The Consumption of Magic (Tales From Verania 3)

“Eh, that seems like a lot of work.”

“I thought as much.”

“Thanks. You know. For the veto thing.”

He snorted. “You’re welcome.”

“Did you even consider it?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

“I suppose not. But fifty thousand is a lot of people.”

“It is.”

“I don’t know what I did to make them so angry,” I admitted as I looked down at my hands.

“You exist,” the King said. “You exist and are something that they don’t understand. That is the way of things, Sam. People live their ordered lives. They go day by day. They go to work. They come home. They feed their families. They live in their homes. It is measured. It’s routine. And then you come along, a boy from the slums, plucked seemingly from obscurity toward greatness. You can do things that most others cannot. It is wondrous, but they do not understand. And there is fear in the unknown. For the longest time, they could ignore it because you were just a child. But now you’ve become a man and have found happiness in the love you feel for Ryan Foxheart. Call it what you will, be it jealousy or fear or anger. It means the same thing. You were given gifts that they were not. They are loud, Sam. But they are not the majority. I often find that the will of the people is a quiet thing but one that is capable of amassing into something quite extraordinary. You’ll see. There may be those that are against you, but they will never be everyone.”

“A lot has happened.”

“Has it?”

I nodded slowly. “It didn’t go the way I thought it would. Vadoma. Ruv. The dragons. Myrin. It’s…. I just didn’t expect it to be like this.”

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know exactly. Just—I thought, maybe, it’d be. You know. Easy. I know you probably don’t realize this, but I get myself into a lot of scrapes.”

“You don’t say.”

“Shocking, right? People like to capture me.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“Exactly! I mean—wait. You’re insulting me, aren’t you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I’m worried too,” I said, the words out before I could stop them.

“About?”

“Just… how do I know if I’m doing the right thing?”

“What does your heart tell you?”

“The Great White said I shouldn’t let my heart rule over me.”

“The Great White isn’t the be-all end-all.”

“Isn’t he? The gods said—”

“The gods,” the King huffed. “They sit in judgment and do little else. They have underestimated you, Sam, as I think most everyone else has. They don’t see the scope of your heart. Not like I can. Not like your family can. They don’t know you like we do. We know what you’re capable of. You may have a destiny, Sam, but what you do with it is up to you. And whatever you think is right, you will have my support.”

“I still hate that word.”

“And yet there it is.”