Even if I still didn’t have any idea how to defeat him.

Still fluttering around my shoulder, Oscar looked at me in the mirror. I turned and held out my hand. He flew forward and landed on my palm, his cowboy boots tickling my skin.

“No matter what happens tonight, I want you to know how much I care about you,” I said. “And what an amazing friend you’ve been to me this summer.”

A soft, almost reproachful snort sounded, and I looked over at Tiny, who was on the same table as before.

“And you too, Tiny,” I added.

The tortoise nodded and went back to eating the fresh pile of lettuce that Oscar had brought for him earlier.

Oscar looked at me, tears shining in his violet eyes. “Don’t you dare do that,” he snarled in his twangy voice. “Don’t you dare say goodbye to me. It’s the same thing your mother did the day she left the Family. I never saw her again after that.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not saying goodbye, and you will see me again.”

I kept my voice strong and my eyes steady on his, as though I really did believe every word. But I didn’t. Not deep down inside where it really mattered. I thought of Victor’s lightning and I had to hold back a shudder. I still didn’t know how to stop him from electrocuting me with his magic, much less how to actually steal his power. But Oscar didn’t need to know that.

No one needed to know that.

“I’m going to find a way to stop Victor,” I said, still keeping my voice strong. “Do you trust me, Oscar?”

Tears streaked down the pixie’s cheeks, but he swiped them away and nodded his head. “I trust you.”

“Good,” I replied. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. Mo’s sent me out on way tougher jobs than this. I survived Grant and Katia and everything else that’s happened this summer. I’ll get through this too.”

Oscar nodded and gave me a tentative smile. He zipped up, landed on my shoulder, and hugged my neck tight. I hugged him back, careful not to crush his wings.

And just like with Devon, we stayed like that for a long time while Tiny looked on in approval, slowly chewing his lettuce.

I scratched Tiny’s head a final time, then left the guest bedroom with Oscar riding on my shoulder. My friends were all waiting in the dining hall, along with the Sinclair guards and members of the Ito and Salazar Families, and we all went outside.

I got into the back of an SUV with Devon and Felix. Angelo was driving, with Mo sitting in the front seat and Oscar perched in the cup holder. Devon reached over and grabbed one of my hands, while Felix took the other. I looked at them both and smiled, and we stayed like that for the rest of the ride down the mountain.

It was only ten o’clock, but Claudia wanted everyone to get into position early, just in case Victor had any tricks or traps planned. Angelo parked the SUV a couple of streets over from the lochness bridge, and the other vehicles stopped as well. People poured out of the cars, every single one of them carrying at least one sword or dagger, and they all crept through the streets as quietly as possible. I hung back with Devon and Claudia, who was getting updates on her phone from the other guards.

Mo was here too, staring off into the night.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I’m thinking about the night that Serena left town. It was just like this one.”

We both looked up. When we’d left the Ito mansion, the moon and stars had been out in full force, but now, heavy clouds cloaked the sky and lightning flashed in the distance. It reminded me of Victor’s power, something that made me shiver.

Mo looked at me and smiled, although I could see the sadness in his eyes. “Serena would be so proud of you,” he said in a soft voice. “And I am too. You are everything that she ever wanted you to be. Smart, strong, brave, resourceful. I wish that she was here to see you for herself.”

I thought of the strange dream I’d had when I’d been poisoned by the copper crusher venom. “Maybe she is here . . . somewhere. Watching over us.”

He nodded. “That’s what I like to think too, kid.”

Mo slung his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in for a quick hug. I put both arms around him and hugged him back even tighter.

Someone cleared her throat and we broke apart to find Deah and Seleste standing behind us. Deah was dressed just like I was—as a Sinclair. Black boots, black pants, white shirt, black cloak. No cuff glimmered on her wrist, but it was obvious which side she was on. I was happy that it was ours.

Seleste wore another one of her gauzy white dresses, but her long hair was done up in braids with black and blue ribbons running through her golden locks.

Seleste grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes, although her own gaze was distant and far away. “Remember what I said, darling,” she whispered. “Don’t be afraid of the lightning.”

“Kind of hard not to be when Victor’s going to fry me to a crisp with it,” I muttered.

But instead of being concerned, Seleste gave me another serene smile, patted my cheek, and twirled away, making her braids and ribbons flutter like butterflies dancing around her shoulders.

I shook my head. At least someone was confident about my winning. I wondered if Seleste had seen me defeating Victor in one of her visions. I even thought about asking her how I could possibly do it, but I decided not to. She’d only speak in vague riddles that would likely confuse me more than I already was.

Deah’s dark blue eyes, so similar to mine, flicked over me, her gaze lingering on the black blade belted to my waist. She was wearing her own Sterling Family sword with its cluster of three stars carved into the hilt.

“Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks.” I paused. “I know this has to be hard for you. Everyone rooting for me to . . . beat your dad.”

The right word was kill, but I didn’t say that. It would have been cruel, and people had already been mean enough to Deah and Seleste over the past few days.

She shrugged. “I’ve always known that he wasn’t a nice man. But these last few days . . . I know what kind of person he really is now.”

Her voice was calm and steady, but anguish glimmered in her eyes. Her dad had broken her heart, and it was a deep, ugly wound that she would carry with her the rest of her life.

Deah chewed on her lip. “Do you think that . . . do you think that you’ll actually kill him?”