Page 43 of Shadow Witch

“Doesn’t matter. It sounds good. I was encouraged,” Dewey answered.

Devon and Henry tapped their fists against their palm three times before they revealed their first selections. Devon chose rock while Henry chose scissors.

“Haha, yes!” Devon shouted, his chest puffing. “Yeah, baby.” He waved a fist in the air.

“That’s it, Devon,” Drucinda said. “Put him away with this one.”

Devon danced around, hopping from foot to foot before he rolled his neck as though preparing for an intense battle. The two men squared off again, pumping their fists against their palms before revealing their next choice.

Devon picked rock for a second time, but Henry’s paper trumped it.

“Shake it off, Devon, shake it off,” Drucinda said as she massaged his shoulders again.

“One more, beast, and I am one step closer to marrying my love.”

“Oh, gosh,” Paige said with a shake of her head. “Is it possible that they both can lose, and I can just stay single?”

“Time,” Drucinda said. “I’m calling a time-out. I must confer with the contestant.”

“Seriously?” Paige asked as Drucinda pulled him aside and they stuck their heads together.

“This is a big deal. If he loses…not only am I out a crapload of money but also, he’s down a win. This is make or break, Paige.” Dewey shoveled more popcorn into his mouth. “This is so crazy.”

“Yeah. What’s crazier is they are literally playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to determine who is one step closer to marrying me.”

“Nuts. Who will win? Drucinda is really talking strategy over there.”

Paige eyed them, still deep in discussions over the ridiculously trivial game they were playing to win her hand in marriage. Finally, Devon broke away and returned to Henry.

“Let’s finish this, beast.”

“You got this, Devon. You know what to do,” Drucinda said.

“I’m ready.” He thumbed a fist against his chest before they faced off again.

Paige held her breath as their fists pumped before they revealed their choice. Henry returned to his choice of scissors, and Devon’s rock crushed them.

Dominic grabbed his hand and thrust it in the air. “Devon is the winner!”

Cheers resounded through the hall as Devon shouted, “Yeah! Woooo!”

“Your boy’s excited,” Dewey said.

“He’s not my boy. But this is the best outcome. We’re one step closer to the soul compass.” She stared at it ruefully as Dominic took it from Devon to return to wherever he kept it.

Henry was stripped of his diamond-dipped blade, too.

Devon raced around the room amidst chants of his name before he rushed toward Paige and scooped her up in his arms. “We did it, baby! One step closer to getting married!”

He tossed her in the air before he caught her and bounced her up and down a few more times.

“Whoa, watch it. I had a lot of chocolate, and now I don’t feel so great.”

“Well, you should,” Devon said as he set her down. “We just need to win one more round each and we’re on our way down the aisle.”

“Yay,” Paige said, her voice sounding anything but excited.

“You ready for the banquet? I’m so stoked to celebrate with you.”

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