Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
CASSIAN
The Dreckle bakery was even more magical than I remembered from my childhood.
Coming in from the snow was like a warm hug, and the smell of cinnamon, coffee, and hot dough was like a kiss on the forehead.
The fireplace at the end of the room filled the building with warm light, and the gentle snow drifting past the windows felt cozier than cold.
Sterling’s presence made it better, but I tried not to think about that.
Sterling examined the room. “It smells nice in here,” he remarked.
“That’s probably the coffee,” I said.
He laughed, and my foolish heart fluttered at the sound. “You already know me so well.”
“Good morning, boys!” a middle-aged woman emerged from a back door to stand behind the counter.
Shelves lined the wall behind her, covered with glass that displayed pastries of all sorts; wedges of fruit pies, a rolled bun slathered with icing and sprinkled with cinnamon, jam-covered tarts, cream-filled fried dough, muffins, cakes, and cookies.
This place had everything. “What can I get for you?”
“What would you like?” I asked Sterling.
Sterling looked at me like he’d seen a ghost. “Oh no, I forgot I had no money. I’m so sorry. You don’t have to pay for me,” he said.
“I’m happy to pay. Get whatever you like,” I said, my mouth twisting into a smile against its will.
Sterling covered his face with his hand before peeking through his fingers at the pastry-covered wall. “Seriously, it’s okay.”
“I’m just going to order for you if you don’t say something, and you might not like what I order,” I said, shooting an apologetic look at the baker, who seemed entertained by our argument, thankfully.
Sterling didn’t speak, so I said, “He wants a large coffee with honey and topped with vanilla sweet cream, and he also wants one of those,” I said, pointing at the iced cinnamon bun.
“Sure,” the baker said with a smile. “Anything for you?”
“A raspberry tart and chamomile tea, please,” I said.
“I thought you liked pumpkin muffins,” Sterling said.
I shot him a confused look. “How did you know that?”
“It’s my job to know things,” he said with a wink.
I couldn’t tamp down my smile as I looked at the baker again. “That’s it. Thank you.”
“You got it!” She eyed me for a moment, and then she said, “Are you Boris’s grandson?”
“I am!” I said with a grin. “Cassian Fibbersnap, nice to meet you.”
“I remember you coming in here when you were just a little thing,” she said, laughing. “My name’s Hope, but you probably don’t remember me.”
“Sorry, no,” I said with an insecure chuckle. We both knew it was unreasonable for me to remember her, but I felt bad anyway.
“That’s all right. I’m so sorry about your grandfather. The world needs more men like him. It’s a good thing we’ve got you,” Hope said.
“Thank you. I miss him every day,” I said.
“I can imagine. I saw your cousin Jasmine here not long ago. It was nice to see her again too,” Hope said.
“Yeah, we take turns purchasing supplies in town. Sorry I haven’t been in here yet. Business has been rough lately,” I said. “It’s picking up, though.”
“Glad to hear it. It’s on the house today, Cassian,” she said, turning around to prepare the order before I could argue. “Sit down! I’ll bring it out to you.”
I stammered for a moment before saying, “Thank you very much, Hope.”
Sterling and I walked the length of the bakery to find a secluded pocket of tables around the back wall beside the fireplace. We took a small two-person table against the wall and settled in.
“Everyone who knew your grandfather seems to really like you, Cassian. You must take after him a lot,” Sterling said.
Sterling knew how to make me smile against my will.
It wasn’t fair. “Thanks. I spent a lot of time with my grandfather growing up, because I felt safest with him. His inn was my home away from home. It was the only inn that didn’t feel like a business, and as a kid I felt I could stay there forever. ” I sighed. “And now I have to.”
“You don’t want to run the inn?” he asked.
I fought with the answer, because it hurt to say aloud. “No. I don’t.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I just want… stability. I want a family that I see regularly, and I want to help people. I don’t like the constant change that comes with running an inn. I don’t like taking money from people so they can sleep. I don’t like making friends in an evening and then never seeing them again.”
Sterling narrowed his gray eyes at me and rubbed his chin. “You help people every day, and your crew has been there since you were a child. And it seems like a lot of your guests are regulars,” Sterling said.
I shook my head. “You don’t understand.”
“I guess not. I’m sorry,” he said. “Are you going to sell the inn?”
My head snapped up, eyes wide. “No! I mean… I might have to if I can’t uncurse it, but I don’t want to.
My grandfather loved that inn, and he loved his employees.
