“Seems really stupid when you frame it that way, but he apparently thought so.” Milo shrugged. “Even thought a love spell would work on me, for some reason. Like, he was honestly shocked I hated his guts. I still can’t believe he thought it would even work, considering we fought every time we met after our breakup, but what can I say, man’s delusional. But then, he was never the type to let evidence influence his opinions.”
Ray croaked out sounds but couldn’t seem to put together words.
Rowan, upon thinking things over, realized he should have asked more questions there. “I thought the love spell didn’t work because of your personal barrier?”
“Eh, the barrier was actually on the fritz because of its age, so it wasn’t covering me as completely as it should have. It’s why he could ambush me to begin with. The barrierhelpeddeflectthe spell, certainly, but it would never have taken root because of how disgusted I am with him.”
Troy paused in lifting his tankard, eyes sharp on Milo. “So a love spell can’t work on someone who doesn’t already like you? Then what’s the point of the spell?”
“Desperation,” Milo said, tone desert dry. “Some fool couldn’t win his true love and crafted the spell. It’s kind of a running joke? No one who really understands magic would even be remotely tempted to use it. Really, the only ones who would try to use it are the third-rate mages.”
“Like Andrew,” Ray said, filling in the gap without a problem.
“Like Andrew. Like, I’m not bragging when I say this, okay? Making that clear. It’s just facts. The reason why he became an Advocate to begin with is because he’s not a very strong mage. He never put in the right amount of study and practice to go above Fifth Circle. Some people don’t have the talent to advance, but really, most of it boils down to hard work.” Milo shook his head, exasperated. “It’s not like he was too stupid or wasn’t talented enough, either. I used to have the worst arguments with him about studying for the next circle. Truth was, he was too lazy to advance his magic.”
Ray snorted into his glass. “No surprise there.”
Rowan thought about the implications. Milo must be talented to be a Second Circle Mage, that went without saying, but over the past two weeks, he’d seen Nottle and Milo talk magic multiple times. It was clear Milo possessed more than talent—heunderstoodmagic. He wasn’t a parrot using tried and true spells; he knew how to craft his own, how to adapt things to fit the circumstance. It was part of the reason why, on a professional level, Rowan was so incredibly thankful Milo was staying. Gravegarde needed a mage of his caliber.
Troy leveled a finger at Milo. “Make sure to hammer that into my girls’ heads. I don’t think you’ll have much issue, as they’reboth hard workers and very eager to learn. Before you offered to teach them, Roana was pestering me near daily to send her to Goldguard to study. But still, emphasize that the more they understand, the more powerful they’ll be.”
Milo casually saluted him with two fingers off the forehead. “Done and done. Shouldn’t be hard. They’re very eager, and they’re quick studies. They’ve already picked up loads of things from me and only some of it was intentionally taught. I realized before we left that I’m suddenly being used as an example? Not sure how I feel about this.”
Rowan snorted. His lover was unpredictable at moments and a chaotic whirlwind on the best of days, but he was reliable. He let Milo’s comment pass. “Well, we’ve got a hearing to attend in two or three days—I’ll bet two—and then once Latimer is sentenced, we should be able to go straight home.”
Milo happily shimmied in his seat. “Can’t wait to put the asshole behind me. Ray, I’ll be clearing out my room.”
“I figured,” Ray responded, wholly unbothered.
Their plan was to pack up while waiting on the hearing, which was fine, but having to confirm once more, Rowan asked, “You’re sure everything will fit in the cart?”
“Pretty sure. I took most of my belongings up with me to begin with.” Milo shrugged. “Whatever is left isn’t something I’m super attached to, so if we need to sell or donate things, that’s fine. I won’t be broken up about it.”
“I’m also thinking of all the items you want for your workspace and lessons.”
Milo paused, mouth open, brows twisting up in realization. “Oh. Uh. I take that back. Two carts.”
That was rather what Rowan figured.
Three days proved almost enough time to get a second cart and draft horse, pack up what remained in Ray’s house, and do the necessary shopping. Milo had made sure to drag Rowan over to introduce him to Ethel, as well, and their visit had been surprisingly nice. Ethel had loved Rowan in the first minute of meeting him, which had shocked the hell out of him. Rowan hadn’t suddenly become less scary just because he was dating Milo, but he quickly realized Milo and Ethel were two peas in a pod, both the type to take others in stride. After that, he just sat back and enjoyed the show as they talked nonstop for three hours.
Rowan hadn’t expected Milo to manage all of the shopping, packing, and visits, but because he and Troy had helped, they’d pulled it off. Within a day of them being in the city, Milo had received a summons to come and testify, so they’d known it would happen in four days. Rowan had been surprised at the speed, but Advocate Nottle had arranged for a trial before they ever left Gravegarde, so perhaps he shouldn’t have been.
The timing worked out near perfectly, with Milo fully packed and ready to leave the night before the trial. Aside from a few last-minute things, anyway.
This morning, though, Rowan was in for quite the surprise. Milo had gotten up early to prepare, and Rowan sensed nerves there, as Milo wanted this trial to go well. He did too, for that matter. But what surprised him was seeing Milo in full mage robes.
Normally his lover wore a simple tunic and scuffed boots, and maybe a stained apron as he ran around doing his magic. He’d even put a headband on a few times to keep his bangs off his forehead while he worked. Milo, while working, didn’t give two fucks how he looked.
But this Milo was an entirely different creature. His platinum blond hair was slicked back in a swoop framing his cleanlyshaven face. The robes were dark blue and the base layer was fitted to him, the outer coat swirling about his ankles in an almost dramatic fashion. On the lapel of the outer coat was a full insignia done in silver thread showing his rank. He looked powerful just standing there, like the master of magic he was.
He was, in a word, enchanting.
Rowan wanted to eat him up so badly.
Unfortunately, they had no time. Rowan had risen with him, also carefully dressing, as he’d likely be asked to give testimony too. Plus, he didn’t want to embarrass Milo when Milo was clearly dressed to impress.
They left their inn room, joining Troy in the taproom for breakfast. Troy, too, had dressed very nicely today. Knowing they’d be in a courtroom, they’d brought formal clothes to wear. His best friend, of course, wasn’t used to seeing Rowan with perfectly tidied hair, as normally he just let it hang loose, but today Rowan wanted to look as professional as possible. Seeing him all cleaned up brought on the teasing immediately.
