Page 78 of Midnight Enchantment

“The key is under a clay pot beside the front door,” Ava said, staggering forward.

Raedan followed close on her heels, eager to get out of the sun.

Lily smiled as Raedan escorted her inside. The house was quaint, the furniture old-fashioned. A colorful braided rug covered the wooden floor in front of the hearth. Pretty lace curtains hung at the windows. A flowered sofa and two matching chairs stood in front of the fireplace.

“There are two bedrooms upstairs.” Ava glanced at Raedan. “And a small, windowless attic.”

Raedan nodded, a wry smile twisting his lips. The message was plain, he thought. He would be sleeping alone. But the attic was perfect; it would be dark during the day. Taking

Liliana’s hand, he said, “I am going up to rest. I will see you in a few hours.”

“All right.”

He kissed her on the cheek, then headed up the narrow staircase.

Lily and the others spent the next several minutes putting their few belongings away and looking around the house. It was fairy-tale cute, Lily thought. She could easily imagine the seven dwarfs singing and dancing with Snow White in front of the fireplace.

In addition to the parlor, there was a small dining room, a bathroom with a claw-footed tub, a round sink, and an old-fashioned commode with a pull chain. No shower. The kitchen was fairly large, furnished with a table and four chairs, a stove, and a small refrigerator. Shelves and cupboards held an assortment of pots, pans, and dishes.

At length, they retired to the parlor. Ava and Mason settled on the sofa.

Lily sat in one of the chairs. “So, how do we go about finding a dragon? Do we just go hiking in the mountains and hope we get lucky? Ring a bell?”

Ava glanced skyward, as if seeking help. “Hardly. After dinner, we’ll try our hand at a dragon location spell. I doubt we’ll be successful, since we don’t have skin or blood or bone of the creature to guide us.”

“Maybe the demon can show us the way,” Mason suggested.

“Maybe,” Ava said, “but doubtful. I’m sure it knows what we’re up to. I’m not even sure Raedan will be any help, since the blood-demon will likely thwart him at every turn. On the other hand, in fairytales, dragons sometimes defended the princess,” she said, smiling at Lily.

“Maybe the dragon will come to us.”

Lily stared at her great-grandmother, a shiver skating down her spine as she imagined a big, black, scaly dragon carrying her off to a dark cave in the Carpathian Mountains. “You’re kidding, aren’t you?”

“Of course, dear.”

In spite of Ava’s words, Lily wasn’t reassured.

At five-thirty, Ava went into the kitchen and conjured dinner—spaghetti, meatballs, Caesar salad, a loaf of garlic bread warm from the oven, and a bottle of wine.

An hour later, as the sun was setting, Raedan appeared at the table. Lily felt a thrill of excitement when she looked at him. Had any man ever been as handsome, as sexy, or as beautiful as he was? Her insides turned to mush when he dropped into the ladder-back chair beside her and reached for her hand. The touch of his fingers entwining with hers made her heart swell in her chest.

“Good evening, love.”

“Hi.”

“We were wondering how to find the dragon if it exists,” Ava said. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Since it is unlikely that the beast will come to us, I suppose we will have to go to him.”

“You mean just go wandering around the mountains hoping we bump into it?”

Raedan shrugged. “Perhaps you can call him here, to you, although bringing a dragon into the countryside might not be the best idea.”

“A good point,” Mason remarked dryly.

With a wave of her hand, Ava cleared the table. A word summoned a detailed map of the Carpathian Mountains. After unfolding it, she said, “So, where do we look first?”

It was after midnight when Raedan kissed Liliana good night and left the house. Ava and Mason had gone to bed earlier, but it was hours until dawn and he needed to feed.

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