But I opened the door and ushered Devon and Felix inside. I slipped in after them and locked the door behind me, just in case one of the guards decided to check it. Then I took the lead again, creeping from one hallway and staircase to the next.

The outside of the Draconi mansion might resemble a castle, but the furnishings inside were the real riches. Just about everything gleamed with bits of gold, from the chandeliers overhead to the gilt-edged mirrors on the walls to the trim on the tables and chairs. And Victor’s snarling dragon crest was painted, carved, chiseled, embroidered, and stamped into practically everything, from the crown molding that ringed the ceilings, to the stained glass windows set into the walls, to the white flagstones underfoot.

All those dragons were creepy enough, but it seemed like every single one of the monsters turned its head, narrowed its eyes, and glared at Devon, Felix, and me as we crept past. I shivered. Sometimes, I would have been happy not to see so well with my sight magic.

We quickly made our way up some stairs to the Draconi greenlab. Once again, the glass doors were unlocked, and the three of us slipped inside and moved through the area, which was part chemistry lab, part greenhouse, where a variety of magical and other plants were grown and harvested. The long, sharp needles on the stitch-sting bushes quivered as we hurried past them, but we didn’t get close enough for the evergreen plants to lash out and try to scratch us for disturbing them.

We made it to the opposite side of the greenlab, and I sidled up to the glass doors there and peered out into the hallway beyond. The lights were turned down low in this part of the mansion, creating more shadows than not. Just the way I liked it.

Since the coast was clear, I opened one of the glass doors and stepped out into the hallway—

I spotted a glint of metal out of the corner of my eye. Even as I turned toward it, a sword zoomed out of the shadows, heading straight for me.

CHAPTER TWO

The sword stopped an inch from my throat.

I froze, my eyes wide, my body tense, my hand curling around the hilt of my own sword, even though I knew that I wouldn’t be fast enough to draw the weapon, much less defend myself with it, before I got skewered.

“You’re late,” a familiar voice growled.

Deah Draconi stepped out of the shadows, her sword still at my throat. I looked down at the weapon and the stars carved into the dull, ash-colored metal. A similar pattern adorned my own sword. Each of our weapons had been given to us by our respective mothers, and both were black blades, so named because the more blood you got on the blades, the blacker they became.

Deah was quite pretty with her golden hair and dark blue eyes the same color as my own—another sign of our Sterling Family blood, along with our black blades. She was wearing white shorts and sandals with a red T-shirt, but my gaze dropped to the gold cuff stamped with the Draconi dragon crest that gleamed on her right wrist. Deah might be helping us now, but part of me still wondered whose side she would choose in the end, when Victor finally tried to destroy all the other Families, starting with the Sinclairs.

“Why, hello, cousin,” I drawled. “I didn’t see you there. You’re getting better at sneaking around. I approve. We might make a thief out of you yet.”

Deah rolled her eyes at my calling her cousin, but she dropped her sword from my throat. Neither one of us had known about our connection until a couple of weeks ago when it had come out during the Tournament of Blades, and we were both still getting used to the idea that we were family and trying to figure out what kind of relationship we wanted to have.

“Where’s Seleste?” I asked in a kinder voice, referring to her mother and my aunt.

“Right here, darling,” a lilting, almost sing-song voice called out.

Seleste Draconi rounded the corner and skipped down the hallway toward us. She was beautiful, with long blond hair that rippled around her shoulders like a river of gold, and a gauzy white dress that fluttered about her body like wisps of mist. She had this light, ethereal air to her, like the fairy queens in all those old tales that my mom used to read to me when I was a kid.

Seleste stopped in front of me, smiling wide, her dark blue eyes glowing as bright as any monster’s. Even though she was looking right at me, I could tell that she wasn’t really seeing me. Like the rest of the Sterling women, Seleste had sight magic, but her Talent let her see the future, which led to her doing and saying all sorts of strange things. Most people thought that she was crazy or made fun of her, but I’d grown to like her odd ways. Besides, Seleste and Deah were the only blood family that I had left now, and I was going to look out for them. That’s what my mom would have wanted.

“Lila, darling!” Seleste said, taking my hands in hers. “Come walk with me!”

In addition to her sight magic, Seleste also had a strength Talent that let her pull me halfway down the hallway before I dug my sneakers into the carpet. Even then, she still managed to twirl me around, as though we were dancing, before I could stop her.

“Hello, Seleste,” I said in a gentle voice. “It’s good to see you too.”

She tightened her grip on my hands, holding me in place with her strength magic. “I’m so glad you’re here, darling. I need to talk to you.”

Despite the fact that we were several feet away from Deah, Felix, and Devon, who were talking among themselves, Seleste still glanced around, as though she expected someone to be hiding in the shadows, listening to us. When she was satisfied that no one was eavesdropping, she leaned forward and gave me a dreamy smile, staring straight into my eyes, the magic in her own gaze burning brighter than before.

“Don’t be afraid of the lightning,” she whispered in an urgent voice. “It’s your friend, just like the monsters are. Monsters are your friends. Never forget that.”

Seleste had said some strange things to me over the past few weeks, especially during the Tournament of Blades when I was first getting to know her, but this was just plain bizarre. What lightning? And why did she think that monsters were my friends? They were just monsters. I paid their tolls, and they left me alone. Nothing more, nothing less.

Her message delivered, Seleste let go of my hands and stepped back. Then she gave me another dreamy smile, turned around, and skipped back down the hallway to the others.

“Seleste!” I hissed, wanting to ask her exactly what she meant. “Seleste!”

But she just waved goodbye to me and kept going, right on past Deah and the guys.