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"Are you sure you're okay and that the miracle didn't hurt you?" Augustus asked, coming back in with two tumblers of brandy.
"I was more worried about it coming out and killing everyone like my aunty's did," Mara explained.
"It did what?" Augustus dragged some of the couch cushions off and placed them in front of the fire. He sat and patted the place next to him.
Mara got comfortable and told him all about what Athanasius had said to her about the big miracles in her family and then about her mother. She left out Sophia wanting to stop Mara from meeting Augustus because she wasn't sure how he would react.
Their food arrived while they talked, and Augustus dished it up before they sat down next to the fire again. There was something so casual about it that it eased any lingering anxiety Mara had.
"That's…an awful lot to process. Your fear at the bar makes a lot more sense now," Augustus said, passing her a bowlful of Khoresh-e Ghormeh Sabzi. "I wonder what triggered it."
"You said that ambrosia would bring out whatever was buried. I think it was literal." Mara chewed a mouthful of stew and rice. "Maybe the ambrosia was breaking whatever it is that's holding the miracle in place."
"Just as long as it was the ambrosia and not some unknown curse for you kissing me," Augustus replied, tapping his lip with his fork. "I suppose we'll find out."
"We will? Very confident of you, sorcerer."
"Oh, I'll definitely be kissing you again to test this theory. You know us sorcerers. We love a good experiment." Augustus had a determined look in his eye that heated her insides quicker than any stew.
"Have you looked at the hole in Melbourne's magic? Everything has felt off since the blood moon," she said, needing to change the subject before she combusted.
"I haven't, actually. I've been too worried about whether or not you were okay," Augustus admitted. He stretched his long body out on the carpet and propped his head up with his hand.
"What makes you think the magic is more off than usual?"
"The storms for a start."
"It could just be winter."
Mara shook her head. "No wonder it's taken you so long to figure out how to close the hole in the magic. You aren't paying attention to any of the signs."
"That's because there hasn't been any until you came along." Augustus gently tugged the tail of her braid. "It's all your fault."
"My fault! You were the one that broke magic to begin with. A story you still haven't told me," Mara argued. He continued to play with the end of her braid, and she pretended not to notice.
"I'm going to need a huge pot of tea for that one. And probably a bottle of whiskey to chase it."
Mara finished eating, put her empty bowl in his, and leaned back on her elbows beside him.
"You know you can't avoid it forever, Augustus. You are tied to the magic, and it's not going to heal until you do."
"I know. I just hate it. I closed that memory off for a reason. It's ugly and makes me vulnerable, and I hate that most of all," Augustus admitted. He was close enough that Mara could see the flecks of green in his gray eyes. "I also don't know what will happen once the hole is fixed. If I'm tied to it, it might finally kill me."
Mara swallowed hard, not wanting to consider such an unacceptable outcome. She didn't like the worry in his eyes either.
"I have a miracle inside of me that could go off at any minute and kill me too. You're not so special."
Augustus laughed softly. "True. At least your miracle might do some good. I feel like I've fucked up everything I've ever tried to fix."
"Every Corvo saint has been so cursed in love that until recently, I've avoided it my entire life."
Mara didn't need to add that she was in love right now and that she was trying to warn him. She was sure it was written all over her.
"Well, every woman I have ever loved has died." Augustus frowned in concentration. "What do you think our chances are that your love curse and my love curse will cancel each other out?"
"Stranger things happen in magic." Mara tilted her head, her eyes drifting to his lips. "If we are both about to die under magical and mysterious circumstances, I wonder if either of the curses matters in the end."
"As a very learned and impressive sorcerer, would you like my professional opinion?" he asked.
