Wanting to get out of the Ivory Forest as soon as possible, we didn't stop to rest, even to sleep when night fell. Not only did we not want to spend a single moment more between the cursed trees but, if days really had passed while we were tricked by illusions, I didn't have long left to finish the request. Either he would arrive to pick up the confection I would make, or he would return with a blade to put a swift end to my life.

A harrowing feeling of dread twisted in my gut, warning me I was out of time, but there was only one way I would find out.

Oryal slipped his hand into mine as we neared the outskirts of the forest. Home wasn't too far away. "You'll be okay. I won't let anyone hurt you."

I squeezed it back. "Thank you."

One moment, white trees surrounded us for as far as we could see. The next, the bright colour vanished and everything returned to normal. Brown trees appeared as we passed through the magic barrier, alongside dark and muted grass across the forest floor. Green leaves danced above us in the wind, patterns of sunlight guiding our way. The bounty hunter guided us with a sharp turn onto a path that cut through the woodland and, after a few minutes of walking, the silhouette of the village entrance appeared in the distance.

I couldn't help but let out a joyful laugh, rushing ahead as more buildings appeared on the horizon. Oryal followed close behind but he didn't break into a sprint like I had. I was so happy to be back home, to see houses and people I didn't have to worry about not being real.

After I passed the village gate, winding through quiet streets, I emerged into the market square that I was familiar with.

The mixed aroma of food was enough to make anyone's stomach growl with desire. Wares had been stored away for the next few hours to make room for food, tempting passers-by with an early afternoon meal. A range of snacks and cuisines surrounded the area, including my favourite bowled moon fog soup. Rich meats sizzled on open flames, pots of bite-sized potato puffs, and warm tomato noodles could all be seen too, causing my mouth to water.

At one of the stalls selling fresh bread rolls topped with melted cheese was Mystal buying her lunch. Her clawed fingers picked out some silver coins from a pouch, paying for the food.

Running up to her side and grabbing her shoulders, I caught the apothecary owner by surprise. "Mystal! What day is it?"

Her fangs retracted and her fists unclenched when she realised her potential attacker was only me. "It's... Monday." Mystal's azure eyes were wide with shock as they looked me up and down, taking in my appearance.

When we set off, leaving Deathly Delights behind in search of the Noxol, it had been early Tuesday morning. Now, it was Monday afternoon. I didn't even have a full day to bake something presentable for a noble — for a suspected King.

"Are you okay?" the apothecary owner questioned. "You look like you fought with a tree spirit and lost."

"Ask me tomorrow. I'll have an answer for you then." As much as I missed her and wanted to tell all about the Ivory Forest, I didn't have time to waste. With a quick wave goodbye, I found Oryal watching us in the crowd of people.

Snatching his arm, I dragged him over to the bakery. "This is bad. This is so bad," I murmured to myself over and over. Fishing my keys from my bag, which were thankfully still there, I opened the door to Deathly Delights and made my way inside.

It had never been nicer to be home. The scent of flour and pastries cloaked us as we stepped through the door, an instant calm settling over us even if they were stale after sitting in their displays for nearly a week. Several orders had been shoved through the letterbox in the door and now they piled on the floor. Even when the bakery had been closed, people still wanted their poisoned confections. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to worry about them now.

Stepping over the requests, I made my way into the kitchen with Oryal following close behind. As much as I wanted to dive into my bed and bury my face in the pillows, I needed to work. "How much do you know about baking?"

"Nothing at all," the bounty hunter replied. He unstrapped his axe from his back and leant it against the wall — a corner where it wouldn't be in the way.

"I've got an afternoon to think of something to make, bake it, and perhaps early tomorrow morning I could finish up the decorations," I said aloud, my thoughts spiralling with each new added responsibility. "It needs to be safely packaged in an enchanted box and ready to go before opening hours tomorrow." Exhaustion crept through my limbs, but I had to push myself through. I couldn't imagine what Oryal felt like.

Unpacking my bag, I carefully pulled out the jars of Noxol and sat them with the rest of my stock of poison. The petals still had their fiery glow, even when they had lost their source of nutrients.

"If you want to rest up, my bedroom is the third door on the left down the hall. The bathroom is the second on the same side if you want to clean up too," I offered. Why had I dragged him all this way? I bet he was looking forward to getting some rest as much as I was.

Oryal peered down at his dirt-coated hands. "I'll wash up and help you in any way I can." He began to unravel the laces of the leather braces on his arms and headed into the hallway, leaving me to wrestle with my panic.

What in the gods' names was I going to make? When we had first set off for the Ivory Forest, I had wanted to make a pie of some kind, but now I wasn't sure if that would work. If I needed to include all of the poisons requested, it would need to be something that could hide them. I needed to decide on a base, toppings, colours, fillings, flavours — the list didn't have a foreseeable end. Did I even have all of the ingredients I needed?

Heading over to the closest cabinet, I flung open the doors to check what was stored inside. We had been away for a week and I prayed most of the ingredients hadn't spoiled. The flour was fine and there was plenty of it to go around. Before the royal guard had ordered a confection with Noxol, we had a delivery of fresh eggs, so they were okay too. At first, I didn't think any butter was left, but it was hidden underneath the icing sugar. Thankfully, elven milk didn't spoil all too easily so there was enough of that too.

All of my findings pointed toward making a cake.

I retrieved the list of poisons the royal guard gave me from a drawer in the counter at the front of the bakery and got to work, gathering all the equipment I needed to begin. For the main sponge, the flavour needed to be strong enough to mask the taste of the poisons mixed inside. Alongside a healthy dose of raspberry, I put the ingredients into a bowl and mixed them together. The Nightmare Spine and the Burning Venom would be the most difficult poisons to hide and hopefully being blended with other things would do the trick.

Once the batter was complete, I started on the filling that would assist the cake layers to stick together. With the same pink berry, I ground up the Noxol and sprinkled it into the mix, being careful not to waste a single grain of the petal.

While I prepared a batch of strawberry icing, stirring in two more odour and colourless poisons, Oryal emerged from the hallway and scanned the new mess I had made.

"Tell me what to do and I'll do it."

I bit my lower lip. "I'm not sure if you want to be in here since there's a lot of poison around. I don't want to risk you getting more on you." Even if he did wear gloves like the pair I had on, I didn't want to be responsible for a casualty because they weren't trained in the art of poisoning.

The bounty hunter crossed his arms. "I only got Noxol on me because I was under the forest's influence."

"You don't have to help me at all if you don't want to. You helped me get the poison I needed, so that's technically your job done." I brushed the icing sugar off my hands and into the bowl. "I'll get the rest of the money for you when this request has been delivered."

"I want to help," he replied, his gaze softening.

"Okay." I glanced around the room, figuring out a mental list of what needed to be completed. "Could you collect the requests that were posted to the bakery while we were in the Ivory Forest and put them on the front desk? Then, if you could put some containers and trays from the sink back where they belong, that would be a great help."

Oryal smiled. "I'm on it."

As he headed into the front of Deathly Delights, I turned back to my creation in progress — three different bowls of different varying colours. Hopefully, everything would go to plan. If it didn't meet the standards of the royal guard, it would be a deathly mistake.

Chapter Word Count: 1,629
Total Word Count: 21,963