Pink clouds floated in the sky like tufts of cotton candy the day of the carnival, and the crisp fall air nipping at Castor's face was refreshing after hours spent baking in the kitchen. Him and his dad had spent the last few days toiling away in the kitchen, letting his mom and Lucien have their leftovers from entries they deemed unworthy to win. He smelled like pumpkin spice, sweet dough and sweat, but he was satisfied with their creation.

Their inspiration came from the carnival's carousel, reimagined in cake form. The base was a rich, dark chocolate coated in orange-tinted buttercream while the carousel's poles were created from gold fondant, adorned with mini edible bats and pumpkins. The horses were probably the most difficult to create, with a light coat of glowing frosting to give them an otherworldly appearance.

Despite how fun it had been to bake with his dad, he wished Lucien could have joined them for the bake-off. He understood why he teamed up with Seraphina instead, for Charlotte's sake, but Castor had wanted him home with him. After Lucien had uncovered Charlotte's dark secret of selling her soul to a devil, Castor honestly wanted him nowhere near Blissful Bites Bakery.

Even waiting painstakingly for the judges to return with their verdict on the winning entry, all Castor could think about was Lucien at his own station setup with Seraphina. When they entered, they all brought in boxes given to conceal their creations, with only their numbers written on the top, which none of the judges knew about. It was to help keep the contest fair.

When the local cooks who volunteered to help with the carnival brought all their entries out, Castor wondered which box contained Lucien and Charlotte's concoction. Since they were competing against each other, Lucien hadn't even given him a clue of their idea. It wasn't like Castor and his dad were forthcoming with theirs either, but they had let Lucien sample their rejects.

Castor watched the judge's table as they placed five different boxes on the elongated table for them. It was unfortunate that Orick Mandrake had to be among them. Although it was fun to imagine him picking out their entry as the winner again.

To his left sat his wife, clad in a wine-hued, off shoulder, long bell dress. Monarch Elaine's crown was secured in her hair, its filigree design allowing her long pink locks to flow freely around it.

The third judge was none other than Mr. Pepperheart. Their family had raised hell about their pumpkin patch being tainted by demons, but Castor was just grateful nobody brought Lucien's name up. Much to his surprise, none of them accused Castor and his family either, but by the way some people glared at them, he had a pretty good idea how they felt.

Castor remembered how picky Mr. Pepperheart was last year and it had stunned him when she concluded their entry had tasted the best. Once revealed it was created by the Vale family, she had tried to backpedal and claim they'd bake it with wicked influential magic, but there had clearly been no proof of such nonsensical claims.

Hushed whispers of excitement floated all around them from the curious townsfolk who'd crowded around in central park. Black streamers hung from the rafters of the gazebo, where they had all the contestants gather. There were only ten people total, each a team with a partner.

Once the unveiling of the desserts began, Castor found himself drawn to Lucien, watching his expression to see which one they had created. The first two were rather ordinary and quite similar. Harvest-themed cakes with fall leaves and bright orange buttercream.

The third went a bit different and created pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies. Castor wasn't really paying attention to the judges' reactions at all, but it sounded like they had enjoyed them quite a lot. It was hard to read Lucien's expression, and he wondered if those had been their entries. They looked so simple, yet the judges had loved them.

Each entry came with a recipe card for them to judge creativity, and Monarch Elaine read off the cookie's ingredients with delight. "Extra butter was substituted with pumpkin puree, which gave them such a soft texture and delicious flavor."

"No doubt someone with water magic made those," Dad whispered, nudging his elbow to get his attention. "Sticky dough like that is tough to handle. They'd need to be chilled for at least an entire day, unless they used their magic to freeze it to just the right temperature."

"I thought using magic wasn't allowed." Castor kept his voice low, brows dipping into a frown.

"As long as it's not influential magic and nothing traceable, it's all fair game."

The fourth entry was theirs, and the judges were amazed by the resemblance to the Harvest Fest carousel. Many of the townsfolks had gathered around in awe as well.

It warmed Castor's heart to see his father's eyes light up at their praise, even though they had no clue it was their entry yet. Despite the cruel rumors that spread about his family, they all knew his dad was an amazing cook and could whip up damn-near anything and make it amazing. That was why his restaurant in Caverott was rated one of the best in the country of Marusticia.

Not even Mr. Pepperheart had a bad thing to say about their carousel cake.

Nothing prepared Castor for the next entry to be revealed, and he had to choke back his laughter at the sound of all the shocking gasps around them.

It was a batch of rich dark chocolate cupcakes with bright red frosting, topped with two pointy horns and a tail on each back. In the very middle, there was a single cupcake with white frosting with a mini tombstone that had RIP written in red frosting.

Monarch Elaine tried her best to read off the ingredients with a straight voice, but the discomfort was evident. Everyone had their eyes on Castor and his father, mostly because Castor was struggling to hide his snickers. But they weren't created by them.

That masterpiece belonged to Lucien and Seraphina.

It was obvious by the judges' looks that they enjoyed the cupcakes, but the presentation had them weary to give many compliments. Castor knew they thought the cupcakes were baked by them just by the way they kept casting disapproving glares their way. And it was hilarious as hell.

Castor knew it was homage to Charlotte. Not only the devil details, but she would've gotten a kick out of the judges reactions. It was going to be glorious when they unveiled who baked what. They gave the judges a few moments to deliberate, but they came back with a ruling quite fast.

Orick Mandrake dabbed his frosting-stained mouth. "I think we can all agree on the best Harvest dessert here." Murmurs of agreement came from both his wife and Mr. Pepperheart. "Would the contestants of the Harvest Fest Carousel Cake please step forward to claim their prize? Number four?"

The townsfolk eagerly awaited for someone to move toward the podium, and their not-so-subtle shock and hushed gasps echoed in the fall wind. Castor walked alongside his father with his head held high, grinning as they reached the judge's table to show them their contestant card. Only Monarch Elaine showed any enthusiasm and congratulated them both before handing over the prize-winning check of five hundred dollars.

After they were announced as the winner, the crowd had dispersed to partake in other festivities, but they missed out on the best part when the other dessert entries were read off with their bakers. Castor swore Orick was going to burst a vein when he learned his own daughter had created the wicked demon cupcakes.

When it was all over, Castor met Lucien at a booth selling an assortment of foods. "Demon cupcakes, huh?"

Lucien whirled around with a half-smile, a plate of pumpkin spice funnel cake in one hand and an orange slushie in the other. "Did you like them? I think my favorite part was the look on Orick Mandrake's face when he realized Sera and I made them."

"Who's idea were they?" Castor swiped a gooey piece of funnel cake off his plate and popped it in his mouth.

"Mine. Sera thought to add the tails." Lucien snickered as they walked down the sidewalk together. "Your Carousel Cake was awesome too, especially with how you created those horses. I'm glad you guys won. Your dad looked so excited when they announced the winner."

"He was." Castor smiled to remember how his father sprung up from his chair when they announced them as the winners, and the way his face lit up was priceless. "I know a lot of people left after learning we won, but it still meant a lot to him. He takes a lot of pride in his cooking, you know?"

"As he should. Your dad's an amazing chef, and I hate how stuck up people in our town are. It's not fair to him or your family." Lucien had never acted rude or deprecating as many other families in Briarwood, no matter what nonsense they spewed, and spent more time at their home than anyone else ever had.

Without Lucien, Castor imagined he would've had a very lonely childhood because none of the other kids wanted to go inside the wicked Vales' home. It was just one of the many reasons Castor had fallen in love with him.