Page 49 of Sweets and Sycamores

CAN YOU FEEL IT?

Allie dragged Dom out of the coffee shop, rushing in a flurry of coats and scarves, a confused baby dragon flying around them.

“Lead us to the waterfall!” Allie told Ekko, who took to the skies and led the way.

They ran to the end of Maple Street before Dominic stopped abruptly.

“Allie, wait.” Dom tugged at her hand until she halted, loud, unladylike gasps coming from her mouth. Gods, she was out of shape. Dom smoothed the hair away from her face and placed his palms on her cheeks, forcing her to calm down, breathe, and get lost in his green eyes.

No.

Don’t get lost, Allie. You have one job.

“Dom, let’s—”

“I will follow you into the deepest, darkest forests, in this world and any other, but for the love of all gods, breathe, Allie. And tell me, why are we running like lunatics? I’m sure we can spare thirty seconds to exchange this information.

” His eyebrows rose playfully, and Allie couldn’t resist laughing during the rare times he attempted a sarcastic comment.

Dominic leaned down and kissed her, squeezing her cheeks so her lips smooshed together under his.

Allie inhaled loudly, making a show of proving to Dom she was breathing, as he had insisted.

“I think the magic is broken behind one of the hidden waterfalls.” Dom furrowed his brows, and Allie took his hand and resumed walking instead of “running like a lunatic.” She told him her theories as they followed the purple dot above into the thick forest.

“How far have you gone to search?” Dom muttered as they passed through the trees and bushes.

He walked in front of her and kept any overgrown branches at bay until she ambled by them.

The murmur of water grew with each step, and so did Allie’s heartbeat.

They kept quiet except for Dom’s occasional sighs, which were loud enough for his sister to hear all the way across town.

“Should be around here,” Allie mused. A moment later, Ekko flew down to them and pointed his snout ahead. Allie scratched him under the chin with her free hand. “Here we are.”

They entered the secluded clearing where the waterfall tumbled down in a roar, peaceful and assailing at the same time.

“Have you already checked this place?” Allie figured she should have asked this before, especially when Dom looked at her with a very clear “You’re only asking me this now?” expression.

He kneeled down and placed his palm on the ground, his focus visibly shifting from being her… Her what? He wasn’t hers. Was he?

To a Mage. He was in his full Mage mode. Assessing.

“I haven’t,” Dom concluded.

Yes!

The chance that she might be right sent a fresh surge of excitement racing through her.

“All right.”

Dom spread his palm wide and closed his eyes. That soft vibration buzzed through Allie, like a wave of feathers caressing her magic. The sensation disappeared abruptly, making her choke on air.

Allie waited for that familiar hum to rush through her again.

And waited. And waited. Ekko had plopped on her shoulder a while ago.

He kept nudging her jaw and looking pointedly at Dominic, who didn’t move or speak.

Dom kept still as a statue, down on one knee with his hand on the earth and his brows furrowed.

Allie placed her hand on Ekko’s belly when she felt like he was going to jump up and fly to Dom.

She shook her head silently, urging the baby dragon to stay put.

The magic vibration she was waiting for didn’t come anymore, and Allie found that she was rooted to the ground as much as Dominic was.

They sat unmoving in a silence filled by the waterfall’s whooshing, and occasionally by Ekko’s soft chittering.

Sweat trickled down Dom’s temples as his breathing became more labored. He ground his teeth and hissed through them until a deep groan escaped his throat.

Allie couldn’t help him, but she moved to sit by his side.

To be there when this was over and provide whatever comfort possible.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, cross-legged, fidgeting with the edges of her purple skirt.

Ekko sat up straight in her lap, waiting, his eyes never leaving Dom.

She scratched the scales on his tense back, but the creature refused to relax.

Allie felt just like her dragon, but she trusted Dominic and his power with her life. He would be fine, but…

What if he got sick again?

The thought sent a row of unpleasant shivers down her spine. If that happened, she would be th—

A sharp zing ran through her, like an electric shockwave setting her nerves on fire, and Ekko jolted up like he’d been burned.

