Fractured
When trust is broken, it can be a damnably difficult thing to rebuild.
Magic Philosophy by Namina Kimathi
WHEN I ENTER ARLON’S office, he’s standing behind his desk, his focus devoted to the piece of paper in his hand. In his other, his thumb worries the familiar leather of Dom’s collar.
I freeze in the doorway, dread gripping tight. Olbric had said Dom wasn’t planning on leaving for good, but... I have my doubts.
“I found it on Dom’s bed,” Arlon says without looking up.
“What’s it say?”
“That he’s sorry. That he’ll be back. He has questions about his magic and wants to find his mother, just as Olbric said.
” He tosses the note across his desk to me, and I quickly scoop it up to read.
“I have a feeling there’s more they aren’t telling us, but I can’t very well enchant Olbric to ask. ”
Anger rests heavy in his voice, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel it too. That the two of them would just waltz off into the mountains without so much as a word? To either of us? It’s like a punch in the stomach.
“So,” I sigh. “Who are we sending after him?”
“We are not sending anyone,” Arlon says as a whole new frustration layers over his scowl.
It takes me a moment to realize what he’s saying. “Wait, Thora wants to send one of her guards?!”
“Has already sent,” Arlon corrects before he sets Dom’s collar gingerly down on the top of his desk. “He left yesterday. I tried to talk her out of it. Tried to get her to let me send anyone else, but the Captain wouldn’t hear it. She wanted one of her people to handle it.”
The blatant overreach makes me gape. A runaway wizard rests firmly in the ‘magical matter’ category, and yet. “Who?”
“The one who was on duty. Who stopped Olbric from leaving.” Arlon wracks his memory for a name before saying, “Nikolai. According to Thora, he’s one of her most capable.”
It’s been two days since Dom’s exit from the Crux, but the ripples still haven’t settled.
Everyone is antsy in the wake of it, and I’ve been busy fielding questions about the Royal Guard, about the peace talks, about Dom.
It’s been exhausting to say the least, in large part because I haven’t been able to give many answers.
And all over again, I realize how much I hate being so blindsided by this.
Olbric and Dom are two of my closest friends in the Crux, but through all their planning and sneaking, they never so much as had a single conversation with me about any of it.
If they had, maybe we could have avoided this whole mess before it happened.
“What happens when the guard catches up to him?” I ask, forcing the thoughts away as I take my seat across from Arlon. Of course the Royal Guard are trained, but pitting one against a wizard, even one who isn’t a confident firefighter, seems like a recipe for disaster.
“I don’t know,” Arlon says through a sigh. “Once he drags Dom back from the mountains, hopefully Thora will see this for what it is - a foolish misstep. With luck, I can at least negotiate him out of a cell in the King’s prison.”
My stomach plummets. “And on what grounds could they hold him?!”
Arlon rubs his eyes tiredly. “Illegal possession of magiline.”
The declaration makes me feel numb. Before the Tower, wizards were allowed to carry their spells to and from the Crux without issue.
The Crown doesn’t own wizards, but it does own magiline.
Everything we use, from the focuses in our casting rooms to the divination pillars in my parent’s estate, is on loan from the Kingdom of Straetham.
As are the spells Dom is carrying around his neck into the godsdamned mountains.
So this is how they justified making this a matter for the Crown. “Fuck.”
“My sentiment exactly,” Arlon says. “But I’m afraid we have bigger things to worry about.”
I fight back a groan. “Because we need to leave for Marikadar in four days?”
“Because I need to leave for Marikadar in four days,” Arlon corrects, and my thoughts stall as I register what he’s implying.
“I plan on teleporting the Strae delegation to Marikadar. Olbric will be joining me, as will Allisande. Alix is fluent in Cashir and has also agreed to come. Though I trust our translation spells, I would like another fluent speaker just in case Olbric continues to be... obstinate.”
I swallow a swell of emotion. Olbric’s barely left his room since I spoke to him.
His spells are locked away in Arlon’s desk, but I was able to convince him that Olbric wasn’t a flight risk.
So far, at least, he hasn’t made me a liar.
He retains permission to move about the Crux unsupervised, though he’s exercised that right very little.
“There’s no telling how long the talks will take,” Arlon continues. “It could be days; it could be weeks. Because of that uncertainty, I’ve gotten approval from the Crown to appoint you as interim Grandmaster of the Crux.”
