Page 22 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘A bad friend would’ve left you here; a good friend is going to take you to Charmed & Toasty and pay for your overpriced vanilla-bean latte,’ Raven said, genuinely.

‘Fine,’ I sighed. ‘Can we get out of here before he comes out?’

‘Charmed & Toasty is acceptable then?’ Raven replied, shaking her empty cup in front of me.

‘Charmed & Toasty it is,’ I agreed, and then sighed. ‘But we’re not talking about what happened.’

Raven’s cackle was loud, and she threaded her arm through mine. ‘Oh, we are so talking about what happened.’

‘I hate you,’ I said, but there was no heat to my words.

‘You love me,’ Raven replied. ‘Exactly,’ Raven agreed with herself, and then launched into a story she’d heard from one of her classmates to distract me. I could almost pretend that humiliating moment in the Maple Mart never happened.

Almost. If only I hadn’t looked over my shoulder to see Orion stepping out of the Maple Mart. Our eyes met for a split second, and it told me everything I needed to know.

He’d seen me in the store and knew exactly who I thought my soulmate was.

CHAPTER EIGHT

So, turns out it’s really hard to pay attention in class when you’ve got a town-wide curse to break. Especially a class like charms. It’s also not helped by the fact that the class is taught by Professor Helena, an elderly witch who has a keen eye for detail and patience as thin as spider silk.

‘Ms Reverie,’ Professor Helena called, her voice sharp and pointed like the edge of a needle. ‘Can you please recite the correct spell for charming away dust?’

I clutched my notebook in front of me, which was blank, and willed for someone in the staffroom to cause a non-threatening fire that required evacuation.

But my rescue didn’t come in the form of hunky firefighters; it came through a notebook being tilted in my direction.

Sofia Fable’s wings were pale green and translucent, etched with thin spider-silk swirls; she wore a long, dark-green bellflower skirt and a sage-green sweater. Her hair was pulled back from her face, and on her desk was an enormous stack of books. Her gaze was trained in front of her, but her neat handwriting was visible to my quick glance. I was grateful that the spell was in English – like most spells were. The truly complex ones were often in Latin or older languages that took an age to decipher.

‘Sweep, sweep, sweep away, make every cobweb and dust bunny scatter,’ I recited, and felt that thrill of watching Professor Helena’s disapproving mouth twitch ever so slightly.

‘So something did penetrate through that daydream haze of yours,’ Professor Helena said, with her eyebrows raised. ‘Would you mind coming and demonstrating? These books on my desk are looking quite dusty.’

I would mind. I would very, very much mind.

My legs felt shaky as I stood and made my way to the front of the classroom; no one said anything, but I could hear every squeak of the chair, every sigh. Professor Helena moved to the side, giving me an encouraging smile that did nothing to make me feel better.

I looked down at the stack of books on Professor Helena’s desk like they were going to transform into little gremlins and bite me. Still, I tried to focus my magic and block everyone out, like that bubble Orion had created for me.

But it wasn’t working. It was hard to ignore your surroundings with the entire class watching you.

‘Sweep –’ I began, and my voice shook ever so slightly. And that’s when my second lifesaver came in the form of the bell ringing, loudly, cutting me off. I felt my eyes slide shut, and the relief that flooded me was potent.

‘Saved,’ Professor Helena murmured, as she let me go back to my seat.

When I reached my desk, the rest of the class had already begun stuffing their books in their bags, racing out of the door for the freedom of the end of the day. I waited while Sofia packed up, before tapping her gently on the shoulder.

‘Thanks,’ I said, lightly.

Sofia’s smile was kinder than I thought it would be. ‘No problem. Believe me, I know how boring charms classes can be.’

‘So,’ I said, as we walked behind the throng of students making their escape. ‘How are you settling in?’

‘Pretty good,’ Sofia said, in a way that made it sound like she repeated the same thing over and over. I did my best Raven-single-eyebrow-raise that always got me talking, and Sofia laughed. ‘OK, it’s been interesting, but I came to Maple Falls to have a new start, so interesting is better than what I had before: boring.’

‘Boring?’ I questioned, curiosity burning. I’d never left Maple Falls and was dying to know about the other magical towns dotted around.

‘Boring,’ Sofia echoed. ‘Rose Glenn was just too simple – that’s why I left when my grandmother offered. Maple Falls is already more intriguing, especially with that rogue love spell going on.’