Chapter Ten
Having a sister is a little like having a built-in best friend, a personal stylist, a demon who sleepwalks to your bed and steals your blanket in the night leaving you shivering in the winter.
Though, that last one might be unique to me.
A sister is all those things and more, so it was incredibly unfair that Rani left Maple Falls and took all those things with her.
But, despite my fears of her going off to MAC and forgetting my existence, she made sure we remained close over the last two years. Even if it was only a five-minute call after school.
‘So, the town is under a love spell?’ Rani asked, from the screen of our video call.
I had called her while I stood outside Firestones, waiting for Orion.
The shop was square-shaped with four giant floors, shiny glass windows and swirly gold lettering that read FIRESTONES.
It was the most popular dragon-owned bookstore in the entire magical community; there were several of them all located in different magical towns.
It was Rani’s favourite place, which is why I called her while I waited.
‘Yeah, six people in town under a love spell,’ I said, trying hard not to sound the right amount of interested but distant. The last thing I needed was Rani figuring out something was wrong.
‘So, what are the love-cursed acting like?’ she asked.
‘Here, let me flip the camera.’
The camera showed Inspector Vale walking down the pavement holding the largest bouquet of flowers in his hands that I’d ever seen.
‘Maya!’ Inspector Vale called when he noticed me, and not the phone I was holding directly in front of him. ‘Is today not the loveliest day to tell someone you love them?’
I glanced up at the sky, which was turning a slightly greyish colour, promising September rain. But who was I to disagree?
‘Sure,’ I called back with a little laugh. Part of me was glad to see that all Inspector Vale wanted to do was confess his feelings for Ivy and that the mishap of the spell wasn’t ruining his entire life. Plus, it seemed to make him a lot more agreeable.
His smile widened, and then his wings unfurled from his back; he leaped into the air, most likely to go and find Ivy. I flipped the camera back so that Rani could see me, and she was holding back laughter.
‘Oh, I can’t wait for Orion to find who cast the spell,’ Rani said, a little breathless with giggles. ‘Vale will burn them to a crisp when he finds them.’
I laughed as well, but I couldn’t stop the hollowness from creeping in.
‘How is Orion, by the way?’ Rani asked, and I felt my eyebrows shoot up.
‘Why?’ I asked sharply, looking around the street slightly to see if the dragon shifter in question was approaching. We’d agreed to meet here before heading to the Treasure Trove, but he was running late. Something that was entirely unlike him.
‘Well, I didn’t think he’d be thrilled to be back in Maple Falls,’ Rani replied.
‘Why not?’ I asked, confused. He’d graduated from MAC early, where else would he have gone?
Rani shrugged. ‘I don’t know, I only heard rumours about him being unhappy. It could be a lie, but you know, where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. Especially with dragons.’
I nodded in agreement, momentarily caught up in the mystery that was Orion Hawthorne, before a recent memory popped into my head.
‘So,’ I began, unassumingly, ‘Rowan Hale told me to tell you he said hi.’
It was actually comical how fast she turned to stone on screen. It took far too many seconds for her to respond, and I cackled loudly at her face.
‘Well, you can tell him I said hello too,’ Rani said, politeness dripping from her tone.
‘Is there a reason our resident bad boy wants to say hi to you?’ I asked, eager for some details from my sister’s life.
Rani shrugged, feigning ignorance. ‘How am I supposed to know? I don’t worry myself with the actions of those in Maple Falls.’
I tried not to let my smile falter, but her words stung.
‘Are you sure?’ I asked, eyebrows raised comically to mask the hurt.
‘Maya, are you asking me if something happened between us?’ Rani asked, blunt as a butter knife. ‘Because I can assure you, he’s just being a jerk. Like always.’
I sighed and, even though I knew there was more going on, I let it go. ‘Fine, I guess I just wanted to know if your life was getting interesting now.’
Rani snorted. ‘No, unfortunately, I’m still boring as ever.’ Then, there was a knock at her dorm door. She shouted something back, before turning to me. ‘Sorry, Maya, I’ve got to run. Grimoire gone rogue in the library.’
I winced. ‘Hopefully it’s not full of hexes.’
Rani sighed, but she looked too excited. ‘When is it not hexes?’
‘If your skin turns green again, take a picture.’
She rolled her eyes, her finger hovering to close the call. ‘Bye, Maya – oh and, don’t forget, I’m coming back to Maple Falls at the end of the month for the festival. So, make sure you’ve stocked up on snacks.’
