Chapter One
Autumn
Golden leaves crunched under my boots as I made my way through Kalon Gardens. The bus took me all the way to the other side of Kirkmuir’s best-kept park, and then I only had to walk past the Silverlight Theatre and across Finnegan Square to get to work.
I stopped for a moment to inhale the fresh morning air.
Autumn was my favourite time of the year, and not just because I had been named after the season.
The crisp air, the unbelievably blue skies, the rainy afternoons, and being able to bundle up in skirts, tights, and cosy jumpers gave autumn its own kind of magic.
Not a lot of people were out at this time of day, and I loved to see Kirkmuir wake up. I’d always been an early riser.
This is exactly why I changed jobs.
My boss was happy that I took the morning shifts at Scales & Steam.
By the time Maeve arrived—with her Dragon partner, Taran, who flew her to Kirkmuir every day—I’d dealt with the first rush of customers.
Yet on the other side of the change back to standard time, sunrise crept away from when I started working. Only a faint grey hue lay over the sky. The park was bathed in the streetlamps’ warm glow, and, at least here, I wasn’t scared. The ornate wrought-iron lamps were like my beacons in the dawn dark.
I hadn’t even realised when I’d asked Maeve to give me the morning shift that soon I would be making my way to work in the dark.
Not my brightest moment.
What adult in their right mind was afraid of the dark?
Me, apparently.
I sighed and trudged on.
On top of the time change, a sign had gone up at my bus stop overnight. The construction site for the new Nøkken headquarters and warehouse was well under way, but they needed to block off the main street through Gillam Park. Unfortunately, that was the route my bus took and so starting Monday bus number 131 was cancelled.
They suggested the route that went past Bee’s old house as an alternative, but the nearest stop was 20 minutes away on foot, and now it would be in the dark of winter. And by the time myregular bus line would be back in business it would be spring, and therefore getting brighter during my morning commute.
Just grand.
I pushed my worries away to deal with them later and sped up when the archway that led out of the park came into view. A few moments later, I was past the grand Silverlight Theatre and onto Finnegan Square. Kirkmuir’s city centre slowly woke up around me. A team of cleaners emptied the bins and swept the cobblestones. On the far end of the street, someone walked their large dog and the first sparrows twittered around between two crows, trying to get the last breadcrumbs people had dropped.
“Morning,” one of the team greeted me when I passed.
“Hi, Beth.” She and her colleagues were among the regulars and were usually my first customers of the day.
I breathed easier by the time I unlocked the door to Scales & Steam. It was my haven in the darkness. After I went through my ritual, I finally felt grounded: lights first, then turning on the machines, music last.
As usual, I brewed the first coffee of the day for myself and enjoyed it in the few spare minutes before the cafe opened. Wednesday shifts came with anaddedbonus. That was the day when our new roaster brought us the coffee for the week.
A gentle knock on the door made me look up. I smiled when I spotted him through the glass.
Ross Graham’s shell was all gruff and grumpy, but I was sure the man was actually as soft as his long fur looked. And hot.
Gosh, he’s so hot.
I hurried over to let him in.
He gave me an awkward shake of the head and the curve of his horns caught the light as he turned. They were pale against his russet hair.
Swoon.
