Page 56 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘He’s excited to set up with me,’ I said, and the smugness was clear in my voice.

‘Yay,’ Orion said, flatly. ‘He’s excited do chores with you. Delightful.’

‘Someone’s irritated,’ I remarked.

‘It’s my constant state of being,’ Orion retorted, and then just as swiftly he changed the subject. ‘Reverie, let’s have your spellcasting lesson here before we hit the Treasure Trove for your shift. The last spellcasting lesson is trying a healing spell. All the magic we’ve been focusing on so far has been offensive, but healing magic is different. It’s about thinking of someone else and what they need. Like being in love.’ Orion ran his tongue over his teeth.

My heart stuttered hearing the softness in Orion’s voice. He spoke like he knew the feeling. It made me think of Celine, and the things they needed to ‘hash out’. I felt that tug in my stomach again. If Orion and Celine sorted out whatever they needed to, would she get this new version of Orion? The one who was more patient and kinder.

‘Who exactly would you like me to cast a healing spell on?’ I asked, annoyed at myself for being bothered about who was the object of his affections.

‘Me,’ Orion replied, and then, without ceremony, he rolled up his sleeve to show a long, red gash around his arm.

His scales were shimmering around the wound, like they were trying to stitch the skin back together, but something was stopping his natural enhanced healing.

‘Orion!’ I exclaimed, stepping closer to inspect the wound. ‘Why haven’t you healed yourself?’

‘I took a tonic,’ Orion said, voice strained. ‘It subdues my natural healing abilities.’

‘But – how did you get this?’

Orion was silent for several long beats, long enough for me to tear my eyes away from the gash to look at him. He was contemplating something, the dark slit of his eyes tight and worried.

‘What?’ I said, suddenly worried.

‘Do you actually care?’

The question stunned me.

‘What? Of cou– yes,’ I stuttered, wrapping my hand around his arm, my thumb against his inner wrist. I could feel his heartbeat, steady as ever against my skin.

There was a small part of me that told me I should have said no. But there was a larger part of me that knew all the ways Orion had looked out for me, and that if I’d had such an injury, he would have been the first one to help.

He waited a beat before saying sharply, ‘I got it after a fight with my dad. We got into an argument, and I stormed out of the house. I didn’t have my jacket on yet, and I got this when my skin scraped the metal of the gate.’

I sucked in my teeth. ‘What were you fighting about?’

Orion gave me a look. ‘What do you think?’

I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know. We’d spent so many of our conversations last summer talking about what he’d really wanted to be.

‘You told him you wanted to become a teacher then?’ I asked, lightly.

Orion nodded and then swallowed. ‘He didn’t take it very well.’

‘I’m surprised,’ I replied, and then waved my free hand at his confused expression. ‘Not at your dad’s reaction. But that you still want to be a teacher. Thought that dream died when you went to MAC.’

Orion lifted a shoulder in response. ‘I thought so too. I thought I’d go to MAC, and I’d fall in love with all those defensive spells and forensic charms. But I didn’t. All I’ve ever enjoyed was teaching or tutoring or learning. Hoarding knowledge.’

This was the side of Orion Hawthorne that no one ever saw; the side that no one ever knew but me and, I suppose, his parents. The quiet side, the nerdy side, the side that just wanted to learn. It made my chest ache – the earnest way in which he spoke. There was something so endearing about seeing someone else talk about a dream and want it.

‘But he thinks it’s a bad career choice,’ Orion said simply. ‘And I’m just deciding how much I care about his opinion.’

‘And your mum?’ I asked, hopefully.

He shook his head, a sad smile pinching the corners of his mouth. ‘The rules are different for Raven and for me. I’m the prodigal son, the one who was supposed to take over. Mum wants me to do whatever Dad thinks is best because that’s the future they mapped out for me.’

‘Kind of like how my mum just wants me to do simple spells my entire life,’ I said, feeling that all-too-familiar ache of having a parent that loves you, but doesn’t believe in you. ‘It’s like they’ve already thought of our destiny, and it’s just our job to live it.’