Dark Heart of Magic
Page 55
He waved his hand, causing the diamond signet ring on one finger to flash in the sunlight. “Bah. This tournament is yours to lose, kid. Just like it was your mom’s before you.”
Startled, I looked at him. “What? Mom competed in the tournament too?”
Mo nodded. “When she was your age. She won it too. A couple of years in a row, including the summer she left town.”
Before all the bad stuff had gone down with my dad. Before Victor had sent Luke out to be killed by that nest of copper crushers. Before my mom and dad could leave the Families and Cloudburst Falls behind like they’d been planning. That’s what Mo really meant.
My mom had never hidden her past from me. She’d told me about working for the Sinclairs, meeting and falling in love with my dad, even the problems she’d had with Victor and the other Families. But I’d never known that she’d won the Tournament of Blades—and not just once.
“I didn’t know that,” I said in a soft voice. “She never told me about competing in the tournament.”
Mo stared out over the stadium, his eyes dark and distant with memories. “This is where Serena and Luke actually met. They had to fight each other in the last round. Serena had knocked Victor out of the tournament to get to the final round, and it was winner take all between her and your dad. It was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen, but your mom finally drew first blood. And Luke was a good sport about it too. He and your mom started talking, and, well, things happened from there between them.”
“Why didn’t she ever tell me any of this?”
He shrugged. “She didn’t like dwelling on the past, especially when it came to your dad. You know that.”
No, she hadn’t. My mom hadn’t hidden her past from me, but she hadn’t been very chatty about it either. Even when we’d come back to Cloudburst Falls every summer, I’d had to beg and beg her to tell me stories of what the town had been like when she was a kid, of all the things she’d seen and done, of all the plans that she and my dad had had for the future.
Plans that had never happened, thanks to Victor.
Mo squeezed my shoulder, sensing how much this meant to me, but I couldn’t help wondering what else my mom hadn’t told me. Sure, her winning the Tournament of Blades wasn’t exactly an important secret, but what other things might she have kept from me—
“There you are!” a voice called out. “Darling, you were fabulous!”
Mo and I looked over. Seleste Draconi had come down from the Family box and was racing toward Deah, her arms outstretched, ready to hug her the second Deah was in range. Seleste was wearing another one of her long, flowing dresses, this one in a sapphire blue that made her look more beautiful than ever. Her hair gleamed like polished gold in the sun, although her eyes were the same unnaturally bright blue that I remembered from the cemetery.
Almost like . . . monster eyes.
That’s what Seleste’s eyes reminded me of. All the bright, glowing, jewel-toned eyes of the monsters as they crept through the shadows at night.
Everyone stared at Seleste as she drew Deah close, kissed both her cheeks, and then hugged her tight. An embarrassed blush flamed in Deah’s cheeks, but she was smiling wide, and she hugged Seleste right back.
Jealousy pinched my heart. My mom would have done the same thing, would have hugged me just like that, if she’d still been alive.
But she wasn’t, and Victor and Blake were to blame for that.
Deah hugged her mom back for a few more seconds before stepping out of her arms. “Thanks, Mom.” She shot a nervous look at Victor, who had walked over and joined them. “But shouldn’t you be up in the Family box resting? You know how the sun and the heat can get to you.”
Victor sighed. “Your mother insisted on coming down and congratulating you in person, even though I told her that she could have just texted you.”
“Well, that was nice of her.” Deah brightened for a moment, but the expression wilted under her father’s stern glare. “Wasn’t it?”
Victor didn’t respond. Instead, he studied the other competitors, the same sort of sneer on his face that was always on Blake’s. “Well,” he said. “If this is your competition, there’s absolutely no excuse for you to lose the tournament.”
His voice dripped with disgust, telling everyone within earshot his low opinion of the remaining competitors. But even worse was the sharp, pointed look he gave Deah, and all the malice shimmering in his golden eyes. It was a clear warning that she would win the tournament or else something very unpleasant might happen—to her.
“Yes, sir,” Deah said in a faint voice.
Victor must have sensed my staring at him because he turned and looked in my direction. My gaze locked with his, and my soulsight immediately flared to life, letting me feel the absolute ice of his emotions and all his hatred for everyone around him—including his own wife.
In that instant, I realized that Victor barely tolerated Seleste and all her odd behavior, and only kept her around because her visions of the future were useful. The second she stopped being useful . . . well, I was willing to bet that Seleste would end up just like my parents—dead.
I shivered. I could easily imagine Victor tearing Seleste’s Talent for seeing the future out of her. Part of me was surprised he hadn’t done it already. Or perhaps he only wanted the information from the visions and had no desire to actually experience them for himself. Not if it meant being like Seleste.
Seleste noticed Victor staring at me, and she brightened and headed in my direction. Mo grabbed my shoulder again, his fingers digging into my skin in a clear warning.
“No matter what she says, act like you don’t know what she’s talking about,” he muttered.
“Why?”
“Just do it, kid,” Mo hissed.
Seleste marched over and grabbed my hands. “Darling! There you are! It’s so good to see you again!” she beamed at me, squeezing my hands tight in hers.
With her strength Talent, it felt like she was on the verge of cracking my bones. I winced, and she loosened her hold.
“Oops. Sorry. I don’t know my own strength sometimes.” She winked at me. “Just making sure that you were real. Sometimes, I have to do that, you know. I’m sure you remember that about me.”
“Um, okay.”
