Page 5 of Sugar & Sorcery
No wonder the shop struggled to survive. But still, I had to look on the bright side. “Well? How were they? Creamy? Soft? Better than the last batch?”
“Meh.”
“Meh,”I grumbled under my breath, piping my little hearts, drop after drop. Ten years, and only four measly recipes unlocked: Velvet Hearts, to warm the heart; Amber Syrup with wildflower honey and dandelion-nettle root for colds and rainy days; Hibiscus and Blackthorn Tartlets for Aignan’s nightmares; and Rainbow Cupcakes, a balm for the soul.
Plus a grimoire still as silent and infuriating as ever—one I often dreamed of hurling out the window.
I slid the hearts into the preheated oven, and the sugary ballet resumed. My hands found their refuge. The white chocolate melted in a bain-marie. The crushed raspberries folded into it. A pinch of angelica. A dash of prepared crystallized sucre d'or.
A soft pink ganache, like a sigh.
“Meanwhile, I’m still sleeping on this ratty cushion I call a bed. Do you hear me complaining?”
I climbed onto a flour sack to reach the rose petals, a faint smile on my lips. “You? Complain? Never.”
He bristled. “I’m a magical creature, just like sorcerers!” (He much preferred that term toCategory One Cursed.) “I need the sucre d'or to keep my strength up! But we, beasts, we have to do backflips just to get a crumb, while you humans gobble down pastries like it’s nothing.”
“Oh yeah? Since when do you do backflips? I’ve never seen you lift more than a hoof.”
Sulky silence. I took the little heart-shaped macarons out of the oven—golden and slightly crisp. Once they cooled, I filled them with ganache and pressed them together, heart to heart.
“Your Velvet Hearts are ready!” I called from the back, placing them in a little box. “The usual ones…”
“One day, when you finally get a new recipe right, I’ll be the first to order it.” Yeun was forever the optimist.
Aignan leaped onto the counter to glare at him. “What are you staring at, butler? You reek of sorcerer and burnt magic.”
I smiled. “Ah. Aignan’s nose never lies.”
“You really do have a strange creature,” Yeun said.
“We balance each other out.” I handed Aignan a macaron I’d saved just for him. “He’s the guardian of this shop. He’s scared off more than a few.”
Aignan puffed his chest, whiskers dusted in crumbs.
Yeun took the neatly wrapped package and cleared his throat. “I don’t doubt it. Your sweets are always appreciated.”
“For you… or for the sorcerer you serve?” I asked, leaning over the counter.
Before he could utter a word, a furious gust slammed the door shut. The bell gave a crooked ring, off-key. Two shadows crawled inside, slipping under the flickering glow of the lanterns and leaving behind them sticky trails that gleamed like melted soot.
My stomach twisted. Their eyes, sickly yellow, were fixed on me. One clung to the wall, its skin a deep, black-purple hue, its wide mouth lined with rows of sharp teeth. Behind it, too many tails to count slashed through the air, knocking over jars and sending herbs and spices flying like a storm of confetti. The other was enormous, hunched, its body made of dark green clay. A mass of stone bristling with uneven ridges, like an earth golem. Each of its steps made the floorboards shudder.
“What do you want?” My voice was tighter than I would’ve liked. I instinctively reached for the copper ladle hanging near the oven, sliding one foot in front of Aignan. “Go. Out the back door. Now.”
Aignan bared his fangs, fur bristling all down his spine. “What are these Cursed doing here?”
The Cursed—those damned souls, born or twisted by dark magic—were in my shop.
The village had never seen any before, other than Aignan. But I doubted these were Category One.
The golem let out a deep, guttural growl, its massive hand slamming against the floorboards. The other, its tail stretching out like a tentacle, cracked through the air before suddenly coiling around my customer’s ankle.
“Yeun!” I screamed.
I took a step toward him, but it was too late. Yeun’s body wavered, his outline trembling as if caught in invisible flames. Then, in an instant, his human shape dissolved. A bluish light rose in a swirl.
It was the first time I wished I’d been wrong. But Yeun… Yeun was a flame. A will-o’-the-wisp. His glow flickered, turning a sickly green. The Velvet Hearts slipped from his hands, scorched by fire, and fell to the floor.
