Page 94 of Happily Ever Witch
Esmeralda ducked into a random, hearted-all-to-hell bedroom. “I never said I wanted you to be kind! Youcan’tbe kind. I might as well ask you to be a Koala bear.”
“You said your type waskindgoddamn guitar players, withkindgoddamn smiles.” It was a furious accusation.
She rolled her eyes. “If you’re going to try one of those qualities, go with the guitar playing. Not with kind. Why would you pickkind? Have you met me?”
He made an aggravated sound, right outside the room. “It doesn’t matter. We’re past all of it now, Mate. Now, you just getme.” He rattled the knob, finding it locked. “Are you standing away from the door?” He asked in a quieter tone.
“Yeah.Why?”
It exploded. Trevelyan’s powers were weakened, but his foot obliterated the wood just fine without them.
Esmeralda grinned. Forget guitar players. She loved dating a Bad guy. At leastthisBad guy.
There was an elaborate armoire in the corner, wearing eyeglasses. Esmeralda yanked it open and climbed inside.
“You might have asked first!” It chided.
“Sorry.” Esmeralda said, even though she wasn’t. She crouched inside of the armoire, just as Trevelyan crossed the threshold of the bedroom.
She gave him a triumphant smirk. “Really? You thought it would be that easy?” She closed herself into the small space. One quick wave of her hand and, when she opened the door again, she was downstairs, in the pink-on-pink-on-pink ballroom.
“Fuck!”
Even from a floor away she heard his frustrated bellow.
Esmeralda couldn’t have been more pleased. Right now, she had magic and he didn’t. That was keeping her in play. She raced into the foyer, trying to decide which way to go next. The basement levels were pretty maze-like. She could lose him down there. Perfect. There was a spring in her step, as she headed for the stairs. Evading the dragon wasn’t so hard…
Something moved overhead.
Standing in the middle of the foyer, Esmeralda looked up at the open landing to the second floor. Trevelyan was already at the gilded railing, staring down at her.
“How’d you get there so fast?” She demanded.
“Dragon.” He explained succinctly and vaulted right over the bannister.
“Holyshit!” Esmeralda took off running, back into the ballroom.
Trevelyan landed in an animalistic crouch, already on her heels.
Beaming at him over her shoulder, she slammed the ballroom doors behind her. Then she sealed them with her powers, although that wouldn’t hold him for long. She stood there for a beat, breathing hard.
He crashed right into the magically-enforced doors and instantly began looking for a way through. “Esmeralda.” His voice was an evil croon. “You’re just making this harder on yourself. Come out of there and give me what’s mine.”
She waved a hand, turning the back wall of the ballroom into a tunnel, lined with endless doors. Maybe that would slow him down. Once he got into the ballroom, he wouldn’t know which door she went through.
Caught up in the chase, Esmeralda wasn’t thinking before casting the spells. They just blasted out, one after another. She didn’t even realize how much power she was using.
Trevelyan did.
He could feel it in the air, the same way she’d felt his, when he’d moved all the canons. “Oh yes…” His hungry groan reverberated across her nerve-endings. “I feel your energy like my own, Ez. I’m going to come deep inside of you, with all of that pretty, green magic wrapped tight around me.”
“You’ll have to catch me, in order to do that. And I’m winning this game, so far.” She headed through one of the multitude of doors, into the atrium. Ducking through the giant talking flowers that grew there, she hoped that all the green growing things would hide her scent from the dragon.
And that the chattering plants didn’t rat her out to him, if he came this way. They seemed to be pretty snobby.
“My how rude.” One of the gigantic hydrangea bushes chided, as she pushed passed it.
“Shocking,” agreed a borogrove blossom, with a sniff of superiority. “Alice was a much better queen. That darling girl was positively mimsy.”
