Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow

by Rainbow Rowell

“Merlin, Baz, don’t you want to know?” “Whether I can tap into you like a generator?” “It wasn’t like that,” he says. “I let you do it.” “Are you going to let me do it again?” “No.” “Then it doesn’t matter if it was a fluke!” Snow’s still sitting on my bed. “All right,” he says. “Maybe.” “Maybe what?” “Maybe I’d do it again,” he says. “If it were a situation like today—if there were lives at risk, and this might be a solution, an option other than, you know, going off.” “What if I turned it against you?” “My magic?” “Yes,” I say. “What if I took your magic, cast it against you, and settled Baz versus Simon, once and for all.” Snow’s mouth is hanging slightly open. His tongue shines black in the dark. “Why are you such a villain?” He sounds disgusted. “Why have you already thought of that?” “I thought of it when I was still rhyming at the dragon,” I say. “Didn’t you?” “No.” “This is why I’m going to beat you,” I say. “We’re on a truce,” Snow says. “I can still think antagonistically. I’m thinking violent thoughts at you constantly.”