Page 47 of Sweets and Sycamores

WE’RE STRONGER TOGETHER

“How did we go there to deliver pastries and fresh produce and leave with two bags of food?” Brandon mused, casually propping his wrist on the steering wheel.

“Beats me,” Dom muttered. “Drive faster.”

“Relax, D. Allie’s not going anywhere,” his friend teased him.

Except she was. She was going back to Pearls Fields after Hallows Eve, and that was too damn soon. They didn’t have enough time to learn what they could be. Dominic felt his heart shrink to the size of an almond.

“Just drive. In silence,” he insisted to no avail. Brandon took jabs at his newly discovered soul, the fact that he was capable of feeling something with that “stone-cold heart,” and how Allie was kinder, prettier, and just so much better than Dom’s ex.

Like he didn’t know.

But it didn’t matter because Allie compared to no one. She was unique, and warm, and lit up his entire life.

“Can you just—”

“What the hell is that?” Brandon’s voice rose, his brows furrowing. Dominic followed his look to the left, where dark smoke covered the clear sky they were leaving behind. “It’s coming from… Is it…” His voice cracked.

“It’s not. Drive faster,” Dom ordered, this time for an entirely different reason.

It couldn’t be Riverbend. It could not. Dom refused to entertain the idea even for a second. Riverbend was Brandon’s home, and his home was safe. It had to be safe.

The deadly silence Dominic had wished for filled the car like a slick presence, licking at his face and arms. He contemplated throwing all his magic at the twirl of smoke, but he was too far away to have any impact.

Better to preserve it. Just in case. Both men fidgeted incessantly as each minute brought them closer to Sycamore Falls.

To home.

To Allie.

The town was in an uproar as the car passed the “Welcome to Sycamore Falls” sign.

Everyone waved at them frantically, recognizing Brandon’s car, urging them to hurry, hurry, hurry.

Dominic’s heart thudded, his focus lasered in on his magic, grabbing and taking control of it, so he could unleash enough to take a fire of any size out.

“It’s Riverbend,” Brandon whispered, as the path wound down along the river. Dom wanted to contradict him, to tell him it was not Riverbend.

But it was.

Brandon’s farm was on fire.

They jumped out of the car in front of the gates, since the driveway was flooded with people. The entire town was here, working on an inefficient way to bring water from the river in buckets, while the farmhands struggled with a garden hose.

A purple smudge of claws and wings attacked Dom, the chittering higher pitched and more intense than ever before.

“Where’s Allie?” he barked at the dragon, advancing through the crowd. Ekko flew chaotically, swiveling his head toward the fire.

No.

She was probably just somewhere in the mill of people.

“Dom!” His sister’s voice. Mia came rushing, her hair a tangled mess, dark charcoal smudges on her face. “Dom…” she panted.

“Are you okay?” He grabbed her shoulders, steadying her. Mia nodded, breathing through her mouth.

“I tried to go after her, but it was too hot,” she blurted.

“What?”

His sister pointed frantically to the monstrous flames. “Allie’s in there. I think she’s trying—”

“Watch Mia,” he commanded a teary-eyed Brandon, positioning his sister to lean on his friend. Brandon snapped out of his shock and took hold of Mia, snaking his arms around her in a tight hug as she sobbed into his chest.

Dominic ran.

He dashed through the crowds with ease and speed facilitated by his magic wind.

One thread of magic was woven close to him, a protection from the fire as well as a means for him to breathe clean air.

He ran into the flames with no fear, no reserve, cursing the gods who dared put his future in danger.

Dom threw his magic at the wildfire, quenching the flames as he passed through them, leaving behind smoke and scorched grass.

“Allie!” he shouted, desperate to set his eyes on her. She was fine, surely, because no other outcome was acceptable to him. “Allie! Where are you?” His heart thrashed in his chest, one moment away from leaping out and looking for her on its own.

Dom ran like a possessed man, hitting the flames with sharp, harsh magic. They were keeping Allie from him, so they had to die. Swiftly.

Left. Right. He threw his arms out, quashing the simmering heat around him.

“Allie!”

