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.”
“What happened tonight?” Devon asked. “Before the Draconis stormed into the restaurant?”
“Dad called everyone into the dining hall at the Draconi mansion and told us about his plan to attack the other Families at the restaurant, and Blake started passing out the fake black blades to all the guards.”
Deah glanced down at her own sword, which was propped up in the floorboard at her feet. The glow from a nearby streetlamp made the three stars carved into the hilt gleam.
“That’s your regular sword,” I said. “They didn’t give you one of the fake weapons?”
She shook her head, making her damp blond hair flap against her shoulders. “Of course not. My dad could tell that I was horrified by his plan. I argued with him and Blake, tried to convince them not to go through with it, tried to tell them that it was cold-blooded murder, but they wouldn’t listen to me. They never listen to me.”
Felix finished his latest unanswered call and glanced over his shoulder at her. “Then what happened?”
“Dad took my phone away so I couldn’t warn anyone about the attack.” She hesitated. “He also had a couple of guards lock my mom in her room and stay behind with her. Just in case I got any ideas about fighting back and trying to stop him.”
“So he threatened Seleste and blackmailed you into going along with them,” Felix said.
Deah nodded. “They forced me into an SUV, and we drove down to the restaurant. But when we got there, I noticed that not all of the guards had come with us. I wondered why, but no one was even talking to me at that point. And now that Felix can’t reach anyone at your mansion. . . ”
She bit her lip and looked at Devon in the rearview mirror. “I think . . . I think my dad sent the rest of the guards to the Sinclair mansion.” Tears gleamed in her eyes, and her voice dropped to a hoarse, ragged whisper. “I’m sorry. So sorry. For everything.”
Devon glanced back at her and gave her a sharp nod. “It’s okay. I understand. If it had been my mom in danger, I would have done the same thing.”
Deah blinked away her tears and nodded back. “Thank you. But I should have stood up to my dad. I should have found some way to get my mom out of there, or at least warned you guys about what was happening.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “It was an impossible choice.”
“And I made the wrong one. What did I accomplish by going along with them? Nothing,” she spat out the word. “Because innocent people still died, and my mom is still up at the Draconi mansion, and who knows what my dad and Blake will do to her now that I’ve basically defected from the Family.”
Her dark blue gaze dropped to the gold cuff on her wrist. We passed another streetlamp, and the glow highlighted the snarling dragon crest stamped into the metal, making it look as though the monster were about to leap off the cuff and sink its teeth into her. Deah’s mouth twisted with anger and disgust, and she yanked it off. She rolled down the window, as if she was going to hurl the cuff outside, but I reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Don’t you dare do that,” I said.
“Why not?” she muttered.
“Are you kidding me? That cuff is solid gold. It’s worth a fortune,” I drawled, trying to lighten the mood and cheer her up, if only for a few seconds.
For a moment, a ghost of a smile flashed across her face, but it quickly vanished. Deah hesitated, then rolled up the window. She stared at her Draconi cuff again, but instead of putting it back on her wrist, she slid it into her pocket before finally looking at me. Our eyes locked and I felt all of her deep, bitter, aching regret about everything that had happened tonight, along with her sharp worry for her mom.
Deah looked at me for another second before turning and staring out the window again. I opened my mouth to keep talking, but I thought better of it and clamped my lips shut. If I’d just been through what she had, I would have wanted some peace and quiet too. But I did reach over and place my hand on top of hers, letting her know I was here for her. After a second, Deah curled her fingers into mine.
And we stayed like that for the rest of the ride, drawing what strength, comfort, and support we could from each other, knowing that this horrible night was far, far from over.