Chapter 30
Chapter thirty
Dominick
Mystic’s was lively. The usual bare tavern bridging Dobro and Jedan Quarters was brimming with witches and warlocks, and their relieved chatter sounded better than any music Dom could have requested.
Earlier today, they’d received word of a Legion victory with minimal casualties.
It seemed every member of the coven, including Jedan, needed a brew to wash away the lingering anxiety.
When they’d arrived, Dominick had pulled Ithar aside and bought out the bar. The old warlock with his dated muttonchops and bald head had hugged him and insisted he take Sera’s designated table.
Dominick settled onto the stool, reveling in how the patrons’ confused looks gave way to joy as Ithar brought out more and more mugs of brew.
“You only have one sibling?” Theodore asked him.
Dominick had been surprised that Theo was willing to visit Mystic’s. They needed to update the ledger they were keeping at Sera’s boarding room, which detailed the discrepancies between the deaths Theo saw versus what the Council was reporting.
He was feeling nostalgic. He missed Sera, Honora, and his brother. He was also hoping that the familiarity of the tavern would give him the courage to ask another favor of Theo.
“Yep, just me and Colton,” Dominick said, sipping his brew. The purple foam coated his throat, settling his nerves. Sera hadn’t responded to his previous two messages. He was worried.
“Who’s the favorite child, out of you two?” Theo asked.
“Well, my mother would never admit it, but it’s Colton.
It’s no secret he’s everyone’s favorite.
Sera had a crush on him when she was young.
Then she realized he was more of an older brother to her, and her admiration turned to Alistair.
” Dom chuckled, remembering when she had tried to climb up onto the roof with the three of them.
She’d slipped on the ladder and torn her dress all the way up her side.
She was mortified. He could picture her face even now, red, with hot tears streaming down her cheeks.
He’d helped her, and ever since that day they’d been inseparable.
She’d always been a little behind. Not only magically, but slow to trust herself and others.
But what Sera lacked in confidence, she earned in brilliance.
No one could compete with her in their classes, not even Nora.
She got top marks in every course, but her lack of confidence—as he’d realized when he was older—was a result of how her mother raised her.
“Interesting,” Theo said.
“Why is that interesting?”
“Have you ever…” Theo cleared his throat. “Have you and Sera, I mean…”
“Shadow, no. She knew I preferred warlocks before I did. She’s gorgeous—I’m not blind. But Sera and I just clicked. We felt like two impostors taking on the world. You know?”
“I can’t say I do,” Theo said and looked at Dominick over the lip of his mug. “I don’t have anyone that close.”
“No siblings?”
“Not that I know of. Both my biological parents were killed in a skirmish before the ceasefire. Being raised under the Council’s watch prevented me from growing close to anyone.
We were always set against each other. Who could be the better orphan and whatnot.
” Theo just shrugged at the admission and motioned to Ithar to bring over two more brews.
A life without his brother or Sera? It seemed like a life barely worth living.
His fondest memories were of them all together.
To be so utterly alone? Dom’s heart hurt at Theo’s admission.
Orphans were raised in Jedan, with the same chance as any witch or warlock to change their station on their trial day.
But Dominick didn’t know what life was like for them. He’d been raised in a loving home.
Dominick caught his tongue before he could tell Theo that maybe… just maybe he could be his close someone. His old self would be making all the innuendos, but now, when he actually might want something more…
“I hate to do this…”
“I’ll pull Sera’s thread tomorrow,” Theo said.
“I didn’t want to ask… You’ve already done so much.”
Theo gave him a half grin and leaned his elbows on the table. “Dom, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not as slick as you think you are.”
Dominick’s brows shot to his hairline. He didn’t even have a rebuttal, only a racing pulse and the need to throw this warlock against a wall and show him how slick he could be.
The crowd quieted as patrons filed out the front door. But he let none of it distract him from Theo. “Tell me about being an orphan.”
“Talk about a buzzkill, Dom.”
“Is it a crime that I want to get to know you more?” Dominick swirled the brew in his mug before taking a sip.
“I’m not sure. You know parts of me pretty well.”
He couldn’t prevent the rush of heat to his cheeks with that comment. Their time together had been more than satisfying. The smell of him, his soft skin. Theo was… addictive. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
The twinkle in Theo’s eyes dimmed a bit. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Dom nodded.
“I fear… I fear there will be a lot more orphans.”
It was a thought Dom didn’t want. No one did. But it was inevitable. It was the coven’s way of life, and even though he hadn’t agreed to it, he had no power to stop it.
