by Erin Johnson
“Uh.” I lifted my brows. “What are we up to?”
Hank bent one leg up on the bed, and turned to face me more fully. He took my hands in his. “Why was his body hidden in the palace? And who knew about the room—who entered while we were up there?” He swallowed, his eyes shining with intensity. “I’m starting to think someone in the palace may have killed Colin and, unable to sneak out his body, hid it. That person might still be here.”
I shuddered and goose bumps prickled my arms. What a creepy thought.
“Will you help me investigate Colin’s death?” Hank pressed his lips tight together and gazed at me, his eyes pleading. “Imogen—you’re the only person I trust anymore.”
I held my breath for a moment as conflicting emotions raged inside me. I flushed with warmth and love, honored that Hank would trust me so implicitly. But guilt tightened my stomach and crawled about under my skin. I shifted uneasily and dropped my eyes from his face. He trusted me now—but would he still, if he knew how much I was keeping from him? I had to tell him.
My eyes darted to his waiting face, his brows drawn up in the middle, eyes wide with worry and hope. I bit my lip, hard. But could I tell him now? He’d just opened up to me about Colin. He’d mentioned his mentor before, but never told me the full, sad story. He’d trusted Colin so long ago, only to be crushed by his sudden absence. And now he trusted me. If I told him I’d been in contact with Horace and had kept it from him for over a month, would I hurt him all over again? Not only that, but I’d been about to leave him suddenly, without warning… just like Colin.
I jumped to my feet suddenly, and stood in front of Hank. I gripped his hands. “Yes. I will absolutely do whatever I can to help you figure out what happened to Colin, and to get him justice.”
Hank smiled and let out a quiet breath. “Thank you.”
I nodded down at him. “But at this moment, I am wildly late and need to get back to work in the bakery.” I gave him a little grin, though my stomach churned with guilt.
He stared at my middle a moment, then pulled me closer and placed my hands around his neck. When he looked back up at me, he had a dark, mischievous glint in his eye. “You sure you have to leave?” His big hands slid around my waist and tugged at my apron ties.
I groaned. “You’re making this difficult.”
His lip curled back and he shot me a heavy look. “Good.”
My knees wobbled and I was about a half second away from pushing him back on the bed and pouncing on him, when a high-pitched squeal sounded from under the pillows. I froze, then shrieked and jumped as the pillows rustled. Hank was on his feet in half a second. He whirled toward the sound and shot one arm out to protect me. I peeked out from around him, my mind whirring from trying to think of any defensive spells I knew. All that came to my panicked mind was a spell for sifting flour. Not helpful, brain!
Chittering laughter sounded, and then Cat’s black face appeared beneath the pillow, grinning at us with his sharp-toothed Cheshire smile.
I pressed a hand to my racing heart and leaned forward to thunk my head against Hank’s back. “That thing is going to give me a heart attack one of these days.”
Hank groaned. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how he keeps getting in here.” He walked around the side of the bed and the little creature grinned up at him, still half-buried below the fluffy pillow. Hank glared sternly down at him and shook his finger. “Bad Cat.”
I planted my hands on my hips and grinned. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
Hank looked at me, his brows raised. “What do you mean? I’m scolding him.”
I laughed. “You’re such a softie.” I sighed. “He’s gotten to you, too.”
“What do you mean?” Hank laughed as the little monster leapt out and attached itself to his side. I cringed as it skittered around his body, spiraling upward till it perched on his head, like a gargoyle come to life with its leather bat wings fluttering to help him keep his balance.
I folded my arms. “You can’t keep him.” Hank had watched Cat a few times for Maple and Wiley when they were too swamped baking for evening events, and once when they went on a date. The little creature had charmed Hank, but I wasn’t fooled.
“Well, obviously. Cat is Maple and Wiley’s.” He grinned and clicked his tongue as Cat nibbled at his hair. “Hey there, little guy.” Hank shrugged. “But maybe Cat has a brother or sister—we could check the local shelter for—”
I shook my head. “Over my dead body. Which, let’s be honest, wouldn’t be around for long because Cat or his sibling would probably eat it, bones and all, like those stories you hear of people whose cats eat their noses off.”
