10. Chapter 10
Rowan
Rowan looped around the west side of the fortress, heading back toward the main doors. A caravan had just arrived with supplies, and about half of it was for Milo. Rowan wanted to make sure everything Milo needed was sent to the right room.
Ever since the Drachifel attack at the cliffs a few days ago, Milo had doubled down on his efforts to fix the wards.
He was still in the process of putting up the first ward around the fortress, but he expected to be done in about two days.
Maybe three. After setting up the temp barrier, the first thing he’d done was take the old ward completely down to clear the air, claiming the old energy would affect the new ward.
Rowan knew literally nothing about wards, but Milo’s explanation made sense, so he hadn’t commented.
Milo worked long hours on it, coming to bed each night tired but satisfied with his progress.
Rowan didn’t know how to explain how thankful he was for all of Milo’s efforts.
The new alarm system alone was like ten Solstice presents in one.
While Rowan couldn’t always express the gratitude he felt, he did his best to help Milo relax at night, caring for him, and it felt like they grew even closer because of it.
Rowan wasn’t the only one grateful. It had been a solid week since Milo first blessed Gravegarde with his presence, and many a person—from guards to townspeople—would come over and chat with him, wanting to relay their thanks.
Milo, always happy to chat, had made friends faster than Rowan thought possible.
People were so incredibly thankful and delighted at having good mage finally come to help them.
The kitchen staff especially were friendly with Milo.
Granted, the man saw them more often than anyone else, with the bottomless pit he called a stomach.
But they were also thankful for the fire-suppression charms, the magical pump Milo had installed so they didn’t have to constantly pump water outside, and the praise Milo heaped on their heads for their cooking.
Rowan was almost jealous of the attention they gave his lover.
He’d noticed the cooks made Milo treats no one else got. Don’t think he hadn’t.
Rowan had also quite enjoyed watching Milo interact with his family over the past week. His boyfriend was clearly enjoying himself, too, developing his own rapport and showing his gratitude for their acceptance by trying to help in any way possible.
To speed the order of materials along, Milo had sent a message to Bearfell, along with a list of materials, using the newly fixed magical postbox.
Having been without it for so long, Rowan had forgotten how convenient the box was, and now everyone was using it regularly.
It was so much faster than a courier or pigeon could manage.
The postbox delivered its letter as soon as the door closed, near instantaneous.
Truly, Milo brought so much magic back into their lives. And he did it all with smiles and charm, as if this was nothing at all to him.
Milo’s order of supplies was actually something Ruben had gone back into Bearfell to help escort up, acting as an extra guard in case more foolish bandits or lurking Drachifel lay in wait.
Rowan had barely caught up with the wagons when Ruben lifted a hand, hailing him. “Rowan! Come here, I need to introduce you.”
Rowan came around the wagon instead, toward his brother, and found two other men standing nearby, both of them dressed in fine clothes that practically shouted that they held high positions.
One of them was reasonably attractive—tall, with brown hair and eyes.
The older gentleman was a bit shorter and stodgier, with a neatly trimmed thick red beard.
“Rowan, this is Advocate Andrew Latimer and Advocate Bennet Nottle. Both are from the Magic Council Advocate Division. They’re here to follow up on Milo’s report.”
Ah-ha. So Milo’s letter had gotten a response.
An incredibly quick one, at that. These two must have rushed to leave the day after receiving Milo’s complaint, which showed how seriously the Council was taking the matter.
Good, good. Rowan shook hands with both men as Ruben said, “Rowan is my baby brother—”
Rowan shot him a sideways glare. Why must Ruben always introduce him that way? Bastard.
“—but also Gravegarde’s captain of the guard. If anything goes wrong, run to him.” Ruben grinned, likely knowing he’d riled up Rowan.
Advocate Nottle gestured around him. “Is there a reason why there’s a barrier instead of a ward?”
“Milo’s taken the ward down around the fortress,” Rowan explained patiently. “The barrier is to keep us safe while he works on replacing it.”
“Oh! Smart, smart. Then again, Milo’s quite skilled with magic.”
The way Nottle easily handed out praise, along with the casual use of Milo’s name, insinuated things. “You know him?”
