“I’m not cruel,” Myrin said quietly. “I will allow you to say goodbye to your knight. Crawl, Sam. Crawl to him.”
And I did.
My hands were dusty.
My vision was blurred.
My head was pounding.
But I crawled.
Ruv watched me with wide eyes from next to Ryan’s body. He stumbled back, falling to the ground, propped up by his elbows.
Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart looked at peace in death. His eyes were closed, face slack, mouth slightly open. His chest did not rise. His sword lay discarded at his side. I picked it up, the metal dragging along the stone. It was heavier than I expected. Or I was weaker. I didn’t know.
I placed it upon his chest, the blade pointed down toward his legs. I took each of his hands and brought them to his chest, arranged his fingers on the hilt of his sword.
There.
He was as Vadoma had shown me.
As the gods had shown her.
Everything had come to pass.
And I said, “Once upon a time, there was a boy.”
Everyone around me fell silent.
“Say that again, Sam,” Myrin said. “I don’t think I quite heard you.”
I forced myself to look up at him, even though every part of me ached. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Once upon a time, there was a boy.”
Myrin blinked. “A boy.”
I could barely breathe. I had to force the words out. “He was a kickass boy born in the slums of the City of Lockes.”
The Dark wizards started to murmur.
My heart felt like it was crawling with lightning. “His parents were hardworking, and at times life could be difficult, but they were alive and had all their teeth. Which was very important.”
Caleb frowned.
Ruv’s face was pale as he slowly rose to his feet.
Myrin watched me with an unreadable expression.
“One day, this boy went into the woods,” I said through gritted teeth. “His heart was hurting, and he was sad.”
Myrin took a step back. “What are you—”
“And on this day, in these woods, the boy found a bird.”
“Oh fuck,” Gary whispered.
“A bird,” Myrin repeated.
“Yes. A bird. It was dead. And the boy with the broken heart did something he didn’t think was possible. He brought the bird back to life.”