was preening like a peacock in heat.
Morgan and I trailed behind them as we made our way back to the City of Lockes. Our shoulders bumped as we walked closely together. I’d taken his hand in mine, something I hadn’t really done since I was a kid but found myself doing more and more lately. There were nights I’d wake up gasping, sweat dripping down my face, sure that everything had been a dream, that I was still in the Dark Woods getting slammed by magic from the Great White, Morgan dead. Some mornings had found me curled up next to him in his own bed after I’d snuck in, needing the reassurance that he was really here, that he’d returned just like I’d remembered.
I was getting better.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t still want to hold his hand.
He didn’t seem to mind.
“Maybe next time, wait until a day you’re not getting married to do something like this,” he chided.
I rolled my eyes. “Like I have to worry about that again. Only time I’m getting married, dude. I’ve already got my hooks into Ryan. He’s never going to escape from me, no matter how hard he tries.”
“Ah, young love,” he said, a small smile on his face. “It’s very… intense.”
“Except now he’s probably going to kill me,” I muttered. “You know, for the whole getting kidnapped on our wedding day thing.”
“Eh. If he hasn’t left you for all your other faults, I highly doubt that this will be the thing that pushes him over the edge.”
“Wow,” I breathed. “That was so savage. You are awesome. I mean, I’m emotionally devastated like you wouldn’t believe, but go you. Good job.”
“Thank you,” he said, obviously pleased with himself. “I do find myself rather ignoring my usual hesitance at insulting you directly to your face. I guess a second chance at life will do that to a person.”
“Keep it up,” I said. “As long as it’s not always directed at me, that is. I still like to think I’m a good person sometimes.”
“You are,” he said, squeezing my hand. “The best, really.”
I smiled at the ground.
Much had changed since the Last Battle, as it was starting to be called (capitalized, so you know it’s true). We had mourned those we’d lost (Pete, always my lovely guard) and celebrated their lives. We’d begun to rebuild the villages and towns and cities of Verania. The King had opened the treasury, and thousands of people had come together to restore the shining jewel that was our country. We weren’t quite there yet, but I thought we would be soon.
The Darks had all been taken to Mantok, the prison in the Luri Desert. Vadoma decided she would oversee the transfer, and had somehow been given the position of Warden of Mantok, while simultaneously supervising the rebuilding of Mashallaha. There were calls for the Darks to be put to death for their part in the fall of Verania, but the King decreed there would be no more bloodshed. Instead, Randall, Morgan, and myself had warded the prison against Dark magic. It would be impossible for the Darks to escape.
And the dragons! The dragons of Verania were held in awe and cherished as they should have been. GW, of course, hated the attention, as did Pat. Kevin spent most of the time demanding shinies. Leslie asked to keep all the orphans she could find. Zero scowled at everyone, telling them that they just didn’t understand him, that his soul burned with the fires of regret—but he could rarely finish his rants without them ending in a yawn.
Because his time had been drawing near.
When he needed to sleep.
The dragons and I had gone to the desert with him, returning him to his lair.
We’d sat in the ruins of that forgotten city under an ocean of stars, the six of us, knowing it would be the last time we were all together, at least in this life. For when Zero woke again, I would be nothing but bones and dust. I was okay with that. I thought he was too.
As dawn approached and Zero’s eyes started to droop, the dragons presented me with five gifts.
A red scale.
A black scale.
Two blue feathers.
And a white scale.
I wiped my eyes, knowing just how precious such gifts were. But still, I was confused. “What are these for?”
Zero rolled his eyes. “To bind your Grimoire with.”
“Your material hard-won in the face of adversity,” Pat said.
“Because the adversity you faced challenged you greatly,” Leslie said.
“And you were as brave as we knew you could be,” the Great White said.
“And also because I want you to carry a piece of me forever,” Kevin said. “Every time you pick up your Grimoire, you can stroke my scale and think of me.”
We all turned to look at him slowly.
“What?” he said. “Mine was just as heartfelt as yours!”
The others left Zero and me alone after saying their goodbyes, the dragons promising to be there when he woke again. It was calming for me to know that they’d be together even after I was gone.
“We’ll see each other again,” I told him.
Zero glanced at me. “You truly believe that?”
“Yeah, dude. I mean, we’re all the same, right? It might be a while, but we’ll be together again. I know it.”
“I’m going to hold you to that, wizard.”
“And hey, just think, when you wake up next, you’ll be fifteen.” I waggled my eyebrows. “Maybe find yourself a nice boy or girl and kiss them on the face.”
He blushed furiously while I laughed at him.
