There Be Dragons by Heather Graham

in wishes. And yet, it had been just as the falcon had said.
    Of course, it was difficult to believe in a falcon, and a talking falcon at that, especially one with a name like Thomasina!
    But, then, of course, the falcon claimed to be a fairy.
    “Could this be real?” she whispered.
    “In life, child, we must always help ourselves. But can this be real? A talking falcon? Magic? Maybe magic is also what we make of it. If you stop and let it be, Christmas can be a time of magic. You see, young lady, magic can be in the soul, and come to different people in different ways. Here, my dear, think of the magic in your heart at Christmas.” She ruffled and fixed her feathers. “Dear, dear. So much for myspeeches—you must not waste another wish. Think long and hard, and tell me your heart’s desire.”
    Marina arched a brow. “I can’t make my heart’s desire a wish, since what I want more than anything else in the world is
not
to marry Carlo, Count Baristo! In that, I might well lose Lendo, and it was where my parents lived and ruled and I was born, and where I really am needed.”
    “At least you’re taking this seriously, and thinking carefully,” the falcon said, seeming a bit relieved.
    “So …” Marina mused, rising and pacing several steps around the falcon, still thinking that the creature might disappear at any moment, and she would discover the entire adventure was actually in her desperate imagination. “My heart’s desire—” She stopped suddenly, turning to face the falcon. “One night,” she said softly.
    “One night?”
    Marina nodded, smiling. “Just one night … with the man of my dreams. Someone who is as enchanted with
me
as Armand is with his Daphne. Someone who looks at me that way, who sees only my eyes, hears my voice … someone gallant, brave, strong, truly noble—not in title, but in deed, in thought … in care.”
    “That’s all?” the falcon queried.
    “Did I ask too much?”
    “No, no, just checking. It’s always good to state a wish clearly and precisely. This is a bit more complicated than a dunking in a watering trough. Go on, please.”
    “Well, of course, it would be great if he were also incredibly handsome, witty, and charming,” Marina said with a grin and a shrug.
    “It’s your wish,” the falcon told her.
    “That’s it, then,” Marina said. “That’s it—because I have decided my future is the one I must live, and as I told Armand—my cousin—I am determined if Carlo tries to make me miserable, I simply will not let him.” She looked away. “I know how to battle him,” she murmured. “So … what night shall it be?” she asked teasingly. “We are going to have to hurry here, you know.”
    “There’s someone coming,” the falcon said, her head cocked at an angle.
    “Someone coming?” Marina spun around, anxious to put distance between herself and the falcon, lest it be Carlo, and he decide for some reason he needed to dispose of the magical creature.
    To her surprise, she saw Armand on the hill, leading his horse and patting Arabella.
    “Armand?”
    He started at the sound of her voice and swung around quickly. Seeing her, he let out a sigh of relief.
    “What are you doing here?”
    “I was worried about you. After the excitement in the hall last night … you didn’t appear in the least happy.”
    “I certainly wasn’t in the least happy,” she agreed, and smiled at him wistfully. “But, Armand, did you notice? Daphne looked absolutely … ashen! She isn’t happy, either.”
    “Do you think she even knows that I exist?” Armand asked. He shook his head then, looking down. “I spend my days tilting with straw mannequins, praying …”
    Since Marina still wasn’t entirely convinced that she wasn’t totally delusional herself, she’d worried about mentioning the falcon to anyone. But Armand was her cousin, and her dearest friend. “Armand … come with me.”
    He followed her back to the rock plateau, where the falcon stood,