Talon the Black (Dragonwall Series # 1)

Chapter 54 - Magic

Kastali Dun

Desaree deposited a tall stack of empty trays in the washroom, sighing once she'd rid herself of the weight. Done with breakfast, she made to depart in search of Claire. Tess stepped in front of her, brandishing her spoon. "You take extra care today with Lady Crafton's chambers," she said. "I'll not have that woman chasing me down again."

"I'll clean it till it sparkles," Desaree grumbled, side-stepping Tess's imposing frame. She left the cookery, pushing Lady Crafton out of her mind entirely, occupying it with something far more pleasant. She often daydreamed of Lord Verath these days. What fun it was to picture daring scenarios between them! Sometimes she crafted stories where he rescued her from kidnappers. Or confessed his love, gathering her up into his arms, kissing her. But these imaginations hurt too, because everything she pictured between them was impossible.

Verath's heart belonged elsewhere. To his king. Yet, she'd seen something in his eyes that night. Something akin to yearning. He was selfish, he'd claimed. Perhaps he too had pictured some way for them to be together. She shook her head. As if someone like him would ever want someone like her!

"Desaree?" She froze in her tracks, almost yelping. She knew that voice. Heat filled her chest. "Desaree! I'm over here." There it was again. She turned towards a shadowy hall, squinting.

"Lord Verath?"

Verath chuckled. "It is I."

She frowned and walked over to him. He stood in a shadowy nook beside the small hallway, leaning with comfortable ease against the stone wall. His arms were crossed, and he gazed down at her with glittering eyes. "I saw you passing and thought to hide myself."

"Whatever for?" Her mind jumped to a daydream she'd just been having, where they snuck away to embrace within a dark passage just like this one. Her cheeks flushed hotter. Surely this was some trick.

"I did not wish to draw attention. I thought I might speak with you in private. When I saw you walking..."

"You...you wish to speak in private?" Her mind jumped at the promise of his statement.

In the darkness, she saw the flash of his teeth as he smiled. "I would like to have dinner with you tonight, if that is favorable. I know your duties keep you from eating early. Perhaps when you have finished we might dine together?"

"Oh..." Her her heart leapt. "What of the suspicion that will create? Others might wonder..."

"Not if I claim to be hungry at an unseemly time," he said.

She sighed. How could she deny him such an offer?

"Very well. I accept."

"Excellent. Good day to you, Desaree." He turned and strode away. She watched his retreating figure, unsure if that had even just happened. Maybe it was merely another daydream.

***

Shortly thereafter, she found Claire in the west wing of the castle. "Something has you grinning," Claire said. "Are we friends enough to share secrets?"

She giggled. "I...I am afraid to say."

"Oh come on! Don't be boring! What will we talk about if you keep it from me while we work?"

The day would indeed be dull if she was forced to hang on to her happiness without sharing. "Fine, but you must promise not to say a word." Claire promised, so she told her everything.

"Lord Verath?" Claire gasped in delighted surprise. "You and Lord Verath?"

"Why are you surprised?" she asked, feeling slightly defensive. "We are only friends, at least I think we are friends. I should like to be his friend..."