Page 33 of Dawn Unearthed

I shook my head. “I don’t even know who I’m going to be in the next moment. I can’t keep up.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to right now,” she said softly. “You’re a baker. You infuse some of your magic into your goods. Not on purpose, but maybe simply what you’re feeling at the moment.”

“That’s not good. It’ll probably be all anxiety and me wanting to throw up.”

Rowen grinned. “I don’t think you can make anxiety rolls. More the welcoming feeling that you have when you think of your aunt.” Her hands went to the French bread. “Here, it feels as if you were thinking about a certain someone.” She winked and walked over to the honey buns. “And I know who you were thinking about when you baked these. Whoever eats these is going to be very happy later.”

I blushed and shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do. But I won’t pry. Yet. Though I know you probably have a few questions.” She raised a brow. Thankfully, before I could say anything or she could continue, another townsperson came up and asked about a special-order cake for a birthday. I smiled and nodded and took some notes. I already had a pricing list in mind, but I’d never thought things would happen so quickly.

“You have to charge more than this,” the older woman said. “We may be a small town, but we pay for what things are worth.”

I smiled softly. “I’m only starting. And I am pricing decently high and for what I’m worth. I don’t want to price out of the market, though.”

“Thank you for that. But I expect you to raise your prices soon.” She smiled. “You are a master at what you do, and you need to know your worth.”

I shook my head. “I do know my worth.”

The other woman left, and I looked over at Rowen. “I’m doing this, then? For real? Putting magic into my baked goods?”

Rowen threw her head back and laughed. “This is Ravenwood, Sage. You don’t need to whisper about magic. Everyone in this room right now knows who you are and what you and the rest of us can do.”

The people milling about looking at bread and eating honey buns grinned and waved.

“I don’t know how that’s possible because I don’t even know who I am or what I can do.”

Rowen smiled. “Touché.”

“Are you badgering her again?” Laurel asked as she walked up to a neat pile of brownies. “And I think I found my new lover,” she said, cooing over the sweets. “These are all individually wrapped, but how much for the lot of them?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.

I snorted. “You do not need an entire plate of fudge brownies with a caramel center. You are going to end up sick.”

“But I’ll be sick in bliss. Look at these—hello, my darlings. Come to me. Love me.”

“Are you crooning to brownies like you would a lover?” Rowen asked.

“I don’t think I’m this sweet to my lovers,” Laurel said, and Trace cleared his throat behind her. She blushed and then waved him off. “Oh, shush.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but those brownies do look good. However, are those honey buns?” the big bear asked as he walked forward, his gaze intense.

I laughed, and it felt like home. Why did it feel like I had always been here?

“I can’t read your thoughts—I’m not that type of witch. But I can see them written on your face.”

I looked at Rowen. “What?”

“You are home. Deep inside, you’ve always known who you are and who you could be. You might still be figuring it all out. So are we. But a part of you, some part of you will forever feel as if you’ve always been here. You fit in Ravenwood. And I know there are forces out there that make things difficult. Things we’ll have to deal with. But you’re also home. I hope you realize that.”

“I was thinking that. Maybe youdoread minds.”

“No, but I feel that in the few weeks I’ve known you, I’m starting to understand what you’re thinking.”

“I’ve been suppressing everything all this time?”

“I don’t know. You could have been. Or maybe it took walking into Ravenwood for you to understand. We may never know. However, youarehome. And everyone seems to love your baked goods. You have a gift.” She gripped both of my hands as Laurel grinned behind her.

“A true gift.”

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