Nothing much was said after that. And when he gave a cracking yawn, jaws stretched wide, I knew it was time for him to go.
He pressed his snout against my hand. “I’ll miss you, Sam.”
My smile was a little wobbly. “Yeah, me too. And just remember something for me, okay?”
He nodded.
“You are beautiful. And your magic is a wonderful thing. The world knows it now. You no longer have to hide away.”
And the
n he slithered into his lair.
We waited in that forgotten city in the desert, just for a little while.
But then the dragons sighed as one, and I knew our friend was asleep.
As we flew from the desert, I looked back, just once, promising that I’d return as soon as I was able. He would be asleep, but I thought he’d know I was there while he dreamed.
So, yes. Much had changed.
Morgan was the King’s Wizard, and still my mentor. We’d decided that I would continue to work with Justin to prepare both of us for the day he’d assume the throne. I’d breathed a sigh of relief when it was agreed upon, not yet ready to take on the responsibilities of the job. I needed time to heal, time to gain better control of the magic that coursed through me. It was as strong as it’d ever been, but there was much I still needed to learn.
“Where are you?” Morgan asked, squeezing my hand again.
“What’s that?”
“You got lost in that head of yours.”
“Oh. Uh, I guess. I was just… thinking. About how grateful I am.”
“For?”
I shrugged. “Everything.”
He smiled at me, that same smile he’d given me for the first time as we stood in an alleyway in the slums. “That’s a very good thing to be grateful for. Now, we should put some haste in our steps. I’m told your knight was having bit of a meltdown when you couldn’t be located.”
“What a drama queen.”
“When one’s betrothed disappears on one’s wedding day, one tends to think the worst.”
“Well, crap. I didn’t think of it that way.”
“I thought not.”
“It’s a good thing I have you around, then. You know what? As a full-fledged wizard and the future King’s Wizard, I am going to make a royal decree.”
“I don’t think you can actually make a royal—”
“My royal decree is that you need to be around for a long time to make sure when I do stupid things, you are there to tell me said things are stupid. I will probably think you’re being overbearing, and we’ll most likely argue, but still.”
He looked away into the trees, but not before I saw the shine in his eyes. “That’s a good decree, Sam.”
“I think so too.”
And we walked on.
THE CITY was bustling as we entered the gates. A cheer went up at the sight of me, something I didn’t think I’d ever get used to.
I just waved and smiled.
The streets of Verania were decorated with streamers and flags in honor of our wedding day. It had been declared a holiday, and I was sure that at least sixty-four percent of the people had been drunk since nine that morning, but that was okay. If I’d been able to get drunk, I would have, but Mom and Dad had put a kibosh on apple wine, and for some reason Gary and Tiggy had agreed with them.
“There you are,” a shrill voice said.
I ground my teeth together.
“Lady Tina,” I said as Morgan dropped my hand. She stood before us, a frown on her face. Her hair was in perfectly perfect blonde ringlets, and her makeup was expertly applied. But gone were the days of the frilly dresses. Instead she wore the thin pink armor of the King’s Brigade, a newly formed faction of the Knights of Verania. She had argued for women’s equality in knighthood and had been granted her own unit, which was comprised of the former Foxy Lady Brigade. They had made themselves into a formidable bunch and had plans to start training other women to join their ranks starting next summer.
The King had gathered his heads of state and his closest advisors to approve such a group. All had voted aye until it reached me. I had glared at everyone in the room before mumbling my agreement.
I regretted everything about it.
“Do you just think you can mosey off into the woods on your wedding day?” she demanded. “Like this isn’t one of the most important days of my life?”
“Your life?” I snapped. “This has nothing to do with you.”
She rolled her eyes. “As if. If it weren’t for me, you and the Knight Commander probably wouldn’t even be together.”
“What? In what reality is that even a thing? You’re out of your godsdamn mind!”
“Please,” she sniffed delicately. “Never underestimate the power of a fangirl. Rystin, HaveHeart, whatever. We shipped you, therefore we made your love a real thing. You’re welcome.”
“I ship Sam and Ruv,” Gary whispered to Tiggy. “It’s my bad-touch ship.”
“Ruv’s dead,” Tiggy whispered back. “I ship Sam and broom. It called HaveBroom. Because I have a broom.”
“I love you so godsdamn much,” Gary said fiercely.
“I’m going to demand you are stripped of your rank,” I snarled at Lady Tina. “Just you wait. You will rue the day you took credit for my heart boner! Rue, you hear me? Rue.”
We continued to snark at each other as we made our way to the castle. I happened to glance back over my shoulder at one point to see Morgan trailing behind us, hands clasped behind his back, a serene smile on his face.