Hank frowned. “I’ve never heard a story like that.”
I lifted a brow. “Count yourself lucky. There are some newscasts I just can’t unsee.” I shuddered.
Hank reached up to grab the teetering Cat, still perched on his head, but the little monster bit his finger.
“Ow!” Hank shook his hand.
“See?” I eased up to him, one wary eye on Cat, and gave him a quick kiss before darting out of the little creature’s range.
“You’re not taking Cat back to Maple?”
I shook my head. “Nah. I think you’ve got this.” I started to head out, but glanced back towards the postcards and keepsakes on the bed and paused. “Do you mind if I borrow a couple of these? Just to see if I can pick up on any clues?”
Hank shook his head and Cat let out an ear-piercing screech as he nearly lost his balance. Hank winced. “Of course not, take as many as you like.”
I grabbed a few postcards, but happened to glance at several of the open birthday cards as I did. I frowned. “Hank, these are all from Colin.”
He let out a dry laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. Cat nipped at his fingers and he pulled his hand back. “Yeah. My family never remembered my birthday.”
My jaw dropped. “That’s horrible.” Wait… when was his birthday? I looked at the date on the card. “Hank! Your birthday’s in a few days. Why didn’t you tell me?”
He waved it off. “It’s not a big deal.”
I clicked my tongue. “Yes, it is.”
He shook his head. “It’s on Friday, the day we’re getting back from the Air Kingdom. Everyone’s going to be busy packing up and moving.”
I planted a hand on my hip. “Well, we’ll celebrate that night here in Bijou Mer.”
His lips quirked to the side. “You don’t have to do anything.”
I grinned. “I know. But I want to. I’ll think of something.” I started out the door.
“Imogen?”
I glanced back at my handsome boyfriend. The disturbing creature tugged at his hair with its monkey hands.
“Thank you for always being there for me.” His throat bobbed. “I love you.”
Those conflicting emotions, love and guilt, tornadoed through me. My throat grew tight. “I love you, too.” I slid out the door and closed it behind me, but not before Cat scampered out with me. Of course. I let out a heavy sigh.
I moved down the high-ceilinged hall toward the bakery with Cat darting between my feet. Hank loved me, I didn’t doubt it—but did I deserve it?
5
Kitchen Nightmare
I pushed open the heavy wooden doors to the bakery and moved down the marble steps onto the floor, Cat scampering between my feet. Maple looked up and gave me a bright smile. I waved back.
“Don’t tell me you like that thing now?”
Iggy, my magical flame, burned in one of the recessed ovens in the wall to my left. He glared at Cat as the little creature flapped its bat wings and flew up to perch on Wiley’s shoulder. The little monster bit his hair.
I shook my head. “Never.”
“Thank the sea goddess.” Iggy sniffed. “Good of you to return and, you know, do your job.”
I rolled my eyes as I walked past him, and said my hellos to Yann and Annie. They stood over one of the long, wood-topped tables that spanned the lengt
h of the bakery. Yann, the big bear of a man, spread his giant hands wide and muttered spells to himself. Annie stood on the other side of the table, facing him with her wand held aloft. What looked like a miniature purple tornado whirled between them. I slid up beside Annie. She wore her usual headband, which kept her gray hair back from her face. A deep crease furrowed the space between her eyes as she concentrated on her work.
“Hi, dear. We’re making blueberry powder.”
Yann contained the whirling dust with his spell as Annie directed it.
“Ah.” I chuckled. “Back home, we’d just use a blender, but this works.”
Annie frowned deeper and bit her lip, but never took her eyes off the purple dust. “What’s a blender?”
I grinned and waved a hand. “Human thing.”
I moved across the cool marble floor and smiled at Sam. He stood at the other table beside a basket piled high with bright red and green apples. He pushed his round glasses up his nose and blinked his milky blue eyes at me. “Hi, Imogen.” His deep voice seemed out of place coming from such a slender, chinless man. But then again, a lot surprised me about my gentle shifter friend. He shrugged and adjusted his white apron, then held his hands aloft again and continued coring and thinly slicing the apples with his magic.
