Chapter 15

Aurora

BAKING HAS NEVER CAUSED ME so much grief.

I love this tiny kitchen, adore it, but when it comes to baking bread and cookies for the entire village, suddenly there's not enough table space, and I keep losing my measuring spoons and baking goods. I swear my sugar likes to up and walk away. If Auntie Lilith were here, I'd think she put a charm on it just to make herself laugh. She used to play pranks like that all the time. What I wouldn't give for a good laugh right about now.

Pulling a fresh sack of flour from the cupboard, I set it on the edge of the kitchen table, then turn to—

The table wobbles, as it always does, and it sends the flour tumbling straight to the hardwood floor. A silent explosion of flour coats the entire kitchen, painting everything—me included—a soft shade of cream.

For a moment, all I can do is stand there, eyes wide, horrified at the mess now covering my entire kitchen. My cupboards, my floor, my hair—it's all flour .

At that same moment, the porch creaks, and someone knocks on my door.

It's a specific knock, firm but undemanding, and I already know it's Alden. I didn't know if he'd visit today, but now I'm suddenly very grateful he's here.

Without moving, I call out, "Come in!"

I'm still standing in the kitchen, frozen in my flour mess, when Alden appears in my doorway, wearing loose trousers and a tunic with the sleeves rolled up. His brown eyes immediately go wide.

"What happened?" he asks, brow furrowing as his gaze sweeps across the aftermath.

"The... The..." I don't know why, but tears are suddenly swimming in my eyes. "The table. It wobbled, and my flour..." My gaze darts to the empty sack now lying rumpled on my kitchen floor. "How am I ever going to get all my baking done? I'm not going to have enough time, and the village will think I don't care about them, and then... then..."

Now tears are streaming down my cheeks, and I'm clenching my hands into fists, standing in my kitchen crying like a child. Even though I know it's probably silly, I can't seem to stop the tears.

Not at all concerned about getting himself covered in flour, Alden immediately crosses the threshold into the kitchen and wraps me in his embrace. He smells like wood shavings and soap, and for some reason, the comfort his arms provide just makes me cry harder.

"It's all ruined!" I sob into his shirt, my tears leaking into the fabric .

One of his large hands strokes the length of my hair, and he shushes me softly. "It's not all ruined. You just need a break. Come on. It's beautiful outside."

"I can't leave it like this!" I say, pulling away from him as if he's just suggested the impossible.

"You can ," he says, taking my teary face between his hands. His thumbs sweep under my eyes, brushing the tears away. "I'll help you clean up when we get back. Let's go."

Without waiting for my response, he spins me around, unties my apron, and lifts it off over my head. When I look down at my dress, there's a flour-free shape of an apron on the fabric.

Before I can resist, Alden takes my hand and leads me out the kitchen door into the sun. It's such a pleasant day that I don't even need a shawl, and the warmth helps dry the remaining tears on my cheeks.

Alden pauses beside the garden to brush the flour from my dress and my hair. I stand there like a child, arms held out, letting him sweep it all away. When he's done, he steps back to survey his work.

"Better. Now come on." He holds his hand out, and I take it with a little sigh.

He leads me past the garden, where I'm about to start a few beds of seeds, and around the back of the cottage into the woods. The undergrowth is thick here, and tall dried brown grasses tickle my fingers as I walk alongside Alden. Greenery is poking up through everything the fall left behind, and it won't be long now before the forest explodes with vibrant green and colorful blooms .

The air smells sweet with the promise of summer, and birds flit through the pine trees overhead, singing to one another in voices that carry above the treetops. A tiny finch swoops through the branches, and watching her soar on the breeze makes me smile.

Alden squeezes my hand, and when I glance up at him, he's looking down at me, eyes kind and soft.

"Now," he says, voice gentle, "what do we need to do to get your baking done in time? It's still a couple days until Ostara."

Trying not to let myself get worked up again, I take a deep breath, then list out what needs done. "I need to clean up the kitchen, then go back to the mercantile and get more flour. I've already finished a few dozen lemon cookies, so I mostly need to bake the bread now."

"And how long will that take?"

I wrinkle my nose in thought. "Lydia said we'll need about twenty, and if I spend tonight and all day tomorrow baking, I should be able to have the loaves done by the evening. Then I'll need to wrap them up and figure out how to transport them."

"We can use my cart," Alden offers. "I'll bring it by the morning of the festival and help you load everything up. How does that sound?"

Tears moisten my eyes again, but this time for a different reason. "You'd do that?" I ask softly. A single tear slips from my eye to roll down my cheek, and Alden reaches out to wipe it away with his thumb.

"Of course I would. "

Before he can pull his hand away, I catch it and press a kiss to his palm. Warmth blossoms in my chest.

The birdsong slowly gets overtaken by the rushing of the river as we approach its bank. My eyes widen when I see it.

"It's all melted," I say. "There was still a thin layer of ice when last I looked."

Alden releases my hand and bends over to remove his boots and roll up his trousers.

"Summer's almost here," he says, then sets his boots to one side. Next thing I know, he's taking a seat on the bank and submerging his feet in the rushing water. A sigh slips from his lips, and when he tips his head back, the sunlight cuts across his face, making the gold in his dark eyes shine. "Well? You gonna join me?"

"Isn't it cold?" I ask. Submerging myself in a hot spring is one thing, but a rushing river? It's fed with snowmelt from the Emberstone Mountains; it's going to be frigid this time of year.

"Are you afraid?" he taunts, one eyebrow lifting in the corner.

My lips pucker with stubbornness. " No ."

He clucks his tongue. "Guess you'll have to prove it."

I hesitate one more moment, watching the water rush past, then bend over to unlace my boots and pull them off. As soon as my feet hit the forest floor, a wave of calm washes over me. The earth's energy tingles through my toes, into my ankles, and up my calves, making me feel alive with the magic of Mother Nature.

Already feeling lighter than I did ten minutes ago when we left the cottage, I take a seat next to Alden, hitch up my dress, and plop my feet into the river.

Immediately, I squeal and steal them back out. "It's freezing!"

His laughter is warm and rumbling. With an easy sigh, he lies back on the ground, arms under his head, eyes trained up on the clouds as they move over the treetops. His chest rises and falls slowly beneath his cotton tunic, and his long dark curls frame his head where it rests on the earth.

I've always found Alden handsome, but right now, I see him as if for the first time. Maybe it's because he's finally opened up to me, has finally built an Aurora-size door into his heart so that I can walk right through and bask in its loving warmth.

Suddenly overcome with affection for him, I brace my hands in the grass and lean down to press a kiss to Alden's lips.