Dark Heart of Magic (Black Blade #2)(28)

Something dark. Something sinister.

Something deadly.

By this point, the official had herded Mo off to the side of the ladder, and Mo was running out of things to yell at the other man. Time to go. So I angled his phone at the rope, taking several shots of the cut and frayed end. Then I got to my feet, slid the phone into my shorts pocket, and walked behind the official that Mo was still berating. I jerked my head, letting him know that he could wrap things up. Mo winked back at me.

“Well, perhaps I have been a bit hasty,” he said, his voice suddenly charming instead of angry. “I should let you fellas do your job. Thanks for the info, buddy. Keep up the good work.”

Mo clapped the official on the shoulder, leaving the other man with a dazed expression on his face.

Mo fell in step beside me. “What did you find out, kid?”

“Later,” I whispered back. “When it’s just the Family.”

He nodded, and we headed over to Claudia, Reginald, Devon, Felix, and Oscar, who were checking on the other Sinclair guards.

Through the crowd, I noticed Vance watching me. He realized that I was okay, and he snorted and started talking to Katia, who was frowning, her hazel eyes dark with thought.

I remembered how Vance had thrown sand at me, tried to trip me in the spring, and shoved me out of the way when I was starting up the ladder. He had been directly above me and had just crawled onto the platform when the ropes had given way. He had Talents for speed and strength, so he could have easily cut the ropes in all the confusion. Vance was a jackass, but was he really that much of a monster? I didn’t know.

And he wasn’t the only suspect. Blake had been on top of the platform too, and he outright hated me. He could have cut the ropes to hurt me, or maybe even ordered another one of the Draconis to do it for him in order to take out as many of the other competitors as possible.

Anger and worry surged through my body, and my hands clenched into fists, even as another shiver slithered up my spine. I found myself looking over my shoulder and staring at the imprint of Henry’s body in the grass again.

Oh, yeah. That could have easily been me.

But the far more troubling thought was that maybe someone had wanted it to be me.





CHAPTER TEN


The crowd on the stadium floor was breaking up and drifting away when Mo and I rejoined the others.

“Lila!” Oscar shouted. “There you are! Are you okay?”

If anything, the danger and excitement had added to his sugar high, and the pixie buzz-buzzed-buzzed around and around my head like a helicopter.

“I’m fine,” I said, holding out my hand so he could land on it. “Really, I am.”

Oscar stalked back and forth on my palm, looking me up and down, his black cape fluttering around his shoulders, and his cowboy boots tickling my skin. It was several seconds before he was satisfied enough to fly up, sit on my shoulder, and hug my neck.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said.

“Me too.”

I reached out and patted his tiny back, careful not to crush his wings. Oscar hugged my neck again, then stayed perched on my shoulder.

Felix shook his head. “Well, you and Devon put on quite the show. Everyone here got their money’s worth today.”

“How’s Henry?” I asked.

“Dad’s working on him right now. He’s in a lot of pain, and his leg is definitely broken,” Felix replied, his face troubled. “I’m on my way to help. I just wanted to make sure that you guys were okay first.”

He nodded at Devon and me, then broke into a jog, leaving us behind and heading toward the white medical tent.

Claudia stepped up beside me, looking me over just as the others had. When she realized that I was okay, some of the tension eased out of her slender shoulders and her jaw unclenched.

“You had me worried there for a second,” she murmured.

“Yeah. Me too.”

I opened my mouth to tell her what I’d found out about the rope, but she shook her head, stopping me. A second later, I realized why.

Victor Draconi was heading in our direction.

The folks still milling around scrambled out of his way, and whispers sprang up in his wake. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at us, wondering what sort of fireworks might explode between the heads of the two most powerful Families.

Victor stopped in front of Claudia, looking poised, polished, and powerful in his dark gray suit and red tie, which was patterned with tiny gold dragons. Another, larger dragon was stamped into the middle of the wide gold cuff that flashed on his right wrist. He straightened up to his full height, and the sun bounced off his thick, wavy, blond hair and highlighted the sharp angles of his handsome face.

This was the closest I’d ever been to Victor, so close that I could smell his faint, spicy cologne and see exactly how cold his eyes were, despite their rich golden color.

White-hot rage boiled through me, and I had the sudden urge to scream, raise my fists, and charge at him. So many times, I’d dreamed of getting close enough to Victor to run him through with my black blade. Of course, the one time I was actually within striking distance, I didn’t have my sword, much less any other weapon that I could hurt him with.

So I forced myself to smother my rage with reason—because Victor wasn’t alone. Blake and Deah stepped up beside him, with more Draconi guards behind them. Even if I could have gotten past Blake, Deah, and the guards, Victor was more than capable of defending himself.