Leaving him a goatee and mustache, the wizard let him stand straight again scrutinizing the look of what she had made. "You can keep that for now. I have to give it some time to decide if I like it."
A slight smile touched his lips making her blush again. He didn't ask why it was a decision she needed to make. She took his hand and pointed towards the metal square and said, "Do it again. Maybe I will try later, but you need to practice it more while you are on a roll."
When he used his healing magic again, Haylee shivered but accepted the feel of it as she shared her power with him again.
Chapter 21- A Change of Opinion
Sebastian returned after his arrow struck the ground outside the king's city. His mind rushed across the hundreds of miles returning swifter than he had left, but noticed a change in the feeling of their camp immediately.
Ashleen moved to join him even as her eyes glanced to the pairings over her shoulder a couple times on the way.
"Something happened?" he asked looking from one pair to another watching Kharrik and Haylee standing before one of the squares in particular. The glow of a strong gate lit the forms. "Kharrik figured it out already?"
A smile pulled at the sides of her mouth at his comment and she spoke quietly to avoid anyone else hearing. "He got it the try after you left, but you should have seen Haylee's face after it happened."
Uncertain of what she meant, his face questioned her meaning without saying a thing. Ashleen leaned closer and said, "If I didn't know better, the look on her face would have made me think that they had just had sex. She was blushing and looked like he had touched her... deeply.
"He used his healing spell to join their magic tighter than before and ever since she's been quieter. It's like she's become shy or too worried to want to speak much anyway."
"He used a healing spell for connection. Haylee doesn't know any healing magic though, correct? I mean she's a fire wizard by nature, so it would be unlikely."
"No, she doesn't know any healing spells as far as I know," Ashleen replied glancing over at the two mentioned quickly trying not to get caught. "They've worked together and over half of their attempts will open a gate now. She hasn't tried for some reason though."
His attention lifted to look at the sun. "Mid afternoon here, I would guess it is getting close to dinner in White Hall at this time. Did you want to try using wind riding magic together before heading back or should we go now?"
Frowning at him in confusion, she noted, "You're changing the subject. Why?"
"Whatever is happening with those two is none of my business," he said with a shrug. "Healing magic can make you feel things. You know that, but they've known each other for less than a day. Let's not start setting a wedding date already, Ashleen," he finished with a chuckle.
"Now would you like to wind ride with me?" Sebastian asked offering her a hand.
Shaking her head at the man, the pretty little blonde took his hand before they joined their minds on the wind.
Returning to White Hall after a single short use of wind magic, where Sebastian essentially dragged Ashleen along behind him to let her experience the feeling of the adjustment of driving through the currents; they found that it was still a little before most of the school would actually eat dinner. After the time in the cold, the women talked each other into going to the bathhouse. It was less to get clean than to let the heated water seep into their cold limbs.
Soaking in the baths or using the steam room was one of the best ways to combat the cold of winter, so many of the students and faculty were fond of them at this time of year. Between studies and classes, the residents could make use of the multiple baths often making them a place to gather for good friends.
Ashleen and Serrena were a little surprised that Haylee had suggested the idea even before their return. Shaylene was virtually ordered to join them, most likely to keep the girl away from Xander; Ashleen thought.
Though they didn't have any changes of clothes, the two women living in Hala currently, didn't mind taking a little time to soak before dinner.
Haylee didn't speak a lot and even when the others spoke of how the day had gone, the fire wizard appeared mostly lost in thought even when she answered. After the four had refreshed themselves, they dressed and returned to find the remainder of their team. While Haylee stayed near her apprentice as if she feared the girl would run to Xander the first chance she got, her mind seemed less attentive beyond keeping her body physically near the younger girl.
Kharrik sat beside Elzen as they spoke with Sebastian trying to iron out the use of portal spells. Having less connection with the new teammate, speaking of magic was the main thing they had in common since most of their lives had been spent as mages.
When it came time to dance, Shaylene ignored her mentor and didn't wait for Xander to ask to dance with her. Slightly rebellious, the girl knew that even Haylee couldn't argue with their right to be together on the dance floor.
Ashleen moved with Sebastian enjoying the music of the trio brought in from the city. Her attention slipped towards Haylee several times before the wilder spoke to him on the topic.
"Haylee seems distracted. Even in the baths she was barely talking. She keeps an eye on Shaylene, but even then it is like more of a reflex than concentrated attention."
His eyes looked for the wizard through the crowd. The nightly dances were always popular and one of the few times you might see wizards, mages and soldiers dancing in mixed pairings. Those brave enough from each group didn't worry if a girl was a wizard or mage if she was pretty enough. Brave men could win over women no matter their looks or ability to dance.
Haylee sat looking distracted for awhile longer before the woman stood and searched around her. She wasn't very tall and even the youngest of the students were as tall, or taller, than the petite wizard. Even with her limitations, she suddenly appeared to find the person she was looking for after a moment.
