Cold Burn of Magic(92)

By this point, Devon’s face was as hard as the black marble of the mansion. “Yeah. That works. Sorry I bothered you. It won’t happen again.”

He turned and walked across the balcony. This time, instead of climbing up the drainpipe, he ran up the stairs, disappearing from sight, and he didn’t look back. Not even once. Good. I didn’t want him to, even though every one of his soft steps was like a knife in my heart.

This was for the best. I knew that. Really, I did.

But why did it have to hurt so much?





CHAPTER THIRTY


The next morning, Claudia called me down to the library before breakfast. She was sitting at her desk poring over some papers, but my gaze locked on to the black velvet box perched on the corner. It was the same size and shape as the one that had held the ruby necklace I’d stolen.

Claudia looked up at me, then stabbed her pen at the box. “Don’t worry. You don’t have to steal it. Take it. It’s yours.”

I pressed my hands to my heart and batted my eyes. “Diamonds? For me? You shouldn’t have.”

She snorted. “I don’t even buy myself diamonds.”

“Well, that’s a shame.”

She made a choking noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Claudia leaned back in her chair, watching me, so I slid the box off the desk and cracked it open.

A silver cuff lay inside.

“Every member of the Family wears one,” she said. “Go on. Put it on.”

I sighed and plucked the cuff out of the box. It was just like all the other Family cuffs I’d seen—a thin band of silver with the Sinclair crest stamped into the middle. With one difference. A tiny, star-shaped sapphire was embedded in the silver, as though whoever was holding the sword was wearing a small ring on her hand.

“It was Serena’s,” Claudia said in a soft voice. “I thought you would want it.”


My throat closed up. I nodded and slipped the cuff on my right wrist. It was lighter than I thought it would be. Instead of a shackle, it felt almost . . . nice. Like I was connected to my mom again. Like I was part of something.

Like I finally belonged somewhere.

“It’s not like the other cuffs,” I said.

“No,” Claudia replied. “It’s not.”

I traced my fingers over the crest, feeling the small points of the star catch against my skin. “Thank you for this,” I whispered.

Claudia nodded and went back to her papers. With the cuff on my wrist, I closed the black velvet box, tucked it into one of the pockets on my cargo pants, and left the library.





I thought that was the end of my not-so-formal initiation into the Sinclair Family, so I headed to the dining hall for breakfast. To my surprise, the others were already gathered around one of the tables—Felix, Devon, Oscar, and Mo.

“Lila! There you are!” Mo called out.

He was wearing his usual Hawaiian shirt, this one a cool white with bright pink margaritas patterned all over the fabric. He got to his feet, came around the table, and gave me a hug.

“I’m so proud of you, kid,” Mo whispered in my ear. “And your mom would be, too.”

He stepped back and swept his arms out to the side, and I realized that the table was covered with food. Platters of eggs, hash browns, pancakes, and, most important of all, bacon. Mounds of it. Piles of it. More bacon than I had ever seen in one place before. All arranged around my usual seat, as if it had been put there especially for me.

“What’s all this?” I asked.

“Breakfast,” Oscar said, twitching his wings.

“Extra heavy on the bacon, just for you.” Felix winked at me.

Devon cleared his throat. “It’s our official way of saying welcome to the Family.”

His voice was quiet and his eyes were dark, telling me just how much I’d hurt him last night. My own heart squeezed tight, but once again, I told myself it was for the best.

“Thanks.”

He nodded, and we all sat down and started eating. Mo dominated the conversation, talking about all the plans he had and all the great deals he was going to make for the Sinclairs. I knew he would do a good job as the Family broker.

At one point, Felix leaned over to me. “Geez,” he whispered, “does that guy ever shut up?”

I laughed.

“Plus,” Mo said, finally stopping long enough to take a breath, “just think of how many more customers I’ll get at the Razzle Dazzle, now that it’s an official Sinclair Family joint. Why, I can already picture all the advertising.”

Mo beamed still brighter, to the dismay of Devon, Felix, and Oscar. Their eyes had long ago glazed over. I hid a smile. They’d get used to Mo . . . eventually.

Felix finally managed to enter the conversation, and he, Mo, and Oscar started debating what color Mo should paint the Razzle Dazzle next. This time, my eyes were the ones that glazed over, at least until Devon nudged me with his elbow.

He nodded at my arm. “The cuff looks good on you.”

My hand crept over to the thin band of silver, my fingers once again tracing the small star embedded in the metal. “Yeah.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Lila,” he said. “I hope you feel that way, too.”

Devon stared at me, a mix of emotions swirling through his eyes. I saw everything I had that first day at the Razzle Dazzle—the guilt, grief, sorrow, and all the other burdens he carried in his heart.