Page 34 of Potions & Prejudice

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Something like triumph flashed in her eyes. “Really? Well it appears we owe you rent.”

Fuck. Elm was going to kill me. He’d said they weren’t well off, that he suspected they didn’t have the gold to pay for a roof over their heads.

“No,” I said.

“I insist,” she said back.

“You’re doing me a favor. By living here, cleaning it. Making it habitable. After you leave, I’m hoping the cottage will be more amenable to guests living in it.”

“Oh.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, then.”

“You cheated!” Auggie shrieked.

“It’s not cheating if you’re the one who dove in front of the ball,” Adelaide replied.

“Because you baited me!”

I didn’t know Adelaide well, but she seemed too mild-mannered and shy to be engaging in this kind of behavior. Maybe there was more to her than met the eye.

“All my sisters can get cutthroat during this game,” Elspeth explained, turning her face toward me so our noses were inches apart.

Her brown eyes reminded me of the color of mahogany, dark and rich. Nothing plain about them. In fact, I couldn’t believe I’d everthought her to be plain, dull. She was anything but. She shook her bangs from her forehead.

“So how did you win last time?” I asked right as Thea shrieked, and the thwack of her broom echoed around the room. The ball whistled over our table.

A sinister smile spread across Elspeth’s face. “By being even more cutthroat.”

She jumped out from under the table, and I peeked my head out to see her running full speed toward Adelaide.

“Don’t you dare!” Adelaide tried to back away, but she ran into the wall.

The ball followed Elspeth, barreling toward the two sisters, and right before it was about to hit Elspeth, she ducked, and it bounced into Adelaide’s chest.

Elspeth turned with a smile, one that might’ve rivaled the sun. Her luminosity struck me as I stared at her, as I couldn’t stop staring at her.

“Draven, get your head in the game!” Auggie yelled. “Elspeth cannot win again.”

Fuck. I jumped out from under the table, the ball hovering between me and Elspeth. Elspeth had her hands out, legs bent, as she circled around the couch.

“Just you and me, Darkstone,” she said, a gleam in her eyes.

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” I said.

“Don’t let her distract you,” Thea called.

She and Elspeth’s sisters all leaned against the kitchen counter, watching.

Elspeth straightened, and the ball perked up, flying in a straight line toward her. She dove out of the way, landing on the couch. “Excuse me,” she said to her family. “Whose side are you on?”

“Clearly Draven’s,” Auggie said.

“We’re sick of you winning,” Prue added.

That brought a smile to my face. Maybe these Moonflowers weren’t so bad after all. The ball rose higher, getting ready to nosedive into Elspeth. She rolled off the couch right as the ball hit the cushion and bounced up into the air and toward me. I spun around to avoid getting hit, then grabbed the broom Thea had been using, raising it high.

The ball flew toward me, and I held up the broom, batting it righttoward Elspeth. She sucked in a breath, backing up and ducking. The moon ball flew right over her head before coming to an abrupt halt. Elspeth’s back was to me, and she began taking a few slow steps backward. The ball just hovered, so neither of us knew its next move.

Then it lunged, and Elspeth whipped around to run. An idea formed in my head, and before I could think too much on it, I moved. I crashed into Elspeth, tackling her to the floor and waiting. Waiting.