Page 15 of Sugar & Sorcery
“She’s surrounded by your Spirits. You have to do something!”
I frowned.Cursed.
“Then she’s already lost and useless,” I growled. “Humans are always in such a hurry to throw away their humanity.”
And perhaps then my magical barrier would finally recognize her as the intruder she was.
“You’re the one who placed a protection spell on her shop! That’s why she’s here!”
My jaw tightened. I had brought her to me. Worse, I had practically invited her into the realm I had so carefully made sure no one dared to approach.
Slowly, I stepped toward the windowless balcony (I considered windows unnecessary).
“You’re not going to kill her, are you?” Yeun blurted, trying to block me with his light. “Don’t be so drastic! She might be the one you’ve been looking for!”
With a casual flick, I sent him spinning backward, vanishing into the manor’s depths.
“You were human once too!” his voice echoed as he receded.
There was little human left in me, save for the struggle to keep my appearance. I perched on the narrow railing of the balcony. The clouds, dark and heavy with fog, hid the ground below. The manor’s gray, austere towers groaned under the wind whipping against my face.
But it was the scent that froze me in place. Honey, laced with the sweetness of golden apples, and perhaps, the airy lightness of spun sugar.
From my back, long bone antlers burst forth. My coat draped across my shoulders unfurled into wings of black ink and silver mist, slicing through the air as I dove from the balcony. My veins blackened. Thorn-spikes pierced through my skin. The wind screamed in my ears. The ground shook when I landed, dust curling around me.
A tendril of smoke escaped my mouth. The spikes and antler bones sank back into my flesh. My coat’s sleeves settled against my arms. I straightened, and that was when I saw her.
Lying in the middle of the tall grass and wild violet flowers, the confectioner looked like a dream in tatters. Her pink hair tangled with the petals, and her name—Lempicka—was embroidered on her apron.
I had never seen a curse so… radiant.
Her entire body was a prison of sucre d'or, glittering even in the fog. She looked like a rose of ice, with her tears frozen beneath her lashes. I swallowed, my gaze lingering on her longer than I should have. Even the bioluminescent fireflies and the black lake’s lilies seemed dull beside her.
I had almost forgotten about my faceless wandering shadows, my Spirits, their shapes dark and half translucent, gathered around her.
“You have nothing better to do?” I said, folding my arms. “Like scaring those who dare cross our forest.”
They didn’t listen, of course. Why would they flee when she offered more than my wrath? They were starving. The boldest of them crawled toward her, reaching out as if to touch but never quite daring. The smallest buzzed around her, like a swarm of hungry flies.
I couldn’t fault them. After all, I had noticed myself that she smelled… appetizing.
A rustle in the bushes drew my attention. Three shapes crouched beneath the leaves, trembling in the shadows.
“And you came with her,” I murmured, sensing the presence of the two Cursed hidden away, their yellow eyes glowing beside the black lamb that accompanied them.
The Cursed and the Spirits were of different natures. The former had once been alive, transformed by magic and curses. The latter had never known life—magical entities without magic, neither truly living nor entirely dead. They belonged to a realm apart.
I stepped forward, my boots sinking into the damp earth. Letting my Spirits devour her would have been the kinder end. After all, confectioners were merely tools, replaceable and necessary for our survival. Yet, for a reason that irritated me as much as her untimely presence, I found myself not wanting that to happen.
“Have you changed your mind? About her… elimination?”
“You speak as if killing her were such a terrible idea,” I replied, a faint smile on my lips. “But if it matters to you that much, you can always do it yourself.”
Yeun faltered, taking on the most pitiful shade of brown. “We really will have to work on your sense of humor.”
Another step. A sharp crack under my boot. I looked down at a splinter of broken pink wood. Like a trail of crumbs leading to my manor, fragments of the confectioner’s shop lay scattered here, abandoned. Magic always left traces.
I bent down and picked up a parchment, dust clinging to it—the magical signature of the one who called herself the Wish Witch.
