Dark Heart of Magic
Page 56
I frowned, but I didn’t have time to focus on the thought, not with Deah glaring daggers at me, and Victor and Blake striding over, scowls fixed on both of their faces.
Seleste kept staring at me, but Victor stopped and looked at Mo, his lips puckering in thought.
“Um, who are you?” I asked Seleste, keeping up the charade that I had never met her before.
Just like that, her sunny smile vanished, and utter misery filled her face. “You know exactly who I am. I’m Seleste, your best friend. Don’t you remember me?”
I looked at Mo for help. This time, I wasn’t faking it.
“Hello, Seleste,” he said in a soft, gentle voice. “I think you’re a little confused. I don’t think you’ve ever met Lila before. Lila Merriweather.”
He put a little extra emphasis on my fake last name. I didn’t know why, but it worked, and I could almost see the proverbial light bulb snap on above Seleste’s head.
She looked at him, then me, then back at him. “Oh. I guess you’re right. My mistake.”
She shrugged, then turned, looped her arms through Victor’s and Blake’s, and started skipping away with them. At least, she tried to. They weren’t having any of the skipping, but they let her drag them off into the crowd. Then again, they didn’t have much choice, with her strength magic pulling them along.
Deah stayed behind, though, and she turned her hot glare to me the second her father and brother were out of earshot. “Who does my mom keep confusing you with?”
Before I could think of some lie, Mo answered her. “Lila’s mother,” he said, still staring after Seleste. “Her name was Serena.”
Startled, I glanced at Mo. Why would he tell Deah my mom’s name? If she told Victor and he put two and two together, then he would know that I was Serena Sterling’s daughter. He might also realize that I knew he’d murdered my mom, and my anonymity, my only protection from him, would be gone.
Deah looked back and forth between Mo and me. “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
Mo gave her a sad smile and shook his head. “Of course not. But Serena was an old friend of your mom’s. I was Seleste’s friend too—before she married your father.”
He muttered the last few words, and Deah’s face tightened with even more anger.
“Well, whoever your mom was, stay away from mine,” Deah snapped.
“Don’t worry about that,” I snapped back. “That crazy lady is all yours.”
Her hands clenched into fists, and her blue gaze slammed into mine, letting me feel all of her white-hot rage and how protective she was of her mom.
“My mom is awesome,” Deah snarled. “She just happens to see the world a little differently from everyone else. But that doesn’t make her crazy, and it certainly doesn’t give you or anyone else the right to make fun of her. So why don’t you keep your snotty opinions to yourself.”
I held up my hands. I wasn’t going to argue with her anymore. There was no point in it. Besides, she was right. I didn’t have the right to make fun of Seleste, and I was ashamed that I had. Mocking people was something that Blake always did, and I had zero desire to be anything like him.
Deah glared at me another second, then stormed away.
The second she was gone, I turned to Mo. “Why did you tell her Mom’s name? Why would you do that?”
Mo tipped his white straw hat back on his head. “I know, I know, it was stupid. It’s just that I hadn’t seen Seleste in so long. Most of the time, Victor keeps her locked up in one of the towers in the Draconi castle. Besides, I wanted to give her and Deah some kind of explanation.”
My eyes narrowed. “How do you know Seleste anyway?”
He stared after the Draconis instead of looking me in the eye. “We used to be friends. Way back when we were about your age.”
“Who was friends?”
“Me, Claudia, Seleste, and your mom. Well, really, it was the girls who were tight. I was more friends with Serena than anyone else. And, of course, Claudia and I weren’t friends at all after we stopped dating.”
My mouth dropped open. “You and Claudia dated?”
“Yeah,” Mo said in a distracted voice. “For a while. Before she met Lawrence, Devon’s dad.”
I’d always thought that Mo and Claudia had some past connection, but I never thought it was something like this. Calm, serious Claudia with cheery, boisterous Mo? I just couldn’t picture them together. But if they’d broken up way back when, it would explain the tension between them now.
Mo kept staring in the direction that Seleste and Deah had gone, his eyes dark with memories and feelings he wouldn’t let me see. After several seconds, he shook his head, as if clearing the cobwebs of the past out of his mind, and plastered a smile on his face.
“But that’s all over with now, kid. How about I buy you a funnel cake? With tons of powdered sugar, just the way you like it? You’re going to need a sugar buzz before the final matches start.”
I frowned. Mo loved money as much as I did, and he never, ever offered to buy me anything unless he was trying to distract me. I wondered what had happened between him, my mom, Claudia, and Seleste, and why there was still so much secrecy and tension about it even now. But he’d changed the subject, which meant that the conversation was closed. Besides, I was never one to turn down free food.
“Sure,” I said. “A funnel cake sounds great.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Mo and I went out into the fairgrounds, where he bought me the biggest funnel cake we could find. He started talking to some folks he knew from the Ito Family, and I finished my cake, murmured my excuses, and drifted away from him.
I had some time before the final matches started, so I wandered through the fairgrounds, looking at all the cheesy carnival games, T-shirts, flags, and more. If it was cheap, tacky, and brighter than a flashing neon sign, you could buy it here. The vendors called out to me, hawking their wares and trying to get me to play their games, but I ignored them.
I ended up on the edge of the fairgrounds, staring out toward the lake and trying to make sense of everything that had happened over the past few days, from the murdered tree trolls to Seleste’s strange behavior to all the secrets Mo wasn’t telling me.
