Reservations
Choosing spells for an extended assignment is no small task. It’s important to plan for even the most unlikely contingency. Nothing is worse than having left the spell you need at home.
Magical Tactics by Eroland Lockhart
But then I hear Dom laugh.
Over the next couple of days, Dom goes about planning with the enthusiasm of a kid at a carnival. We’ve lovingly started calling this little trip ‘Operation Homecoming,’ and as he lays out a route, a timeline, a plan, I realize just how deeply he’s already thought about this.
“If we have horses, that’ll cut our travel time to Airedale nearly in half,” Dom says. “I’m thinking we can take Mo and Valar. Alternate riding and walking, stay at inns along the main road as often as we can.”
I rub the back of my neck as I look at the parchment he’s laid on the ground between us.
The little triangle-shaped trees and peaks and blocky inn markers he’s drawn leave much to be desired.
Looking at our squiggly line of a route makes it difficult to fully grasp the reality of this trip. “And when there isn’t an inn?”
“We’ll camp,” Dom says simply before he points to a few spots along the squiggly line he’s drawn of our route. “There are a few nights we’ll be camping for sure. Even going at a faster pace with the horses, the days are too short to make it from Crofton to Glendale or from Barrowin to Copper.”
“The peaks are already coated in snow,” I say. “Camping while it’s raining is one thing, but when it’s freezing?”
“Beautiful, I used to go on hunting trips in the dead of winter. I know this route well, especially once we reach Barrowin,” Dom says as he points to the little blocky marker on his map.
“I can find us shelter and keep us warm. Plus, even without magic, the Crux has more supplies than I ever did.” He reaches out to take my hand, giving me a warm squeeze. “We’ll be fine.”
My unease lingers even as I say, “If you’re sure...”
Dom’s grin turns sly. “You know that you stay warmer if you’re skin to skin with someone else?”
I roll my eyes, though a smile tugs at my lips. “You just want an excuse to fuck me in the middle of nowhere.”
“The idea’s definitely crossed my mind,” he says before his voice pitches to a sultry purr. “You know what else has crossed my mind?”
I hum, leaning back on my arms. “What’s that?”
“Once we’re on the road, I could send you off,” Dom says, and his heated tone rushes over me, making me shiver. He leans forward, shifting onto his hands and knees to prowl slowly towards me. “Give you a head start.”
I find myself sitting up straighter against his bed as his arms come to rest on either side of my hips. He brings his face close to mine, his eyes shining with wicked pleasure, and I realize just how much I’ve missed this playful side of him.
“Don’t know if you know this about me, but I’m real good at tracking,” he purrs.
He kneels over me, teeth teasing over my neck before he bites down.
I arch with a muffled moan. He licks the spot in something like an apology, his lips tickling my ear.
“You could hide as well as you like, but I’ll hunt you down all the same, beautiful. ”
I bite back a whimper as I grab his hips. With nothing but a few words, he’s gotten me hard, and as the thought takes root, I realize how much I would enjoy that.
“You like that idea, huh? Like the idea of me hunting you down to have my way with you?” His hand reaches down to cup my straining length, and I roll my hips to meet him. “You want me to pin you against the ground? Rut you like an animal?”
I bite back a moan, and as much as I appreciate a good distraction, we still have a grand escape to plan. I drape my arms behind his neck, my nose brushing his as I say in my sultriest voice, “I would like that all a lot more without the snow.”
Dom chuckles before he pecks my lips. “Snow will give you a softer landing when I tackle you to the ground.”
The thought sends another errant shiver through me before Dom backs away. My cock gives a disappointed throb even as I ask, “Are you sure we can’t wait until spring?”
The shadows that have been so absent briefly eclipse his face. “I’m sure,” he says. “Something’s telling me we need to leave as soon as we can.”
I don’t like it, but he has far more experience than I do with cross-country travel. My mad dash from Marikadar to the Eastern Tower had been nothing short of disastrous. I’d sold every piece of jewelry I’d owned, and I still barely managed the trip. Even on assignments, I don’t travel far.
But the weather isn’t the only thing I’m worried about.
“Dom, I...”
