Page 26 of Here Be Dragons

“How long do you need to get ready?” He touched my face gingerly. “My kisses have made your lips worse. I’m sorry.”

I’d forgotten all about my various bumps and bruises. The healing salve Desmon had put on them after my shower had helped a lot, and my wrist and lips, while mildly sore, weren’t in pain anymore. The salve had most definitely been magical. But even though they were feeling better, my wrist still looked atrocious, and I guess my lip wasn’t much better.

Then I recalled the instant makeup spells in the basket. Thank you, Elana!

“Fifteen minutes.”

“I will call to move our reservation. I’ll tell you all about the competition between me and Gillisandra while we eat.”

Chapter 14

Carly

The Starving Aardvark wasquaint, cheerful, and very busy. It had indoor dining as well as a bustling patio at the front, which was useful for those bringing their canine friends. And sure enough, there was a with the cutest little Pomeranian at their feet.

“Welcome to the Starving Aardvark. We have your usual table ready at the back.” Our host wore a colorful tie with tiny little aardvarks embroidered on it. It was a fun touch and fit thewhimsical vibe of the restaurant. I was glad it was a casual place and not somewhere pretentious; I didn’t have the energy for that today.

As we threaded our way through the patio, I heard Desmon’s name murmured several times, and immediately felt a little awkward. I hadn’t realized we were going to get recognized right away. But I tried to ignore the feeling as we followed the host inside and to the back of the dining room. I focused on all the yummy-looking food at the various tables instead.

The first thing that caught my eye were the towers of eggs, bacon, and mini bite-sized French toast that some of the couples were sharing. Someone else had a giant stack of pancakes smothered in butter and syrup. And, of course, many of the patrons were enjoying their signature chicken and waffles. I’d come in thinking I knew what I was going to order, but now I wasn’t so sure.

Our table was on a small raised platform at the very back of the dining room. There was a railing festooned with fake flowers running around the perimeter of the platform, and the area was slightly darkened, which gave us plenty of privacy. In fact, I hadn’t even realized there were tables on the platform until we were up here.

There were two tables here, and the host sat us at the larger one. The other one had a reserved sign on it.

“This is my usual spot when I come here,” Desmon said as he pulled out my seat for me.

The old-fashioned gesture had me grinning. Instead of sitting across from me, he pulled his seat over so he could sit next to me. He looked out over the rest of the restaurant.

“It’s a good place to people-watch,” he said.

It was indeed, and this was the type of restaurant that brought in all sorts, from the professional-looking guy in the suit eating by himself in the corner to the group of young art students chit-chatting on the patio.

“Do you do that a lot?” I asked. “People-watch?”

He shrugged. “Not a lot, but sometimes.” He looked like he was about to say more, but just then our waiter arrived.

“Desmon! My favorite dragon. I see you have a guest today.” He moved Desmon’s plates and cutlery to his new chosen spot and sent me a genuine smile. “I’m Rupert, and I’ll be your waiter today. And in case you’re wondering, no, we are not aardvark shifters. We get asked that all the time.”

Rupert wasn’t wearing an aardvark tie, but what I had mistaken for simple dots on his shirt were actually teeny, tiny little aardvarks. Cute.

After ordering our drinks, Desmon brought out a tiny can and opened it. It made that classic pop top sound, but it was empty.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a canned Blanket of Silence spell.”

“A literal canned spell?” Canned spells were what people called premade, single-use spells like the one I’d used to cover up my swollen lip. Usually, they were sold in recyclable foil packages.

“Seth made this one. He has a sense of humor and likes to put his spells in literal cans. It’s better than the glass bottles from back in the day, but the cans are a bit of a nuisance to carry around compared to foil.”

“So no one can hear us right now?” I asked.

“No, they can’t. They would need to be inside our bubble. But I usually still check, just in case.” He cleared his throat, then shouted, “Look, it’s Elvis!”

There was no response from the people in the restaurant, but it had me giggling.

“Hate to burst your bubble, but Elvis isn’t a good test anymore.”

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