“Dom?” A faint voice reached him from the edge of the flames closest to Brandon’s house. Loud coughing and heaving sounds followed, but she was fine. Fine. Fine. She was fine.

Dominic was next to her in a heartbeat, pushing his magic to its limits to practically fly there.

“Allie.” He kneeled and gathered her in his arms, instantly throwing his shield around her.

The air met a fiery wall, a patched and wobbly shield of her own.

Good girl. It had done the job to keep her skin from being burned, but her breathing was heavy.

“It’s okay. You’re okay. Breathe, baby.” Dom used magic to send clean air through her lungs.

Allie coughed into him more, until the smoke left her body and her breaths evened into a normal, healthy rhythm.

Then she opened her big brown eyes and looked at him with a glimmer of something Dom recognized as if he was looking into the mirror. Relief.

“They were heading for the house, Dom. I couldn’t do more. Couldn’t pull more.” She moved to rise to her feet, steadier now as she was breathing well, and Dom helped her because selfishly, he didn’t want to let her go.

“You did more than enough,” he assured her. It was true. Dom looked around, noticing the line of burnt grass too close to the house porch for comfort, but it hadn’t reached it. Brandon’s house was safe, and they all had Allie to thank for that.

Dominic had a personal vendetta against this fire now, and once he swept his eyes over Allie and made sure she wasn’t hurt, that there was nothing else behind the dirty clothes, messy hair, and charcoal smudges, he brought hell to it.

Fitting, he thought, bringing hell to fire itself.

The flames died one by one, some faster than others, when Dom realized Allie kept working her magic as well.

“Allie—”

“Let me help. We’re stronger together.”

They were. The truth of that statement hit him in the chest like a boulder.

He didn’t argue, only because he was right there next to Allie, and wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Would stop her if it got too much. She struggled but managed to put out a couple more flames with the little magic she had left.

Dom took her hand, her fingers clinging to his, and together, they stifled the burning red light.

Allie sat quietly, softly playing with one of Ekko’s wings as he refused to leave her lap.

“You’re going to be all right,” Tom said, his eyes moving fearfully between her and Dominic.

The Mage watched the pharmacist inspect her lungs and do another air cleaning—a better one than Dominic’s, Tom promised, as he had vast experience with healing magic.

Not that Dominic had done a poor job, gods forbid.

The man stuttered and sweated as if he was on trial for his life.

Allie didn’t blame him. The entire town had been on his case because he hadn’t been here when they’d needed him.

Apparently, Tom had decided today was a slow day and took the time to go gather some medicinal herbs from the fields outside of Rocky Hills.

Allie witnessed the town’s contempt quietly, not on the receiving end of it for once.

Nothing was left unsaid, from, “Who goes gathering plants randomly in the middle of the day?” and “You should have put a sign in your freaking window,” and “I really hope those plants are worth letting our town burn.”

Tom attempted to defend himself once, but Mrs. Chen warned him not to have the audacity to speak and focus his efforts on making sure Allie was okay.

“Do your job and take care of Allie,” she bellowed as if she’d been calling Allie by her name all this time.

“She’s the one who saved Brandon’s home while you were dilly-dallying in the fields.

And you.” Then the elder lady turned to Brandon and Dom and tore into them for leaving together.

They had the good sense to remain silent, although they could have argued that Brandon had no magic in the first place, and both of them visited the Sanders together frequently.

Allie was surrounded by so many people who, for the first time, were not scorning her.

They were worried, and grateful, and didn’t shy away from voicing these feelings.

Someone brought her water, and someone else covered her with a blanket, rubbing her shoulders and hugging her sideways.

She smiled and assured them she was fine, but in reality, Allie was overwhelmed.

She finally felt like she could become one of their own. Sure, one could argue the townsfolk accepted her only after she had saved them, but Allie wouldn’t nitpick. Being part of a community had always been a privilege for a Witch like her, reason be damned.

“Thanks, Tom.” She smiled at the blushing man and got up from the chair that had been brought to her at some point during all the ruckus. Ekko flew up and bumped his snout into the pharmacist’s cheek, then hovered close to Allie.

Dom was in her face instantly, grabbing her forearms as if to steady her, the familiar glare overtaking his features. Searching her.

