Page 68 of Sweets and Sycamores
“I only know he’s a Mage. Every time I tried to pry details out of him, Dom came up with an excuse to leave,” she said, and raised her arms in defeat.
“I think…I think he might have used too much power lately.” It was a bold assumption, given that Allie knew as much as Mia did about a Mage’s power. Yet she couldn’t dismiss that during their practice last night, he looked…off. Spent. Allie hadn’t thought too much about it at the time, but now...
Dominic hadn’t lookedoff, he had looked exhausted.
“I don’t know how his other missions as a Mage have gone, but I think he’s trying too hard. Giving too much.”
“Why?” Mia asked, perplexed. “Why would he consume himself so much?”
Allie offered her a sympathetic smile. “Because Sycamore Falls is his home, and he wants it to be safe.” Even if no one else knows why he’s back, Dom is putting pressure on himself more than the town would.
“Que tonto,” Mia muttered. “What do you want to do?”
“I’ll run to the market to get ingredients for medicine potions, and for soup too,” Allie answered mechanically, then realized she might have overstepped assuming she’d be the one to take care of Mia’sbrother.“Unless you want to?—”
“You’re obviously more qualified than I am to take care of him,” Mia said with a vulpine smile that Allie decided to log in her memory and dissect later. “How can I help?” Allie looked at her awkwardly, not feeling like bossing around Dom’s sister. “Really, Allie. Don’t overthink it. Just tell me.”
“Okay.” She nodded once, mentally listing everything that needed to be taken care of today. “What should we do about the bakery?”
“Closed,” Mia declared. “The people of Sycamore Falls could do with a sweets and pastries break.” Allie chortled.
“Can you put a sign on the door?—”
“Done.”
“Ekko—”
“You’re coming with me today, you spoiled creature.” The baby dragon flew to Mia’s shoulder and nuzzled her jaw. Allie bopped his nose and warned him to be on his best behavior. “What else?”
“Oh. Brandon has his weekly pick-up.” It was Allie’s turn to smirk at her friend. “Please let him know we can’t make it today.”
Mia looked as if she’d asked her to run around the town naked. Allie didn’t want to give her time to find an excuse not to talk to Brandon, so she grabbed Ekko’s food from the kitchen and shoved it into Mia’s arms as she guided her out of the bakery.
“You can bring the sign later!”
Mia mumbled something that made Ekko fly up and around her with loud chitters.
Allie grabbed a bowl of cold water from the kitchen and a clean cloth and rushed back upstairs. She sat by Dom’s side for the next hour before the market opened, dabbing the skin on his face with the cold material until that unfamiliar frown disappeared and his features relaxed. Dominic fell into a calm sleep, and Allie left the cold cloth on his forehead before running to buy all the ingredients she needed.
The market was quiet this early in the morning, filled with heavy-lidded vendors who still found the energy to scowl at her. Allie was unfazed, her entire focus on Dominic and getting him better.
“What do you need so many herbs for, anyway?” the tall, gangly man with a thick red beard asked her. Allie had seen him around town a few times, mostly at the market, but he was one of the people who sneered at her less. Occasionally, only.
“Just tea,” Allie said and offered him a strained smile as she took the bags from him. The last thing she wanted was to say the wordpotionsand watch the townsfolk gather to run her out of the bakery and their town once and for all. The man harrumphed with a fake air of disinterest, and Allie took that as her sign to walk away.
Back at Dom’s Sweets, Allie made ginger tea with honey and lemon, chicken broth with vegetables and semolina dumplings, and two different medicine potions which she infused with the purest of magic she could find in her heart. Still unsure if Dominic’s illness was caused by him straining his power, Allie made one potion with echinacea and dried elderberries and the other with peppermint leaves, rose hips, and chamomile flowers. She added a pinch of salt together with the purple healing powder she’d brought from Pearls Fields.
Allie used a large wooden cutting board as a makeshift tray, placed a bowl of soup, a cup of tea, and two shots of the medicine potions on it, and prayed to whatever deities were listening that she wouldn’t trip on the stairs.
She didn’t, but it took her forever to climb up. Allie pushed the door open with her elbow, thanking her past self that she had had the common sense to leave it cracked.
“Knock, knock,” she said softly, and was welcomed with a groan and the sound of rustling sheets. Finally, she placed the tray of hell on top of the dresser, next to the lamp, and went to check on her patient.
Big green eyes stared back at her.
“How are you feeling, Dom?” Allie asked, kneeling next to his bed. His eyes followed her until the angle made him drop hercaring gaze, so he gathered the little energy he had and rolled on his side. A cloth fell on the bed, and Dominic grabbed it and rubbed his face with heavy, lazy moves.
“Like I’ve been run over by a truck. Twice.” Dominic cleared the glass from his aching throat. “Did you…” He fluttered the material, and Allie snatched it and discarded it on the nightstand.