It seemed that she had mistaken me for my mom again, so it wasn’t hard to pretend to be confused. But why did she keep doing that? It wasn’t as if Seleste had actually known my mom . . . had she?
Startled, I looked at him. “What? Mom competed in the tournament too?”
Mo nodded. “When she was your age. She won it too. A couple of years in a row, including the summer she left town.”
Before all the bad stuff had gone down with my dad. Before Victor had sent Luke out to be killed by that nest of copper crushers. Before my mom and dad could leave the Families and Cloudburst Falls behind like they’d been planning. That’s what Mo really meant.
My mom had never hidden her past from me. She’d told me about working for the Sinclairs, meeting and falling in love with my dad, even the problems she’d had with Victor and the other Families. But I’d never known that she’d won the Tournament of Blades—and not just once.
“I didn’t know that,” I said in a soft voice. “She never told me about competing in the tournament.”
Mo stared out over the stadium, his eyes dark and distant with memories. “This is where Serena and Luke actually met. They had to fight each other in the last round. Serena had knocked Victor out of the tournament to get to the final round, and it was winner take all between her and your dad. It was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen, but your mom finally drew first blood. And Luke was a good sport about it too. He and your mom started talking, and, well, things happened from there between them.”
“Why didn’t she ever tell me any of this?”
He shrugged. “She didn’t like dwelling on the past, especially when it came to your dad. You know that.”
No, she hadn’t. My mom hadn’t hidden her past from me, but she hadn’t been very chatty about it either. Even when we’d come back to Cloudburst Falls every summer, I’d had to beg and beg her to tell me stories of what the town had been like when she was a kid, of all the things she’d seen and done, of all the plans that she and my dad had had for the future.
Plans that had never happened, thanks to Victor.
Mo squeezed my shoulder, sensing how much this meant to me, but I couldn’t help wondering what else my mom hadn’t told me. Sure, her winning the Tournament of Blades wasn’t exactly an important secret, but what other things might she have kept from me—
“There you are!” a voice called out. “Darling, you were fabulous!”
Mo and I looked over. Seleste Draconi had come down from the Family box and was racing toward Deah, her arms outstretched, ready to hug her the second Deah was in range. Seleste was wearing another one of her long, flowing dresses, this one in a sapphire blue that made her look more beautiful than ever. Her hair gleamed like polished gold in the sun, although her eyes were the same unnaturally bright blue that I remembered from the cemetery.
Almost like . . . monster eyes.
That’s what Seleste’s eyes reminded me of. All the bright, glowing, jewel-toned eyes of the monsters as they crept through the shadows at night.
Everyone stared at Seleste as she drew Deah close, kissed both her cheeks, and then hugged her tight. An embarrassed blush flamed in Deah’s cheeks, but she was smiling wide, and she hugged Seleste right back.
Jealousy pinched my heart. My mom would have done the same thing, would have hugged me just like that, if she’d still been alive.
But she wasn’t, and Victor and Blake were to blame for that.
Deah hugged her mom back for a few more seconds before stepping out of her arms. “Thanks, Mom.” She shot a nervous look at Victor, who had walked over and joined them. “But shouldn’t you be up in the Family box resting? You know how the sun and the heat can get to you.”
Victor sighed. “Your mother insisted on coming down and congratulating you in person, even though I told her that she could have just texted you.”
“Well, that was nice of her.” Deah brightened for a moment, but the expression wilted under her father’s stern glare. “Wasn’t it?”
Victor didn’t respond. Instead, he studied the other competitors, the same sort of sneer on his face that was always on Blake’s. “Well,” he said. “If this is your competition, there’s absolutely no excuse for you to lose the tournament.”
His voice dripped with disgust, telling everyone within earshot his low opinion of the remaining competitors. But even worse was the sharp, pointed look he gave Deah, and all the malice shimmering in his golden eyes. It was a clear warning that she would win the tournament or else something very unpleasant might happen—to her.
“Yes, sir,” Deah said in a faint voice.
Victor must have sensed my staring at him because he turned and looked in my direction. My gaze locked with his, and my soulsight immediately flared to life, letting me feel the absolute ice of his emotions and all his hatred for everyone around him—including his own wife.
In that instant, I realized that Victor barely tolerated Seleste and all her odd behavior, and only kept her around because her visions of the future were useful. The second she stopped being useful . . . well, I was willing to bet that Seleste would end up just like my parents—dead.
I shivered. I could easily imagine Victor tearing Seleste’s Talent for seeing the future out of her. Part of me was surprised he hadn’t done it already. Or perhaps he only wanted the information from the visions and had no desire to actually experience them for himself. Not if it meant being like Seleste.
Seleste noticed Victor staring at me, and she brightened and headed in my direction. Mo grabbed my shoulder again, his fingers digging into my skin in a clear warning.
“No matter what she says, act like you don’t know what she’s talking about,” he muttered.
“Why?”
“Just do it, kid,” Mo hissed.
Seleste marched over and grabbed my hands. “Darling! There you are! It’s so good to see you again!” she beamed at me, squeezing my hands tight in hers.
With her strength Talent, it felt like she was on the verge of cracking my bones. I winced, and she loosened her hold.
“Oops. Sorry. I don’t know my own strength sometimes.” She winked at me. “Just making sure that you were real. Sometimes, I have to do that, you know. I’m sure you remember that about me.”
“Um, okay.”
It seemed that she had mistaken me for my mom again, so it wasn’t hard to pretend to be confused. But why did she keep doing that? It wasn’t as if Seleste had actually known my mom . . . had she?
