Page 34 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘Yes,’ I said, softly. I swallowed tightly, forcing myself to speak. To grow a spine. To remind myself that Silas was just a boy. Who I liked a lot. But a boy, nonetheless. ‘They’re apple flavoured. And they’re spelled for good luck. It won’t – won’t change the whole game, but they sharpen intuition and remove obstacles. It won’t last forever though, just for a few hours.’

‘Is eating them cheating?’ Silas questioned, eyebrows crinkling together. ‘I don’t use things to enhance my performance.’

‘There’s foul play in this game,’ Raven said, with a tone so matter of fact, she could’ve told us that the moon was actually the sun and we would’ve believed her. ‘Can’t say who, can’t say what. So, it’s not enhancing the performance, it’s levelling the playing field.’

‘If you’re worried about whether I’ve baked them wrong …’ I started, feeling panic thicken under my skin.

Silas’s brow lifted and then his gaze slid back to me. ‘I know how good you are, Maya.’

If he said my name one more time, I was sure I was going to burst into flames. I didn’t trust myself to speak again, so I nodded. Silas held my gaze, flipped open the box and pulled out one of the macaroons and bit into it.

‘Players!’ The referee shouted, before either of us could say another word. ‘Back to the game!’

The girls and I went back to our seats, and when I’d settled back down, I finally glanced over my shoulder to see Orion was gone. I should’ve felt relieved, but there was a sting of concern biting against my skin. But it wasn’t my place to worry about Orion, not any more.

So, I focused on the game. I cheered when Silas made every catch and nailed every throw; I celebrated when Maple Falls High was announced as the winner. And when a cheerleader came over asking if we’d like to come to the after-party at Golden Shell Beach, I said yes.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Golden Shell Beach was the go-to spot after any rugby game – it wasn’t an invite-only event, but only those who actually cared about the sport went to celebrate.

‘Silas is there,’ Raven pointed out, as we arrived, and then her gaze turned poisonous. ‘Next to Dean Blackwood.’

I glanced at the vampire, with his wire-frame glasses, high cheekbones and mussy light-brown hair. He was grinning at another vampire, Cameron, and the moonlight glinted off his sharpened incisors. He glanced our way, and I saw him take in Raven; his mouth quirked into a smile and his eyes darkened. All of a sudden, his voice was an octave higher.

‘And then, I got the highest mark in the hexes class, set the curve for everyone. Not that I’m worried about anyone beating me,’ he said, his tone all teasing and unnecessarily loud.

‘Raven, don’t –’

But it was lost on her. No one could get under her skin like Dean. Sofia and I watched her go, winced as they got into an argument and then turned away because watching Raven decimate someone, while entertaining, was also vicious. I’d feel bad if I didn’t know Dean could handle it.

‘So,’ Sofia said, while leading me to the drinks table and grabbing two glasses of strawberry punch. ‘Are you going to tell me why Orion Hawthorne made multiple players trip up today?’

‘He – uh – he was helping me get Silas’s attention,’ I said, because it wasn’t a lie.

Sofia’s eyebrows lifted, and she took a long sip of her drink. ‘Is that the only reason?’

‘It’s – well – you – see –’ I stuttered through a ring of responses, and Sofia watched me silently until she finally put her hand on my arm and stopped me.

‘The curse on the town,’ Sofia started, quietly. ‘Did you have something to do with it?’

I gaped at her. ‘How did you know?’

Sofia shrugged a shoulder. ‘When you’re the new one in town, you see things that everyone else overlooks. Plus, every time I mentioned Frost, you looked physically pained.’

‘It was a mistake,’ I started, and the whole story spilled out in a long whisper and with lots of gesticulating. ‘I just wanted to see who my soulmate was. I didn’t want all of this to happen. Especially not to Frost, or Diya or anyone else. I need to find my soulmate and share true love’s kiss under the autumn moon. Orion’s helping me break the curse in exchange for helping him with his friend’s bakery – the Treasure Trove.’

‘That’s where you’ve been going after school while Raven and I hit the library,’ Sofia correctly guessed, then her eyebrows pinched together, like she was trying to finish the sentence herself but couldn’t come up with the answer. ‘And Silas?’

Now I felt my face heat up, and I suddenly wished I was good enough to do a cooling spell against my skin. ‘On the night of the autumn moon, it would be smarter for me to have him there when I cast the soulmate spell. The curse breaks when I share true love’s kiss. So, you know, I wouldn’t have to search across town for him if he was right there.’

‘And you’re sure he’s your soulmate?’

Now the blush went even hotter, even brighter. ‘Yes.’

‘OK.’ Sofia nodded, absorbing all the information. ‘Thank you for telling me.’ She squeezed my shoulder. ‘I’d be happy to help you solve this, if you’d let me.’

I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to cry. I wasn’t going to cry.