The Consumption of Magic (Tales From Verania 3)

I pressed my face against his chest and breathed him in. “I missed you.”

He kissed the top of my head. “And I you, Sam.”

Sleep was easier after that.

IT WASN’T until days later that we heard from Randall. Morgan had attempted to reach him via the summoning crystal numerous times since our return to Castle Lockes, but it’d gone straight to a message that said, “You’ve reached Randall’s crystal. I am unable to answer at the moment, either because I am ignoring you or I have fallen and I can’t get up. If this is Morgan, please send help. If this is Sam, I am ignoring you. Have a blessed day.”

“Wow,” I said. “That’s… oddly specific. And rude. Also, why is it the people who tell you to have a blessed day turn out to be the biggest assholes? Have you noticed that?”

Morgan just stared at me from across the labs.

“It’s a thing,” I insisted.

I felt somewhat vindicated when Morgan didn’t send help to see if Randall had fallen.

Granted, any goodwill I’d built up toward Randall went immediately out the window when I opened my eyes in the middle of the night only to find him crouched beside me next to the bed, his face inches from my own, his bulbous nose almost scraping against my cheek.

“Boo,” he said.

I screamed.

Ryan shot up, wearing nothing but the skin he was born with, jumping out of the bed, bits and bobs swinging to and fro as he scrambled for his sword, which was propped against the desk. Once he’d pulled it from the scabbard, he immediately posed and said, “Back away from my belov

ed, you foul creature of the night, lest you find your head removed from your shoulders!”

Foul creature, Randall mouthed to no one in particular.

“Dude,” I breathed. “You are such a douchebag. I want to ruin you so bad right now.”

Ryan looked slightly bewildered, like he wasn’t sure how he’d ended up where he was. “Sam? What’s happening?”

“You’re making me want to ignore biology and try to get you so fucking pregnant,” I said aggressively.

“Oh my gods,” Randall muttered.

“You brought this upon yourself,” I told him. “For the rest of your life, know that you facilitated in giving me a boner that I am going to stick inside that dashing and immaculate man right—ow, why are you pulling me by my ear! Dude, you’re killing my pregnancy boner!”

Randall pulled me from the room.

“You better be ass up by the time I get back!” I hollered over my shoulder at Ryan. “The things I’m going to do to you when I get back are illegal in Verania and punishable by a fine and at least six months in the dungeons, I shit you not!”

“You will stay in here,” Randall said to Ryan. “Wizards only.”

Ryan gripped the hilt of his sword and took a step forward, but Randall slammed the door and we were already moving down the hall.

“Hi, Randall, nice to see you, Randall. Glad you could make it, Randall.”

Randall ground his teeth together. I thought about telling him how unhealthy that was but figured that it was better to have my ear still attached to my head.

He pulled me down flights of stairs, ignoring my yelps, before he shoved me through the door to the labs. I wasn’t surprised to see Morgan waiting for us, fully dressed, as if he hadn’t yet gone to bed.

“Great,” I said, rubbing my ear after Randall had let me go. “This is just swell. How nice. All of us together again.”

“This is your fault,” Randall told Morgan as he began to pace back and forth. “I warned you against coddling the boy. I told you what would happen if you tried to be his friend. And now look!”

“And I told you that your teaching style would never be mine,” Morgan said mildly, as if he had all the time in the world. “Something that you agreed upon after Vadoma came.”

“He insulted the Great White!” Randall snapped. “Do you understand what that means?”