His hair is pulled up into a messy topknot—one of his typical styles—and the rings in his ears gleam in the warm yellow sunlight, sending sparkles of light along the walls and marble floor as he tips his head.
And looks right at me.
Heat flares inside me at having been caught staring. I don’t think I’ve ever stared at someone so much in my life. But Aric just smiles, his eyes crunching joyfully in the corners.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hi.” My voice sounds small in the expansive castle entrance, and I cross the marble floor toward him. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”
Aric’s smile doesn’t budge. “I’d have waited all day.”
The butterflies now feel like they’re turning into a whirlwind of tiny dragons.
I don’t know what to say, so I glance away shyly.
But Aric reaches toward me, and his fingers brush my chin as he gently turns my face back to his, angling it into the light.
“You’re wearing makeup,” he says, tone surprised.
“O-oh, it’s just a little s-something Alina did for me,” I stutter out, almost vibrating out of my skin from the way he’s holding my chin.
He pulls his hand away, but my skin still feels hot where his fingers touched me. “It’s beautiful. I mean, you look great without makeup too, but it’s, you know... nice.” His green cheeks darken just a tinge.
I blink. Did Aric Vandermere just get flustered? Overme?
Maybe this isn’t a friend date after all...
I’m going to need to tell Alina thank you about a million more times when I get back to the room later.
Aric clears his throat. “You ready to go?”
I nod, and he moves to pull one of the heavy castle doors open for me. Of course, he makes it look like it’s the weight of a toothpick, but I know better—it takes my whole body to budge one of those doors. We step out into the autumn sunshine together, and I’m delighted to see that some of the trees have started to turn bright shades of orange and gold.
Autumn has been soft this year. We usually get rainstorms and plenty of gray days, but so far, it’s been beautiful. And considering how long the walk to Wysteria is, I’mveryglad it isn’t raining. Still, even if it were, I don’t think I would have cancelled. I probably would’ve walked all the way to the city in the rain, as long as it meant I got to go to Sweet Crumbs with Aric.
At first, I’m afraid it’ll be awkward as we walk. But Aric makes it easy, with his chatty demeanor and rumbly laugh. And by the time we’ve passed under the barbican and haveentered the shady path through the Mistwood, I’m already feeling more at ease.
“So, you’re a dream witch, right?” Aric asks as he walk. “How does that work?”
Our boots crunch over the dirt, and I fiddle with a strand of my hair as I explain. “My dreams always mean something—whether they’re a sign, an answer to a question I’ve been working on, or just a silly thing that might happen the next day.” My lips pull up into a smile. “Last night I dreamt of dancing cookies with smiling faces.”
Aric widens his eyes. “That could either be awesome orreallycreepy.” He tips his head down toward me. “What do you think it means?”
“I have no idea,” I say. Then I tip my head right back and add with a small smile, “But maybe we’ll figure it out together.”
“WELL,” ARIC SAYS AS WE stand across the street from Sweet Crumbs. “I guess that explains your dream, then.”
Two people dressed as chocolate-chip cookies dance in front of the shop, each holding a sign that reads,Big cookie sale!
A laugh bursts out of me, and I quickly cover my mouth with a hand.
Aric looks down, his lips pulled into a big smile. “Ready to chance the creepy dancing cookies?” He holds a hand out to me.
Tome. Like this is a waking dream. And I’m really not ready to wake up if it is.
I only hesitate a moment before slipping my hand into his.
My fingers feel so tiny held in his warm fist, and I know a blush is already creeping into my cheeks as we cross the cobblestone street—being careful to avoid horse-drawn wagons and buggies—and slip past the dancing cookies to step into the shop.
