Page 39 of Oh, Sacred Dark
Roman nodded to himself, and Tyler repressed the desperate urge to praise him, to run his fingers through Roman’s hair and stroke his neck in a simple show of affection.
It had been a long time since Tyler felt those Dom impulses so strongly.
“I, uh…” Tyler cleared his throat. “I’ve always admired people with Listening Magic. It’s a big part of why Archie became High Witch—it’s really prized by our coven.”
Roman turned to him with wide eyes. “Why?” he asked incredulously, his face closing off a moment later.
Tyler jumped in before Roman could apologise for his reaction. “Listening is the one thing that can’t be selfish. Every other type of magic requires some type of bonding, obviously—anchoring yourself in the thing you want to influence—but then you apply your own will to it. Listening, though…it’s all about seeing further into what’s outside of you, of giving something else a voice.”
Roman blinked up at him. “You can use Listening to do…to hurt people. Can steal secrets from people, use knowledge to manipulate, to…” He squeezed his hands into fists. “No magic is more morally good than another—it’s always down to the user.”
Now it was Tyler’s turn to stand there stunned, a dumb expression no doubt on his face. He’d never heard Roman speak so much or so passionately. “I guess you’re right. That’s a good point, I just…Listening Magic is so rare, and I’ve always seen people use it to empathise instead of manipulate. There’s a strong tradition and education here about it.”
Roman turned back to the potato in his hand, looking oddly mundane in his long fingers. “That’s good. I’m glad.”
“We have a section in our texts dedicated to the subject. Only members of the coven can access it, but maybe when you join officially? If you still want to, obviously, after the six months are up,” Tyler suggested.
“I…High Witch Archie has to decide too, though, right? Whether I stay or not?” Roman asked softly.
“Unless you do a one-eighty and attack someone, he’s going to welcome you with open arms. Seriously—there’s no question about that.”
Roman didn’t believe him; it was apparent in how his mouth tightened, but there was nothing Tyler could do about that.
They finished with the potatoes, Tyler following Roman’s instructions as they prepared the rest of the meal. They added the salmon ten minutes before the roast was done, making a quick salad while the rest of it cooked.
“Holy fuck,” Tyler said when he finally tried it. He would never have thought up that combination of ingredients, but the end result was delicious. “Roman, this issogood. Damn.”
Roman’s cheeks flared red. “You helped.”
“Sure I did, and I’m patting myself on the back for such immaculately peeled potatoes, but I’m still going to compliment you for putting it all together. Damn, and what did you put in this salad to make it so good? It doesn’t even have dressing. I mean, not like the thick one that comes in a bottle.”
Roman’s face twitched. “That kind of dressing isn’t good for you. I added lemon and pepper to the oil, vinegar, and salt.”
Tyler grinned. “Sorry, did I offend your salad-dressing sensibilities? Are you going to lecture me if I get a bottle of ranch?”
Roman scoffed and then froze, catching himself, but even that small second of defiance was amazing to witness.
“No, it’s nice that you know so much.” Tyler smiled. “This is a million times better than ranch. You have, like, a gift.”
Roman’s face, which had turned a normal colour, reddened again. Tyler decided that, as long as it wasn’t due to humiliation, it was an incredible sight.
Roman didn’t even protest when Tyler declared he was doing most of the cleaning. He helped tidy up the kitchen counter they had eaten at, placing what little had been left over in Tupperware to be stored when the food cooled down.
“I heard that it’s actually better if you put it in the fridge right away, but it just feels too weird if I store it when it’s still hot,” Tyler said as they finished up.
Roman wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, that’s just weird.”
Tyler buzzed with how unguarded Roman appeared. “You wanna chill for a bit? Watch a movie?”
Roman nodded, hesitantly closing up as they made their way to the couch. Even Tyler couldn’t help but tense as he remembered their scene a few days ago—as simple as it had been, the feeling of it still squirmed under his skin.
Tyler decided to give Roman a break and choose a movie himself—some buddy comedy that didn’t use dynamic stereotypes as a gag.
“You want anything to drink? Popcorn?” Tyler offered as the beginning credits bloomed on the screen.
“No, thank you,” Roman replied stiffly.
Tyler had already seen the film, but he tried to concentrate on it anyway—truly, he did. The problem was that Roman kept fidgeting on the other end of the couch, which Tyler had never seen him do before.