Allie raised on her knees and placed her hand on Dominic’s back, caution be damned.

“Dom?”

He exhaled loudly and slumped to the ground, gasping for air.

Allie inched closer to him and rubbed his back in slow circles, hoping he felt the same comfort Allie had when he did this for her.

With her free hand, she swiped the wild locks away from his face.

Then she spent a long moment smoothing that frown between his eyes with her finger until Dom’s breathing balanced and he opened his eyes.

He regarded her with something like awe, a shadow of a smile on his handsome, tired face.

“It’s done. It was here, the rupture,” he panted softly. “It’s fixed. Can you feel it?”

Allie allowed herself a moment to study that feeling after she was satisfied with studying Dom enough to conclude he looked fine. Exhausted, but fine.

When that forceful zing snapped through her, Allie felt her magic hum, as if in response to this hidden power.

It felt different than before, fuller and stronger and richer.

As if she’d gained access to another source of magic than her own.

This feeling of being whole was old and new, something she had before, but not quite.

Something she had been wanting to obtain forever.

“I…I think I do?”

Dom chuckled.

“This is what whole magic feels like, Allie. Sycamore Falls was a place with disrupted magic. Until now.”

“But I’ve been in places with whole magic before,” Allie argued.

“Pearls Fields is old magic, which is different. Weaker.” Dom pinned her with a look full of rage that wasn’t targeted at her.

He chose to ignore her time in Green Creek and added, “And your power was still buried under the seal. You’ve been here since your power manifested fully.

” Dom’s eyes moved over her with curiosity.

“Oh.” He was right. Sycamore Falls was the first place Allie had been in with full control of her power. Now that the magic was whole, Allie felt like… Like there was nothing she couldn’t do. Like her magic was pure and powerful. Like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

“I’m so lucky to be here with you now,” Dom uttered, and Allie cocked her head. “You have the biggest, brightest smile on your face.”

Allie felt the stretch in her cheeks, the warmth under her skin. Nothing compared to this feeling of wholeness. It was not something she could name or put into words, but it was everything she’d been looking for as a Witch. To feel whole. To feel like herself.

Allie cupped Dom’s cheeks and kissed him. Slowly, unhurriedly, and for a long time, right there on the cold, leaf-covered ground.

Dom felt dizzy and drained, seconds away from crumpling to the ground in a heap.

But he held the hand of the most beautiful woman in the world as they strolled back to Maple Street, and that made the exhaustion hush.

He prayed not to get sick again, only because he had other plans to keep Allie in his bedroom.

The town was alive with noisy celebration.

Everyone was hugging and cheering, some were crying, others were laughing.

Whether they had magic or not, Dom knew everyone had felt the moment he wove the magic back together.

He’d felt it, too, like a shot of adrenaline that made him want to howl or wail, to make room in his soul for that fullness.

Ekko had not left his shoulder ever since he got to his feet, which he found strange because the creature preferred Allie to him any day. As much as Dom scowled at him, the baby dragon stayed put as if he’d grown roots inside Dominic’s body.

“It’s fixed! It’s finally fixed!”

“After all this time…”

“Sycamore Falls is safe again!”

His fatigue made Dom feel more overwhelmed with everything going on around him. Their words drowned him in warm, comfortable water, but he longed for quiet air.

“Dominic! Allie!” All eyes turned to them like a choreographed move. “Where have you been?”

“Did you feel it?”

“There must have been a Mage in town. The Order didn’t forget about us!”

Dom felt like his face was pressed between two hot rocks.

His jaw clenched, and the muscles in his body locked, ready to be attacked.

There were so many people, so many words, their lives pushing into his own, stealing his air.

He shouldn’t give them any reason to suspect him of fixing this.

Dom’s identity was his most prized secret, and only his family knew about it. His family, and…

“I wanted to show Dom this beautiful waterfall I found, just around—”

Allie spoke with unmatched enthusiasm about their romantic walk in nature, lying expertly and with ease about why they were there and how they’d found it.

She held his hand and didn’t flinch when Dom almost crushed it with his.

