While we were waiting, Deah’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it out and checked the message.

“It’s Felix again,” she said. “He’s worried that we’re not back yet.”

I looked around the square again, but all the Draconi guards were gone and had been for five minutes. It should be safe for us to climb down now. “Tell him that we’re on our way back to the alley, and that we’ll be there soon.”

Deah nodded and sent him the message. Less than a minute later, her phone buzzed again. “He says that no one’s spotted them; they’re still waiting for us in the alley.”

She put her phone away, and we both climbed down the tree. When we got back to the ground, we stopped and glanced around, but the Draconis were gone and I didn’t see anyone wearing a red cloak patrolling out on the main street or roaming through the walkways that led into and out of the square.

Deah took the lead, hurrying over to the walkway that led out the far side of the square. I kept glancing back over my shoulder, making sure that no Draconis were sneaking up behind us. We reached the end of the walkway and rounded the corner.

Deah gasped and stopped short, making me slam into her back. I looked over her shoulder, wondering what had made her stop, and my heart sank.

Because Blake was waiting there, flanked by half a dozen guards.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Blake stared at me, a sneering grin twisting his face. “You know, you’re not as smart as you think you are, Merriweather. I knew you had to be somewhere in that stupid square and that all I had to do was wait you out. And I was right.”

I didn’t respond, but my hand tightened around the hilt of my stolen sword, ready to swing it at the first Draconi who came near me.

Deah stepped forward, staring at her brother. “You don’t have to do this, Blake. You could forget about the Draconis and come with us.”

He gave her a look like she’d just said the dumbest thing ever. “And why would I want to do that? Dad is about to own this entire town, and I’m going to be standing right by his side when he does.”

She shook her head. “And you don’t care what Dad does to anyone else in order to get what he wants? Or what he makes you do?”

He gave her that same disbelieving look again. “Why would I care about any of that? We’re the best and it’s time everyone in this town realizes it, especially all the other Families.”

“But Dad attacked all those people at the restaurant last night. And at the Sinclair mansion.” Deah looked back and forth from her brother to the guards. “He ordered you and the other guards to slaughter everyone, and you just went along with it like it was okay. Why would you do that? Why would any of you do that?”

Some of the guards shifted on their feet, their cheeks suddenly red with shame, and dropped their gazes from her accusing one. But not Blake.

“Why wouldn’t I do that?” he countered in a harsh voice. “I’m the Draconi bruiser. It’s my job.”

Deah shook her head again. “It’s not your job to hurt and kill innocent people and pixies, but that’s exactly what you did last night.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed, rage burning in their cold brown depths. “The more important question is why would you betray your own Family? Especially to side with the Sinclairs? Or are you so into Morales that you just can’t think straight? Is that your excuse? Being blinded by love?”

He batted his eyelashes and clutched his hand to his heart as though he were about to swoon. All the guards laughed, but Deah’s mouth flattened out into a harsh line.

“I’m not blinded by anything,” she snapped. “And the only one not thinking straight here is you.”

Blake rolled his eyes. “Whatever. The point is that you are no longer a Draconi. I don’t even know why Dad wants us to take you alive.”

Deah glanced at me, worry flashing in her eyes. We both knew that Victor wanted her alive because she was one of the best fighters in Cloudburst Falls. As long as Victor held Seleste captive, he could force Deah to do whatever he wanted. And that’s if she was lucky. Victor could just as easily want to rip out her mimic magic and take it for himself.

Well, I wasn’t about to let any of those things happen. Victor wasn’t hurting Deah or anyone else I cared about. I shifted my stance, getting ready for the coming fight.

Deah opened her mouth to keep arguing, but Blake cut her off.

“Enough talk,” he growled, waving his sword at the guards around him. “Get them!”

The men surged forward, raising their weapons high. If we ran, they would only cut us down from behind, so Deah and I stepped up to meet them, forming a strong, united front. We both whirled first one way, then the other, battling the guards and watching each other’s backs.

One man screamed as I sliced my sword across his stomach, while Deah stabbed her sword into the leg of the guard closest to her. Two more guards stepped up to take their places, and we took them out as well, then the two after that. In less than a minute, all six of the Draconi guards were down on the ground, bleeding from the wounds we’d inflicted on them, and Blake was the only one left standing.

He stared at us for a moment, eyeing the blood on our swords and the guards moaning and groaning at our feet.

Then he turned and ran.

Deah and I looked at each other, then leaped over the injured guards and sprinted after him. Blake raced down the street, darted into an alley, and rounded the corner at the far end, disappearing from sight. I frowned, realizing that he was heading toward the parking lot reserved for the Families. Blake might be cruel, but he wasn’t dumb. So why would he go there? There was nothing back there but cars, and no way for him to get to safety—

Too late, I realized what Blake was really up to. I grabbed Deah’s arm, trying to stop her, but her momentum pulled us both around the corner.

And right into the ambush.

More than a dozen Draconi guards were waiting in the parking lot, all armed with swords. And Blake was standing in the middle of them, a smug grin stretching across his face. He’d known that we would chase after him, and he’d been ready in case the first group of guards failed to capture us. Now there were too many Draconis for us to fight our way through.

“Grab Deah and kill Merriweather,” he called out in a casual voice, as though he weren’t doing anything more important than ordering fast-food at a burger joint.