I reached over and stole a perfectly thin slice from the bowl. I bit into it and savored the juicy sweet tartness. “Yum.”
Sam blushed pink and dipped his head, so that his chin disappeared even further. “I like the red onesss, myssself.”
I gave his shoulder a squeeze and moved on toward Maple and Wiley. I glanced to where K’ree usually worked—now just an empty spot at the table. My chest tightened and I sighed. I was happy for her, and proud that she’d chosen to help turn her country around. I grinned as I thought of the last letter she’d sent me. I was also happy for her that she and Wool, the head baker of the Fire Kingdom’s Riad, seemed to have a little romance going. Still, I missed seeing her every day.
Maple sung a spell. A spoon magically stirred around in a copper bowl as Maple poured in a big cup of flour.
“Add the flour and the sugar,
Pour the salt into the bowl.
Mix it around with your spoon,
Here we go, we’re on a roll.”
I slid up beside Maple and bumped my hip into hers. The spoon clattered to a stop and she nearly fell over.
“Oh my goddess, sorry!” I grabbed her arm to steady her and she chuckled.
“How’d it go up there?” She glanced over at me as she sprinkled a few teaspoons of salt in with the other dried ingredients. She began to hum and the spoon got to work again.
I raised my brows, thinking she somehow already knew about Hank and me finding the body in the attic. But then I realized she was asking about my tea with the queen and the princesses. Could I tell her about the body? Hank hadn’t explicitly asked me not to, but then again he’d said I was the only one he trusted. I assumed that included Maple, since I told her everything… and Iggy… and basically all my friends in the bakery. Then again, only Iggy knew about me and Horace, so maybe I wasn’t as honest with them as I thought. I slumped against the table and let out a heavy sigh. “Urg.”
“That good, huh?” Wiley asked, with a smile in his voice.
He stood on the other side of the table grinding cardamom pods with a white marble mortar and pestle. Cat clung to his tall shoulders. I shot the creature a wary look, then took a deep breath and caught the spicy, anise-like scent of the cardamom.
I grinned. “It smells good in here.”
Maple nodded. “We’re working on apple pie with a purple crust.”
I grinned. “Purple crust? Is that what the blueberry powder is for?” I thumbed toward Yann and Annie.
Maple nodded.
“I’ve never heard of purple crust.” I planted my hands on my hips.
Wiley winked. “Our fearless leader made it up.”
I patted Maple on the back. “Go, Maple.” I kept patting. “See, I’m being gentler now.”
She rolled her eyes, but smiled. “Much appreciated.”
“So… the tea wasn’t any better?” Maple lifted her blue eyes. She blew a blonde strand of hair out of her face. “Was Emmaline there, at least?”
I nodded. “Yeah, Emmaline was there, and she’s always fine—very nice. I can tell she has a sense of humor in there, though it’s buried deep under all that royal posturing.” I groaned. “I’d just a million times rather be here with you guys.”
“Then get to work already!” Iggy yelled from the oven.
I shot him an exaggerated eye roll and Wiley chuckled. I pushed off the table though and tightened the apron strings at my lower back. “I’ll dice the butter?”
Maple nodded and passed me a large bowl full of icy-cold butter cubes. She sang a hurried song. “I’ve kept you cooled, I’ve kept you iced, but spell no longer, it’s time to be sliced.” The cold fog rising from the butter dissipated.
I frowned at the bowl—there had to be twenty sticks of butter in there. “How many pies are we making?”
“Oh!” She jumped and turned to me. “I forgot you weren’t here when I made the announcement.”
“What announcement?”
“The one you weren’t here for, because you out making the cover of Bijou Mer Weekly,” Iggy called out.
I shot him a flat look.
Wiley looked up from grinding the spices. “I did catch that one, and I have to say, you wore it better.”
I crossed my arms. “Well, thank you. That’s not what the editors said.”