“I’m okay,” Allie chuckled. She really was fine, exhausted if anything, but she was breathing without difficulty, and her skin was not burned. A win for the day. That, and also, keeping Brandon’s house from catching on fire.

“Allie.” Brandon came out of the crowd and shoved Dominic out of his way.

He hugged her so tightly that her air supply was cut off, but Allie hugged him back.

“I can’t even begin to thank you,” he blurted out as Dominic peeled him off her.

Brandon scowled at his friend, who, not shockingly, scowled right back.

“You have nothing to thank me for,” Allie said, squeezing his arm. “You’re the one who saved me first, remember?”

“Let’s go home.” Dom pulled her to him and tipped his chin to his friend.

“Thank you, Allie,” Brandon said again.

Dominic strolled through the crowd, oblivious to all the looks following them, especially the ones pinned on the arm he curled around her shoulder.

Mia drove them back to Dom’s Sweets after she made sure Brandon didn’t need her. Allie was curious about the story between them, since this was probably the first time they hadn’t avoided each other.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Allie waved at her friend, who threw her a confused look. “You said something about a pumpkin spice latte?”

“Oh. Are you sure? We could go next week,” Mia offered, worry lining her eyes.

“I promise I’m fine, Mia. Tomorrow. It’s a date!” Allie turned and entered the bakery before Mia could argue, a broody Mage on her trail. Ekko had already flown to their room, and she expected to find him passed out on his belly.

Allie rubbed her shoulder mindlessly when a thought hit her with the intensity of a lightning bolt. She wheezed and whirled on her heels, panic wrapping around her like a curtain and dulling her senses.

“Oh gods.” She was the one to grab Dom’s arms this time, running crazy eyes over him in some sort of assessment of… Of what? It wasn’t like she could check his magic reserves with a glance.

“What’s wrong?” Dominic matched her panic in his cold, controlled manner.

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

“Oh gods,” Allie repeated, still searching him for any signs of depletion. “You used so much power to put out the fire. Because I’m not strong enough.” Her voice cracked, hot nails lodging inside her throat. “Please don’t get sick again.”

Dom’s features smoothed into something beautiful, his emerald eyes crinkling at the corners.

“Allie.” He said nothing and everything with her name, a scolding as well as a plea.

Dominic pulled her to his chest in a strong, warm hug. Her arms went around him reflexively as she rested her head on Dom’s rock-hard chest.

“You’re worried about me?” She nodded against the soft fabric of his sweater.

Dom breathed into her hair, one hand firmly locked around her waist, the other rubbing circles on her back.

The move was comforting and familiar, yet the last time he’d done this, Allie had been in pain and out of control. “I’m fine, Allie.”

“Are you sure?” she whispered.

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do.” Allie squeezed him harder to her, as if she could transpose the answer to his body. “Always have.” Always will, she thought, but didn’t find the courage to say it out loud. Always seemed like such a long time for someone who was bound to leave.

“Good.” He sighed contentedly.

Allie melted into his arms, inhaling long breaths until she found that comforting cedarwood and leather scent under all the burnt smell. Exhaustion seeped into her body once she relaxed, and she took a moment to check on her magic.

That warmth behind her chest was gone, replaced by a cold and quiet feeling, just like the one she had before fully manifesting her power. Allie winced at this realization, but Dom’s arms strengthened their hold around her.

“It will replenish,” he assured her. “With time, and sleep, and food.”

“Are you Reading me?” she asked with a hidden grin.

“Do you blame me?” His voice was raspy and accusatory in the kindest way. Allie shook her head.

Dominic took a step back, and Allie saw the reluctance in his eyes, as if this distance was hurting him. She, too, hated the cold air that swirled around her, missing his warmth immediately.

But his large hands cupped her cheeks, thumbs softly stroking under her eyes. Allie wondered if he could feel the skin heating up under his touch.

“Get some sleep. We’re closed tomorrow.”

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, long and sweet, his body shuddering through an inhale. The spot under his lips burned in the most delightful way, the sensation spreading through her limbs and muscles like a shockwave.

Allie wished it had been her lips.