“And I told you that poetry was not a sustainable skill,” Pat growled. “You need to do something that actually contributes to society. Like woodworking.”
“You old dyke,” Leslie said, sounding unbearably fond.
Godsdammit.
“Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaaa!” Kevin shouted as he landed behind Caleb. “’Tis I! The Beast from the East. Lord Dragon of the Dark Woods. I have returned to rule over my subjects so that they may cover me in their golden showers.”
“That’s so gross,” Zero moaned. “Why do you say things like that? Adults are the worst.”
“I meant their shinies and pretties, little bro! Not their urine. I am not into piss play. Sam! Sam. Tell my little brother I don’t like being urinated on. Well, not that I’ve actually tried it, so I can’t say for sure. Never mind, Sam. Don’t tell him anything yet. I must further explore my kinks before I can say one way or another.”
Godsdammit.
And then he came, like a moon crashing into the earth. He dwarfed everything else.
“GW,” I said.
“I told you never to call me that,” the Great White rumbled, trees crashing down as he landed upon them. “It’s demeaning, and I will not stand for it.”
“I will not stand for it,” I mocked under my breath.
Caleb’s eyes bulged.
“You guys all suck,” I told the dragons of Verania. “We practiced this entrance. For weeks. The least you could do is all roar in unison so we can salvage this atrocity.”
“Meow,” Leslie said, lips twitching.
“I hate you guys so fucking much.”
“Hey!” Kevin said. “What about me?”
“Don’t even get me started on—”
“Dragons,” GW growled. “Roar.”
Kevin’s eyes shifted black. Leslie’s and Pat’s turned blue. Zero’s bur
ned red. GW’s went opaque.
And I felt each of them pulsing in my head.
They roared then.
“Yessss,” I hissed. “This. Is. Awesome.”
As the sound echoed through the forest, I crouched down in front of Caleb. “I’ve dreamed of this moment for almost a year,” I told him quietly. “For the part you played. You. Me. Face-to-face. I could use Brant’s sword. Push it through your chest. Make you feel every inch of it. And maybe I will. Someday. But first I need you to deliver a message. Can you do that?”
He nodded slowly.
“Good. Here it is: I have returned. And I will take Verania back for its people. You tell Myrin… you tell him that I will come for him. That I will come for all of you. I have accepted my destiny, much like he has accepted his. These paths we’re on—even if they were set in stone, he would do well to remember that stone crumbles. He has taken from me. And I aim to take everything from him. Now go. Before I change my mind.”
I arched an eyebrow, and the tree limbs and roots unfurled from his body. He scrambled to his feet, taking a step back, bumping into Kevin’s leg. Kevin craned his neck down until he was face-to-face with Caleb, spikes on the back of his neck rattling. “Are you sure I can’t eat him?” Kevin growled. “Like mother, like son.”
Caleb’s face paled.
“Wow,” I breathed. “That was hard-core. I approve. Of what you said, not the eating thing.”
“But someday?”