Wiley leaned across the table and dropped his voice. “You know how those things are—so political. They can’t risk offending Miss Priscilla Wheattondown, or whoever she was—you know how much havoc one of those socialites could wreak.” He winked.
I chuckled despite myself, then buried my face in my palms and groaned. “Urg. I don’t want to be on magazine covers, I don’t want to go to fancy teas, and I don’t want to have to have tense, boring dinners with Hank’s cold family.”
Wiley sucked in a breath. “Trouble with the in-laws?” I looked between my fingers as Wiley dropped his voice. “I hear you, sister.”
“Uh!” Maple planted her hands on her hips with her elbows jutted out wide. “You love my family.”
He winced. “But… do I?”
She gasped, her mouth forming a perfectly round O, then she pressed her lips tight in a scowl.
Wiley tried to stifle a smile. “I meant… boy, do I!”
Maple sniffed and yanked the towel out of her apron pocket and threw it at Wiley’s head. Cat, in a flash of movement, intercepted it and careened off, flapping his leathery wings while shredding the towel with his razor-sharp teeth.
Maple and Wiley exchanged wide-eyed glances, then both devolved into giggles.
“Oh my goddess, he’s so cute.” Maple clasped her hands together.
“That’s our little Cat.” Wiley looked on like a proud father as the little monster grunted and snarled and destroyed the kitchen towel. “He protected me.”
I slid my eyes across the room and caught Iggy’s gaze. He shook his fire head at me. I nodded my agreement—Cat was a menace. “You two are delusional.” I grabbed a sharp knife and got to cutting the butter. Even though I’d gotten much, much better at magic, some things were just more fun to do by hand, the way I’d learned growing up in the human world before I discovered my powers. “So, what was that announcement again?”
I glanced up to find Maple and Wiley gazing adoringly at each other. I chuckled and looked back down at my butter. They were sickeningly cute together. Wiley’s antics and teasing hadn’t stopped, if anything they’d increased, but now that they were officially together, instead of big blowouts it just led to the two of them flirting—hard.
Maple shook her head. “What was that?”
I grinned. “The announcement?”
“Oh, right.” She shot me a big smile. “You already know we’re going to
the Air Kingdom tomorrow for the Spring Solstice Festival.” She clasped her hands together. “I’m so excited—we get to stay all week. But the big news is that the Air Kingdom bakers are taking the week off, and we’re filling in. We get a chance to show off what we can do, starting with these pies for the welcome picnic tomorrow.”
Wiley chuckled to himself. “Only you would get excited about extra work.”
She rolled her eyes. Blonde tendrils floated around her head like a halo and she had a pink flush to her cheeks.
I grinned at her. “Happiness looks good on you, you know?”
She ducked her head, the blush deepening. I kept watching my sweet friend. She’d been there for me, from the beginning, when I knew no one and nothing. She’d gotten me my job here after she won the competition and became head baker. She was the best friend I’d ever had, along with Iggy—and I was keeping big secrets from her.
She glanced up, her thin brows lifted. When she saw my face, she sobered up and cocked her head to the side. “Hey. Is everything all right?”
I shook myself and unsuccessfully tried to smile. I bit my lip and made a decision—I had to tell her about Horace. “Actually… can I talk to you?”
She nodded as her eyes grew wide. “This sounds serious.”
I didn’t deny it.
Wiley pretended to be engrossed with grinding the cardamom.
Maple blinked. “Can it wait just a couple of minutes? We need to cut that in before it melts.” She glanced at my butter.
I nodded. “Sure. Of course.” My stomach crawled with nerves. I shot a glance to my left and Iggy gave me a grim nod. I let out a shaky breath. At least Iggy knew and didn’t judge me for it. Well, that wasn’t true, he’d judged me hard, but he still loved me and had even been willing to go to the Badlands with me, just to make sure I stayed safe with Horace. My stomach tightened as I realized how lucky I was to have all these wonderful people as friends and how worried I was that I might lose them if they knew my secret. I sighed as I sliced the butter into thin squares. I was about to find out. Goody.
