“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 onleavingthem,” I say, aghast.
Dom flushes hot even as he says, “No! I just - I mean, Ithoughtabout it.”
“No. Absolutely not,” I say firmly. “I don’t care if you shoot sparks when you sneeze, we are taking our spells.Bothof us.”
He opens his mouth to argue, and I brace for a long discussion. He’sdamnablystubborn 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,nottrying 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, isexactlymy 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 itfun. 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 leavingtomorrow. 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.”
