Cold Burn of Magic(62)

Claudia and Devon didn’t respond, so I decided to fill in the blanks for them. I knew most of the answers to my questions. All I needed now was some confirmation.

“Forget about the mystery man,” I said. “The really interesting thing is what happened during the attack.”

Devon tensed before he could stop himself, although Claudia remained calm.

“Oh?” She arched an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”

“I killed two of the men, but I was injured and the fight wasn’t going my way. In fact, one of those guys was about to take my head off—until Devon opened his mouth and asked him to stop,” I said. “And surprise, surprise, the guy froze. Just like that.”

I snapped my fingers, and they both flinched at the sound.

“The guy stopped cold, even though I could tell exactly how much he wanted to kill me.”

I paused, but neither one of them said anything, so I continued.

“And not only did the guy not kill me, but Devon barked out a few more commands and the guy actually turned on his friends and started killing them instead. All on Devon’s orders. He said exactly five words to the other man—stop, turn around, protect us—and that’s exactly what the guy did, even though I could tell just how much he didn’t want to.”

They still didn’t respond.

“On the ride back to the mansion, I started thinking about the first fight in the Razzle Dazzle. And it occurred to me that the guy who attacked Devon didn’t actually swing his sword at him. Instead, he grabbed Devon’s neck. At the time, I thought the guy was going to choke him to death. But really, all he was doing was keeping pressure on Devon’s throat so he couldn’t speak. To keep him from giving any of his special orders.”

Silence. Absolute silence.

A minute ticked by, then two, then three.

Finally, Claudia sat up straight, raised her chin, and fixed me with a ruthless glare.

“You will never, ever tell anyone what Devon did in the library,” she snapped. “Or I will kill you myself.”

My mouth fell open. It was bad enough Claudia was forcing me to work for her Family, but I’d saved Devon from being kidnapped again. And now she was threatening me? With death?

Anger bubbled up inside me, as hot and bitter as acid. My hands clenched into fists, and I opened my mouth to tell Claudia Sinclair exactly what I thought of her—

“Enough, Mom,” Devon said. “That’s enough. Lila saw what I did. I can’t hide it from her. Not anymore.”

Claudia sucked in a breath. “Devon, think about this. You don’t know what you’re saying. The more people who know, the more—”

“Danger I’m in,” Devon finished. “Yeah. I got the memo on that a long time ago.”

He stared into the fireplace, even though it was cold and empty. I wondered if he was thinking back to that day on the Midway, when my mom had saved him and Claudia. I’d always wondered why he’d been targeted by so many men. I’d assumed it was because of some Family feud, but I was beginning to think his special power might be the real reason.

Devon shook off his memories and turned to me. Despite his bravado, the worry in his green eyes pinched my heart.

“It’s my Talent,” he said. “What I did to that guy in the library . . . it’s called compulsion. I tell someone what to do, and they automatically do it—whether they want to or not.”

Compulsion was a rare Talent. I’d heard of it, but I’d never actually met someone with the power to make other people act against their own free will. No wonder the mystery man wanted to kidnap Devon. As long as he held Devon prisoner, he could get Devon—and whoever he forced Devon to compel—to do exactly what he wanted.

Or worse, the mystery man could take Devon’s Talent for himself, rip the magic right out of Devon’s body, and kill him in the process. It was the same thing my mom had always feared would happen to me if someone learned about my transference power.

“Some Talent, huh?” Devon barked out a harsh laugh. “Tell her the rest of it.”

Claudia shook her head. “There’s nothing else to tell.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You know that’s not true.” He drew in a breath and looked at me again. “It’s the reason my dad died. He was murdered because of my damn Talent.”

He said it as though it were a curse. Maybe it was, to him.

Claudia sighed. “Devon, you don’t know that—”

“Yeah,” he said in a soft voice, his green eyes dark with guilt. “I do.”


Devon surged to his feet, stalked over to the doors, and wrenched one of them open. He stepped through the opening and yanked on the door from the other side, slamming it behind him. Claudia and I didn’t say anything for several seconds.

“Who else knows?” I asked after the sharp echoes had faded away.

Claudia stared at the closed doors. “Only a few Family members. Angelo, Felix, and Reginald. Some of the pixies, including Oscar. People who would never betray the Family or Devon. People I trust.”

Meaning that she didn’t trust me. Not exactly a news flash.

“I hope you will keep this newfound knowledge to yourself,” Claudia said in a stiff voice. “If not for Devon’s sake, then for your own. The more people who know, the more danger my son is in. And by extension, everyone else in the Family. Especially you, since he seems to have taken a . . . liking to you.”