He tried to leave Olive 5,000 gold in his will, but when it came time to pay her, I was running everything so poorly that I couldn’t deliver.
I still owe her that money.” I held my head in my hands, and when I looked up, his eyebrows were drawn and he was scanning the table as if there was text written on it. Oh no. “Sterling—”
“Would she receive that money from the sale of the inn?” he asked.
“Sterling, it wasn’t Olive,” I said. “I know you have to follow every lead, but it wasn’t her.”
Sterling sighed and leaned back in his seat, searching me with his invasive gaze. “Cassian… It’s hard to accept that someone close to you may have turned on you, but it’s a real possibility. I have to look into it. This is a serious motive. Five-thousand gold?”
“She doesn’t know about it,” I said.
Sterling shook his head. “Someone must have told her. It’s her right to know.”
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “It was supposed to be me, but I couldn’t. Her family is struggling, and I don’t want to make bad news worse.” I rubbed my forehead. “Maybe I should sell the inn…”
“No, Cassian. That’s what they want you to do,” Sterling said.
“I would like to go back to Ladiall and continue my training as a witch,” I said with a shrug.
Sterling pursed his lips. “At least let me figure this out first. I don’t want to see someone run you out of the area before you can decide for yourself.”
I smiled at his kind words. “Thanks, Sterling.”
Sterling smiled back. “You’re good at what you do, Cassian. You don’t know why your grandfather left the inn to you, but the rest of us see it clearly. Maybe except for Griffin. I’m sorry you don’t like it.”
Hope walked up before I could say anything, carrying a tray with our drinks and warmed pastries. “Here you go, boys,” she said, unloading the iced cinnamon bun and coffee in front of Sterling, and then the tart and tea in front of me. “Enjoy!”
“Thank you very much, Hope,” I said, reaching in my pocket for five gold coins. “Please, let me pay you.”
She lifted a hand, waving the money away as I offered it. “Don’t be silly. Your grandfather was always there for the rest of us in our times of need, and I know you will be too. It’s the least I can do to welcome you.”
“Thank you,” I repeated, dumping the coins into my pocket and trying not to suffocate on my guilt. How could I think about leaving the inn with so many people counting on my presence? “I hope I can live up to his name.”
“You certainly will,” she said. “You two are very cute together, by the way.”
Sterling’s eyebrows shot up, and my mouth fell open. “Oh, we’re not, uh…” My face warmed.
“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Hope said with a laugh. “You got along so well, I just thought… My mistake!”
“This is Sterling. He’s here from the Ladiall Force helping me figure out who cursed the inn,” I explained.
Sterling reached his hand out. “Nice to meet you.”
Hope shook his hand, eyes widening. “The inn is cursed?”
“Hopefully not for long,” Sterling said. “Have you seen anyone from the inn come through town recently? Particularly to visit Ezzila?”
“Everyone comes through town now and then,” Hope said. “I just saw Miss Olive here with her boys a few weeks back. I gave them each a slice of pie. I know how hard it’s been for her since her husband died. Poor thing.”
Sterling glanced at me, and I shook my head. He would chase this lead, and it would get him nowhere. Olive was not guilty. Even if she did somehow know about the will, she was smart enough to know better than to sacrifice her income for a onetime sum of money.
“You don’t think it was her, do you?” Hope asked.
“No,” I said.
“We don’t know who it was yet,” Sterling said.
“Well, I hope you catch them soon. Fibbersnap Inn is a local landmark. We’d all hate to see it go,” Hope said. “See you soon, Cassian!”
Sterling watched me for a long time after she left, and I sipped the sweet chamomile tea while I waited for him to say something. “Cassian…” he finally spoke. “Do you realize you tell me that every single suspect is not guilty?”
“Not Ezzila,” I said indignantly.
“In that case, it probably wasn’t her.”
I scowled at him, but he grinned. I set my tea down and took a bite of the creamy raspberry tart. One of these days he’d figure it out, and the answer might hurt.
Sterling leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table to look me in the eyes. “Cassian, now that it’s just the two of us, I have to ask you something serious.”
My heart skipped a beat at the intimate request. I wiped crumbs off my face and finished chewing before answering. “Go ahead.”
“Do you think it could have been Jasmine?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.
I shot him a flat gaze. “Are you trying to make me mad? She’s the one who told me to contact the Force. She’s doing everything she can to help you with the case, not to mention she’s a co-owner. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“So, she’s our prime suspect,” he joked.
I threw my napkin down and stood up to leave.