Arlon told me this in confidence, but the Black Burrows humbled me. I need to be sure we’re planning for everything.
“A few months ago, right before I teleported to the Tower, an Immen scouting party was intercepted near Airedale.”
Dom sits up straight. “Oh, fuck.”
“I haven’t heard anything more since then, but... I have no doubt that Straetham has alerted Frostcliff,” I say. “Not to mention, a number of larger caravans have been heading into the hills recently. I think the Crown has sent soldiers straight from the capital.”
I’ve tried to get even a vague update from Galiva on that front, but she’s been zealously guarding information. Her and Arlon go to the palace two or three times a week, and runners are seen here nearly every day. There’s no doubt that things are happening. I just wish I knew the extent of what.
“But we’re not at war,” Dom says.
“No, but we very well could be soon,” I say before I offer a wan smile. “I’m not trying to steer you away from doing this, love. I just... need you to be sure.”
Dom sighs as he looks down at his map. His eyes scan the route before he nods. “I’m sure.”
“Alright,” I say gently. “Then we just need to be prepared.”
Dom’s eyes flick to his closet, to where his spells still hang in the back. My stomach drops when I realize what he’s thinking.
“God, please tell me you weren’t planning on leaving them,” I say, aghast.
Dom flushes hot even as he says, “No! I just - I mean, I thought about it.”
“No. Absolutely not,” I say firmly. “I don’t care if you shoot sparks when you sneeze, we are taking our spells. Both of us.”
He opens his mouth to argue, and I brace for a long discussion. He’s damnably stubborn when he wants to be. But then he lets out a gust of a sigh.
“Alright,” he relents. “We’ll bring them.”
My shoulders inch away from my ears before I drag my fingers through my loose hair. “Good. Because I think we’ll need them to even get out of the Crux.”
Dom frowns. “What? Why?”
I look at him blandly over my reading spectacles. “Do you really think Arlon will sign off on something like this? Now? Not to mention, the Royal Guard will be curious about the reason for a weeks-long trip into the mountains.”
Dom groans, resting his head in his hand, his eyes focused unseeingly on his map. “Fuck.”
“Again, not trying to dissuade you. It’s just... not going to be easy.”
“I know, I know,” Dom says before he gives a weak laugh. He drags his hands through his hair, leaving the auburn locks disheveled before he levels a crooked grin at me. “So, I guess we gotta do it the hard way.”
The hard way, as it turns out, is exactly my style. Infiltrating the Tower had been a first-of-its-kind assignment for me, but my God, what a rush it had been. Terrifying and thrilling in equal parts.
Sneaking into Quartermaster Farlan’s supply shed in the dead of night is far less risky, but that’s what makes it fun.
It reminds me of sneaking out of the Shykhdar’s palace when I was younger to go into town with Samira.
Yet my sister and I didn’t have the help of illusion spells, which makes the current task substantially easier.
The shed rests at one corner of the posterior courtyard.
After the midnight bell, the entire yard is empty save for the lone guard who yawns inside of the gatehouse.
But his eyes are turned beyond the Crux’s walls, not inside of them.
We probably could have done this without magic, but it never hurts to be safe.
While food stores are in the larder and tack is in the stables, the shed is reserved for mundane necessities. Travel packs, saddle bags, tents, bedrolls, sleeping sacks, extra cloaks, even the carts we teleported back from the Tower rest inside of the shed.
Together, Dom and I gather everything we might need before we sneak it back up to his room, careful to leave no trace. I doubt the Quartermaster will even notice anything missing until we’re long gone.
I want to get some travel clothes and other necessities packed away tonight, but in the aftermath of adrenaline, I yawn so widely that my eyes water.
Dom chuckles and says, “The rest can wait.”
I have half a mind to argue, but he’s right. We’re not planning on leaving tomorrow. We still have time, and it will be better for both of us if we don’t rush our preparations.
“Do you want me to stay tonight?” I ask as Dom stores our pilfered stash in his closet. He’s been more open about touching me, but he still hesitates to answer, his back to me. “You realize we’re going to be sharing a tent for the foreseeable future, right?”
Dom closes his closet door before turning to face me. “You sure? Soon you’ll have no choice but to be subjected to my piss-poor sleep schedule.”
