Page 30 of Must Love Scones and Secrets
Behind me, the stallion that guarded the herd stood with a pale pink mare, their bodies pressed together, tails entwined,and horns touching. From their horns came an effervescent glow of pink, ethereal hearts and rose petals swirling in a potent love enchantment that had temporarily encapsulated Bjorn.
“I’d love to say it was my beauty that inspired you, but it looks like unicorn magic was involved.”
Bjorn stared at the unicorns, then turned back to me, his cheeks burning red. “By the Nine Gods, I am so sorry, Rosalyn. I was thinking of you, and when you appeared, I just… I am so embarrassed. I don’t know what to say. I’m so very sorry,” he said with an awkward laugh. “That was so forward of me and?—”
“No harm done—at all,” I said with a grin, wishing my charmshadovercome him. No such luck. “You are one hundred percent forgiven. It’s a good thing you’re a good kisser, or we may have had a different outcome,” I said, then laughed. “You should see the expression on your face.” I chuckled lightly and set my hand on his arm. “Really, Bjorn, it’s okay.”
He covered his mouth with his hand and then laughed at the absurdity of the moment. “If my mother…” he began, then seemed to catch himself. “I do apologize.”
“Apology accepted. Please, forget it,” I replied, wishing with all my heart that he wouldnotforget it. “Hungry?” I asked, gesturing to my picnic basket.
“I…” Bjorn said, seeming to realize he’d taken it from my hand and set it there when he moved to kiss me. “Yes, I am.”
“That looks like a good spot,” I added, pointing to a nearby willow tree. “Shall we?”
“You’re so kind to think of me.”
“Of course,” I said gently, touching his arm.
One thing is sure, Mister Runeson. Afterthatkiss, I won’t stop thinking of you any time soon!
We made our way to the shady tree nearby. From there, we had a good view of the unicorns. Bjorn and I worked together, spreading the picnic blanket and setting out the food. I could tellby his actions that he was embarrassed by getting caught in the spell, and once more, I wondered if he had someone back home. But he’d mentioned his mother, which seemed…odd. Maybe Rune elves had some traditions with which I was not familiar.
Once the blanket was ready, Merry hopped out of the basket and selected the best spot, lying back down again.
“Will he run off?” Bjorn asked, eyeing the caticorn who was exchanging nose sniffs with the firewolf.
“Not Merry. He’s my most loyal man. He never gets far, but mostly because he’s perpetually lazy.”
Bjorn and I both laughed.
I turned to Smoke. “I didn’t forget you,” I told him, pulling out a bag of dog cookies and tossing him one.
“You really are too kind to do this, Rosalyn. The elder left me supplies in the cabin. And I… I know I left abruptly last night. I am truly sorry for that.” He paused and met my gaze. Behind his eyes, I saw warring emotions. “It wasn’t anything you did. I’m sorry.”
I took a scone from the basket and handed it to him. “Less apologies. More eating,” I said, then sat back.
Bjorn gave me a warm and grateful smile, then settled in.
Bjorn Runeson was turning out to be a pleasant puzzle.
He set his scone aside and politely poured me a goblet of bloomberry wine before pouring one for himself and putting together a modest plate, which included the scone. But he lingered as he looked at the unicorns.
“Now that I’ve almost recovered over the embarrassment of kissing you without your permission, and my wits are slowly returning, you mentioned something about the unicorn problem?”
I nodded. “That’s why I wanted to see you,” I lied. Itotallylied. “Last night, you saw the strange episode with Merry. He’s been having odd bursts of magic. And then my friend, Juniper,mentioned a local farmer’s snufflecorns have also exhibited odd behavior. Uni-horned creatures are most in tune with earth magic, aren’t they? We wondered if maybe there was some connection.”
Bjorn nodded. “You might be right. I don’t know how it is for pixies, but for elves, we are also sensitive to shifts in earth magic. Something is wrong with the magic here. It’s too wild, working in ways it should not. Look,” Bjorn said, gesturing to the unicorns.
I scanned the field, seeing what he meant. Three colts chased a whirlwind of sugar blossom floss, a single raincloud poured over a particularly grumpy-looking unicorn, and sparks and rainbows shot everywhere. Everything was in chaos.
“Do you know these lands well?” Bjorn asked. “Is there any great source of magic out here, something that might amplify things?”
“I don’t know. I moved to Moonshine Hollow to apprentice as a magical baker. I wasn’t raised here. The ancient oak in town ismagical. It is home to the fairies of Moonshine Hollow who tend to our flora and fauna. Still, most of the natural magical features are in Silver Vale, on the other side of the river. As far as I know, out here, there are just fields, vineyards, and farms.”
Bjorn frowned, then sighed. He took a deep drink of the wine and ate a few bites from his plate. Once more, I noted the proper way in which he ate. Maybe that explained the comment about his mother. Did he have an overbearing mother who was a stickler for propriety and judgmental of girlfriends? Yikes.
Bjorn turned back to me. “So, you’re not from here? Where were you born?”
