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.“Nope.” He paused.“There was a girl once, though.”My heart squeezed tight in my chest, but I forced myself to ask the inevitable question.“And what was she like?”He shifted in his lawn chair and stared out over the railing, his eyes locked on some spot far, far away in the Midway.“Well, we didn’t actually get a chance to talk.All I really remember is that she had the most amazing blue eyes I’d ever seen.” He looked at me.“And she still does.”Despite all the water I’d drunk, my throat felt as dry as a dirt road in the summertime.He was talking about the day we’d first met, when my mom had saved him from being kidnapped by the Draconis.Every time I thought that I’d put some distance between us or done something that would piss him off for good, Devon came right back at me with something like that—something so sweet and so thoughtful and so damn sincere that it melted my defenses in a heartbeat.He didn’t need his compulsion Talent to make me like him.He didn’t need any magic at all.He did it just by being himself.But I was me, and I didn’t do feelings.I didn’t do attachments, and I especially didn’t do relationships.Not since my mom had been murdered.I was a thief.I knew better than anyone else that it was much, much safer to keep my heart locked up tight, instead of putting it out there on display for everyone to see, where it could so easily be stolen—or broken again.Devon kept staring at me, but I didn’t let my eyes meet his.I didn’t want my soulsight to kick in and show me everything he was feeling.Or how his emotions mirrored my own.Instead, I chugged down the rest of my water and got to my feet.“Well, I should get some sleep.Tomorrow will be a busy day with the tournament.I need to rest up if I want to have any chance of winning.”“Yeah,” Devon said, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his voice.“Busy.”He got to his feet as well.I gave him a small, nervous smile, still not looking into his eyes, then hurried around him, went over to the drainpipe, and climbed back down to the safe, lonely emptiness of my room.CHAPTER SIXTEEN“This is ridiculous,” I grumbled.“Completely, utterly ridiculous.”White feathers fell down in my face.I huffed out a breath, trying to blow them out of my eyes, but the feathers dropped right back down to where they’d been before.Annoyed, I reached up, yanked several of them out of the brim of my black cavalier hat, and stuck them in a nearby trash can.The motions made my black cloak billow out around my shoulders before dropping neatly back into place, while my black, knee-high boots creaked with every step I took.Tight black pants and a sleeveless white silk shirt completed my ridiculous ensemble.“Tell me again why we have to dress up like extras from a Three Musketeers movie while we’re fighting?”“Because the tourists expect us to dress like this.It’s all part of the show for them.” Poppy grinned and tipped her purple hat at me.“Just be glad that your Family colors are black and white.I look like I’m wearing a bunch of grapes on my head.”I grinned.“Well, as long as the rubes are entertained.”She grinned again and rolled her eyes.It was day two of the Tournament of Blades, and Poppy, Devon, and I were standing by the chain-link fence that ringed the stadium floor, waiting for the one-on-one matches to start.The other competitors milled around the area, all of them dressed like us in sleeveless white shirts and black pants, with cloaks and hats bearing their Family colors.I looked up at the Sinclair box, where Claudia, Reginald, and Mo were sitting, with Oscar zipping around and around them just like he had yesterday.The pixie had started stuffing himself with junk food the second we’d gotten to the fairgrounds, and he was now on his third cinnamon-sugar pretzel.With his sugar rush, I half expected him to forget there was a sheet of glass in the front of the box and fly straight into it.I scanned the rest of the crowd, my gaze finally locking onto the Draconi box.Victor was sitting up there, along with Seleste, who was gesturing with her hands and seemed to be talking a mile a minute.She was wearing a pretty white sundress with black polka dots, and her blond hair was sleeked back into a high bun, making her look far more normal and sane than she had last night.Seleste noticed me staring and actually got to her feet, stepped up to the front of the glass, and waved at me, her whole face lighting up with happiness.I wondered if she remembered me, Lila, from last night, or if she still thought that I was my dead mom.Hard to tell.Either way, I didn’t wave back at her.The officials, still dressed in their neutral white, stepped onto the stadium floor.The obstacle course was gone, but the cold spring and rock formations remained, since they were a natural part of the landscape.They would make the duels more exciting, providing obstacles for the fighters to maneuver around, duck behind for cover, or use as springboards to lash out at each other.A separate, foot-high ring of stones enclosed the larger rocks and the cold spring.This was where the one-on-one matches would take place.Devon had told me that a smaller version of the rope ladder was usually included in the ring as well.Not this time.Maybe the officials had realized that yesterday hadn’t been an accident and didn’t want a repeat performance.A low drumbeat rang out, and the crowd hushed, anticipating the start of today’s action.“And now, last year’s returning champion, Deah Draconi!” a voice rang out through the sound system.After yesterday’s fiasco with the obstacle course, Deah had been seeded first as the reigning winner and had the privilege of having the first match of the day.She strode out into the center of the stadium, her red cloak rippling behind her like a wave of blood [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]