Ithar approached him. “Master Benero…”
Dominick put his hand up. “Ithar, I am not a master, just a humble oracle.” He didn’t miss the way Theo rolled his eyes.
“Yes, again, thank you… You are welcome anytime.”
Dominick stood and clapped Ithar hard on the shoulder. “Then I shall take you up on it. But we will take our leave. Have a good night, Ithar.”
“And you, sir… and you.”
The streets were quiet. The mage lamps illuminated as the warlocks passed under them, drenching them in a hazy glow as they strolled through Daedeth Quarter.
It could have been the buzz from the brew or how Theo had looked at him all night, but either way something was shifting. He grabbed Theo’s hand.
It felt… right. His hand fit right, and he swore there wasn’t a more handsome warlock in the entirety of the coven.
“You’re fine… with this?” Theo’s grip tightened.
Dom lowered his voice. “I think our lives are too short now to care.”
“Praise Shadow for that,” Theo said.
The mirror on the far wall was glowing when they walked into Dom’s flat. An unfortunate delay, as he was more than ready to get his mind off the doom and gloom of a missing Colton and Sera, and on to more enjoyable things.
Dom swiped the mirror, and his mother’s round face appeared, covered in tears.
The brews he’d just enjoyed threatened to come up.
“What’s wrong?” Theo asked.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Dominick ran out the door.
He was hot, then cold, the contrast dizzying. Panic coursed through him. The sudden onslaught of shame he felt for having seen his mother’s face while thinking of unsavory things was making him nauseated.
It could be anything. She could’ve hurt herself. Or maybe it was his father? Nothing a healer couldn’t fix, he was sure. His mother had been on edge for weeks, just as he had, after not hearing back from Colton. His mother, Shadow bless her, was not the most patient woman.
Dom barged through the front door. “Ma?” he called out.
His parents were sitting at the small wooden kitchen table, murmuring to themselves. His mother, his beautiful mother, held her head in her hands, his father’s arms wrapped tight around her.
“What happened?” Dominick demanded.
His father turned, and in his hand was a pink slip with a black sun letterhead—a death notice.
“No,” Dominick said in a croaked whisper and pushed away from the table.
“Not him,” his mother wailed. His father looked at Dom with quiet sorrow as a single heavy tear slid down his face.
“It’s a mistake! It has to be!”
His father’s voice, usually deliberate, strong, and steady, was raw. “It’s no mistake, son.”
Dom’s knees weakened with every breath he took as his mother rose from her seat. Her head barely reached the middle of his chest. He held her once slender back tight to him.
“It’s not him. Not Colton…” This couldn’t be happening. The reports said minimal casualties. His brother was a seasoned and powerful fighter. A creeping thought poked at him. Colton hadn’t responded for weeks now.
His mother’s soft hands were on his cheeks.
“I’m going to fix this, you’ll see. I’ll prove it,” Dom swore.
He ran. He ran and ran and ran until he stumbled through his front door, then tripped on his way to the bathing chamber and vomited. His hands shook harder with each heave of his stomach.
There must be a mistake. Colton couldn’t be dead.
“Dominick?” Theo called for him through the door. “Can I come in?”
Dom rocked back and forth on the cool tile floor, waiting. He needed to think; he needed to make a plan.
“Dominick,” Theo called again and grabbed either side of his face, forcing him to look into his sea green eyes.
This was why he didn’t let anyone get too close.
This was why he didn’t love. What was the point when it only ended in pain?
He’d learned that the first time he’d opened up to someone only to be rejected.
It was why he kept everyone at arm’s length.
But now, the curse had gripped its claws into his family.
He couldn’t do this. He wanted to be alone.
“Dom, what happened? You can tell me.”
The tenderness broke him. It was only then that the heavy tears began to fall.
“Shhh, come here.” Theo guided him, resting Dom’s head in his lap. His hands were cool against Dom’s forehead, soothing him with soft strokes.
“Colton.” Dom’s voice hitched. He couldn’t stop the despair that shook him, rousing a new set of tears. He shuddered and took a shallow breath. “They said Colton is dead.” The words wove through his mind, as if saying them out loud made them true. He wouldn’t believe it.
“Oh, Dom.”
“I need you to look. To be sure.”
“Of course, of course.” Theo lifted Dom from the floor and gently laid him on the bed. Tenderly, he peeled Dom’s gray oracle robes off him. And when Dominick was comfortable and under the covers, Theo wrapped around him and lay there.
A hollow numbing crept over Dom. Where was Colton? Why wasn’t Sera answering?