Page 74 of Myths and Manuscripts
I opened my mouth to say something, but Thorne shook his head, leaning close to whisper, “I think this is about more than the competition. His party shot him down too while you were gone. I found him back in my castle pretending like it didn’t matter. And eating all the pie.”
Yikes, well that sounded doubly awful. I’d actually thought about having his party turn on him, but hadn’t had the heart toput it in the book. They just didn’t feel very heroic whenever I thought about it, but apparently, they never really were to begin with.
I pulled Leo into a hug. “I’m sorry. People don’t always handle change well, but you’re still my hero if that means anything. You’re still the one who saves the day in my book. Well, you and Thorne together, but you get what I mean.”
“Thank you.” He held onto me for a bit and then pulled back, glancing at the mostly empty jar of voting stones. “Now what are we going to do about that?”
A few minutes ago, I’d have said nothing. I already had everything I could ever want, so actually winning didn’t matter like it did before, but that didn’t feel true anymore. Winning would mean people accepted Thorne and Leo’s ending, accepted the ending we’d chosen together. No other ending would do, not when it might change who they’d become throughout this journey of ours.
I pulled them all together into a huddle. “Okay, so here’s the plan. If they don’t believe any of you are real, then we’ll just have to make them. Thorne, use your shadow magic. Leo, use Dawnbreaker. Dain—” I paused, tilting my head. “Ummm, be yourself?”
“I can do that.” He nodded, his fist over his chest just like the first time we met.
“Great, let’s get to it then!” I turned back to the crowd, raising my voice. “Many of you haven’t believed our story, and honestly, why should you? We’re surrounded by amazing cosplayers and fantasy stories. But the people here aren’t just cosplaying.” I nudged Leo and Thorne forward. “They’re the real deal, brought to life by a magical library. They’ve lived the story we all love so much, and they’ve chosen how they want it to end. I might have written it down, but this is the story they’ve chosen, and I urge you to do the same.”
An awkward hush fell over the room until one man in a hero’s outfit spoke up. “Isn’t that the guy who made a big scene at the cosplay contest?”
Leo sighed. “Yup, that’s me, the overeager and always tripping over his own feet hero. But if you ever actually believed in me, then believe in me again now.” He drew Dawnblade from its sheath and the bright light of the sun shimmered from its blade. “This is my story, and I promise you’ll enjoy it just as much as I did.”
“Unless you’ve forgotten what it means to be a hero.” The sword vibrated as its voice filled the room louder than I’d ever heard it. “A true hero is more than flashy looks and a nice smile. A true hero is willing to change their mind when presented with new facts. A true hero is honorable and kind.” Dawnbreaker’s light grew almost blinding. “I chose Leo and now I expect you all to choose him too.”
Stunned silence filled the room broken only by the sound of a stone clinking into our jar. Relief shot through me. We’d convinced one person at least and more would follow, I was sure of it.
Ava, the author I’d been so impressed by, stepped closer. “And what about him? Did the sword choose the big shadow daddy too?”
I smothered a laugh as a blush swept across Thorne’s face. “Uh, no, I think that was more because every hero needs a good villain. Or at least, they need somebody to look like the villain.”
“Be grateful I’m not,” Thorne said ominously. “What do you think a villain would do in my position?”
The silence said it all.
“I’ve really struggled with who I am since the books didn’t let me speak.” Thorne frowned but took a step forward. “But I know I don’t want to fight Leo. There’s no point, we’re both just trying to protect our people. The guy you should really hate is the onewho made us think we had to kill each other in the first place.”
Murmurs swept through the crowd. He’d pulled their curiosity wanting to know who was pulling their strings. Another clink pulled my attention as a stone fell into our jar.
Ava’s stone.
“I’m all for surprise endings,” she said with a smile. “Just make sure your story doesn’t let me down, okay?”
“I will!” Hope surged in my chest. One of my favorite authors had actually chosenmystory. Even if we didn’t get a single vote more, that felt monumental, like I wasn’t just a fan anymore. I was a real author, one worthy of her reading my story.
As people started finally talking to Thorne and Leo, the votes started rolling in. It was hard to say they were just cosplayers when their magic was literally on display.
Thorne’s shadows drifted across the room like playful smoke, pulling people’s attention every time they wandered off. And Dawnbreaker was giving out speeches like they were candy. It was probably good I hadn’t brought Inkheart, otherwise they’d have been bickering like children by now. I smiled, picturing them leaning over the pages of my book together, tag-teaming the editing like they were pros.
I really did love this little group we’d formed together. No matter how this all ended, I was proud of us.
Chapter 32
Thorne
A Few Months Later
Willow walked into the library with a radiant smile, clutching a book to her chest. “So, you know how winning the competition kind of felt like a dream, right?” She held the book out to me. “Well guess what came in the mail today! Another dream!”
I ignored the book for a moment to admire how beautiful she was when she was this happy. Her joy was infectious, and a smile spread across my face before I even knew what she was so happy about. Ever since Willow dropped the walls around her, she seemed to feel life to the fullest, letting every emotion wash over her completely. She was full of life, and I loved seeing her like this.
“Come on, read it!” She nudged the book at me, vibrating with barely contained excitement. “It’s the advanced copy of our book!”