I couldn’t ask for anything more.
EVERY STORY has an ending.
And fairy tales tend to have the happiest of them all.
The ones where they lived happily ever after.
This, here, is my ending:
I stood outside the Great Doors leading to the throne room, breathing into a paper sack, trying not to hyperventilate, Mom and Dad rubbing my back, telling me that everything was going to be just fine.
“Honestly, Sam,” Mom said. “It’s going to be just fine.”
“I know,” I wheezed. “I’m just contemplating the fact that I’m only going to be with this one person for the rest of my life.”
Dad frowned. “Isn’t he your cornerstone? I thought that was already a thing.”
I blinked. “Huh. I hadn’t thought of it that way. I guess you’re right. Wow, how about that. Oh look! I’m perfectly fine now. Let’s do this!”
“I can’t help but feel that some of this is our fault,” Mom said to Dad.
“Hardly,” Dad said. “We’re good parents. It’s not our fault he turned out this way.”
“Are you guys still talking?” I demanded. “I need to go get married. You’re wasting my time!”
“Oh boy,” Dad said, but he leaned into the small side door, telling the Royal Announcer that we were ready.
Horns blew brightly.
I heard the Royal Announcer doing his job, and I took a deep breath.
“You ready?” Mom asked.
“So ready,” I said.
Dad was crying, but we didn’t point that out, because he was a strong Northern man, and Northern men didn’t cry (except for all the times they did).
They stood on either side of me, each of them taking me by the arm.
The Great Doors opened before us with a mighty groan.
“Sweet molasses,” I managed to say.
A thousand people stood as one and turned toward us.
I gulped but put one foot in front of another.
Off to my right were the King’s Brigade, all of them sighing and sobbing. Deidre had to be held back as she tried to lunge at me.
There was Todd, he of the adorable ears. He had brought a date, and I was surprised to see that it was William, the man I’d tried to set Justin up with so very long ago who had made us call him Sir. I reminded myself to compliment Todd on the leather collar he was wearing around his neck and to ask what his hard limits were.
There were Katya and Brant, which—huh. I’d forgotten they even existed. How nice of them to be here.
There was Vadoma, surrounded by other gypsies, her eyes tracking me unnervingly with every step I took. Our relationship was… contentious, to say the least, but she had seemed thrilled to receive the invite and had even offered to read my fortune before the wedding. I had politely declined, telling her I would rather stab myself in the face with a dull spoon until I died.
Mama sat near the front, because she wou
ldn’t be anywhere else. She wore a tight, revealing dress that would most likely be considered inappropriate in at least three-fourths of Verania, but since she didn’t give a single fuck, neither did I. Next to her were Letnia and Moishe, the latter of whom stared at me, undoubtedly thinking about how he’d like to lick the magic off my skin, the gross asshole.
Dimitri buzzed with his fairies around the raised dais, their lights blinking brightly. “Say the word,” he whispered as I walked by him. “I can get you out of here and our love can blossom in the Dark Woods.”
“Not the time, dude,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I had to try. The last time there was a wedding here, it worked.”
He wasn’t wrong, but still. What a dick.
Gary and Tiggy stood to one side of the dais along with Terry, who for some reason had decided to stick around the City of Lockes, much to Gary’s dismay. Terry had recently told us that their parents were wrapping up their swingers tour and that we should probably expect them shortly. Gary hadn’t been too happy to hear that, but I was excited, because everyone knew the only thing better than two unicorns was four unicorns.
The doors to the garden were open so Kevin could stick his head in to take part in the proceedings. He winked at me, flicked his tongue salaciously in my direction, then proceeded to shed a tear because his son was getting married, Gary, look at our baby boy!
The crowd tittered.
I ignored them.
The King and Prince looked regal as fuck, crowns atop their heads as they sat upon their thrones. The King nodded at me, a twinkle in his eye, and Justin looked bored, but before I could turn and look at my husband-to-be, Justin broke protocol, jumped up, crossed the dais, and wrapped me in a tight hug. “I’m so happy for you,” he muttered. “And if you tell anyone I said that, I will lock you in the dungeons for the rest of your life. Best friends 5eva.”
I was gobsmacked. “You do love me more than anything in the—”
“Not. Another. Word.”
I closed my mouth immediately.
Randall stood near the King, his eyebrows having finally broken down the last of his face’s defenses, now waging the final battle for control of his head. He frowned hard at me, most likely already planning on berating me for my lateness. Morgan was next to him, looking amused. And just because I could, I stared at him in awe, still not quite believing that he was actually here.
