Page 24 of The Soulmate Bakery

I twisted on my heel and tried walking away from him. ‘Can’t we just go for our second lesson, please? Let’s just go to the library, where I’m sure there will be more people who witnessed my public humiliation. And maybe this time we’ll do the summoning spell, and I’ll make the books burst into flames or –’

‘Reverie,’ Orion was in front of me in a flash. My eyes widened seeing his wings unfurled, in all their glory behind his strong back, silver and almost as wide as the street. I didn’t realize how fast I’d walked until he’d literally flown in front to stop me. I tried not to gawk at him, but I hadn’t seen his wings full-fledged in a while.

‘Why don’t we go for a little adventure?’ Orion said, and he cast his wings down.

I watched as they retracted, feeling slightly bereft as they disappeared from view. ‘What?’

He stepped closer, and then, in what can only be considered a mind-bending turn of events, Orion leaned forward to grab my backpack, sliding it off my shoulder and slinging it on to his. I watched, dumbfounded, as he walked away.

‘Where are you going? What about Raven and Sofia?’ I called out to him, but he didn’t even turn to look back at me.

‘They can wait. Now hustle, Reverie. I am not slowing down for you!’

We were standing before the Wishing Well Bakery – my safe haven, my solace, my escape. It was closed today, because the bakery was always shut on Mondays.

‘Why are we here?’ I narrowed my gaze at Orion. ‘I already told Ivy I’m taking a sabbatical to focus on my spellcasting.’

‘Because I’m hungry,’ Orion said, shrugging like it was nothing.

I scoffed loudly, disbelievingly.

‘Famished, in fact,’ he added, and then said, ‘You have the keys to this place, don’t you?’

‘You want to enter an establishment while it’s closed?’ I asked, incredulously. ‘You, Orion Hawthorne, stickler for rules, want to break in –’

‘Hey,’ Orion interrupted, and he rocked on his heels slightly. ‘It’s not really breaking in, if we have a key.’

I couldn’t help it. His words, the way they echoed my own thoughts over a week ago as I stood in this exact spot, made a laugh burst out of me. Orion’s mouth pulled up into a reluctant smile as he gestured hurry up at me.

I don’t know why I didn’t fight it more, but I reached in my pocket for my keys, slipping the one for the bakery into the lock; it opened with a click, and I let the two of us in.

‘So, you think your boss would kill you for breaking in?’ Orion mock-whispered, as I led him to the kitchens.

‘I think she’d probably tell my mother,’ I retorted. ‘So yeah, she’d get me killed one way or the other.’

Orion huffed a laugh and I felt warm down my spine; I guided him to the back kitchen and switched on the lights.

‘So, why are we here then?’ I asked, going to the opposite side of the steel counter that divided the kitchen. I planted both my hands down on the cool surface and looked at Orion. ‘Because, if you’re actually hungry, I could whip up one of the recipes I’d been thinking of for our little arrangement.’

I stretched the word arrangement as if to make it sound like a joke, but I was nervous about it. We hadn’t talked about the Treasure Trove yet, but I knew it was coming. I was still worried about keeping it a secret from Ivy.

‘We’ll talk about my part of the bargain in a moment.’ Orion waved his hand flippantly. ‘Why don’t we do the summoning spell again?’

He took a step away from the metal counter and held a cookbook that had been left there to his chest.

‘We could have just done this at the library,’ I said, stalling. I didn’t want to try the spell again – contrary to popular belief, experiencing disappointment again and again did not make you stronger. It just lowered your expectations.

‘Because you feel safe here, Reverie,’ Orion said, his voice low and smooth like buttercream. ‘You don’t have to be scared of your magic or worry about people watching you.’

‘I’m not scared,’ I retorted, indignantly. ‘I’ve been casting spells since I was a kid.’

‘I’ve been shifting into dragon form and flying since I was a kid,’ Orion countered. ‘Doesn’t mean I don’t feel fear every time I leap into the air. And that’s OK – it’s OK to be afraid of the abilities we have, to feel the pressure of everyone watching us, as long as that fear doesn’t stop us from pursuing our full potential.’

‘I don’t want to get it wrong again,’ I murmured, the truth slipping past my defences. ‘I’m tired of always messing things up.’

‘You’re not going to mess up,’ he replied, and then immediately corrected himself. ‘Scratch that, you might mess up again. But that’s what I’m here for. If you don’t trust yourself, then at least trust that I’ll help you figure it out.’

I looked at the cookbook he was holding to his chest. The air smelled sweet, like sugar, and familiar like a blanket wrapped around my shoulders.