My stomach does a strange flip. For a second, I’m speechless. “Are you serious?”
Arlon chuckles tiredly. “I am. Thora even endorsed you when the Crown expressed doubts.”
I’m surprised I’ve made that good of an impression on the Guard Captain, but I must be doing something right to have earned that endorsement.
“Garrett and Bridgette will be returning to the Crux until the peace talks end, so you will have a full master’s guidance and advice, if you need it,” Arlon says.
“Now that Cecily has earned her corpimancy mastery, she’ll be taking over as the wizard on staff at the health clinic for the time being. ”
“Thank you for that, sir,” I say, relieved. Between the part-time position I undertook while Garrett was out east, and then the full-time position that was foisted on me while he was relegated to the Crux, I feel like I’ve had my fill of corpimancy for a lifetime.
“King Thermilious will be attending the peace talks along with a number of his advisers. In his stead, his Queen Mother, Tramella, will be overseeing the dealings of the Kingdom.” Arlon’s tone is serious as he says, “I suggest you request an audience with her as soon as I’m gone.
No doubt she will be reporting everything back to her son once he returns home. ”
His meaning is clear enough. Impress Tramella during this interim period, and maybe, just maybe, it will lead to smoother sailing with Thermilious in the end.
“Yes, sir,” I say, unable to stop the excitement from leaking into my voice. There’s been such an endless wave of bad luck that I never imagined an opportunity like this would fall into my lap. I’m not going to squander it.
“I’ll make an announcement about your position to the rest of the Crux at dinner tonight,” Arlon says.
“Since you are still in the process of earning your full mastery, Garrett and Bridgette have agreed to field any mastery petitions while I’m away.
You will have full authority to give assignments, but Galiva, do not attempt anything with the captured Tower wizards.
The situation between Straetham and Immenbach is kindling just waiting to catch fire.
I don’t want to accidentally create sparks by sending any of our own into the mix. ”
That is a difficult order to swallow. We rest on a knife’s edge of war with Immenbach, and any move on this front is dangerous. But I try to plan for all possibilities, and there may come a time when I don’t have a choice.
“I won’t act unless I have to,” I say. Something unspoken passes between us, a silent understanding. It reminds me of when I got my illusion mastery, and I feel that same trust settle over me now.
Arlon sighs before he stands to meet me, his hands closing gently over my shoulders. “Alright. Do you feel ready for this, doldora?”
“I’m ready,” I say as I lift my eyes to his. “Thank you, Arlon.”
His hands lift to cup my face, his thumb stroking gently over my cheek. “Did you know that I’m the reason that the Crux has to get royal approval to appoint a new Grandmaster?”
“I’d guessed,” I say with a wry grin. No doubt appointing a nameless bastard to head the Crux was a scandal of the highest order.
Arlon chuckles before he brushes a kiss to my forehead. “I know what it’s like to have the odds stacked against you, Gal. And I know that you’re capable of toppling them in your favor.”
It’s what I need to hear. What I’m trying to get myself to believe. I draw in a fortifying breath. “I’ll talk to the Queen tomorrow.”
“WHAT THE fuck, Olbric!”
I wince, curling up a little tighter on my bed at the sound of Cancassi’s voice. My door is closed and locked, but their ire travels easily through it. It almost feels like the last time Dom and I were separated, except now, Cancassi is mad at me, too.
And they’ve even scaled the stairs to my room to tell me about it.
“So you’re too craven to face me, then?” they snap, voice tight with anger. When I don’t answer, they scoff. “Guess I should have realized. I’m a fun side piece when you need one, but I’m apparently not important enough to warrant a goodbye when you decide to go fuck off to the mountains with Dom.”
Under all that indignation, there’s real hurt in their voice. It feels like a punch to the stomach. I’ve already let so many people down these past few days. I can’t stand adding Cancassi to that list.
I haul myself to my feet before I throw the door open. Their copper eyes widen before I draw them into a fierce embrace.
“I’m sorry.” I bury my face against their neck and let out a shuddering sigh. “I’m so sorry, Cass.”
They stiffen in my grip before letting out a long breath. Slowly, their arms come up to circle me, cane thumping my back. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
I give a weak laugh before I pull back to meet their eye. “A’lynn, I say this with all the love for you I have in my heart, but you are the absolute fucking worst at keeping a secret.”
Their scowl doesn’t soften, and I sigh as I cup their face. Confronted with their hurt look, I realize how wrong I was. Of course they could have kept this one. They don’t have to say a thing for me to know I’m wrong.
