Page 18 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘Were you thinking about this guy you claim is your soulmate?’ Orion asked, eyebrow raised and a new sharpness in his tone that made me feel like I’d done something wrong. There was the Orion I knew so well.

My cheeks went hot. ‘No, it’s just – I – well – I didn’t think you were watching me so closely.’

His gaze narrowed. ‘Did you think I wasn’t going to take this seriously, Reverie? It’s my responsibility to help you fix this curse. So, if you weren’t daydreaming, what was it?’

‘I don’t know. I just started getting overwhelmed,’ I said, deciding to be truthful. ‘All I could think about was everything that could go wrong.’

Orion hummed thoughtfully and moved to take the seat opposite me again, drumming his fingers on the table. On the top side of his palm, silver dragon scales erupted and fell with the motion. The sight of him bringing his dragon side forward so effortlessly made me inexplicably warm. His control was … impressive.

‘All right, let’s try something,’ he said suddenly, and raised a hand. ‘Cast a spell all around, a bubble of quiet and no sound.’

It happened like a lightning bolt in the sky; one moment, I could hear every creak, every whistle, every whisper of the library, and then I couldn’t. The world around me turned to a hush, and, when I looked around, everything in my line of sight was blurred. The only thing in focus was Orion.

‘Cast the spell again,’ Orion said, sliding the cookbook back towards himself. He held it to his chest. ‘And this time, remember, there’s no one watching you. No one listening. They can’t. I’ve made sure of that.’

It was easier this time, I’ll admit. Orion had silenced the world around me, and that took away part of what had shifted my focus. But he couldn’t quieten the voice in my head – the one that kept showing, in bright detail, all the ways I was bound to mess this spell up too.

Still, after the third attempt, the book had slid from Orion’s grasp halfway across the table. It was an improvement.

‘Well, Reverie, I think you should start thanking me now,’ he began, leaning across the table to grab the book. ‘Told you I could crack your spellcasting issue.’

‘It only got halfway,’ I pointed out to him.

‘Which is closer than it got the time before,’ he replied simply. ‘You’re going to be able to cast the soulmate spell by the end of next month. And until then, every lesson will be about strengthening your spellcasting. Summoning first, protection next, healing for a final touch and then the actual soulmate spell.’

‘Sounds fun,’ I muttered.

‘Reverie,’ Orion said, firmly. ‘I wouldn’t have agreed to help if I didn’t think you were capable. If I thought this would only lead to the town suffering for longer, I wouldn’t have thought twice about telling your mother. So, if you can’t trust yourself to be ready, trust that I wouldn’t risk all of this if I didn’t believe in you.’

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t say anything. His confidence had floored me.

‘Now, let’s map out the rest of our lessons,’ Orion said, pulling out a sheet of lined paper from his notebook. ‘You’re asking for a little break from the Wishing Well, yes?’

‘Temporarily,’ I remind him. ‘I’ll tell Ivy about it when I go in for my shift today.’

‘Right, and when do you usually have these shifts?’

‘After school normally,’ I reply. ‘And on weekends if Ivy’s strapped for help.’

‘Good,’ Orion says, noting that down. ‘We’ll structure it like this: after school, we do spellcasting lessons. Twice a week, you have a shift at the Treasure Trove – where maybe some of our spellcasting lessons can be of help. Two birds, one stone.’

‘I hate that saying,’ I told him, off-handedly. ‘Why are people hitting birds anyway?’

‘Fine,’ Orion retorted. ‘Two witches, one stone.’

‘You think a stone could take down a witch?’ I scoffed, arms folding over my chest.

‘A hex that glues your mouth shut could take you down,’ Orion mused. ‘Could you imagine? You’d go mad without the ability to talk.’

‘Bold words coming from the guy who said he loved to hear me talk.’

As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to snatch them back. I watched Orion as he breathed in sharply, but thankfully, I wouldn’t have to hear his response to my clumsy reminder of the past, because the bubble of quiet around us shattered and I looked round to see Raven standing at our table.

‘You two both unscathed?’ she asked, in lieu of a hello.

I didn’t look at Orion, too afraid of what I’d find looking back at me. Instead, I tried for nonchalance. ‘He might have a mild concussion. I hit him with a book.’

‘He’s got a thick head,’ Raven retorted, quick as ever. ‘He’ll survive.’