Over on the far side near the main entrance was a long, white and cream marble counter, one half housing numerous pastries on display behind glass cases, and the other full of magical stations creating the special drinks.
It was so sweet and thoughtful that Zayn had chosen a place like this.
I didn’t know what was going on to have made him late, but I knew he’d been looking forward to it, so whatever had gone down had to be important, or out of his control.
I wasn’t going anywhere yet.
I’d wait it out for another half hour and if he still didn’t show, I’d track him.
For now, I was really enjoying the Sigil Swirls and the Cinder Milk Tea that I’d ordered.
The creamy, cheesy filling inside the rolled pastry of the Sigil Swirls reminded me of the quiches my dad and I used to make during my childhood. It had that same warm, savory comfort baked right into it. It was a father-daughter bonding thing we’d had going on. While he was an amazing cook, I definitely wasn’t the best—except when it came to quiches.
I took a sip of the Cinder Milk Tea. It was a smoky black tea with oat milk and ginger sugar pearls that had cinnamon foam dusted with spices that gave it a nice kick and tickled my throat.
With Zayn being late, it actually gave me time to attend to another matter.
One that had been lingering for too long.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled to Torvek’s number. We’d never had our discussion about him and Fanor in the end. I’d been waiting patiently for him to get back to me about it, but he hadn’t. The actual night we’d set aside to talk about it, he’d texted claiming that he’d had a diplomatic situation to attend to with Dyna Bivan at the Dracoryn Core.
But since then, it had been days and we’d just briefly checked in with each other, and he’d been keeping an emotional distance.
Something was wrong.
I’d given him time, but he still wasn’t coming around. And Torvek bottling things up—more than he already did—wasn’t a good thing by any means.
I fired off a text.
All right, a series of texts.
A barrage.
Evira:Hey, flame bite.
Evira:Miss me?
Evira:I miss you.
Evira:On a date tonight. Cute little place with scrumptious pastries.
Evira:Want me to send you one over? Seen a few you’d like. Think my dad would drop the ward for a magical pastry delivery?
Evira:How’s your day been?
Evira:Well, it’s night now, but you get my meaning.
Evira:You used to, anyway. Not sure what’s going on with you lately, though. Feel like finally elaborating?
Torvek:Hades, woman. You’ve got me. I’m here.
Evira:Finally ready to talk about the Fanor of it all? Last I heard she was taking you to Ignis Row, and updates were coming my way. Ready now?
Torvek:Nope.
Evira:What’s wrong, T? What’s really going on? Please don’t shut me out.
Torvek:We’re taking some time apart.
