Dark Heart of Magic
Page 24
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.
Especially given all the Talents he had.
Magic radiated off his body, the sensation cold and strong enough to make me shiver, despite the hot, humid day. Claudia didn’t know how many Talents Victor actually had or what he could do with all the magic he’d stolen from other people over the years, but I could feel exactly how powerful he was.
Most of the time, someone had to use their strength, speed, or other Talents against me in some physical way—punch me, shove me, restrain me, whatever—before my transference power flared to life and let me absorb their magic. In a way, anyone who attacked me with his Talents was just hurting himself, since all the magic that soaked into my body made me stronger. But Victor was so powerful that just standing next to him was enough to make my own transference magic stir to life and my body chill with magic.
Normally I welcomed the surge of strength that went along with my Talent, but right now, it made me sick to my stomach.
Victor realized that I was staring at him, and his gaze met mine.
The icy knives of his hate stabbed into my heart, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from gasping in shock or showing any sort of emotion. Victor stared at me a second longer, then swung his golden gaze back to Claudia, dismissing me as unimportant. The feeling of his hate lingered, though, even colder than the invisible waves of magic rolling off his body. I ground my teeth together to keep them from chattering.
“Claudia.”
“Victor.”
The two of them stared at each other, their faces hard and flat. All around us, the whispers faded, and everyone leaned forward, eager to hear every single word they said.
“The officials are telling me that it’s an accident,” Victor said in his deep, rumbling voice. “It’s unfortunate that both of our Families had competitors who were injured.”
“Indeed,” Claudia said, her voice as smooth as his. “I was on my way to check on Henry. How is your guard?”
Victor shrugged. “Just a broken arm. She’ll live. Although I’ve already given her spot in the tournament to someone else.”
Claudia frowned. “Why would you do that?”
He shrugged again. “She shouldn’t have fallen.”
“Or once she did, she should have gotten right back up and started climbing again,” Blake chimed in. “Not sat on the ground crying like a little kid who scraped her knee.”
He scoffed, as though he couldn’t believe one of his Family members could be so weak. I looked at Deah, who winced and stared at the ground. She might not agree with Blake and her dad, but she wasn’t going to stand up and tell them how wrong and cruel they were either.
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.
Especially given all the Talents he had.
Magic radiated off his body, the sensation cold and strong enough to make me shiver, despite the hot, humid day. Claudia didn’t know how many Talents Victor actually had or what he could do with all the magic he’d stolen from other people over the years, but I could feel exactly how powerful he was.
Most of the time, someone had to use their strength, speed, or other Talents against me in some physical way—punch me, shove me, restrain me, whatever—before my transference power flared to life and let me absorb their magic. In a way, anyone who attacked me with his Talents was just hurting himself, since all the magic that soaked into my body made me stronger. But Victor was so powerful that just standing next to him was enough to make my own transference magic stir to life and my body chill with magic.
Normally I welcomed the surge of strength that went along with my Talent, but right now, it made me sick to my stomach.
Victor realized that I was staring at him, and his gaze met mine.
The icy knives of his hate stabbed into my heart, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from gasping in shock or showing any sort of emotion. Victor stared at me a second longer, then swung his golden gaze back to Claudia, dismissing me as unimportant. The feeling of his hate lingered, though, even colder than the invisible waves of magic rolling off his body. I ground my teeth together to keep them from chattering.
“Claudia.”
“Victor.”
The two of them stared at each other, their faces hard and flat. All around us, the whispers faded, and everyone leaned forward, eager to hear every single word they said.
“The officials are telling me that it’s an accident,” Victor said in his deep, rumbling voice. “It’s unfortunate that both of our Families had competitors who were injured.”
“Indeed,” Claudia said, her voice as smooth as his. “I was on my way to check on Henry. How is your guard?”
Victor shrugged. “Just a broken arm. She’ll live. Although I’ve already given her spot in the tournament to someone else.”
Claudia frowned. “Why would you do that?”
He shrugged again. “She shouldn’t have fallen.”
“Or once she did, she should have gotten right back up and started climbing again,” Blake chimed in. “Not sat on the ground crying like a little kid who scraped her knee.”
He scoffed, as though he couldn’t believe one of his Family members could be so weak. I looked at Deah, who winced and stared at the ground. She might not agree with Blake and her dad, but she wasn’t going to stand up and tell them how wrong and cruel they were either.
