Until then, she needed to come up with a plan on how to wow the world. Just as she turned on her heels and took a step, something hard clamped around her shoulder, holding her in place.
“Stop,” said the deep voice she had heard minutes before. But it was hard to be certain when her pulse thundered so hard against her skull.
She forced herself to stay calm and fluttered her fingers to the left. “Baños are on the other side of this alley, señor.”
“I’m not here for the bathroom,” he said. “I’m here for you.”
That was all she needed to hear. Esmeralda stomped on the man’s boot. His hold on her loosened, and she darted forward. She grabbed the first thing she could reach, a large egg made from fool’s gold sitting on a vanity.
“Wait!” he yelled.
She did not, in fact, wait.
Whirling around, she flung the egg with the whole of hermight. The egg didn’t hit the man in the skull as she hoped but instead pounded deep into his throat. Both his hands wrapped around his neck. He wheezed, gasping for air.
Esmeralda was not surprised to see that it was the weasel she had bumped into. Nor was she surprised to see the shining officer’s badge that had untucked itself from the collar of his shirt. But how quickly he recovereddidsurprise her entirely.
He launched himself at her. She tried to dodge out of the way, but her boot snagged on one of the tension wires holding the rear of the menagerie tent in place.
Her face skidded across the dirt. Something snapped.
Thankfully, it wasn’t her nose, but her dove mask had shattered into tiny pieces, falling like raindrops onto the ground.
For stars’ sake! That mask wasn’t cheap.
Cursing under her breath, she tried to rise, but a giant boot stomped onto her cloak.
She swept out her leg and kicked the young man’s feet right out from underneath him. She’d learned that trick once from the boy she had loved. The man landed on his back with a comical huff, but his long-limbed body sprawled out across her cape.
She grabbed the fabric with both hands and yanked. He didn’t budge.
“Get off, you mule!” This was the only cloak she had. She couldn’t just slip out of it and leave it here.
“Wait,” he rasped, still trying to catch his breath.
“So you can arrest me? Ha!”
I won’t go back to a cell. I won’t ever be so cold my bones feel brittle. Especially not so close to where I once lived.
She yanked again, and the seam tore. A frustrated shriek came from her.
“Get off!” she repeated. “Are you that terrible of an officer that you have to pick on a girl?”
“I see no girl here,” he countered. “Only a lying, scheming coward.”
That was strangely personal.
“Enough!” he roared.
He jumped to his feet just as she tugged. With the fabric free, she jerked back, landing hard on her rear. The officer stood to his full height.
“You can’t arrest me here,” she panted. “You can’t take me with you.”
“I only want to talk, dammit!” He shoved back the hood of his coat, gripped his weasel mask, and tore it from his face.
Esmeralda’s jaw dropped. She blinked hard, not believing her eyes were seeing what they were seeing. This couldn’t be. He shouldn’t be here. It made no sense.
“You,” she whispered.