Sebastian and Ashleen watched her track down Kharrik where the man was talking with a group of falcons. The mage was asked to dance surprising his friends by the audacity of the wizard woman. Haylee was attractive enough to probably have been popular with the men of the school, especially with the wizards. Wizards tended to stick to their own as they matured, but the woman didn't seem to care about any of the usual social orders.
"Well, she didn't take long," Ashleen commented with a smile.
"She didn't approach him like someone who really wanted to dance though. Haylee has a mission," her partner said with a shake of his head. He just hoped that Kharrik was ready for whatever Haylee was about to hit him with as they danced.
"Would you dance with me, Kharrik?" the fire wizard asked the taller mage bluntly. While his fellow battle mages appeared surprised, Haylee noticed that Kharrik seemed to expect her to come to him.
He gave the woman a nod and replied, "It would be my pleasure."
They had never danced together before, though the mage had been at White Hall for a decently long time. He had arrived at the school late fall, about the time Haylee and Shaylene had returned from Windmeer and Blackwall, their detours after the battle at the Twin Towers. That battle had been ferocious and the fire wizard probably should have died. Certainly if Sebastian and the other gate wizards hadn't brought reinforcements North Wall would have been destroyed along with its defenders. The wall between the Twins had been broken, but the wizards and their reinforcements had used their magic to hold the line.
More wizards would later help rebuild and reinforce the wall there, but by then Haylee had been injured. She never saw what happened to Shaylene or to Xander either. She had awoken in Blackwall in a hospital bed having been brought there during the battle to tend to her wounds that would have killed her if they didn't have access to portal magic. If the attack had been just a year earlier, Haylee knew that she would have died.
While the wizard knew some of the current dances, she wasn't proficient as some. She didn't socialize regularly, especially with mages or
soldiers. Haylee had always tried to insulate herself against the attention of men. When so many women were stupidly letting their emotions get the best of them as apprentices or even as wizards, she had refused to give in to such things. Her magic and Southwall had always been her priorities, even when her friends couldn't understand why she refused to have fun.
"My friends were commenting on the shave," Kharrik said trying to make a little conversation as the two moved along to the music. They moved well together and the pairing felt natural despite the height difference.
"And what was their opinion?" Haylee asked calmly without looking up to see her handiwork. She had barely looked at his face as they danced as she turned to the side to look past his arm at the dancers around them.
He laughed. "A couple of them thought the timing was odd. They said I should have waited until spring came around again. They're men though so saying another man's beard looks good or bad tends to go against our code. Only if it was a drastic mess, would another man warn his friend that he looked disgusting."
Glancing up at him, Haylee evaluated what she had done again. "It looks better than a full beard. I am still tempted to bare that chin. It makes me wonder why you hide your face. You don't appear to be ugly."
Laughing longer at the woman's blunt comments, Kharrik responded, "Sometimes a man just grows a beard to be warm. I don't have to look like a monster to grow one. It happens quite naturally, even if I don't try actually."
The wizard frowned slightly at his humor focusing on her. "I know how a beard grows, even if I am not a man. My father always had one when I was a child. I never really liked it, but it is how I remember him even now."
"Your mother never made him shave?"
Her eyes dropped to the fabric of his shirt in front of her for a moment. "I was pretty young when she died. He didn't remarry before I was found with magic by the harvest. Maybe if he takes another wife one day, she will make him shave."
"I am sorry to hear about your mother," the man responded as most people would to someone's loss.
"It was a long time ago. Leaving to be a wizard means I barely notice whether I left one parent or two. Those taken from whole families with two parents and however many siblings will miss them the same as just leaving one."
"You don't have any siblings?"
"I have an older sister and brother. Neither had magic in them, but my sister was already married by the time I was taken to White Hall." She glanced up at the man finding his eyes staring down at her still. Though Haylee wanted to ask about his family in turn, the wizard fought the urge and said no more.
"Both my parents are alive. I have three younger siblings. Contact with them is sporadic, but my younger brother was taken to Red Hall as a wizard. With Rolan as a wizard, he probably became the favored son; but they still write on occasion.
"It isn't like I dutifully keep them up on what I do either."
"Few wizards or mages keep close to their families for long, unless they quit after their basic training. Almost no one gets to leave before they're twenty-one though," the little blonde stated before shaking her head. "Of course, you know that as well as I do."
"Few keep strong relationships in their guilds for long either. I've lost track of more friends than I care to count," Kharrik agreed.
The musicians stopped to take a break and Kharrik led Haylee to the classroom side of the hall instead of towards the refreshment tables where a crowd quickly formed. Haylee didn't fight or question the man's choice.
Reaching up to stroke the skin of his cheek and jaw, the woman commented, "It's still smooth. That's the benefit of using magic to remove all that hair."
"But you still haven't decided if you like it?" he asked with a smile for the woman.
Her eyes were attentive, though she tried to keep them cool as the wizard observed him. "It is better. You shouldn't hide your face so much. It is a good face."
"You have a good face too," Kharrik replied maintaining that smile, which seemed amused by her as well. Haylee disliked being made fun of, but she wasn't sure if that was the reason for his look.