The deep blue of the water shimmered in the distance, but instead of concentrating on the pretty scene, I started walking along one of the cobblestone paths until I reached the tree line.
Seleste kept staring at me, but Victor stopped and looked at Mo, his lips puckering in thought.
“Um, who are you?” I asked Seleste, keeping up the charade that I had never met her before.
Just like that, her sunny smile vanished, and utter misery filled her face. “You know exactly who I am. I’m Seleste, your best friend. Don’t you remember me?”
I looked at Mo for help. This time, I wasn’t faking it.
“Hello, Seleste,” he said in a soft, gentle voice. “I think you’re a little confused. I don’t think you’ve ever met Lila before. Lila Merriweather.”
He put a little extra emphasis on my fake last name. I didn’t know why, but it worked, and I could almost see the proverbial light bulb snap on above Seleste’s head.
She looked at him, then me, then back at him. “Oh. I guess you’re right. My mistake.”
She shrugged, then turned, looped her arms through Victor’s and Blake’s, and started skipping away with them. At least, she tried to. They weren’t having any of the skipping, but they let her drag them off into the crowd. Then again, they didn’t have much choice, with her strength magic pulling them along.
Deah stayed behind, though, and she turned her hot glare to me the second her father and brother were out of earshot. “Who does my mom keep confusing you with?”
Before I could think of some lie, Mo answered her. “Lila’s mother,” he said, still staring after Seleste. “Her name was Serena.”
Startled, I glanced at Mo. Why would he tell Deah my mom’s name? If she told Victor and he put two and two together, then he would know that I was Serena Sterling’s daughter. He might also realize that I knew he’d murdered my mom, and my anonymity, my only protection from him, would be gone.
Deah looked back and forth between Mo and me. “Is that name supposed to mean something to me?”
Mo gave her a sad smile and shook his head. “Of course not. But Serena was an old friend of your mom’s. I was Seleste’s friend too—before she married your father.”
He muttered the last few words, and Deah’s face tightened with even more anger.
“Well, whoever your mom was, stay away from mine,” Deah snapped.
“Don’t worry about that,” I snapped back. “That crazy lady is all yours.”
Her hands clenched into fists, and her blue gaze slammed into mine, letting me feel all of her white-hot rage and how protective she was of her mom.
“My mom is awesome,” Deah snarled. “She just happens to see the world a little differently from everyone else. But that doesn’t make her crazy, and it certainly doesn’t give you or anyone else the right to make fun of her. So why don’t you keep your snotty opinions to yourself.”
I held up my hands. I wasn’t going to argue with her anymore. There was no point in it. Besides, she was right. I didn’t have the right to make fun of Seleste, and I was ashamed that I had. Mocking people was something that Blake always did, and I had zero desire to be anything like him.
Deah glared at me another second, then stormed away.
The second she was gone, I turned to Mo. “Why did you tell her Mom’s name? Why would you do that?”
Mo tipped his white straw hat back on his head. “I know, I know, it was stupid. It’s just that I hadn’t seen Seleste in so long. Most of the time, Victor keeps her locked up in one of the towers in the Draconi castle. Besides, I wanted to give her and Deah some kind of explanation.”
My eyes narrowed. “How do you know Seleste anyway?”
He stared after the Draconis instead of looking me in the eye. “We used to be friends. Way back when we were about your age.”
“Who was friends?”
“Me, Claudia, Seleste, and your mom. Well, really, it was the girls who were tight. I was more friends with Serena than anyone else. And, of course, Claudia and I weren’t friends at all after we stopped dating.”
My mouth dropped open. “You and Claudia dated?”
“Yeah,” Mo said in a distracted voice. “For a while. Before she met Lawrence, Devon’s dad.”
I’d always thought that Mo and Claudia had some past connection, but I never thought it was something like this. Calm, serious Claudia with cheery, boisterous Mo? I just couldn’t picture them together. But if they’d broken up way back when, it would explain the tension between them now.
Mo kept staring in the direction that Seleste and Deah had gone, his eyes dark with memories and feelings he wouldn’t let me see. After several seconds, he shook his head, as if clearing the cobwebs of the past out of his mind, and plastered a smile on his face.
“But that’s all over with now, kid. How about I buy you a funnel cake? With tons of powdered sugar, just the way you like it? You’re going to need a sugar buzz before the final matches start.”
I frowned. Mo loved money as much as I did, and he never, ever offered to buy me anything unless he was trying to distract me. I wondered what had happened between him, my mom, Claudia, and Seleste, and why there was still so much secrecy and tension about it even now. But he’d changed the subject, which meant that the conversation was closed. Besides, I was never one to turn down free food.
“Sure,” I said. “A funnel cake sounds great.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Mo and I went out into the fairgrounds, where he bought me the biggest funnel cake we could find. He started talking to some folks he knew from the Ito Family, and I finished my cake, murmured my excuses, and drifted away from him.
I had some time before the final matches started, so I wandered through the fairgrounds, looking at all the cheesy carnival games, T-shirts, flags, and more. If it was cheap, tacky, and brighter than a flashing neon sign, you could buy it here. The vendors called out to me, hawking their wares and trying to get me to play their games, but I ignored them.
I ended up on the edge of the fairgrounds, staring out toward the lake and trying to make sense of everything that had happened over the past few days, from the murdered tree trolls to Seleste’s strange behavior to all the secrets Mo wasn’t telling me.
The deep blue of the water shimmered in the distance, but instead of concentrating on the pretty scene, I started walking along one of the cobblestone paths until I reached the tree line.
