Page 25 of Sweets and Sycamores

Dusk had fallen over the bronze leaves dancing softly in the chill breeze. The forest drowned in dark orange and purple hues as if it had been dipped in lavender honey. Allie zipped her jacket all the way up, suppressing a shiver.

“Sit.” Dominic spread the blanket farthest from the river, close to the trees. “Here, by the tree.” He motioned for Allie to lean against the sycamore trunk.

Dominic sat facing her, leaning back on his arms in the most casual and relaxed way Allie had seen from him.

He even closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the fresh air and peace that surrounded them.

And when his green eyes opened and noticed her obvious shivers, he flicked his wrist once, twice, and warm air bound them in a comfortable bubble.

But Allie was sure she could have gotten warm just from sitting so close to him.

He had not been wrong. He knew he wouldn’t be but had still hoped that the book Mia gave him would prove him wrong. Dominic had read the section on elemental seals at least four times lest he miss a keyword that would turn everything around.

He didn’t.

He spent the rest of the day pondering how to tell Allie the truth.

Dom doubted she knew, given her clumsiness with the power and her relentless practice that almost led to a tragedy.

He didn’t want to be the one to break her heart, but he couldn’t keep this to himself.

She’d trusted him that morning to make the Assessment, and now he had to trust her with the results.

To trust that she wouldn’t hold this against him.

She trusted him.

For years, Dominic thought his heart had healed. He thought he didn’t need anyone to prove that he was trustworthy, but he couldn’t deny the wave of relief that smothered him when Allie said those three words.

Now she waited patiently, knees hugged to her chest, her thick red hair framing her round, freckled face in a mess of tangled curls. Her big hazelnut-colored eyes were warm and kind, and she watched him as if he was fascinating, with a soft smile on her pink lips.

He really, really hated this.

“How was lunch with the girls?” he started, intent on putting it off for as long as possible. Allie looked at him as if he’d grown another head. He never asked about her day. But she humored him.

“The food was delicious, and Harper and Tina are really nice. They were worried about some stuff for the wedding next week, but I told them we have everything under control,” she stated with confidence.

We. We have everything under control.

An itching sensation climbed through Dom’s chest, and he coughed to make it go away.

“I doubt this is what you wanted to talk to me about, Mr. R—Dominic.” Allie averted her eyes but smiled, as if she tried his name and liked how it fit on her tongue. That thing tickled his chest again, and he cleared his throat.

“Right.” Dom shifted on the blanket to face the beautiful Witch.

“Do you know what I did this morning?” Allie shook her head, her smile fading, and Dom felt like a cold wind had broken through his warm air shield.

“It was an Assessment.” He waited to see if Allie knew what he was talking about, but she just stared at him, waiting.

“Mages have access to a kind of Reading magic that goes deeper than the average one.”

Allie stiffened, her back straightening away from the tree trunk. “How much deeper?”

“You can Read intentions and the general spirit of a person, right?” She nodded.

“More than Reading someone, Mages can perform an Assessment. If the person is a magic wielder, the Assessment gives us access to their power source and nature.” Allie’s eyes grew wide, but she remained silent.

Dominic wanted her to ask him a thousand questions about this magic, only so he could delay telling her what he had learned during her Assessment.

“We can understand a lot about someone’s power through these deep Readings.

The way your magic acts seemed strange to me, ever since that day you overheated the milk.

” A corner of her mouth jumped up for the shortest moment.

Dominic desperately wanted to turn it into a full smile, but knew he might do the opposite.

“I wanted to ask you to let me do it this weekend. But this morning—” Dom sighed.

“I understand,” she said. “And what did you…find?”

She looked at him with fearful anticipation, hoping for good news.

Dominic felt a frown taking form on his face, his jaw clenching, hand fisting into the blanket.

He had to tell her. He had to be the one to break the sweet, soft heart of a woman just trying to find herself, and hope to hell she wouldn’t hate him for it.

The thought gave Dom pause, but hate or not, he couldn’t keep it to himself.

Allie had no one besides her coven sisters, and he doubted the good intent of those Witches who’d sent her away instead of helping her.

He had to tell her.

Dom took a deep breath and held her gaze as he said, “There is a seal on your power.”