Page 7 of Potion of Deception (Potion of Deception #1)

THE LANDS OF MYSTERIES AND GREAT TALES

T he strange feeling consumed her body as she caught in a whirlwind, everything spun as if on a carousel and then it suddenly stopped.

The fresh air burst into her lungs as her head emerged from the lake.

She opened her eyes, her vision remained blurry.

She swam to the edge and her hand pressed into the hard stone surface as she wiped the water from her face.

All she saw was the lonely dark walls of a cave.

It didn't look like the place they dived in, not even close.

There were no lights, trees or pretty archways. It was just an ordinary empty cave.

Her eyes found Dante in front of her as he leaned down and offered her a hand of help. Violette frowned, something in his moves had seemed tricky to her, all of him seemed this way.

“Don't worry, I won't bite,” Dante sneered.

“Only because you are in the mask.” She pouted.

He converted his gaze to the side with a mysterious smile. “Perhaps.”

And yet, she put her hand in his and got out of the water. Her dress and cape all sodden, the layers of the skirt weighed her down. As she found her balance, Dante was already walking up the path.

Her fingers reached to the magic wand on her waist. The water was still dripping from her forehead and her dark, shoulder-length hair to the neck.

She definitely wasn't planning to stay wet so she shook her wand and with an elegant move her clothes dried up in a beat.

Her eyes darted to Dante's back and she cast the spell once again.

The warm wind wrapped him, making him turn his head.

“I didn't ask for it,” he let out the words in the air with an impassive tone.

“Could just say a simple ‘Thank you’,” Violette said, putting her magic wand back in the stealth, her eyes following a little lizard before it slipped under a stone.

Dante squinted and silently continued his way.

The bright moonlight greeted Violette's head as she emerged from the cave entrance.

The blanket of stars was glimmery as a flash of lights, while the moon halo brilliantly glowed against the clear dark sky with a vivid sapphire hue.

One look around and it was clear – they stood on the coast of the ocean separating the two continents.

The coast of the Valley of Enchanted Stories.

Violette's gaze rushed into the distance beyond the horizon as the male voice hit her ear.

“How long will you stand there?”

She turned her sight to Dante, though her gaze quickly shifted to the black horses harnessed to an elegant bleak carriage, lonely standing next to the tree, bathing in the moonlight .

Inside was draped dark blue velvet and a thick curtain. Her eyes measured the seats before she looked at Dante again.

“Where are we going?”

“To the northwest of these lands. Day and a half from here,” he said and got in the carriage.

Violette gaped at him. “Day and a half? Don't you have some other portal to get there quicker?”

“The quicker you get in – the quicker we will arrive at the place.”

She hovered for a second and finally took a step inside, choosing the spot on the other side. And despite having plenty of things to ask or thoughts to voice, somehow she just kept silent as the carriage was slightly swaying from side to side.

Her gaze dug into the one living thing in front of her – her new companion, a mysterious guy who she'd known nothing about.

A lot of doubts and mistrust kept settling between her ribs and captivating her mind.

She had no idea where they were going and what to expect, however something prompted her not to worry – she could wield magic after all – it didn't mean she would ease off and let her guard down.

It would not be a smart decision after all.

Truthfully, all of it wasn't smart. At least she was aware of this.

Dante meanwhile was looking at the window, not a word left his mouth since they sat in the carriage. His face stayed serious and unreadable through the whole journey until his jaw finally moved, “Tell me, has nobody ever told you staring makes other people uncomfortable?”

Finally he graced her with his gaze as if only now acknowledging her presence, a pinch of annoyance visible in his eyes.

“You are not people. You are a stranger,” Violette calmly noted.

“Trying to study me, Little Witch?” A shameless smirk wrapped his mouth.

“I am not a witch. I am a wizardling ,” she corrected.

“Uh yes, your odd magic system.” He carelessly waved his hand.

“This system was created for a reason,” she retorted. “A witch is the one who brews potions and–”

He eyed her like it wasn't exactly a description of her.

“Well, they only brew potions,” she emphasized.

