“That’s what I said.”
“And yet….”
Gods, this sucked. “He thought. He thinks.”
The King waited.
“Ryan and I are friends,” I said.
“As you should be.”
“Justin thinks it’s more than that.”
“Ah,” the King said. “And is it?”
“No.”
“But?”
“But nothing. It’s not.”
“Sam,” Morgan said. “Everything.”
Godsdamn him. “I’m leaving,” I told the King. “For a while.”
“So Morgan said. But he never said for how long or why.”
I looked at the King because he deserved my respect. He wasn’t angry. But he was tired. And confused. I reminded myself that his only son had been taken from him. “Do you know what a cornerstone is? To a wizard?”
The King’s gaze darted to Morgan before turning back to me. “Yes, Sam. I never had the pleasure of meeting Morgan’s. She was long gone from this world before he and I ever met. I don’t see what this has to do with—”
“I think Ryan is mine,” I blurted out, trying to get this over with as quickly as possible.
And the King said, “Oh. Sam. If I’d known…. Gods, I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing you did. I didn’t even realize it until that night at the restaurant when we were attacked. And I need to get out of here. But it’s not just that, okay? Please don’t think it is. There’s something… different. About me. My magic. I’m not like other wizards.”
“He’s powerful, Anthony,” Morgan said quietly. “More than me. Probably more than anyone else. And he needs to learn control before he can’t any longer.”
“Ryan allows you this control?” the King asked.
I shrugged. Like an asshole. “I think so. But it’s never been tested.”
“So you’re running,” the King said.
And there was the flare of anger. “I’m removing myself from the equation,” I said. “Because your son seems to think I’m trying to steal Ryan away from him. Your son took me out to the sparring fields to try and in his words, ‘Teach me a lesson.’ I’m leaving because Morgan thinks it’s right, and I never question him.”
“You question me all the time,” Morgan said lightly.
“That’s because some of the things you say are questionable,” I said.
“Just so we’re clear,” Morgan said.
“This is your home, Sam,” the King said, sounding upset. “You should never feel like you’ve been forced from your home. Not to mention that what Justin did was wrong on so many levels. Castle Lockes belongs to you as much as him. You shouldn’t have to feel the need to leave because of him.”
“And I don’t,” I told him. “Not really. This is more me.” And it was. Mostly. Enough that it didn’t feel like a complete lie when I said it. But I knew that look in his eye. I’d known him for years. I knew what he was going to say even before he said it.
“I’m going to ask you this favor,” he said. “Because regardless of what happened or what will happen, the fact remains that my son was taken by a dragon. He will be your King, and you must help him.”