“And you can’t do shit with a sword,” Justin said.
I scowled at the both of them. Then, “Wait. How the fuck are you even here?”
“Tiggy,” Gary said. “The coercion bullshit wore off of him quicker than they thought it would, I guess. One minute I am randomly telling them about getting tied up by Octavio while they tried to teach me the Dragon Psalm that had ninety-six verses, and the next Tiggy is smashing their faces in and now we are here.”
“I feel like you’re leaving out large portions of the story. Like starting with the fact that Ryan was riding you.”
“Jealous?”
“Of Ryan,” I said quickly. “Oh, totally. Yep. That is the only reason I’m jealous. Because of that.”
“Riiight,” Gary said and we all winced when Ryan was thrown into a tree. He got back up slowly, picking up his sword from the dirt.
“You doing okay there, buddy?” I called down.
“Fine,” he said. “I’m a knight. I got this. You’ll see. We’ll have dragon meat for dinner.”
“Gross,” Gary said. “The only person who is going to be eating my future husband is me, and not in the way you’re thinking.”
“Nope,” I said. “Not even going to listen to you.”
Kevin, of course, puffed out his chest and attacked Ryan with gusto.
“What a weird day this has been,” Justin muttered.
“The King misses you,” I said quietly as Gary and Tiggy wandered away to inspect a chest of treasure on the opposite side of the keep.
Justin snorted. “I’m sure he does. Needs to have his successor in place.”
“That’s not it at all and you know it.”
“Because you know so much about my relationship with my father.”
“No,” I said. “Because I know your father. I know what kind of man he is. I know the look on his face when I woke after you were taken. He was heartbroken, Justin.”
His hands tightened into fists at his sides. “Only because you’d been hurt. It had nothing to do with me.”
“How can you say that?” I asked. “You are his son. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for you. To make sure you got back safely. That’s why he sent us.”
Justin wouldn’t look at me. “I get why he sent Ryan. I don’t get why he sent you.”
“I’m your wizard. Of course he was going to send me.”
“My wizard,” he repeated.
“Apprentice, sure, but yeah, dude. Your wizard.”
“I distinctly remember you saying you weren’t going to be my wizard at all.”
I winced at that. “Yeah, well, you may have been coming at me with a sword and pissed me off. People say things when they’re angry that they don’t always mean.”
Justin said nothing.
“Look I know you don’t like me. I can’t really say that I like you all that much, either. But in the end, that doesn’t matter. We’re responsible for something greater than ourselves. One day, an entire kingdom is going to be under our watch. You will lead it, and I will be there to help you. We’re stuck together, okay? Family doesn’t let each other go, even when things suck.”
“You think we’re family,” he said flatly.
I tried to keep my anger in check. “Maybe like distant cousins.”