“And do healing. While they don't have the ability to cast spells and control magic itself, they are magical beings,” she went on.

“But a female who has powers, a magic wand and the ability to develop their magic with knowledge to completely new levels is called wizardling . That's two different things.”

“On the lands where we go, they are called the same. There you will be a witch – doesn't matter if you can wield a magic wand or not.” He condescended her with an insincere smile.

“Anyway,” she waved away. “Answer to your question is yes, I do study you. That is a smart thing as I don't know who you are and what your plans are, because, I emphasize, you are not telling me. And I don't know what to expect from you.”

A chuckle slid down his lips. It made her brows draw together and her mouth pressed in a thin line.

“What is funny about it?”

“Excuse me.” He cleared his throat. “I didn't mean to. I do understand your suspicion, really. You have every right to not trust me and I would say it's a wise thing to do. But don't worry – I'm not interested in anything else except your magic.”

“My mother told me not to trust strangers.”

“Did she tell you to make a deal with them instead?” He stretched, leaning back and closing his eyes. Then opened one eye again with a smug smile on his lips.

How dare he? She couldn't explain why it bothered her so much but his audacity was making her blood boil. Like it wasn't him who offered her a deal in the first place.

She crossed her hands over her chest and turned to the window, leaning on the back of the soft wall.

“You apparently don't understand what people are ready to do to save their loved ones,” she murmured.

He opened his eyes, looking at her perfunctorily. “No, I actually counted on it. If I didn't know what people are capable of – I wouldn't come to you.”

“So that's what you are doing? Coming around in search of desperate souls?” Her blue-gray eyes flew back to him, flickering in the dark.

“Mind you that it's you who called yourself that.”

“It doesn't mean you can manipulate me into doing anything you want. We have a strict line,” she warned.

“As you say, Little Witch.” He threw his feet up on the opposite seat and closed his eyes again.

Violette rolled her eyes and converted her stare to the window with slowly changing landscapes.

It was hard to enjoy the scenery in the night, the road was hardly lit up by the lanterns and most of what she saw in the window was wild fields and nature.

She assumed the little shimmering clusters of light far away were little towns, however it was too late to believe someone wasn’t asleep yet.

The teeter of the carriage for a moment seemed so soothing and the darkness outside inducing serene dreams, that her eyelids unwillingly shut, succumbing to wafted fatigue.

The carriage staggered and hopped. Violette's eyes flew open as she felt the bounce and in the next second her forehead hit something solid. The leap repeated once again, caught on another stone. She raised her head, trying to come to her senses as her eyes met a dark blue shirt and then Dante’s face.

Her hands pressed into the seat as her brows jumped.

“You'd been worrying about my intentions but you're the one who is getting handsy now. Should I be worrying for myself?” he scoffed.

“You are the reason why women choose to read romances rather than speak with real men,” she grumbled and pulled back to her seat.

He arched one brow and then propped up his head with a hand.

“If I knew you were so boring I'd choose someone else for this deal.”

“I'm boring? Huh!” A sharp laugh slipped from her lips. “Sorry for not falling to your feet.”

“You almost did.” His mouth curved.

This earned him a vicious look. She shot her eyes to the window, closed with dark velvet curtains, not letting in a single ray of sunlight. Her fingers swayed the fabric to peek through and then swung them open. Dante recoiled, leaning back from the window, his gaze remaining strong.

A beautiful field of purple-blue clematis emerged in the window.

The sky was overcast but the sunshine hadn't given up trying to break through the clouds and warm the ground, perhaps for the last time this year.

A thin layer of frost covered the grass and naked trees, making the clematises the only bright sign of color around, something alive – a piece of spring amidst falling asleep surroundings.

Violette’s attention shifted to Dante. “How much longer do we have to go?”

“I presume we'll reach the destination by the late night,” he said dryly.

She tilted her head and her eyes went back to the window. Sitting in the carriage for so many hours had already made her back ache with intense pain. The only place she had traveled to in a carriage for long was nearly her hometown when she was younger.