“Lila?” Devon called again.

I blinked, breaking eye contact and shaking off the creature’s emotions. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I called out. “I’m coming up right now.”

I hesitated, then waved goodbye to the lochness before stepping out from under the bridge and hurrying after my friends.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I scrambled up the riverbank to where Devon, Felix, and Deah were waiting at the top.

“Now what?” Deah muttered, swinging her sword at the grass like she wanted to hack through every single blade of it.

“We have to get back to the mansion,” Devon said.

Felix pulled his phone away from his ear. “I’ve called the main line three times now, but no one’s answering. I also tried some of the guards, but no one’s picking up.” Concern filled his face. “Do you think the Draconis attacked the mansion too?”

Devon shook his head. “I don’t know. Surely, by now, everyone at the mansion knows what happened. But the fact that they’re not answering their phones . . .”

His voice trailed off, but we all knew what he was thinking. That Victor could have easily sent some of his guards to attack the mansion at the same time we were all gathered at the White Orchid. It would have been the perfect way to wipe out all the Sinclairs at once. That’s exactly what I would have done, especially since the Sinclair mansion was just a short hike through the woods from the Draconi compound. That was probably the reason why all those extra guards had been at the Draconi mansion last night. So they would be in position and close enough to attack the Sinclairs tonight.

A cold fist of fear and dread wrapped around my heart. Oscar and Tiny had stayed behind at the mansion. If the Draconis had indeed attacked, the pixie and the tortoise could already be captured—or worse.

“Devon’s right,” I said, trying to ignore my worry. “We have to go back to the mansion to see what’s happened to everyone.” I paused. “And that’s not the only reason we have to go back.”

“What do you mean?” Felix asked.

“We have to get the black blades—the real ones,” I said. “They’re the only leverage and the only bargaining chip we have right now.”

Understanding sparked in Devon’s eyes. “You think that Victor would be willing to trade my mom and the other Sinclairs for the black blades?”

I shrugged. “You heard him threaten Claudia when he realized the weapons were fakes. Victor wants those black blades and the magic that’s inside them more than anything else. If he’d had them tonight, he could have killed us and taken over all the Families. Maybe he thinks that if he gets them back, he can still do it. It’s worth a shot, anyway, and it’s the only chance we have.”

“Lila’s right,” Deah chimed in. “My dad will do anything to get those weapons back, and he’ll . . . hurt your mom to try to get her to tell him where they are.” Her lips pressed together into a tight line. “I’ve seen him do it to other people.”

Devon’s jaw clenched, and it took him a moment to force out his next words. “You mean he’ll torture her and the other Sinclairs.”

Deah winced, then slowly nodded.

The thought of Claudia being tortured, the thought of Mo being tortured, made hot, sour bile rise in my throat, but I swallowed it down and forced myself to stay calm and think about what we needed to do next—get to the Sinclair mansion.

Devon scrubbed his hands over his face, as if the simple motion could erase all the horrors of the last hour. If only it could, we all would have been doing it. Felix kept scrolling through his contacts, dialing every single Sinclair’s number, but no one answered him. Deah started whacking at the grass with her sword again.

I was as scared and worried for the Sinclairs, especially Claudia and Mo, as everyone else. I kept waiting for one of my friends to move, to speak, to step up and take charge, but they were all too numb with shock and grief right now. Up to me then.

“Well, we can’t do anything from here,” I said. “So first things first. Devon, you still have the keys to the SUV, right?”

He nodded, dug in his pants pocket, and pulled out the keys.

“Good. Let’s go back to the SUV then. Maybe we’ll get lucky and the Draconis haven’t found it yet.”

“And if they have?” Felix asked.

“Then we’ll find some other way to get back up to the mansion. Now come on. The longer we just stand here, the longer Victor has Claudia, Mo, and the others.”

That cold, hard fact finally cut through some of my friends’ shock, horror, and fear, and they followed me as I turned and hurried away from the lochness bridge.

It didn’t take us long to hike back to the tourist section in the center of town. Even though it was after nine o’clock now, throngs of people still flowed up and down the sidewalks and moved in and out of the shops and restaurants, so it was easy for us to disappear into the crowd. We got a few odd looks, but no one stopped to question us, even though we were all still soaking wet and Devon, Deah, and I were carrying swords. As we walked, Felix dialed the Sinclair mansion and all the guards again and again. Still no response. He tried Poppy Ito and Julio Salazar as well, but they didn’t pick up either.

Finally, we reached the street where Devon had parked the SUV when we’d first come down into town earlier tonight. I made the others hang back while I peered around the corner, looking up and down the street and using my sight magic to stare into all the shadows, making sure this wasn’t some trap set by Blake and the rest of the Draconis. But this area wasn’t one of the main drags, and all the other cars that had been parked here earlier were gone. It was deserted except for the four of us.

I nodded at the others, and we jogged down the street. Devon used his key fob to pop open the doors, and we slid into the SUV. He cranked the engine, threw the vehicle into gear, and pulled away from the curb.

Devon drove, with Felix in the front, still calling and calling the mansion, but still with no response. I sat in the back with Deah, who stared out the window, her face blank.

“How are you holding up?” I asked. “I know tonight has been hard. Especially for you.”

“Why? Because my dad called me a traitor and my brother tried to kill me? Why would I be upset about that?” She let out a bitter laugh, but she didn’t turn to look at me. “Even after you showed me that room full of weapons, I still didn’t want to believe what my dad and Blake were up to, but you were right. All the two of them care about is destroying the other Families.”