Page 40 of Dragon My Crazy

Two more flashes from the wand and the ifrits froze, their flames sputtering out as if snuffed by an unseen hand.

The goblin smirked, twirling his wand between his fingers. “Now, where is that witch…” he said as his eyes landed on me. “There you are! You’re going to make me a lot of cold, hard cash. And once we get you secured, we’re going to find that dragon brat too.”

More mean-looking goblins poured out of the portal, a gang of chest-high thugs, ready to fuck things up.

“Go find that dragon,” the leader ordered before turning back to me. “And the goblin bitch too!”

He pointed the wand at me, and suddenly I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. And I was certain that if I could see myself from the outside, I would be frozen just like Flame, Blaze, and Cassian. It was the strangest feeling as my body levitated from the floor and started to drift after the goblin wizard, even as he turned and started walking through the portal.

I closed my eyes, trying my best to remember all the spells Tansy had taught us during our weekly magic lessons at the Redrock penthouse. None of those spells seemed useful right now. Whatuse was changing the color of my dress? What use was putting out a candle from across the room? Or getting laundry to fold itself? Or getting a plant to grow faster and bloom?

And did I even dare cast them? What if my magic backfired just like it usually did? Just because I managed to pull a cushion under Melly didn’t mean my magic was fixed.

But I couldn’t just donothingand let myself be pulled toward the swirling portal. Beyond it, there were a bunch of trees. That could be anywhere. I had to do something.

So I did everything. I focused on the goblin’s ridiculous wizard cape and mentally ordered it to fold itself up. I couldn’t use my hands or speak out loud, but I hoped my mental words were enough. At first, nothing happened, and he was already disappearing through the portal. Then suddenly, the fabric moved. It folded up over his head to cover his face and then continued folding.

“What the fuck?” As the goblin male struggled, his cape wrapped around his face, trying to form itself into a perfect stackable square. He waved his wand about, but I was still unable to move. So I told the potted plant next to him to grow. I imagined it growing toward him, around him, surrounding him. And it did.

“You fucking witch! When I—”

The rest of his words were mumbled by the frothing soap spewing from his mouth. It was a disciplinary spell, barely used nowadays, washing a kid’s mouth out with soap. Tansy hadn’t taught this one to me, but I had distinct memories of having itused on me when I was a child. One never quite forgot spells like that.

But we were all still prisoners. Something told me that I had to get the wand out of the goblin wizard’s hand. I concentrated on the wand and thought of the tea-heating spell. The last time I’d tried that, I’d turned my tea to steam. Maybe I could make the wand red hot.

This was when my magic decided to combust. And I mean literally combust. Because instead of the wand heating up, the entire goblin exploded. So did the portal. And the cape. And the poor houseplant.

The heat was intense, and I thought I would burn alive with it too, but my magic had formed a shield in front of me, protecting me. Or maybe that was Seth’s shield. I didn’t know.

When it was over, the only thing left where the goblin had stood was the magic wand, now scorching red and singeing a wand-shaped mark onto the castle floor. And I was free. So were my demons and ifrit friends.

Then the realization hit me.

Holy fuck! I’d just used my magic to save us!

I turned around, wanting to celebrate, wanting to ask if they saw that (duh, of course they did). But the second I spun, dizziness overtook me. It was Emmett who caught me. Where had he come from? I hadn’t even realized he’d been here.

“Good job, my treasure. But I think you might have over-exerted.” He tucked me into his chest. “Let’s get you somewhere safe so you can recover and rest.”

He turned and started walking with me in his arms. This was when I realized I’d completely toasted his hallway. “Your castle!”

“It’s cosmetic. And even if it isn’t, everything can be rebuilt.”

“What about the attack?” I asked.

“It was a distraction for them to open up the portal. Melly’s safe,” he confirmed before I could ask. “The danger is over. They caught the other goblins. Kai is getting information from them right now. I put the extra warding spells Sena left for me around the castle. The danger is over. You can relax now.”

I did. Because I was suddenly very tired. I closed my eyes and leaned against his chest, and let him care for me.

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself in an unfamiliar bathroom. The space was vast, easily the size of a bedroom, with walls of dark, polished stone that shimmered faintly under the soft glow of lanterns hung overhead. A massive, sunken tub dominated the center of the room, carved from a single slab of black marble veined with gold. The tub was massive, and I could imagine Emmett lounging in it, his dragon form coiled beneath the surface.

To one side, a shower stall stood behind a wall of frosted glass, its multiple showerheads arranged like the branches of a tree. On the opposite side, a vanity of dark wood held a basin carved from a single piece of obsidian, its surface so smooth it reflectedlike a mirror. The faucet was shaped like a stone gargoyle’s head, water flowing from its open jaws.

“Where are we?”

“Inside my personal suite. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

I looked down at my body for the first time and realized my nightdress was scorched, and dirt was smudged all over my arms and legs. I really did need to clean up, even though I was so exhausted that all I wanted right now was a nap.