Page 9 of The Soulmate Bakery

The three of us quickly became a little trio, and wherever Raven and I were, Orion was right behind us. That was until he’d turned fourteen and things unexpectedly changed. He stopped hanging out with us and never bothered coming down from his room when I came over. He took to ignoring us at school, falling in with a new (read: cooler) group of friends. And worst of all, developed a deeply annoying habit – snitching.

It’s like he’d woken up one day and decided to become nothing more than Raven’s overprotective older brother – the one we always had to dodge if we didn’t want to get caught sneaking out, or back in, late. He’d become unbearable and we barely exchanged a word for years.

Until last summer.

My brief break from crushing on Silas? Yes, it was because I’d developed some weird infatuation with Orion instead. An infliction I’d been quickly cured from when he’d been the one to turn me into the Coven for my second licence point. Still, it was a secret I was willing to take to the grave.

‘Hawthorne,’ I greeted him, trying for a smile but merely ended up gritting my teeth.

‘Reverie,’ Orion replied, and there was a thrum of something in his voice. He looked the same – dressed in the dragon-scale leather jacket he got for his eighteenth birthday, a black T-shirt and worn-in blue jeans – and different all at the same time. Maybe it was his hair. Growing up, his dark waves had been a little longer, but now they looked tamed. ‘Are you and my sister staying out of trouble?’

‘The best we can,’ I shot back glibly.

That annoying edge of Orion’s mouth twitched again. I knew that smile was waiting to come. I hated that smile.

The memory of that summer and all the feelings I’d been working so hard to keep at bay for the last year came crashing back through me. I felt my hands clench around the staircase banister, and Orion’s eyes glanced at the movement. But his expression didn’t change.

His complete control over himself irritated me even more.

‘Darling, could you bring us some cups of tea and biscuits?’ Mum asked without even looking at me, too busy leading the dragon shifter to our living room. ‘Orion, we can talk in here.’

I watched as the Elders, Orion and my mother went to the living room, my stomach seething with anger. In the kitchen, I considered taking out the kiwi tarts from the Wishing Well Bakery, but I knew Orion was allergic and – despite wanting to hex him – casual murder in our living room likely wasn’t going to go down well with my mother.

Once everything was arranged, I carried the tray into the living room. The Elders were sitting on the sofa – four of them in a line. Mum was in her usual armchair, and Orion was sitting on the one opposite with Jinx wrapped around his forearm.

‘So, as you can see, the town is clearly cursed,’ Mum continued while I poured the tea into the cups. I kneeled by the low coffee table, preferring not to hunch awkwardly.

Elder Sabrina continued. ‘We’re not sure why it’s happened. It’s likely just a prank, which is why we’ve called you, Orion. Initially we assumed this was your typical love spell, but it appears to be a little more complicated, as we don’t know who cast the spell. Your father thought, with the recent completion of your degree, you’d be most adept with finding the source and untangling the curse.’

Orion hummed thoughtfully and I felt my eyes being drawn to him. Objectively speaking, Orion was good-looking. Objectively. And even though I hated him, I had eyes.

‘I agree, it probably is just a prank,’ he responded. ‘I studied the effects on Inspector Vale at my father’s office, and it seems that this spell curses people into falling in love with the first person they see. To break it, I suspect all we’ll need to do is find out who cast it and have them do the counterspell.’

I paused, still kneeling by the coffee table, as Orion’s words sunk into my mind.

Curses people into falling in love with the first person they see.

I had been alone when I’d eaten the cookies. And I hadn’t laid eyes on another soul for hours after.

No, no. There was no way this was my fault. I’d cast the spell exactly as instructed and falling in love had nothing to do with its purpose.

‘It also appears that Inspector Vale ingested the spell,’ Orion continued. ‘He had bought a number of enchanted goods at the sale.’

Dread sunk itself into my stomach as a singular thought blared in my mind like a morning alarm. If Orion said it was a cookie that caused this mess, I could no longer deny the truth: my cookies were the culprit. There was truly no other explanation.

At that moment, I knew I had to do something. I had to stop Orion from telling my mother and the Coven where the spell came from. I needed to find out first and have my hypothesis proven right. I needed to hear that Inspector Vale ate some enchanted – I don’t know! – mac and cheese. Anything that wasn’t a cookie.

I turned my head quickly, trying to avoid the Coven from seeing the fear that must’ve been written all over my face, but caught Orion’s gaze. His eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he didn’t stop speaking.

‘I’d say the spell was likely one of the choc– watch out!’

I knocked over the teapot, and liquid sloshed all over the table and straight on to Orion’s legs. I’m not proud of what I did, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And besides, the scalding tea was hardly going to have much effect on the heat-resistant dragon shifter.

Still, I needed to make it look like an accident. ‘I am so sorry,’ I said, grabbing on to his sleeve. ‘I am so clumsy – here, why don’t we get you cleaned up in the kitchen?’

Orion looked at me like I’d lost my mind – which might not have been too far from the truth.

‘No need,’ Mum said, her teeth clenched into a smile. ‘I’ll just clean this up with a little wave of my hand; there’s no need to drag Orion through the house.’