Cold Burn of Magic(41)

Blake let out a whimper between his gritted teeth. He tried to jerk his hand out of my grip, but I dug my nails into his skin and held on. He yanked back again, and a cold shot of magic spiked through my body. So Blake had a strength Talent, one that he was trying to use to break free. I let him struggle because the more he flailed around, the stronger he made me, and the more I tightened my grip on his wrist, until his eyes watered and he went down on one knee to try to alleviate some of the pressure.

Everyone around me sucked in a breath. Apparently, bringing Blake Draconi to the verge of tears was somewhat shocking.

If only they knew what I really wanted to do to him—and especially his dad.

My gaze flicked from one Draconi face to the next, daring anyone to make a move. Finally, I looked at Deah, who stared back at me with a mixture of horror and fascination—and the faintest bit of grudging respect.

“Lila,” Grant snapped. “That’s enough. Let him go.”

I stared at Blake and bent his wrist back another tiny fraction, just to let him know how much more I could hurt him if I wanted to. Then I let go and stepped back.

Blake cradled his wrist in his hand. Then he snarled, staggered up to his feet, and started toward me, but Deah stepped in front of him and held her hands out wide.

“C’mon, Blake. They’re not worth it.”

He tried to surge past her again.


“C’mon,” she repeated in a louder, colder voice. “Dad will be pissed if there’s another . . . incident right now. Be smart. Look around. This isn’t the time or the place.”

Our confrontation had attracted almost everyone’s attention in the arcade. Most of the workers had stopped what they were doing to gape at us, and more than a few of the tourist rubes had their phones and cameras out, snapping photos, along with the kids from the other Families. Even Blake realized he couldn’t get away with attacking me in front of so many witnesses. But that didn’t stop him from threatening me.

“This isn’t over,” Blake hissed.

“You bet it isn’t,” I hissed right back at him.

He gave me one more hate-filled glare before turning, shoving through his own friends, and stomping away. The other five guys scurried after him, but Deah stayed behind.

“You just made a big mistake,” she said. “You have no idea what Blake is capable of.”

I probably knew a lot more about her big brother’s cruelty than she did, but I shrugged. “It’s not the first one I’ve ever made.”

Deah gave me a look that was almost pitying before shaking her head, turning, and following her brother and his friends.





Blake, Deah, and the rest of the Draconis rounded the corner and disappeared from view. The second they were gone, Grant whirled around and threw his hands up into the air.

“What was that?!” he demanded.

I shrugged again. “Just doing my job.”

Grant shook his head. “You have no idea how many problems you’ve just caused.”

Oh, I knew. I just didn’t care. Not when it came to Blake Draconi.

Devon moved over to Poppy. “Are you okay?”

She stared at the ground and rubbed her arm. The spot where Blake had grabbed her was already starting to bruise. “Yeah, I’m fine. But I think I should leave now.”

“Okay,” Devon said in a gentle tone. “Why don’t I walk you over to one of the Ito hotels?”

She nodded.

“I’ll go with you,” Grant volunteered.

“What about Felix?” Poppy asked.

We all glanced around, but he wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Devon turned to me. “Can you find Felix while I walk Poppy across the Midway? Grant and I will meet you guys back at the SUV.”

I looked at Grant, who nodded his approval.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll find him.”

Devon held his hand out, and Poppy stepped forward and took it. She looked at me.

“Thank you,” she said in a soft voice.

I nodded. “Anytime.”

The three of them headed toward the arcade exit. Devon glanced over his shoulder at me. At first, he looked utterly serious, but then, his face split into a wide, happy grin. He’d enjoyed seeing Blake get taken down a notch just as much as I had.

I grinned back at him, then headed off to search for Felix.





I moved from one section of the arcade to the next, my hand on my sword, looking at everything and everyone around me. Just because Blake, Deah, and their friends had left didn’t mean they couldn’t double-back and try to sneak up on me. If they did that and caught me by surprise, Blake would kill me.

Just like he’d killed before.

The memories rose up in my mind. A hot summer day. A small apartment. And blood—so much blood.

On the floor, on the walls, even spattered onto the ceiling. A few white stars flashed on and off in front of my eyes in warning, but I managed to blink them away, even if I couldn’t quite block out the hoarse screams they left ringing in my head—my screams.

I kept moving through the arcade, and I finally spotted Felix standing behind a cotton-candy cart—with Deah.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, and a small red bag dangled from her wrist. She kept shaking her head, while Felix held his hands out to his sides, as if he was arguing with her.