Page 66 of The Soulmate Bakery

Orion didn’t say anything, and I knew his mind was whirring, pulling out all the details that seemed wrong. Still, he answered my question, refocusing his attention on me, his jaw tightening again.

‘Raven said you’re in love with someone,’ Orion said, bluntly.

The shock of his statement made my hold on the door loosen. I stared at him, wild panic running through my veins. Did Raven know I had feelings for Orion? No, no, she couldn’t. It took a moment for it to hit me that he was talking about Silas.

‘I-I,’ I stuttered, mind reeling. I hadn’t really thought about Silas all summer. I hadn’t even noticed when I’d stopped thinking about him and started thinking about Orion instead.

‘Why does that matter?’ I eventually settled on, because being defensive was second nature to me when it came to Orion.

‘Why does it matter?’ Orion asked, disbelievingly. He ran a hand through his hair and sidestepped me, right into my house. He was pacing across my foyer, and I twisted around in panic. ‘I was talking to Raven, and I mentioned you. She then asked me if some guy, I can’t even remember his name, was invited to my party. I said no, and she said you’d be disappointed and drops a bomb on my head by saying you liked him. That you liked him a lot. You’re seriously asking me why that matters, Reverie?’

I wasn’t focused on his question or his tirade; my gaze drifted to the living room, hoping he wouldn’t notice anything amiss and I could somehow guide him to the kitchen on the right instead.

‘Reverie, what is so –’ His head turned, following my gaze to the mirror that was lying on the living-room floor. I watched in horror-movie slow motion as Orion took in the set-up, and I could tell what he saw.

He moved as if he was going to go to the mirror, and I stuck my hand out to stop him.

‘No!’ I shouted, horrified at the thought that Orion might stride across the room and touch the now charmed mirror.

He jolted back, his gaze going from my face to my open palm. I watched his eyebrows drop, his lips twitch into a frown. It took me a moment to realize what he was seeing.

I didn’t have enough time to curl my palm into a fist, because Orion’s hand shot out to grip my wrist, keeping it open. He stepped closer, mouthing the words, silver eyes widening with shock.

‘This is an illegal spell,’ Orion said, horrified. His eyes flicked to the mirror behind me, then to the spell scribbled on my skin. ‘You were casting the eye-of-the-beholder spell, weren’t you?’

‘I –’ I couldn’t find the words nor the explanation. Not that Orion cared; too many realizations were hitting him in one go.

‘Were you casting that spell for that guy?’ Orion asked, and now his voice was hard.

This wasn’t how I wanted to confess to him; this didn’t feel right. ‘Orion, I can explain –’

‘No one will love you like this,’ Orion said, and my words died on my tongue. His gaze was hard. His grip on my wrist was loose enough to yank free, but I felt boneless. I felt numb. The only thing that existed was the ache in my chest.

He drove the knife deeper into my heart. ‘Do you understand me, Reverie? The spell will morph you, turn you into some glamourized version of yourself, making you virtually unrecognizable. And sure, you’ll gain attention, but it won’t be love. How could it be?’

All I could hear was the echoing refrain of what he had said before.

No one will love you like this.

The ache in my chest was spreading until it was in my fingertips, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Orion watched me, searched for something in my face that clearly wasn’t there. He dropped my wrist, and my gaze lifted to his.

I stared at him, watching as the boy I knew from the summer melted away.

‘Please,’ I whispered. ‘Please don’t tell the Coven.’

Orion inhaled with measured breaths. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking any more. He’d closed himself off to me, and I was no longer privy to his thoughts or emotions.

‘I can’t leave an enchanted mirror in your living room,’ Orion said, eventually, his voice hard. ‘I can’t leave you here. I can’t trust you – I can’t. It’s not safe, Reverie. What you’ve done isn’t safe, and, I’m sorry, but I can’t just let it go.’

I could’ve pleaded – maybe if I had, he’d have stopped. Maybe I could’ve explained better, if my chest wasn’t so tight with pain. But I didn’t do any of that. I let him step back and watched as he made a phone call. I cradled my wrist to my chest, pressed the spell scribbled on my palm to the hollow of my throat.

No one will love you like this.

The Coven came almost immediately. Mum and Rani came too. There was chatter around me: reprimands being shot my way, Mum asking me what I was thinking, Rani helping the Coven un-spell the mirror.

The aftermath was all a blur, really. The only thing I truly remembered was Orion walking away. He didn’t linger to see how the Coven punished me, didn’t hear as they doled out another point on my licence. He didn’t stay to listen to my mother’s rant or Rani’s probing questions.

When they arrived, he simply turned his back in my doorway, and I watched him retreat. I didn’t know it was the last time I’d see him that summer; that he’d leave for MAC early without saying goodbye.