“No, no, that’s not fair either. I’m sorry,” I say before pressing a gentle kiss to their lips. “I should have trusted you.”
“You’re damn right,” they say before their eyes dart away. There’s obviously more they want to say, and it’s not like them to be coy about things.
“What is it?”
Cancassi’s scowl deepens, and it takes them a moment to find the words. “When I found out that you had planned to leave, I felt... like a cast-off. Like as soon as Dom is around, I become an afterthought.”
The confession makes my heart twist. They’ve come to mean so much to me, yet in our need for secrecy, I’ve wounded them. Ever since the Tower, I’ve been... protective of Dom, but it hurts to hear that in doing that, I’ve neglected them.
I pull them back against my chest, pressing a kiss to their forehead. “I’m sorry.” Remorse makes my chest ache as I hold them tight. “I never want you to feel that way. You mean so much more to me than that.”
They let out a sigh, and with it, some of the tension drains out of them. I swallow and cup their cheek as the reality of everything crashes over me again. “I-I wish I could say I’ll have the chance to do better, but... Cass, Arlon is taking me back to Marikadar.”
“I know. I heard.” They look up at me, tears making their copper eyes shine. “And as mad as I was, I still asked Arlon if I could come, but... spots are limited. He said no.”
It feels like someone’s grabbed my heart and squeezed. For a second, I just hold them, trying to memorize the way their body contours against mine. These next few days may be the last I have to spend with them, and the reality of that makes tears well to my eyes.
It’s like they can sense where my thoughts have gone because they say, “You’ll come back.”
“Yes, he will.”
The hand around my heart grips even tighter as I see Arlon approaching us from down the hall. His expression is unreadable, but his eyes flick to Cancassi as he says, “Would you excuse us? I need a word with Olbric.”
Reluctantly, I loosen my grip, allowing them to step back.
“I’ll find you later,” they promise before they head down the hall to the stairs.
I feel trapped. My eyes avoid Arlon’s even as I lean back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. The silence stretches, broken only by the sound of Cancassi’s cane against the stone floor, which gets quieter as they retreat down the stairs.
Arlon waits until we can no longer hear them before he speaks.
“I know you’re angry -”
“You’re damn right I am.”
Arlon lets out a heavy sigh. “I tried to avoid this. This is the one request the Shykhdar made in exchange for hosting the talks.”
I scoff. “Of course it is. Why not? My father’s tried everything else at this point. May as well hang the balance of peace of the continent across my fucking shoulders.”
Arlon steps towards me, raising a hand like he wants to touch me. I tense, tightening my arms over my chest, and his hand drops back to his side.
“I know this isn’t fair.” He sounds as tired as I feel. This... interim, this wait, is almost as bad as what comes after. “I understand why you’re angry with me. Hell, I’m angry with me. Angry that I couldn’t avoid this.”
At my silence, he drags his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “I know that this is a hard thing to ask of you, especially now, but I need you to trust me in this. Trust that I will bring you home safe.”
Before, trust was such an easy thing to give, but now? I’m not sure I can. Arlon’s already proved he’s powerless against this command. Who’s to say there won’t be another he can’t avoid?
As my silence stretches, he says, “And if you can’t grant me that, at least grant me your cooperation. The last thing I want is to bring you there in chains, little one.”
Hearing him call me that nearly breaks me. I swallow back tears, forcing the hurt aside. There’s no escaping this, but I damn well better get something out of it in return.
“I’ll go with you to Marikadar under one condition.”
“What?”
“You give me a sending spell. And don’t tell me they’re too precious of a resource - I know how many we made.”
Arlon’s frown grows more pronounced. “You’re going to contact Dom.”
It’s not a question, but I give an answer all the same. “Yes. You know as well as I do that he’s not alright, Arlon. And yet you’re letting him go into the mountains without so much as backup!”
Anger simmers behind his frown, and if I hadn’t just seen the same thing in Cancassi I might not recognize it for what it is. Arlon’s... hurt by Dom leaving. “He won’t be alone.”
That gives me pause. “Who are you sending?”
Arlon’s frown only deepens as he reaches for the small strand around his neck. The ones he’s started carrying ever since the failed assassination attempt against him. He pulls a focus off before dropping it into my hand.
“Pack your things, Olbric. We’re leaving for Marikadar at the end of the week.”