Page 60 of Potions & Prejudice
It really was massive. I couldn’t imagine having a house so big. I could barely imagine having a house at all.
I walked up the familiar stone steps from the night before. Without all the revelry and chatter, the place felt empty, somber somehow.
I raised my fist and knocked on the door, but no one answered. I shivered as the wind picked up.
“Oh, blast it,” I said and opened the door myself.
I couldn’t just stand out here all day. I walked into the big room, wine stains splattered across the floor. Crumbs everywhere. A few shattered glasses sparkling under the candlelight. We’d made quite a mess, but I supposed Draven was wealthy enough to have spelled items to clean it all up.
“Hello?” I called, my voice echoing around the cavernous room.
I looked up to the second level, the doors all closed. Adelaide was likely up there. There weren’t any bedrooms on the first floor. I squinted past the sweeping staircase to a room that looked like the kitchen. My gaze swiveled to another door.
The one I’d pulled Draven behind last night. I already knew where the closet was. I nodded.
So up the stairs it was, then.
Outside, thunder rumbled ominously. Perfect. Just what I needed. To walk home in a storm.
Adelaide was worth it. I ascended the stairs, and when I got to the top, I looked to the left and right, trying to decide which direction to go.
There were so many doors. Who needed this many rooms? What could they possibly do with all of them?
I readied myself to start opening random doors, hoping I wouldn’t stumble upon anything I wasn’t supposed to see.
Like Draven with another woman. I shook my head, not sure where that thought came from. I didn’t care if Draven took a woman to bedlast night. He was a grown man, and he could do what he wanted with his... appendage.
Great. Now I was thinking about his appendage. I marched to the left. That alcohol must’ve affected me more than I realized. Maybe I was still drunk, and it was the alcohol causing me to have these ridiculous thoughts.
I stopped at the first door I came across, taking a deep breath and reaching out to grab the handle when someone shrieked behind me.
“Intruder!”
I whirled around to see a dragon flapping his wings, staring at me with his wide orange eyes.
“Oh please don’t hurt me.” He shielded its eyes with its tail. “I’ll give you whatever you want. Which isn’t much because I’m just a dragon and they don’t pay me anything.”
I recognized the little creature. He belonged to Draven.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said with a laugh. “I’ve seen you before. I’m Elspeth?”
The dragon stopped whimpering and lowered his tail, relief flashing in his eyes. “Oh, Witch Superior. You scared me. I’m Edgar.”
“I’m sorry.” I held up my hands. “I’m just looking for my sister. She’s sick and somewhere in this huge manor. I wanted to check on her.” I lifted the satchel at my side. “And bring her some comfortable clothes to wear.”
“I can show you to her room.” He lifted into the air and flew ahead of me in the hallway. “She’s up on the third floor in the guest quarters.”
If the guest quarters were on the third floor, then I had no idea what all these rooms could possibly be for.
“Sorry about that.” Edgar looked behind him as I followed. “You took me by surprise.”
I tilted my head. “You do realize you’re a dragon, right? You could just use your fire? I don’t think I could defend myself against that.”
His eyes scrunched together. “You know, I didn’t think of that.”
I nodded. “It would be very effective. I promise that you’d probably be more terrifying to any intruder than they’d be to you. Even with your small size.”
“Really?” He pressed a paw to his chest as he landed on the railing. “You think so?”
