Page 142 of How to Flirt with a Witch

My heart plummets into my feet. Everyone else must have left the building. Between the curses planted to get the Guardians out, the fake sighting to lure away the Shadows, and the quake to force out the remaining witches, the Madsens have tricked CSAMM into clearing the way for them.

Freddie catches my eye and cocks an eyebrow as if to say,Told you so.

I scowl back, my teeth clenched.

Sophia Madsen steps forward, her full lips twisted into a cruel smile. Between her high cheekbones, flawless skin, and piercing blue eyes, it’s easy to see where Freddie and Oaklyn got their looks. She looks like she’s one musical number away from being a real-life snow queen. But there’s nothing beautiful about the way she’s sneering. “Show us where you store biological magic, and nobody else has to get hurt.”

Wyatt’s low growl ripples over my skin, raising the hairs on my arms. He flashes his gleaming fangs, his hackles rising as he waits for a command.

Fiona steps out from the witches, blood on her cheek. “You’re a guest in our house, Sophia, and I don’t think you’re in a position to be making demands.”

She twitches her fingers, and in a blink, an iron sconce rises from the rubble and rockets toward the Madsens.

Oaklyn is quick with her dagger, snatching the sconce out of the air with a long, whip-like root.

“Well done, sweetie,” Sophia purrs, a purple glint in her eyes. She raises her arms, her manicured hands curled like claws. “That’s no way to treat a guest.”

A wooden table groans and cracks, lifting into the air.

Well, we know which Madsen is in possession of earth magic.

Natalie and several others react, and the table disintegrates into splinters before Sophia can use it as a weapon.

Sophia grins, undeterred. She’s been waiting for this for decades, and she’s enjoying every second of it. “All we need is a tiny hint.” Her voice ripples through the lounge. “We could search each corridor, but it would be a shame to have to render the whole building into this state.”

“Don’t let them move,” Fiona barks. “Block everything. Whatever it takes.”

The witches turn their attention to the corridors, lifting rubble and furniture in the air to barricade them as quickly as possible. Plants weave into nets, and bricks stack to form new walls.

“You must be a Director,” Sophia says to Fiona with a little bow of her head. “Kids, have her share where they hoard their magic supply.”

Oaklyn flicks her dagger like a whip, and Freddie shouts, “Get ’em!”

Roots snap out of the dagger like tentacles. Wyatt rockets toward Fiona.

Natalie and the others respond, raising a wall of rubble to block the attack and launching pieces of it like bullets.

“Push them back to the exit!” Fiona shouts.

Sophia’s lips curl into a twisted smile as the lounge explodes into chaos, debris flying. Natalie steps in front of me to shield me from it. Still, a sharp sting hits my shoulder, followed by a warm trickle of blood.

I hiss. Adrenaline surges through my veins, telling me to run, to hide, todosomething. “Natalie, I need the gauntlet.”

To my surprise, she nods andpushes me back. “Agreed.”

Dust swirls, filling my nostrils and turning the air opaque, making it hard to see where the Chambers corridor is. “It’s still in my room.”

Natalie shakes her head. “When you left, Elizabeth had to vacate your suite. I grabbed your stuff and kept it safe.” She takes my hand, tugging me with her. “Come on.”

We follow the rush of people barricading the corridors. Furniture and rubble continue to pile up.

As we cross the lounge, barking erupts, the pitch higher than Wyatt’s boom. The French bulldog, Greg, tears inside from the courtyard, yapping his head off. Wyatt barks back, his jaws snapping, but Greg is quick and bites at the larger dog’s heels.

“Greg, get out!” Agnes yells, adding to the din.

Natalie pushes past her toward the Chambers corridor. “We need to get through.”

Agnes turns her bulging eyes onto us, her pigtails in disarray, her teeth bared. “Where do you thinkyou’re—”