He released his ironclad hold and rubbed his thumb on her skin in apology.

Allie inched closer to him, grabbing his arm with her free hand and leaning her head on his shoulder as she navigated this social situation they found themselves in.

The conversation moved from the utter miracle of the magical sycamores being restored to how they had become a couple.

The beautiful Witch held her own with not a word from him and smiled, smiled, smiled, until she politely dragged him away and toward the bakery. Dom had no idea the pretense she’d come up with to get them to leave, but he was infinitely grateful to go home. With her.

He didn’t remember how he ended up propped on one of the bar chairs in Allie’s kitchen as she roamed between the stove and the fridge, cutting, mixing, tasting. The earthy and spicy flavor that filled his nostrils was the one to bring him back to reality.

“What are you doing?” he asked like an idiot. Allie must have told him what she was doing while he spaced out because of his depletion. But she gave him a bright smile that reached her caramel eyes, unbothered as she most likely repeated herself.

“I’m making lentil soup and beef stew. Just a little longer before they’re ready.” Her eyes fell to something in front of him. “More water?”

More?

“Please,” he mumbled, then drained another glass in big gulps.

Ekko lay in the crook of his elbow, front claws gently holding on to his jacket. The dragon watched Allie move around the room, his beady eyes wide, and when his chitters turned loud and excited, Dom guessed he was getting something to eat, too.

“Here you go.” Allie placed a bowl of pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, orange slices, and grapes in front of the salivating creature. Ekko feasted on his food with noisy, happy chewing.

Dom followed Allie with heavy-lidded eyes as she fidgeted around the kitchen in her short, swishing skirt and her bare feet. His heart raced with the memory of this morning that he wanted so badly to repeat. Maybe after a full night’s sleep, though, if he was honest with himself.

“And now you, mister.” Allie placed two bowls of lentil soup and two plates of beef stew with boiled potatoes and roasted tomatoes on the table. As if on cue, Dom’s stomach growled, and Allie shoved some slices of bread toward him.

Dominic caught her wrist and grabbed her hand, playing with her long, delicate fingers. “Thank you, Allie.”

“My pleasure. I love cooking.”

“This too, but…” Dom cleared his throat and squeezed her hand.

“Thank you for not giving up, for finding the waterfall. I never would have thought… I haven’t been to the hidden waterfalls ever since I was six or seven years old.

I made a rookie mistake searching all the obvious spots, and if it weren’t for you, who knows how long it would’ve taken me to realize I was looking in all the wrong places? ”

“You would have figured it out, I’m sure. And you made no mistakes when you gave all your effort to this endeavor, Dom.” She squeezed his hand back. “Now, eat.”

Dominic cleaned both plates in record time.

The food was delicious and rich with flavors, and he knew he would be greedy and ask Allie to cook for him again.

He blatantly ignored the thought of her leaving in a week and convinced his mind and heart that she would stay here with him for a long, long time.

Allie was setting down a steaming cup of tea on his nightstand when Dom exited the bathroom after a long, hot shower.

His muscles were sore, his magic depleted, the source never so hollow as it was now.

It would replenish with time and rest, but this had been by far one of the most tiresome weekends in his Mage life.

Allie’s lips parted as her eyes traveled over his bare abdomen up his chest, over the dark tattoo on his arm.

“I…” She swallowed, her cheeks coloring the prettiest shade of pink. “Did you need anything else?” Allie asked his chest.

Dominic smirked.

“Come here.”

She took slow steps toward him until Dom wrapped her in a tight hug. He inhaled her tangerine and vanilla scent and ran his hand through her long, red hair. Allie’s arms went around his waist, the metal of her stone rings cold against his skin.

“Stay with me tonight.” Allie looked up at him without breaking away from his embrace. Dom couldn’t resist pressing a kiss on her forehead. One on her nose. As much as he wanted to kiss her more, always, everywhere, forever, his body felt heavy like lead, his mind foggy. “Please.”

Allie nodded and kissed his chest. “All right.”

That night, Allie fell asleep curled up to him under the blanket. In his bed, in his arms.

He was the luckiest man in the world.