Page 219 of The Consumption of Magic (Tales From Verania 3)
“I’m not going to let that happen to him,” I said fiercely. “I won’t let Ryan be taken away from me.”
Randall shook his head. “I will go to him. To the Great White. I will find him. I will convince him.”
“Are you sure?” Morgan asked. “He said he never wanted to see your face in this life again. How will you find him?”
“I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeves yet,” the old wizard said. “Sam, you promise me you’ll stay inside the castle until I return.”
“But—”
“Sam.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.”
“Morgan, you make sure he keeps that promise.”
“Hey!”
“Go,” Morgan said. “Return when you can. I’ll handle things here.”
There was a sharp crack and Randall was gone.
“Well,” I said in the silence that followed. “That was certainly enlightening. Can I go back to bed now? Or is there any other secret I should probably know about?”
Morgan eyed me warily for a moment. Then, “That’s it.”
I snorted as I turned toward the door. “Why do I have a hard time believing that?”
RYAN WAS sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for me when I returned to our room. He looked up as I shut the door behind me and leaned against it.
“You ever get the feeling that people know more than they’re telling you?” I muttered.
“With wizards? All the time.”
I winced at that. “Yeah. I deserved that.”
He shrugged. “Probably.”
“Would it make things better if I apologized again?”
“Have you apologized at all?”
I blinked. “Haven’t I?”
“Don’t think you have.”
“Oh. Um. Sorry?”
“Heartfelt.”
“Dude, you know I am.”
He sighed. “I know. But it’s still nice to hear it every now and then.”
“I didn’t mean it. I just—I thought I was doing the right thing.”
“You always think you’re doing the right thing.”
“Yeah, but I’m awesome like that, so.”