"Thank you," the woman said coolly.
Placing a finger in front of his lower lip and touching the remaining beard, Kharrik looked thoughtful before asking, "So what will make you decide if you like the new beard?"
Nervousness made her mouth go dry in an instant. "I am not sure."
Leaning closer, the mage brought his chin closer to her level. "Well, I am leaving the choice up to you then. Let me know if I should let it grow it back or cut it all off. A woman tends to know these things better than a man. We just become lazy about it and let it grow."
Her left hand brushed at the hairs on his chin with the back of her fingers. Sliding along his bared jaw, her fingers brushed the lobe of his ear before cupping the back of his neck. Her other hand touched his chest with the palm feeling the warmth of the man even through his thick shirt.
When she pulled him closer, it was from impulse not thought. Haylee's lips touched his in a kiss. It was quick as the woman pulled away with a frown.
"Is something wrong?" he questioned in surprise at the sudden release. Her right hand came up as the fire wizard channeled the ancient words that concentrated flame around her skin. Quickly the woman wiped away the mustache and remaining beard. Once clear of the dark hairs, Haylee pulled him close to kiss him again.
"That's better," she said breathlessly. Her lips barely pulled away before the little blonde pulled him close once again.
Ashleen pulled Sebastian to the side watching Haylee being led to the doors leading to the wizards' dorms and classrooms. The two were barely into the shadows between the lights in the dining room and the lamps in the halls. It was less noticeable for two people to stand in those shadows, but for someone trying to observe them it wasn't nearly secluded enough to avoid their attention.
"You shouldn't be watching them," Sebastian said shaking his head at the girl. Ashleen remained standing beside him. Her legs draped her robes over his right leg as if to trap him beside her as her left hand rested on his shoulder. It was practically an unconscious proclamation that he was hers alone.
Lowering the cup in her right hand, Ashleen didn't look away in spite of his words. She watched the first failed kiss with a slight frown. When Haylee's hand glowed with orange flame clearing away Kharrik's beard before the wizard kissed him again, the girl nearly cheered. "Is Falconi Garrett a known matchmaker? If he isn't, maybe that should be his new calling.
"I knew that Haylee was quiet because she was trying to figure out if she was in love with him this afternoon!"
Sebastian looked over at the new couple before trying to look at the dancers already moving back to the cleared area of the floor to dance once more. The musicians had returned to their places with glasses in hand that they placed on small tables placed there for that need. Music would begin to play in just a minute or two.
"It might hurt her credibility with Shaylene and Xander if she's found kissing Kharrik," the owl noted finding the apprentice and cadet standing outside of the dancers as they waited for the next song. So far they had yet to spot the couple kissing outside of the room. "Of course Haylee might say that she has already finished her studies, so it isn't the same. She's also old enough to decide not to go too far. Hormones aren't quite as strong after their teens, right?"
Giggling at him, Ashleen's attention returned to the mage and asked, "Have your hormones changed significantly since you were a teenager? They are only a few years older than you are."
"And you're a year younger than me and can barely control yourself," he laughed trying to make fun of the pretty wilder.
"Well, that answers that then, doesn't it?" the girl asked before leaning down to kiss him in that moment.
Elzen and Serrena appeared just moments before the musicians began to play again.
Serrena asked, "How late do you plan to stay? Are we all going to see the king of Kardor?"
Looking like he would rathe
r skip such a thing as Elzen heard her questions, the mage added, "If you go in the morning to meet with him, that means no one will be able to practice; so the kids could stay here most likely."
The other three questioned his use of terms for the younger members of their team since Elzen was the next youngest of their group and often acted more childish besides.
Sebastian avoided looking towards Haylee and Kharrik who remained in the hallway talking now. Whether they would start kissing again, he couldn't know and didn't want to draw attention to the partners. "I wonder if I should mention this to King Alain or at least the ravens first? If I offer to teach gate magic to Kardor, they might not appreciate it being done without their consent."
"You shouldn't have to answer to them," Elzen replied with a frown. "It is your magic, and Darius's, to teach to whoever you want. The high wizard will certainly bring it back to Eirdhen when he returns home. The white wizards and ravens can't think that they can control the spread of the spells, can they?"
Ashleen appeared to agree with the mage and added, "You've already brought the stones into Kardor and told my father that you are planning to share the magic. You aren't going to change your mind now, are you?"
Sighing at the questions, Sebastian found himself conflicted. "Like I told your father, Southwall and the other allies don't know the magic bound to the lodestones. Teaching Kardorian wizards how to find them means they can't travel to Southwall either. The kings of both nations will likely want to weigh in whether they feel that comfortable with their alliance, I think."
The political issues weighing them down, it felt like they should close their night down and return to Hala. Just when Sebastian started to rise and suggest it, Elzen surprised the owl by saying, "So do you think Haylee is going to be nicer to Xander and Shaylene now that she's been kissing Karr?"
Battle Mage Bonds (Tales of Alus Book 13) Page 28