A Wish Upon the Stars (Tales From Verania 4)

I swallowed thickly. “Three.”

He blinked. “Three? Who are you—”

“You. And Morgan.”

“Right. And?”

“And Myrin.”

He closed his eyes. “I hadn’t even—but that just raises my concerns even more. With Anya, Morgan knew the end was coming. She was… old. Frail. She still had that spark in her eye that had drawn Morgan to her. But she—her time had come. And Morgan had made peace with that. He was by her side when she took her last breath. When she crossed the veil. He mourned her. He celebrated her life. But he did not lose himself.”

“Not like you,” I said before wincing. “Hey, I didn’t mean—”

“Yes. You did. And it’s true.” Randall sighed. “Look, Sam. Losing your cornerstone is a shock to the system. It’ll claw you and bite you and make you bleed before it attempts to tear you right down the middle. I lost my cornerstone to darkness. Myrin lost his by the choices he made. Look how that turned out for the both of us. I lost my mind for a decade. Myrin was locked in the realm of shadows. You’ve only just gotten your cornerstone—”

“It’s been two years—”

He snorted. “Ah, how time does move differently for the young. Sam, you are going to kill your cornerstone.”

“And then bring him back to life.”

“While potentially killing others. This could break you.”

I looked at him, really looked at him, this man. This wizard. The oldest living human in the world. This man who had antagonized me, irritated me, made me want to pull my hair out while he listed off my faults on a regular basis.

And now, maybe for the first time, I could see how much he cared about me.

So I said, “I love you too, you know.”

He looked surprised. Then he scowled and shook his head.

And then, wonder of all wonders, the scowl melted away, and Randall smiled.

It was a gnarly thing, his teeth yellowed, his liver lips stretched thin. His beard was scraggly, and I was pretty sure his eyebrows had recently purchased the rest of his face and were gradually moving in, but still. He smiled.

“You’re an idiot,” he said.

“I know.”

He put his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “I need you to take care, Sam. If I could take this burden from you, I would. You must remember no matter how much the darkness calls, you cannot answer it. You’re stronger than it is. Than any prophecy. You’re braver than I could have ever hoped for. Don’t let it take you away.”

“I won’t.”

He pulled his hand back. And then he said, “Morgan would be proud of the wizard you’ve become.”

We didn’t speak much after that.

WE BURST into the slums, both of us starting to flag. Ryan was sweating profusely. I had a stitch in my side and was struggling to catch my breath.

“Why would he want us here?” Ryan gasped, pulling me down a darkened road just as the first drops of rain fell from the black sky above.

“I don’t know. He’s—”

We rounded a familiar corner, and Ryan almost caused me to fall over as I skidded to a stop, my feet sliding on the slick cobblestone.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, gaze darting around. “We have to keep moving, Sam. It’s—”

“Look.”