Chapter Two #3
‘Ivy Blackthorn,’ Vale’s voice was full of unadulterated yearning, his face contorted like he was in pain. ‘You are the most beautiful jewel in all of Maple Falls; please allow me to hoard you, my treasure.’
‘He did not just say let me hoard you.’ Raven gagged beside me, but I was too busy looking at the inspector. He looked like himself but his eyes, golden with a silver slit down the middle of each iris, were glassy. Unfocused. Clouded.
‘Vale,’ Ivy murmured, looking entirely shocked. ‘I never knew you felt this way. But … but I’m sorry … I’ve never thought of you like that.’
Inspector Vale’s expression shattered, and even my heart lurched for the dragon shifter.
But he didn’t hold our attention for long, because another loud sound cut through the air and made us all turn away in unison.
There we found Frost – of Fable my key locking the door to the Wishing Well Bakery, me turning away and sneaking through the streets back home.
And the cookies. The cookies.
‘I left them on the counter. In a jar,’ I said, slamming my hand to my forehead. ‘I totally left them there.’
‘And where are they now?’ Raven questioned.
Something pulled my gaze to the stall I was leaning against – maybe it was intuition, or the lure of my own magic, but it took me less than a second to find what I was looking for.
Right on the middle of the table was my empty glass jar, with not a single heart-shaped chocolate-chip cookie in sight.