Page 58 of Potion of Deception (Potion of Deception #1)

Breathe in. Breathe out, she reminded herself.

“I would say another word to describe my feeling about this place,” she expressed.

The focus slowly started to get back, though her head started spinning, overwhelmed by the dances and the crowd around.

Maybe, she hastened to the conclusion that she could live a life like this.

Or was it the aftertaste of the conversation with Dante that still haunted her?

She remembered to put on a smile as a knot started tightening in her stomach, the lights began to seem too bright.

“What I am trying to say,” she went on, “your lands are quite different from what I'm used to.”

And it was true. Chantoret – the land she claims to be from, was an imaginary place but Sorcevellis was not. And it felt different from the fashion to the lifestyle and society rules.

“Really? What exactly surprised you or possibly disappointed?” He spun her once more, while the other guests were waltzing around them, the sparkles of their costumes glimmering under the warm light.

Violette realized she needed to hasten with her plan to escape the dance floor as soon as possible. It was time to get closer to the topic of magic. She must choose the words wisely.

“Your land is truly magical but I didn't see even a bit of your magical legends that are so famous,” her voice sounded neutral.

“It seems that wizards and witches are quite a phenomenon here but I still was hoping to see something great: infamous artifacts and proof of really strong magic.

It's hard to believe in all these tales if you can't see evidence of their existence.”

She crossed her fingers in her head praying it would work. These words should convince him, intrigue him. She saw how his eyes lit up when she started talking about the place she came from. He should be interested.

Please.

“Oh, so you didn't see much of our magic then, I assume,” his voice didn't lose its amusement, eyes wandered over her face.

“I didn't have a chance, unfortunately.”

“It's easy to fix.” His mouth twisted in an exultant smile, eyes inflamed with excitement as a kid who was very happy to show her his new toys. “I have a quite impressive collection of magic artifacts, if you'd like to see.”

He spun her once again, following the notes of the violin. Violette felt like she might trip over any moment, the ground began to disappear from under her feet. And although her mind began to spin the same way as her body, she aimed to continue the conversation.

“You have an interest in magic, I presume?” Their faces met again, his hand slipped on her waist back, fingers on the other intertwined with hers.

“I find everything magical – fascinating,” he expressed fervently.

He didn't take his eyes off her through the whole dance, like he was enchanted just by her being here and talking to him. This picture was quite different from the one Dante told her, she wouldn't call Lord Adrogans haughty, however she might feel how prideful he was.

Violette tilted her head. “How come? I heard people here don't really like being involved with magic, not on the level to explore it.”

“Uh,” he sighed and threw his head back with a joyful chortle. “Yes, some people are really like this. I think they're too prejudiced about all these curses and sorcery.”

“Well, magic can be as dangerous as beautiful,” Violette's voice came out deeper than usual.

“It doesn't mean we should avoid it. Better to study it to know about it, don't you think so?”

“I more than agree with you on that.” Her eyes glinted with pure delight.

It felt like years since someone had the same opinion as her.

She finally met someone who was not scared of magic or wanted to kill her just because she is related to it.

“So how did your interest in a magic world start?” Another step.

“My family,” Lord started enthusiastically, “was friends with a family of wizards.

I remember how thrilled I was when I saw them casting spells.

Their house was truly a treasure place, it was filled with magic right to the roof.

They decided to show us a little performance with tricks, that day I was convinced I have to be a wizard too.

Unfortunately for me, days later I was told it's impossible if you are not magicborn,” an ironic sigh left his mouth.

“If only you'd seen how disappointed I was with that news.

But luckily, it didn't stop me from collecting magic stuff and dedicating my time to studying it.”

“That deserves respect,” Violette nodded. Feeling as her legs tangled in the fabric of the dress, she forced a strained smile and shook her leg hoping nobody would notice it.

“What is your opinion on magic? From our conversation, I gathered you don’t find it any less interesting – am I right?” Lord asked, hope burning in his eyes.

“I grew up with magic,” she said honestly. “It was always a part of my life as a witch,” she quickly remembered people here not familiar with the definition of wizardling.

“So you are a witch?”

Oh.

Her stomach dipped. Was she not supposed to say it? She didn't know if Dante mentioned it in the letter and they didn't discuss if she should introduce her heritage, however it might only spark Adrogans' interest in her.

“I am. And I would say pretty good witch,” she didn't lie with this one, although she wanted to sound more haughty.

“Compelling!” His smile became even brighter.

It was a peak, she could feel it and just as she thought about it the music finally stopped. She thanked the higher powers for that: her legs would not survive more dances without ripping the dress off.

The cello began to play again, this time the musicians set a more lively tone.

How lucky Violette was that their dance wasn't that agile because she'd definitely embarrass herself with all that bustling and jumping.

She only hoped she wouldn't be invited for another dance.

What she really wanted was to make her way to the collection room Lord Adrogans already admitted to having.

Her mind went through a full circle thinking when is the appropriate time to ask him about that.

She only could rely that Lord Adrogans would be very excited after their conversation to offer her a tour himself.

Maybe she needed to lighten his interest a little bit more, he already was sparkling with happiness as their fingers opened and they bowed to each other.

She let words slip from her lips as her hands gracefully folded in front of her, “Maybe, one day I'll have a chance to look at your collection to know if it's really that great,” she uttered.

“Why wait?”

Thanks God, the butterflies flew through her whole body with those truly magical words. She did it, the next step was probably the hardest but she was ready to take it, just for the sake of ending this masquerade.

“Now? You want to leave your guests?”

“Only for you,” he said, nodding slightly while leaning closer to her. “Well, in the name of magic as well.”

Violette tried not to smile too obviously, but she felt a victory, even if it was a small one.