“I do. Worked with him a dozen times already. He’s quick to report problems—which I appreciate—and even quicker to work out the solution without waiting around on me.
Which I appreciate even more. He wrote me directly about this issue, and after pulling the records from the previous mages sent up here, I was able to verify his testimony.
None of those mages had stayed up here very long, which told me all I needed to know.
I came up to do an inspection, but also to get more details from all of you on what those previous mages did—or didn’t—do. ”
“We’ll be happy to tell you everything.”
“It was a long trip,” Ruben interjected with a charming smile. “Why don’t you two come with me. I’ll show you to guest rooms, and you can freshen up some before dinner.”
“Sounds heavenly,” Nottle said cheerfully.
Advocate Latimer frowned for some reason. “Is Milo working on the ward right now?”
“He is.”
“Where?”
Whereas Advocate Nottle had seemed friendly about addressing Milo so casually, something about the way this other man said Milo’s name put Rowan on edge.
Rowan also didn’t quite like how intent he was on getting Milo’s location.
There was something about the man’s tone, his body language.
Rowan frowned. Milo had mentioned his ex’s name was Andrew, but surely this man wasn’t the same Andrew?
Andrew was a common name, after all. Rowan didn’t want to leap to conclusions.
Still, he didn’t like this man’s interest in his boyfriend. “Near the fortress. Go settle in first. You can speak to him at dinner.”
Rowan switched focus and went to the carts, directing what things should go where.
With people clear on his instructions, he planned to return to the northwest side of the fortress.
Milo was over there, inscribing the ward’s symbols into one of the bastions.
This apparently took more than a bit of time, as he’d been working on that one corner for most of the morning.
Rowan now had a better idea why Milo said inscribing symbols would take him the better part of a week. It was quite tedious work.
Rowan stopped by the kitchens first, for a thermos of tea and a hearty snack. Knowing Milo, he was likely peckish right about now. Lunch had been two hours ago, after all. Rowan moved with ease through the fortress, popping out a side door that delivered him to more or less where Milo worked.
There he was, standing at the very corner of the fortress, one hand on his hip—and arguing with someone?
Rowan couldn’t yet see who. His first emotion was unease because Milo wasn’t the argumentative sort.
He didn’t choose conflict most of the time; he liked communicating to solve problems. This didn’t look good.
Rowan couldn’t hear what they were saying, the wind kept snatching their words away, but he heard the tone. And the tone was ugly.
He lengthened his stride, quickly catching up, and after a moment was finally able to see around the corner and who Milo argued with.
Advocate Andrew Latimer.
Fuck, so he really was that Andrew.
Rage coursed through his veins. He hadn’t liked Milo’s account to begin with—no one had any reason to belittle and cheat on their significant other, that went without saying, but Milo?
Milo, who did his absolute best to be a loving and supportive partner?
Milo, who had a soft heart and already battled with abandonment issues and the insecurity of feeling unlovable?
Rowan had absolutely no patience left to spare for this asshole.
He put the snack and thermos down in a safe spot, against the wall, freeing up his hands. Milo looked confident, head held high, but anger brewed over his face like a rising storm. He was clearly not happy to see this man.
Neither was Rowan. His entire focus switched to Latimer as he stalked forward.
Milo’s voice came more into focus as he approached, words no longer snatched by the wind and away, so he had a better understanding of what the man said. Milo was in full voice, too, right in Latimer’s face.
“—why you thought this a good idea,” Milo snarled. “You cheated on me our entire relationship, and now that people know you as the cheating bastard you are, you think you can just come back to me? Hell no!”
“I said I was sorry!”
“But you didn’t mean it. You’re not sorry you were fucking Ray while being with me. You’re just sorry you were caught!”
“What else do you want me to do except apologize?!”
“I expect you to leave me alone! I broke things off, for good reasons, and I expect you to move on!”
Latimer’s expression twisted. “Is it so wrong to want you back?”
“Yes!” Milo threw his hands up in exasperation.
“Andrew, cheating aside, you treated me like shit. I put up with it for way too long because you kept promising you would do better. But you never were better to me, you just found ways to love bomb me. I told you during our breakup that I’ve lost all affection for you. I certainly don’t fucking trust you.”
“So, what, I can’t have a second chance?”