Mia nodded. “I’m not sure how I ended up with this kind of life. It just happened.”
“And now you want the magic.” Lilly smiled.
“Yes, I think I do.”
“And I went from wanting to explore the world, to working a front desk for that dude.”
“What’s he been up to lately?” Mia asked.
She prepared to hear another tale of ‘You won’t believe what that dude did today.”
“Same old stuff,” Lilly shrugged, surprising her. “Hitting on any female that moves.”
“You need this escape weekend too,” Mia said. “Thank God for three-day weekends off.”
“Yes.” Lilly sighed. “I’m glad Finn invited us here, for a fun weekend.”
“Me too. I needed this,” Mia admitted. “I haven’t... felt anything real in a long time.”
Lilly nodded. “So maybe we flirt, maybe we dance, maybe we even kiss a knight.”
“And what if it’s more than that?” Mia asked softly.
Lilly’s eyes sparkled. “Then we hope he’s got a horse, a house, and a pension plan.”
The same herald who’d announced the knights during the parade, stepped into the circle.
“Milords and milady’s,” he said. “Behold Flamethrower Flinn, the man who tames fire.” Then he stepped back out of the circle and disappeared into the crowd as Finn moved forward.
Mia felt her stomach flutter as anticipation rippled through the crowd. She’d read about fire breathers in books, but seeing one in person breathing fire was another thing entirely and knowing him personally took it to a whole other level.
Finn raised his hands, and the chatter fell quiet. He grinned; a rogue’s smile that made him look far older than his twenty-nine years. “Ladies, lords, and little ones,” he announced, “Behold the oldest of magics. Fire, itself, bent to my will.”
A torch flared to life in his hand, and gasps rose around the circle.
He dipped a rod into the brass jug, then lifted it to his lips. The moment he blew, a plume of fire burst from his mouth. The flames curled into the twilight sky like a dragon’s breath.
Mia clutched Lilly’s arm. “Oh my gosh!” she whispered, half horrified, half enthralled.
The crowd cheered as Finn repeated the feat, spinning in a circle so that the flames seemed to lick outward in all directions. He danced with the fire, twirling torches that left streaks of gold in the air, before finally tipping his head back, and letting a rod slide slowly into his mouth.
Mia winced; certain he would burn himself, but when he drew the rod back out, the flame was extinguished, and his smile remained unscathed.
He winked at them.
“Is he insane?” Mia whispered to Lilly as the crowd cheered, “Huzzah!” and clapped.
Lilly only laughed, clapping loudly, as Finn took his bow.
But Mia wasn’t the only one watching. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Sir Cedric lingering, just beyond the rope, the torchlight glinting off his long blonde hair.
He was certainly a fine man to look at.
And she enjoyed looking at him.
Tonight, his arms were crossed, his expression amused, as though Finn’s performance was little more than a clever parlor trick. Yet when his gaze slid to hers, it lingered, warm and knowing, as if he’d caught her delight and meant to capture it for himself.
Her cheeks warmed instantly.
