“Hm.”
“Just say I was brilliant, you know you’re thinking it.”
“I don’t know what the hell I’m thinking anymore.”
The urgent brushing slowed, his hands stroking the tumbled length of her hair, her fingertips gently grazing hischeekbone. No trace of the magic remained, yet they continued to touch each other, in the name of being…um…thorough, of course…andcautious, yes!…and goodness the stubble developing along his jaw made her fingers twinkle.
“You shouldn’t have risked yourself for me like that,” Gabriel said. It would have been a whisper had it not sounded rough, like pebbles shaken by a cold wind.
“Of course I should have,” Elodie replied. “Close your eyes.”
He gave her a fiercely suspicious look, she returned it with an exasperated one of her own, and he finally obeyed. With great gentleness, she brushed her thumb over the abundant, thick lashes of first one and then the other eye. It would have been a tragedy if magic burned that lavish darkness; she absolutelyhadto ensure it was safe.
“There,” she breathed, withdrawing her touch reluctantly. Gabriel opened his eyes again, the lashes swooping like a nightbird dreaming of the sun. He gazed at her for so long, she felt the muddle of her heart dissolve. They drifted close, lips parting, breath stilled in delicious anticipation…
And Gabriel jerked away. Elodie stared blankly as he stepped back, his usual frown gathering once more as he gazed out at the fields.
“Where are we?”
I wish I knew,she thought in wild, aching frustration. Then she turned to consider a more literal answer.
To her surprise, they stood on calm green land that swelled gently into low hills around them, dipped into shadows lined with beech and fir trees, and rang out in its secret places with the melodic commotion of roosting birds. Evening had begun to settle, soothing the air with tranquil duskiness. Plump clouds were thickening, darkening. To the northwest, an auraof brightness blanched part of the vast crimson sunset, and from this Elodie oriented herself, assuming it to be the city lights of Aberystwyth. Otherwise there were no signs of nearby civilization, and certainly none of Dôlylleuad.
“The energy from the muddle’s bursting must have propelled it across considerable distance while we were still inside,” she said. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“You needn’t sound so excited,” Gabriel grouched as he shook his coat to remove flakes of magic.
“But it’s a fascinating scientific discovery!”
“Which you only made because we were not killed by it.”
“Yes, yes.” She waved this point away.
“We’re going to have a long walk back to Dôlylleuad. In the dark. With magic erupting everywhere.”
Elodie grimaced at the thought. Then shook her head and smiled. “No, it’s worth it. I’ll get an article inThe Journal of Thaumaturgic Scienceswith this.”
“Hm.” Gabriel put on his coat, then took a map from an inner pocket. He frowned at it while Elodie gazed at the deepening southeastern horizon, seeing all the way to Oxford and some six months into the future, when the head of the geography department shook her hand and called her “as good as a man” for her work on thaumaturgic simulacrum theory.
It was an unlikely dream, and she gave a little melancholy sigh, although she could not quite bury it in a graveyard of hopes—for it was dreaming that had got her through the loneliness of childhood, when so often she felt like just another piece of luggage her parents had to take on the road…and through the loneliness of university, surrounded by men who wanted to see her fail…and she would not even think aboutthe loneliness of her marriage. Holding on to hope, she smiled at Gabriel. He looked beautiful, all shadowy and blushed in the last breath of day, and made luminous by her secret wishes.
Sensing her attention, he looked up from his map, and his eyes darkened. The blush flared.
“Ahem.”Clearing his throat, he turned toward the southeast as she had done, but with a far more somber expression, as if all his own dreams were nightmares. “From what I can tell,” he said, “we’re almost two miles northwest of Dôlylleuad. I’d rather not risk traveling in the dark. Besides, those clouds look like they’re going to rain. Therefore, I suggest that, unless we come across a farmhouse or mining operation within the next few minutes, we find somewhere to make camp until the morning.”
Elodie agreed, and they set off walking. “Ankle?” Gabriel asked brusquely.
“Still fine,” Elodie assured him. “It’s not sprained.”
“Hm.”
Silence descended. Gabriel read his map, and Elodie tried not to squirm as the rough fabric of her skirt rubbed against her bare skin. Then, with an abrupt swing of mood, she sighed aloud.
“What?” Gabriel asked disinterestedly, not looking up from his map.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Oh?”