A bubble of warmth erupted through me at the thought of Rani being back; no matter how difficult it was being in her shadow, I did love our times together. ‘I’ll make sure we’re stocked.’
Then Rani hung up, and I slipped my phone back into my pocket. Just in time to see Orion’s car pulling up beside me. I moved around to the passenger side to see he’d already leaned forward and opened the door for me.
‘You’re late,’ I said, as I slipped into the car.
It was warm, filled with a scent that was distinctly Orion – woodsy, like a campfire. He was dressed in his usual uniform today: leather jacket, white shirt, blue jeans, boots.
‘You could have just walked there, your highness,’ Orion replied, sharply. Then he gripped the wheel, sighed, and said, ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.’
His words were enough to make my head whip around, but his tone – the genuine sincerity – made my jaw drop. Orion, apologizing?
‘I had a thing with my dad.’
‘A thing,’ I said, slowly. ‘Descriptive.’
I watched as he reversed, the strong line of his jaw flexing. My fingers suddenly itched with the urge to trace the muscle.
‘He wants me to start at the detective agency,’ Orion said, his voice sounding wooden. ‘You know how I feel about that.’
I did. That conversation on the Hawthornes’ roof flashed in my mind.
‘So, I take it things are tense?’ I replied, not wanting him to know just how much I remembered.
‘You could say that,’ Orion muttered. ‘So, you ready to see the Treasure Trove?’
I could’ve pressed further, made him talk about things more. The Maya from that summer would have done so. But I knew better now.
‘Yes,’ I said, taking his switch in conversation. ‘Let’s see what I’m in for.’
The Treasure Trove bakery left, frankly, much to be desired.
Mostly because there wasn’t a lick of kitchen magic in the building.
There was exactly one person running the entire place: a nervous twenty-year-old dragon shifter who looked like she’d spent her entire day caked in flour.
It was all over her black uniform, dusted along her rounded cheeks, even in the eyelashes that curved around her purple-toned eyes.
‘We have bread,’ the dragon shifter, Melodie, said. ‘Sourdough, plain and seeded bread.’
‘Is there anything else?’ I questioned, casting a look around the bakery. It was darkly coloured – all deep jewel tones. I didn’t hate it, but I did feel a little like I was sitting in a cave.
‘Croissants,’ Melodie said, tilting her head to one side before coming back to me. ‘That’s it. Bread and croissants.’
I turned to look at Orion. ‘I can see why you struck this bargain. This is –’
‘Abysmal,’ Melodie stepped in, eagerness coating her words. ‘Truly abysmal. And I am just really grateful that you decided to help me today. I run this whole place on my own – I inherited it from my parents – and it doesn’t really amount to much because, you know, I’m just one person.’
‘Right,’ I said, determination slipping over my shoulders, quietening my worries. ‘And what do you want to do with the bakery?’
‘Orion told me you work at the Wishing Well,’ Melodie said. I glanced at him, but he was conveniently looking at anything but me. ‘I know that you’re taking a massive risk by helping me, but I don’t want to be like the Wishing Well.’
‘You don’t want to be successful?’ I questioned, suddenly defensive.
‘No, no,’ Melodie corrected. ‘I just – I don’t want this to be an ordinary bakery. I want you to know you have full jurisdiction. Go wild, bake all the risky things. I want this place to be fun and wild, and all the things my parents would’ve wanted it to be.’
I felt myself soften at her earnestness. ‘Show me to the kitchen, Melodie, and we can get started,’ I said, kindly.
The girl nodded and I followed her to the back, trying not to gawk. Hidden away was the most beautiful kitchen I’d ever laid eyes on. It was a kitchen that rivalled Ivy’s, and the knowledge that it wasn’t being used to its full potential devastated me.
‘You’re not going to cry, are you?’ Orion asked, his tone only half teasing.
‘No,’ I said, but my voice sounded a little husky to my own ears. I cleared my throat and tried again. ‘No, but I will be baking. In fact, today, we’re going to bake like we’ve never baked before.’
And I meant it. Before meeting Melodie, I was only helping to hold up my side of the bargain. But now, I was invested.
And, maybe, a small part of me was excited at the thought of baking freely. Ivy rarely took my suggestions, and I never really pushed her on it because it was her store. But here? Melodie had said ‘go wild’.
We started with some of the easier bakes, and I showed Melodie how to make cupcakes, standard cookies and cakes. I then went to my station on the right and focused on my own bakes, while my mind drifted towards different recipes.