I hum before I get to my feet and tug at the hem of his shirt.
He obligingly lifts his arms, and I pull his shirt off as I walk him back towards his bed.
My fingers tug his trouser laces loose, and when his knees connect with the edge of the bed, I push him to sit before I yank his boots and trousers off.
I lift my own blouse off, yet as I toss it aside, I notice Dom looking up at me from where he’s sprawled back on the bed, a soft smile on his face.
“What’s that look for?” I ask, shedding the rest of my clothes before I straddle his waist.
His hands rest on my bare hips, thumbs stroking gentle circles. “It... means a lot to me that you’re coming.”
“I’m happy to. You know, you weren’t the only one cockblocked by the whole Tower trip,” I tease gently. “I’m excited to see you in your element at long last.”
“My element being hiking up mountains?”
“Exactly that,” I say. “You make a rugged picture in traveling clothes with that bow slung over your back.”
Dom chuckles before he rolls us, gently pinning me to the bed. “I’m serious.” His smile softens as he brushes a wayward lock of hair from my cheek. “This would be... a lot harder without you. Thank you, Olbric.”
The love in his eyes is like sunlight. It makes me feel warm as I reach up to cup his cheek. “If the past few days have shown me anything, it’s that you need to do this. We’ll find her.”
Dom’s eyes gloss over before he closes them, turning his head to kiss my palm. “Thank you.”
I smile as I scoot more firmly onto the bed, giving him space to settle down beside me. His head comes to rest against my chest, and I reach over to dim the light globe before I stroke my fingers through his hair.
“You’ve never really talked about her,” I say.
Dom shifts before letting out a long sigh, his breath tickling over my skin. “There’s not much to say. I barely remember her. She left right after I turned six.”
The thought makes my heart ache. I hated growing up inside of the Shykhdar, but my ama was always there when I needed her.
“And she never gave a reason for it?” I ask.
“No.” His voice is quiet as he says, “No warning, no explanation, save for a note she left my da. When I asked him what the note said, he only told me that we shouldn’t go looking for her.”
I tsk before I tighten my arms around him. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to drag up bad memories.”
Dom relaxes against me as he lets out a long breath.
“She’s always been... a mystery. I remember more of her from the plant journal she left behind than my own memories of her.
But when we reach Airedale, I’m going to look through her journal again to see if there’s anything I might have missed. See if maybe my da kept that note.”
I brush a kiss against the top of his head. “We’ll find something,” I say, though I have misgivings about being able to pick up a trail that’s nearly two decades old. But I’ve already committed to helping him see this through. I’m not going to weigh him down with more doubts.
“Speaking of notes,” Dom says wryly, “I’m... going to leave one for Arlon. Tell him that we’ll be gone for a while. That we’re planning on coming back.”
“What details are you going to give him?”
“Not many,” Dom says. “Just... that we’re trying to find my mother. I’m going to tell him that I have questions about my magic that I think she can answer.”
I nod even as I think of Galiva and Cancassi. Apprentice Qamari has been so busy I haven’t even seen her since the day we cast the sending spells.
“I don’t want to worry Galiva with this,” I say at last. “Besides, Arlon will no doubt tell her what we’re doing anyway. And... I love Cancassi, but good God, they’re the worst at keeping their mouth shut.”
Dom chuckles and says, “You’re not wrong. Think they could keep this secret?”
I groan, lifting a hand to my forehead. People say that it’s impossible to keep a secret in the Crux, but I’m convinced that’s mostly because of Cancassi.
“Honestly? I’m not sure,” I say at last. “The two of us running off into the mountains under the Royal Guard’s nose feels far too juicy for them to keep quiet.”
I don’t like keeping things from them, but for the sake of getting Operation Homecoming past the gates, it’s for the best. I sigh and say, “I’ll leave them a note, too.”
Dom must feel the tension that’s settled in me because he leans up, pressing a kiss against my cheek. “It’ll be alright.”
“I know,” I say, pushing my unease aside. Cutting ourselves loose from the Crux will be... difficult, but it will only be temporary. “Once we’re back, we’ll have plenty of time to apologize properly.”