Page 83 of The Soulmate Bakery

‘I’m going with Silas to the Fallen Leaves Festival,’ I finally blurted out. Orion’s eyes widened, and that look disappeared from his eyes. I thought it would bring me relief to see it gone from his expression, but my stomach dropped to my feet. ‘Our plan worked. We’ll meet in the Firewood Forest. Today, all I need is to get the spell right, and everything should be set.’

Orion stared at me. I watched, with morbid fascination, as the armour slipped back over his face. The smile on his mouth zipped back into place, the contours of his jaw sharpened and the silver of his eyes brightened. Part of me desperately wanted him to say something, to do something, to stop me – but Orion Hawthorne was always careful, always cautious and never reckless. At least when it came to me.

‘That’s good,’ he said, and his voice was so devoid of emotion it made me flinch. ‘And that’s what you want, right? You still think he is the one for you?’

This was it. The final moment. The door closing on my feelings for Orion, for the last time.

‘Yes,’ I whispered, and my chest was aching again.

Orion nodded jerkily and then swallowed. ‘Then, let’s practise the spell, Reverie.’

And we did. It wasn’t like our other lessons; there was no laughter, no emotions, nothing.

‘To pierce with love and bind my heart, Cupido please find your mark,’ I said, my voice soft and a little trembling.

His smile was more of a grimace, as if every word out of my mouth was a shot at him. As if being here physically pained him.

‘Clearer,’ he instructed, softly. ‘To cast the spell properly, you need to touch your soulmate – on the wrist, cheek or hand – and say the spell with intention and clarity.’

He was still teaching me – no matter if he looked like he hated every moment of it. My stomach tightened. The least I could do for all his effort was get this right.

So, I sucked in a breath and I said the spell clearly, holding his gaze with my own.

‘To pierce with love and bind my heart, Cupido please find your mark.’

‘Good job,’ Orion said, dropping his eyes from mine. ‘Say this tomorrow night, and the curse will finally break. You, and this whole town, will finally be free.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I got ready for the Fallen Leaves Festival with Raven and Sofia at my house – not the Hawthornes’ house. Were they surprised when I texted them to meet at my place? Yes, almost offensively so. I mean, they both actually rang me to make sure I was feeling well.

But I told them it was just because Rani was helping me get ready, so it was easier if they all came there. I didn’t tell them it was because I refused to face Orion again.

We hadn’t texted all day. Not even a message to say whether he’d be there tonight.

‘So, the tradition is that the whole forest turns gold?’ Sofia asked, as Raven helped paint her nails a glittery blue colour.

‘Gold,’ Rani confirmed from where she was putting winged eyeliner on my lids. ‘And you make a wish – I mean, it doesn’t really come true, it’s just a myth.’

‘Some of the wishes could come true,’ I mumbled, and then shut my mouth because Rani swatted me lightly.

‘It’s all self-fulfilling prophecies,’ Raven remarked. ‘But it is really pretty.’

‘A very good setting for, you know, confessions of love,’ Rani replied, and I didn’t need to have my eyes open to see her sly smile.

I didn’t respond with anything but a kick to her shin, even though my heart was thumping in my chest. I hadn’t slept well last night after Orion dropped me home from the Treasure Trove. It was the quietest drive we’d ever done. My dreams had been a torrent of visions – some where Silas was completely horrified by what I’d done to the town, others where he reciprocated my feelings in a way that made every doubt of mine turn to dust.

‘Will Orion be coming?’ Sofia asked the question, her voice all innocent.

I felt my spine stiffen, but I kept my eyes shut because Rani was insisting that they needed to dry.

‘He’s on his way to Rose Glenn.’

My eyes snapped open. Rani gasped at her destroyed work, but I had to see Raven’s face.

‘What?’ I asked, aghast.

I thought he might not show at the festival – expected it, even. I thought that I’d cast the spell, break the curse and, in the aftermath, among all the things I’d need to explain to Silas, Orion and I would have to find a new rhythm to our relationship. A new thing we’d become. Or maybe, we’d just go back to what we always were: former childhood friends.