Dom turns in the saddle before the color drains from his face. He hesitates, Mo dancing anxiously under him.
I grab my spells, sending an evocation crashing into the air overhead. The Crux’s horses are good with magic, but Valar’s always been a little flighty, and the sound makes her take off across the bridge with a start, shoving past Nik. The sound seems to break through to Dom, and he swears before he kicks Mo into a run.
Things seem to move at half speed as I turn to look at Arlon.
“Stand DOWN, Olbric,” he booms.
Retreating isn’t something I’m used to doing. But if I can get past the gate, I can block the way. Nikolai’s the only one standing in my way, and he doesn’t look like he’s built for speed.
I’ll be quicker.
I surge forward, ducking past him. A transmutation is in my hand, ready to block the way after me, but fingers snag my magiline citran. Yet trying to grapple with it is like trying to grab oil, and I squirm out of Nik’s grip easily.
Triumph rushes through me as I dart through the gate. Dom is already across the field, Valar close behind.
The transmutation glows in my hand, ready for my command, just as something tangles around my ankles. It makes me lose my grip on my spell as I yelp in surprise, disoriented for only a moment as my momentum topples me. The citran flashes as my shoulder hits the ground, but I recover quickly, grabbing my necklace.
A boot connects, kicking my hand away from my necklace. I shout in pain as that same boot lands on my wrist, pinning it tothe ground. Then, a naked blade is at my neck. Fear wipes my mind temporarily clean at the familiar kiss of metal against my racing pulse.
“Don’t move!” Nikolai barks.
“That is ENOUGH!” Arlon’s voice is suddenly very close, and he sounds angrier than I’ve ever heard him. He appears in my field of view to bodily shove Nikolai off of me. “I won’t have your people manhandling my wizards!”
Arlon leans over me, and that barely contained fury makes me quake. His big hands grab my collar and haul me to my feet before his thumb gently feels over the skin where Nik’s blade had been. In a grudging testament to the guard’s control, he didn’t even nick me.
Seeing that seems to take the edge off of Arlon’s anger. He draws in a breath, but his voice is rough as gravel as he demands, “Who told you?”
I kick off the weighted bolas Nik wrapped around my ankles only to pause at Arlon’s question. Of all the things I expected him to ask, that wasnotit. I frown, not bothering to hide my confusion. “Told mewhat?”
Arlon’s anger falters. “Where were you heading?”
“Just a day tri -“
Arlon stops me with a stern shake before I can finish the sentence. “The truth, Olbric,” he says, and his eyes flick briefly towards Captain Thora.
Whatever has brought the Captain here has him on a blade’s edge. And as badly as I want Dom to succeed in this, I can’t dig Arlon into a deeper hole.
I swallow. “Dom is going home.”
Arlon’s grip on my collar loosens, shock momentarily eclipsing his anger. “Is he quittingmagic?”
“No - no. He just wants to find his mother. See if she can answer some questions he has,” I say, keeping it as vague as I can. The ruckus we’ve caused has gathered a small crowd, and I don’t want to spill any more about it than I have to. “We planned on returning right after.”
Arlon swears before he releases his grip on me. I follow his gaze through the gate, but Dom’s already disappeared into the woods. And it’s a sinking feeling to realize that he’s gone too far for either of us to reach now.
“Why didn’t either of you come to me?” Arlon demands.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Would you have let us go?”
“No.” I scoff, but Arlon isn’t finished. “And not for the reasons you think. It’s because I need you elsewhere, Olbric.”
Thereit is. Iknewthat one of those Godforsaken assignments was meant for me.
“I hoped that Dom would come with you, but that ship has apparently already sailed,” Arlon says.
No doubt Dom’s already grabbing our stashed gear. I can only hope that Valar caught up to her herd mate so he has two horses to carry him and our supplies. An ache settles in my chest, so intense that it feels like my heart is being pulled in two.
Dom’s leaving. And I’m not.Again.
